Different Treatment

The door to the underground classroom opened and closed, leaving only Professor McGonagall and her two useless students in the room.

Her chest heaved violently as she stared at them like an angry eagle.

Finally, Ron broke the silence.

"Professor, was that... a phoenix?"

"That's right, it's a phoenix!" Professor McGonagall seemed unwilling to say more, simply nodding and letting the matter drop.

"You'd better go to the Hospital Wing, Weasley, your eye is swollen."

"Nothing," Ron quickly covered his eyes. "Professor, Headmaster Dumbledore just say that the Sorting Ceremony is over?"

Yes, just now...

"Where is my sister?" Ron asked nervously.

"Also in Gryffindor."

Upon hearing Professor McGonagall's reply, Ron exclaimed happily, "Oh, that's wonderful!"

Although I didn't see it with my own eyes, the result was still good.

However, upon mentioning Gryffindor, Harry seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly said, "Professor, school hadn't started when we got in the car, so we shouldn't deduct points from Gryffindor, right!"

Professor McGonagall gave him a stern look, but Harry noticed that her lips were no longer pressed so tightly together.

... As it turns out, Harry's words were indeed useful.

Professor McGonagall did not deduct Gryffindor.

Although they were put in solitary confinement and could only eat in the underground classroom, it was still much better Harry had expected.

Professor McGonagall left soon after, as she had to return to the banquet.

After the door closed again, Ron let out a long, soft whistle.

"How lucky..." He grabbed a sandwich Professor McGonagall had given him. "It's just solitary confinement, which is much better than being expelled, and at least I didn't get any points deducted."

"I think so too." Harry grabbed a piece as well.

"By the way, how's your wand?"

"That's not my wand," Ron mumbled, his mouth full of chicken and ham.

He pulled a rubber-made black cod from his pocket and said, "This is a magic wand Fred and George made. They probably wanted to play a trick on me, so they swapped my wand with this."

"Thank goodness they did that," Harry said with a laugh.

"Yeah... when it hit that tree, it almost snapped over." Ron put the haddock back in his pocket with a hint of relief.

"However, you'll have to be more careful in the future."

Harry took a sip of Pumpkin Juice. "I really wish I could go to the party..."

"Professor McGonagall doesn't want us to show off," Ron wisely said, "And doesn't want others to think that driving a flying car to school is something to be proud of."

"But Kyle can go to the banquet..."

"It's different. He was brought to school by Phoenix, so of course he has something to brag about." Ron shrugged. "If it were me, I could brag about it for a whole year... anyone would."

"Are phoenixes rare?" Harry asked.

"It's extremely rare, much rarer than Dragon." Ron picked up the second sandwich. "Many people will never see one in their entire lives. I've only seen one once, at the Quidditch Pitch, remember? The game that was paused."

Harry nodded...

He certainly remembered it, and it left a deep impression on him.

Just as the two were discussing the phoenix, Kyle was also brought to the Great Hall by Dumbledore.

As soon as he entered, he couldn't wait to head towards Hufflepuff's dining table.

Snape's face was even uglier than Hagrid's rag the whole way; he felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze.

When Kyle arrived, the banquet had already begun, but upon seeing him, everyone stopped what they were doing and then suddenly became lively again.

There were just some buzzing whispers mixed in.

Kyle, however, paid no attention to any of that and went straight to Hufflepuff's table.

Cedric saved him a seat.

As soon as Kyle sat down, he couldn't wait to ask, "Did you also come in that flying car, like Harry Potter?"

"What flying car?" Kyle said absentmindedly. "If I could, I'd really like it."

"That's no joke," Kanna frowned. "The car crashed into that ' Whomping Willow' outside the castle, and they were supposedly nearly flattened."

Hogwarts has no secrets; in the short time it took to sort the houses, Harry and Ron's exploits were already common knowledge.

"It's all the same..." Kyle muttered to himself, "Whether it's being the Whomping Willow or being used as Bludger ... it's all the same."

"What 'Bludger '..." Cedric scratched his head, not understanding what Kyle meant.

"Since you didn't ride in that car... then how did you get here? Fred and George said you weren't home on the first day of school."

"It's Fawkes," Kyle explained. "It's Dumbledore's phoenix, the one who brought me back to Hogwarts from Dorset."

Then, Kyle briefly recounted what had happened to Newt, leaving everyone around him stunned.

Good heavens, the sudden arrival of the phoenix, the birthing of the Nundu, and then Apparition... Kyle's experiences these past two days have been more exciting than theirs in the last two years.

"A phoenix..." Cedric exclaimed, "That must be wonderful..."

Mikel and Ryan, standing nearby, nodded in agreement; they too wanted to get up close and personal with that legendary, magical creature.

"Believe me, you definitely won't like that feeling," Kyle said seriously, waving his hand.

He's still feeling unwell, and he has no appetite for the delicious food on the table. He just ate some pies and ordered a glass of lemonade with double lemons.

The lemonade made by the House-elf was sour enough, but not bitter enough... so the effect was slightly lacking.

Seeing his expression, Cedric didn't mention the phoenix again, but instead took out a piece of parchment and said:

"We received all the letters you sent during your holiday. This is the new map we made on the train using the method you provided."

His voice carried a hint of excitement, "It's much more troublesome than simply copying it last year, but it's very popular... We've already received reservations from fifty new students."

However, those more expensive custom maps will need to be made by you, since we don't have experience in that area."

"How much do you need?" Kyle asked.

"Twenty-five," Cedric said with a smile. "There are a lot more people buying these maps this year, and they've all chosen us."

With another batch of Galleon arriving, Kyle's mood finally improved.

He turned to look at the High Table and saw that Professor McGonagall had returned and was talking to the flamboyantly dressed Gilderoy Lockhart.

However, her expression was very serious, and her lips were tightly pursed, so she didn't seem very happy.