A Transaction Between Adults

Chris took a week off, but the next day he found himself with nothing to do.

The basic requirements for Apparition weren't too difficult, and with Kyle's unexpectedly fast learning speed, he had already taught everything he needed to in just one afternoon.

There's no need to say anything more about what wasn't mentioned...

Once Kyle gradually adapted to the discomfort of Apparition, Chris discovered that he couldn't even keep his identity as the only "therapist."

For two whole days, Kyle didn't Splinching once again, and correspondingly, the amount of Essence of Dittany in his bottle didn't decrease at all.

If this continues, won't all those three Galleon be wasted?

In the spirit of diligence, thrift, and avoiding waste, on the third day, Chris increased the difficulty for Kyle, not only setting the target location in a more distant place but also reducing the interval between each Apparition.

Sometimes Kyle doesn't even have time to catch his breath before he has to perform another Apparition.

Moreover, he couldn't refute the reasons Chris gave.

"Apparition is a spell that requires a lot of practice, especially high-frequency repetitive practice, which will definitely make you twice as efficient!"

Kyle felt that Chris was wrong, but it also seemed to make a lot of sense...

There was nothing he could do but disappear and reappear again and again... and the frequency was getting faster and faster.

The hillsides of Ottery St. Catchpole were filled with a constant crackling sound, like firecrackers going off.

By the fifth day...

On a small hill in the north, Luna was watering the hydrangeas outside her house, occasionally darting into the flowerbeds...

"What are you looking for?" Mr. Lovegood asked.

"Balloons!" Luna said. "I just saw them, on the petals."

"Oh, then you'll have to be even more careful..."

"Smack!"

Before Mr. Lovegood could finish speaking, a firecracker-like explosion shattered the heartwarming scene between the father and daughter.

It just appeared suddenly in front of them.

This wouldn't normally be a problem, since it wasn't Kyle's first time here.

But what was horrifying was that Kyle was missing half an arm, looked exhausted, and his clothes were tattered.

"Someone is chasing this child..." Mr. Lovegood thought instinctively.

In broad daylight, in the Ottery St. Catchpole, they chased down a student who hadn't even graduated yet... How outrageous!

This is not like twelve years ago!

But before he could even draw his wand...

"Smack!"

Another loud bang, and Chris arrived.

He skillfully pressed half of his arm against Kyle's wound, then quickly smeared a circle of Essence of Dittany on it.

"Chris, what's going on here...?" Mr. Lovegood asked, looking completely bewildered.

"Oh, Xenophilius, what are you doing at home..." Chris stammered, "No, I mean, didn't you take Luna to Northumberland?"

"The Crumple-Horned Snorkack there have left," Luna said, tilting her head back.

"That's right, we just got back an hour ago."

Mr. Lovegood nodded, then asked thoughtfully, "Are you... teaching Kyle Apparition?"

I remember he's only fourteen years old this year...

After the initial shock, he has now basically come to his senses.

The familiar explosion sound and the severed and reattached arm clearly indicated that the Splinching.

This can only be Apparition.

"Actually, we just... we just... well, okay, that's true. Can you Xenophilius..."

Chris sighed and said softly, "I suddenly realized I haven't prepared a gift for the Romanian Ministry of Magic yet. What do you think of a unique magazine?"

"For example... <The Daily Prophet>?"

"No, that's too formal." Chris shook his head. "I think ' The Quibbler ' is just right."

"Ahem..." Mr. Lovegood suddenly cleared his throat and turned his head to the side. "Luna, I think there must be a group of fairies and elves hiding in our garden. They're making me hallucinate."

Luna blinked. "Daddy, fairies and elves don't make people hallucinate."

"Perhaps one of them has undergone some change..."

While they were talking, Chris quickly led Kyle away from the hill.

Having already practiced for five hours, and having just been discovered, Chris simply ended his training session for the day.

The sky gradually darkened.

Back home, Kyle stretched his newly reattached arm and asked, "Is it really okay to bring ' The Quibbler ' as a gift to the people of Romania?"

How should I put it? The content of this magazine is just too... well, let's just say it's ahead of its time.

Because it's incomprehensible, people tend to think it's a bunch of nonsensical garbage magazine... Its audience is mostly concentrated in the Department of Mental Magical Injuries at St Mungo's's.

Using this kind of magazine as a gift... Doesn't the Romanian Ministry of Magic consider it a provocation?

"Oh, it's alright," Chris waved his hand and said, "Most of them wouldn't understand it anyway, and some of the viewpoints in that magazine should be quite interesting to people from other countries."

By the sixth day, Kyle's arm was completely healed, but his Apparition training had to be stopped.

The main reason was that Diana returned and happened to witness their entire training session.

Diana made an excuse to go to Diagon Alley to buy something, and left with a smile, linking arms with Chris.

And then... that was it.

Anyway, she came back alone in the end, and told Kyle that Chris was busy with work and decided to stay at the department for a few days, so he wouldn't be coming home for dinner for a while.

As for why Chris took leave but still went back to the department... Kyle looked at Diana, who was still furious, and didn't dare to ask.

July ended quickly.

On his birthday, Kyle received many gifts, including a glass spinning top from Fred and George.

There are two more notes below.

Happy birthday, Kyle.

This is a Pocket Sneakoscope that rotates and lights up if there are suspicious people around. We've tested it, and it works very well.

"The only downside is that it's not very reliable. Yesterday, a beetle crawled into Bill's soup, and it kept flashing... even though the beetle crawled into the soup by itself."

Oh, by the way, Percy became Head Boy, we're all so happy for him and we're going to give him a new badge."

Kyle curled his lip; he didn't believe a word the Weasley brothers said.

What kind of stupid beetle would crawl into the soup? Those two were definitely 98% of the solution... and Percy's Head Boy badge is probably going to be in trouble too.

Kyle put the Pocket Sneakoscope aside and picked up Hagrid's gift.

Unsurprisingly, it was a book.

<The Monster Book of Monsters>

As soon as Kyle took it out, the book suddenly stood upright and crawled rapidly sideways on the floor like some strange crab.

This is also what makes this book so special, because of some kind of magic, it looks as if it's alive.

However, the solution is quite simple: stroke the spine of the book, or...

"The Slack-Force Charm!"

Kyle cast a spell over.

The Monster Book of Monsters immediately stopped moving, lying softly flat on the floor like a cheap, low-quality cushion.

Kyle walked over, wrapped a rope around the spine of the book, and then picked up Hagrid's greeting card.

Dear Kyle:

Happy birthday!

You'll need this book next semester, so I won't go into details here. We can talk about it when we meet. You'll never guess what happened; it still feels like a dream to me.

Wishing you all the best.

Hagrid

Kyle raised an eyebrow, surprised that Hagrid was usually so quiet, was actually quite tight-lipped.

He gave him a book, saying he'd need it next semester. Clearly, with Professor Kettleburn retiring, Hagrid is taking over his position and becoming the new professor of the Care of Magical Creatures.

The incident last semester cleared Hagrid's name, and he was finally able to take on jobs other than guarding the hunting grounds.

You can tell from this letter that Hagrid is really happy.

Kyle was happy for him too.

After thinking for a moment, Kyle found a piece of parchment and wrote him a reply.

Dear Hagrid:

Thank you for the gift, I love it! I can't wait for school to start, but unfortunately there's still a month to go.

I can only go with Mr. Scamander to the Dragon Sanctuary in Romania for a while... Something big is about to happen there; the Dragon will fight each other until the strongest one is chosen as their new leader.

Kyle.

P. S.: I heard there are dozens of Dragon there.