Change, and New Prefects

Kyle stayed there for the next few days.

Besides the library, the food here was also a major reason; Mrs. Weasley's cooking was far better than the bread and smoked sausages they ate at home.

He also met many people during this period.

For example, there's Auror Kings Lysarkel who works at the Ministry of Magic, the seemingly reckless and dim-witted Dedalodig, and the unpopular Mundungus Fletcher.

Of course, these people were also very interested in Kyle and were surprised to see him there.

However, Kyle didn't explain much, only occasionally mentioning that he and Harry were friends when they ate together.

At other times, he stayed in the underground library, where almost no one else came, including Hermione.

Because Kreacher was always watching her, making it difficult for her to concentrate on reading, she usually asked Sirius to bring the books out so she could read them in her room.

Ron couldn't understand their behavior... He didn't understand why they needed to read books when it was a holiday.

Harry, however, thought that reading more books at this time would definitely be beneficial, and tried to join the two of them.

But his enthusiasm lasted only a day, after which the book he had found was thrown into the corner of the table.

There was no way around it; Harry would get distracted by even the slightest disturbance outside... He really couldn't concentrate.

He was even less in the mood after the letters from Hogwarts arrived.

That day, the owl delivered a new book list, along with a surprise.

Hermione became Prefect, and her badge was placed in the envelope containing the book list.

Harry wasn't surprised by this; after all, among the fifth-year students, no one was more suitable Hermione, and she was sure to become Prefect.

But to Harry's and everyone else's surprise, the Prefect was Ron.

"Ah, a room Prefect!" Fred's exaggerated exclamation echoed throughout the entire house. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"If you don't count the two of us," George said.

"Don't forget about Ginny."

"Hey, I'm only in fourth grade," Ginny said, disgruntled. "Maybe they'll send me a badge next year too."

"Only a fool would think that," Fred said, though his tone was a little sarcastic.

Normally, if Mrs. Weasley had heard him say that, she would have given him a good scolding, but not today.

She was overjoyed to see the Prefect Badge in Ron's hand and promised to buy Ron a new broom.

Although Broomstick are expensive, if they're not the really good kind and are just a new one, they can afford them if they're frugal.

"We can buy Broomstick too," George muttered to himself. "And we can buy them ourselves."

"That's right," Fred said.

After a brief moment of surprise, Hermione congratulated Ron and then looked to the other side of the table.

It seems everyone has forgotten that there is another person in this room who is not the Prefect.

"Harry?" she asked hesitantly as she stepped outside. "How are you?"

"That's fantastic, Hermione," Harry said, almost excessively enthusiastically. "Congratulations on becoming Prefect, and of course, Ron too."

After he finished speaking, he pretended to pack his things so that Hermione wouldn't see his face.

Harry found it hard to describe how he felt.

He didn't want to admit that he was jealous of Ron, jealous that he had become Prefect, but when he heard the news, he did feel a little bad.

Harry felt he was no worse than Ron, or rather, in some ways, perhaps even slightly better.

For example, Quidditch; he flies very well and is the youngest member of the school team.

"But I've never led a team to win the Quidditch Cup," Harry thought to himself.

And most of the adventures they experienced and the things they did at school were together.

Harry didn't want to be jealous of or badmouth Ron just because Ron had surpassed him in something for the first time.

So he tried to convince himself that perhaps he wasn't as good as Ron, and that Ron deserved to be Prefect.

And during this year's holiday, Ron arrived at the Order of the Phoenix first, and then he... Perhaps Dumbledore had already made his choice back then.

Instead of feeling relieved, Harry became even more upset and forced a smile all day.

However, Kyle was unaware of all this; he was still in the library at the moment.

The book "Magick Moste Evile" contains a complete introduction to Horcrux, as well as some of their crafting methods.

To be honest, this magic wasn't as difficult as Kyle had imagined. He was confident that if he wanted, he could easily turn this book into his own Horcrux by simply finding Death Eaters.

But that wasn't Kyle's goal. His initial motivation for researching Horcrux stemmed from an idea that popped into his head after seeing the Longbottoms.

The reason he has persisted until now may be partly due to the Longbottoms, but more importantly, it's because he wants to change something.

This change wasn't simply about saving one or a few people... After all, he had already accomplished that when the train left Hogwarts for the holidays.

Because Cedric survived, and he'll soon be returning to Hogwarts for his seventh year.

Kyle wanted to change more, even things that could affect the Wizarding World's understanding, such as reducing the Unforgivable Curses from three to two.

The Cruciatus Curse is considered Unforgivable Curses because it causes irreversible damage to the soul. But if his idea succeeds and is then simplified, could it be considered a counter-curse to the Cruciatus Curse?

Kyle didn't know, but it was worth a try.

However, the problem now is that, according to the records of Horcrux in "The Magick Moste Evile," they are enough for personal use, but if you want to change the method and use them on an unconscious person, they are still far from sufficient.

The biggest problem is the inability to actively guide the soul.

So Kyle asked Kreacher to help him find some other books about the soul, which he had been studying recently.

Kyle didn't emerge from the library until six o'clock in the evening.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, he saw a bright red banner hanging above the dining table.

It read... Congratulations to Ron and Hermione on their Prefect.

Oh, right, they're in fifth grade this year too, Kyle thought to himself.

Mrs. Weasley set the table with a smile. It was the first time Kyle had seen her so happy during the entire holiday, and even the arrival of Mundungus hadn't spoiled her good mood.

Quite a few people came back today; Mr. Weasley, Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks were all here.

And then there's Bill, still dressed in that same unusual outfit, who greeted Kyle warmly.

Kyle didn't ask him why he was there... there was no need.

Finally, there Dumbledore, but he arrived rather late, appearing in the Entrance Hall halfway through dinner.

"Dumbledore ..." Mundungus was the first to stand up at the table, and at the same time put the silver knife from his sleeve back on the table.

"It seems I've arrived just in time." Dumbledore sat down at the table and took a roasted potato from it.

"How's that going, Dumbledore?" Moody asked, turning his head to the side.

"It went very smoothly." Dumbledore nodded, then looked up at the banner on the table.

"Oh, I almost forgot today is the day the Prefect are announced." He raised his glass and said, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, thank you..."

Ron and Hermione both seemed a little reserved in front of Dumbledore.

Harry's feelings were even more complicated. Although he wanted to know why Dumbledore hadn't chosen him as a Prefect, he didn't have the courage to ask.

His mood improved considerably when he learned from Sirius in the following conversation that his father wasn't Prefect either.

Fred and George have finally found like-minded people; they discovered that many of those present were not Prefect, including Tonks, whom they considered very outstanding.

The meal ended amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, an atmosphere that has become quite rare recently.

After dinner, Dumbledore called Kyle back as he was heading back to his room.

"Do you remember what we talked about before?" he asked.

"Of course, Professor," Kyle said. "Is the meeting about to begin?"

He's been in the library lately, and for a moment he can't quite remember what day it is.

"Tomorrow," Dumbledore said. "I was thinking of going to Ottery St. Catchpole, but I didn't expect you to be here too."

"If you don't have anything else to do, how about six o'clock tomorrow? I think we need to get there early."

"No problem, I'm available anytime," Kyle said.

"That would be perfect."

While the two were talking, they didn't notice that several heads were huddled together on the stairs outside.

"What are they talking about?" Ron asked curiously.

"It seems to be some kind of meeting," Fred said, holding up an ear-shaped object. "It's tomorrow morning."

Now everyone was intrigued.

Although they have been holding meetings almost every day recently, this is the first time Dumbledore has participated.

But just as they were about to hear more, the kitchen door was suddenly opened, startling them so much that they quickly shrank back and tried to hide on the stairs.

Dumbledore walked out, paused slightly, and then walked out as if nothing had happened.

"Great, he didn't spot us," Ron said proudly.

"I don't think so," a voice said.

"Definitely not," Ron said confidently. "We hid very... quickly..."

At this point, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

That voice was so familiar; they heard it at every opening banquet—it was Dumbledore's.

Ron was immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

He instinctively looked in the direction the sound came from, which was the ear-shaped object in Fred's hand.

At that moment, Dumbledore's voice came from inside again.

"It's a really good invention, very practical. But I think you should go back to your rooms and rest now."

"Molly just said she doesn't want you to stay up too late. You definitely don't want to see her angry, right?"

"You're right, Professor," George said, realizing what was happening. "We were just testing our new invention... let's go back to our rooms now."

"By the way, Professor, thank you for your approval," Fred added. "This is our new invention; it only sells for two Galleon at the Weasleys' Joke Shop."

"Of course, members of the Order of the Phoenix will receive a good discount."

That's why Fred and George are so worldly-wise; unlike Ron, they weren't at a loss and even took the opportunity to advertise.