The First Class

Although Kyle never had to worry about sending letters, it was better to have an owl of his own at Hogwarts.

In a sense, owls were like phone numbers in the Muggle world; they usually represented the identity of their owner.

This point was quite important.

To give the simplest example, Kyle's mother, Diana, worked in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. This department was managed very strictly, and under normal circumstances, letters sent there had to pass through layers of screening.

From the owl's identity, ownership, and status... to the sender's name, identity, and affiliation, and finally, a check for any special substances or curses on the letter.

Only after confirming there were no issues would these letters be delivered to the Department of Mysteries in the form of paper airplanes.

These were the rules, and even letters sent by Kyle were no exception; at most, the process would just move a little faster.

With the Ministry of Magic's efficiency, this entire process would take at least a day.

But with Ladon, it was different.

Diana could register him as a special owl, which meant letters would be prioritized and the screening process could be greatly simplified. It would only require checking the owl's status, the sender's name, and whether there were any curses on the letter, which could be completed on the spot.

At Platform 9¾, Diana had specifically instructed him on this point, telling him to try to use the same owl for future letters, or if that wasn't possible, to go to Diagon Alley and buy one.

Of course, buying one was impossible; why would Kyle spend money so foolishly? He had Ladon now, didn't he?

Problem solved perfectly.

Kyle took some owl treats and a few bags of Murtlap jerky from his Mokeskin Pouch and pushed them toward the owls, along with the chestnuts in his hand.

Afterward, he found some fresh water, poured in two bottles of owl tonic, stirred it, and poured it into a stone trough nearby.

This was a service fee; he couldn't let them shed all these feathers for nothing.

While the owls were eating, Kyle took Ladon back to the castle and headed straight for the Hufflepuff common room.

He passed through the barrels in the kitchen corridor and returned to the dormitory...

Mikel and Ryan were both gone; they must have headed to the classrooms.

Kyle didn't think much of it, placed Ladon on the shelf by his bed, grabbed his textbooks, and left.

In the common room, Kyle happened to run into Cedric, who was also preparing to head out.

"Kyle, I was just about to look for you," Cedric said, walking over quickly. "What's your first class?"

"Charms," Kyle said, shaking the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 in his hand. "What do you need?"

"Right, this is for you." Cedric handed a piece of parchment to Kyle:

"This is a map of Hogwarts that a prefect gave me when I first enrolled. It clearly marks the locations of the classrooms and the patterns of how the staircases change.

I don't need it anymore, so it's perfect for you."

Hogwarts was great in every way, except that it was too big, and the interior was so complex it was like a giant maze. Almost every first-year student got lost at some point, and being late was a common occurrence.

Fortunately, the professors understood this. Aside from one particular Head of House, the others either turned a blind eye, gave a verbal reprimand, or deducted a symbolic point, never making a big deal out of it.

Kyle took the parchment and examined it closely.

It was a very ordinary map, but the content was detailed. It not only clearly marked every route from the Hufflepuff common room to each classroom but also specifically noted which positions the staircases needed to be in to pass.

It was essentially a low-end version of the Marauder's Map, but it was more than enough for Kyle.

"Thanks, I really needed this," Kyle said, putting the map away. "By the way, what's your first class?"

"I have Potions... wait, Potions!"

Cedric was suddenly startled and took off running. "I have to go, Kyle! Remember, the one class you absolutely cannot be late for at Hogwarts is Potions. You must remember that..."

Cedric's voice grew fainter until it disappeared at the end of the corridor.

From his reaction, it wasn't hard to see that Snape must have left a deep psychological shadow on him... or rather, he had left a psychological shadow on many young wizards.

Kyle figured he wouldn't be able to escape that fate either.

"Too bad Harry Potter couldn't have enrolled a year earlier."

Kyle shook his head and followed him out of the common room.

The Charms classroom was on the third floor, and it was easy to find using the map.

Pushing open the door, the first thing he saw was a stack of books piled up like a staircase, and four portraits of unknown figures hanging on the wall in front.

They were probably famous wizards, but Kyle didn't recognize a single one.

On the walls on either side hung the emblems of the four houses, and below them were several long tables.

When Kyle arrived, there were still five minutes left before class started.

To be honest, this wasn't exactly early, but there weren't many people in the classroom, and even Professor Flitwick wasn't there yet.

Kyle found a seat and sat down.

Opposite him sat a few Ravenclaw students; the two houses sat on either side, clearly divided.

As nine o'clock approached, young wizards began to push through the door one after another, panting.

Kyle even saw Kanna, but unfortunately, the little witch ignored him entirely and walked past him, looking quite huffy.

At 8:59, Mikel and Ryan arrived right on time.

"Thank goodness, at least we aren't late."

After sitting down, Mikel began to pant while pouring out his grievances to Kyle.

"We got lost."

"Good heavens, Hogwarts is practically a labyrinth. We were supposed to go to the third floor, but when we were on the second, the staircase suddenly shifted. After we climbed it, we somehow ended up on the fifth floor."

"Later, we started heading back down, but after walking for ages, we realized we were still on the fifth floor."

"We finally managed to get down, but we ended up back on the second floor... Do you know, Kyle? We climbed stairs for a full thirty minutes! My legs are about to snap!"

The more Mikel spoke, the more aggrieved he sounded, looking as if he were on the verge of tears.

"Wait, hold on, it's a bit confusing. Let me catch my breath." Kyle rubbed his forehead, unable to fathom how the two of them could walk downwards and still end up exactly where they started.

Even for someone with no sense of direction, one should at least be able to tell up from down.

Walking in circles like that touched upon the realm of metaphysics; that wasn't how magic was supposed to work.

Besides, the map Cedric had given him didn't contain any records of such phenomena.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore." Unable to make sense of it, Kyle decided to give up and turned to ask, "So, how did you two end up finding this place in the end?"

"Someone brought us here." Mikel blushed and pointed across the room. "We ran into a Ravenclaw first-year on the fifth floor. She pulled us off the rotating staircase and asked if we were heading to Charms class; she said if we were, we could come along with her."

Kyle instinctively glanced over, only then realizing that the person Mikel was pointing at was none other than Cho Chang from Ravenclaw.