The Trio's New Target, Seeking Horcruxes

"I'm sorry, Kyle..." Harry suddenly said after they left the Headmaster's Office.

"What?" Kyle looked at him in confusion, not quite understanding what he meant.

"It's about that cup. I was the one who told Dumbledore it was with you," Harry explained quietly. "But at first, I really didn't know it was Hufflepuff's Cup. I thought it was just an ordinary gold cup."

"So?" Kyle looked at him. "You weren't wrong. It was in my hands. What's there to apologize for?"

"I'm the reason you lost that important golden cup," Harry said self-reproachfully. "I saw the memory about the cup. It's an incredible magical artifact, left behind by one of the Hogwarts Founders. Even Voldemort was fascinated by it.

"If I hadn't said something unnecessary, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have taken it away, and you could have kept it until graduation."

"Oh, that." Kyle shook his head dismissively. "It's fine. Even if you hadn't said anything, I would've found a chance to tell Dumbledore.

"And didn't you hear him just now? He won't keep it forever. He'll return it to me soon."

Hearing Kyle say that, Harry finally felt a little better. In truth, the moment he heard Dumbledore was going to keep the cup, he had started feeling guilty and hadn't paid attention to anything said afterward.

"To be honest, I kind of hope Professor Dumbledore doesn't give the cup back to me," Kyle muttered softly, stroking Fawkes's crimson-and-gold feathers.

Only then did Harry notice that Kyle had actually brought the Headmaster's phoenix out with him. Strangely enough, it seemed quite obedient, with no intention of resisting at all.

Were phoenixes really so mild-tempered?

Without thinking, Harry reached out to pet Fawkes too... or rather, he had wanted to do that for a long time.

As expected, he was pecked