The Banquet

Kyle gave Ron one Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean, ate one himself, and handed the rest over to Ginny.

The little girl hugged the box, thought for a moment, and then trotted over to Kyle's side, hoping he would help her sort through them—at the very least, to pick out the dragon dung-flavored ones.

Regarding Ginny's request, Kyle expressed his deepest understanding, and then decisively refused.

Young people, after all, should always try something different.

Besides, what was the advertisement for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans? Every bite is a brand-new adventure; that was the greatest feature of the beans.

If you took away the surprise, could you still call them Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans? No, those would just be jelly beans.

So, it really wasn't that he was lazy; it was all for Ginny's own good.

After playing in the open space for a while longer, the familiar voice of Mrs. Weasley finally drifted over from The Burrow: dinner was ready.

The group, who had long been hungry enough to feel their stomachs sticking to their spines, tossed aside their wooden sticks and began to walk back together.

Kyle walked at the front, with Ron following closely behind. But before they had taken two steps, he was shoved aside by the twins who suddenly charged over.

Caught off guard, Ron nearly tumbled headfirst into a nearby gnome hole, which made him furious. He glared at Fred and George, his face set in a look that suggested if they didn't apologize, he would charge over and bite them.

Ron might have been serious, but unfortunately, he was destined to get no results, because the attention of Fred and George had been on Kyle from start to finish. They hadn't even glanced at Ron, so naturally, they had no idea what he was thinking.

Besides, even if they had known, they probably wouldn't have cared. Bullying their younger brother was nothing new; they knew the process by heart.

Don't let Ron's current furious appearance fool you; as long as he didn't want to get beaten up, he wouldn't actually charge over. And in a few days, a little bit of saved-up snacks would perfectly resolve the matter.

By then, it would be back to brotherly love and a harmonious, happy family.

So, the main priority now was still dealing with Kyle.

The events of their last trip to Diagon Alley were viewed by the twins as the greatest stain on their lives. They had been looking for a chance to get back at him, but Kyle hadn't stepped out of the house for days, giving them no opportunity for revenge.

But approaching him directly would seem too deliberate and might easily arouse Kyle's suspicion. So, Fred and George had to temporarily suppress their desire for vengeance; they needed a suitable opportunity.

For instance, right now.

Because of the addition of Chris and Kyle, the room was a bit crowded for dinner, so Mrs. Weasley had set up the dining table in the yard.

After Kyle habitually walked to his usual seat, Fred suddenly gave a wink and quickly walked over to sit down beside him.

Although George didn't know what the plan was, thanks to the amazing tacit understanding between the two, he sat on Kyle's other side immediately.

"Hm?" Kyle was a bit surprised to see this; it was the first time he had seen the twins sitting separately.

Following that, Kyle raised an eyebrow slightly: Trouble is coming.

With the twins acting so obviously, he would have to be incredibly dull not to notice something was off.

But because he didn't know what kind of medicine they were selling in their gourds, Kyle didn't act rashly and continued to pretend nothing was wrong, helping Mrs. Weasley set the plates.

Soft, crispy little rolls, tender roasted potatoes, fragrant and juicy roast chicken, golden fried chicken nuggets, succulent little steaks...

Although they were all old friends, in terms of scale, it could certainly be called a feast.

Of course, Kyle didn't expect to eat anything else here; he only hoped the house-elves at Hogwarts would give him some surprises.

He wasn't asking for Chinese food, but French would do—even spaghetti or pizza would be fine.

After the last plate was placed on the table, everyone took their seats, and dinner officially began.

Kyle was extra cautious, terrified that a moment of carelessness would lead him to eat something strange.

He didn't want to die of social embarrassment in public.

Under Kyle's vigilance, nothing happened.

The twins were just like usual, telling jokes while eating to make everyone happy, showing no abnormal behavior at all.

It wasn't until dinner was halfway through, when the table was at its liveliest, that it happened.

After Fred finished a joke about a greasy-haired Slytherin, he seemed to suddenly think of something and turned his head. "Hey, George, Kyle is going to Hogwarts tomorrow. Should we give him some help? Like telling him some things to watch out for during the Sorting? After all, it's very dangerous."

George caught on instantly, pretended to ponder for a moment (while actually struggling to swallow the steak in his mouth), and chimed in, "I don't think that's necessary, Fred. We have to believe in Kyle; he's very capable. It's just an adult troll; Kyle can definitely defeat it and pass the Sorting smoothly."

"I think you're right, George." Fred nodded seriously. "And as proud as Mr. Kyle Chopper is, he probably wouldn't look down on our advice—he won't even call us 'senior'."

Fred's plan was simple: take advantage of the time before Kyle enrolled to scare him properly with the Sorting ceremony. If he could make him lose a night of sleep, that would be even better.

And in this current setting, not only would this prank not be stopped, but it might even get support from the sidelines—it was simply perfect.

Fred looked at Kyle triumphantly; he was determined to avenge the Diagon Alley incident.

Just as Fred expected, their conversation instantly piqued the interest of the adults nearby, who joined in one after another.

The Sorting of new students had always been a staple for those graduated wizards in the British magical community; they never tired of using this same topic to deceive generation after generation of young wizards.

This time, it seemed to be Kyle's turn.

"Dear, don't believe them." Mrs. Weasley was the first to state her position. After "sternly" scolding the twins, she looked at Kyle. "It's not that scary; you just have to pass the test of a group of ghosts. It's not dangerous at all."

"Molly, how can you lie to the child?" Mr. Weasley didn't want to be outdone; he tried hard to keep a straight face and glared at his wife. "Kyle is a great kid. We can tell him the truth; I believe he can definitely tame a Hippogriff all by himself."

"A Hippogriff? Isn't it a fire-breathing dragon?"

Chris was slightly taken aback, then said to Kyle with ironclad certainty, "Son, trust your father on this, it's definitely a dragon. And based on my deductions, it should be a Hungarian Horntail this year."

"Oh, I see."

"Yes, I can do that."

"I believe you, Dad."

Kyle was like a nodding machine; after each person spoke, he would chime in with an agreement and display the appropriate expression at the right moment.

Mrs. Weasley felt relief.

Mr. Weasley felt determination.

His own father felt hesitation.

The wizarding world was truly pitiful; what kind of entertainment could they possibly have? Nothing more than Quidditch or tricking children. Since that was all the fun they had, he might as well play along; acting wasn't exactly difficult.

Now everyone was satisfied, which was just great.

The group at the table was harmonious and happy, completely failing to notice that in the corner of the dining table, two helpless figures were shivering in fear.