"How did it feel?"
On the first weekend of the new school year, Hagrid had specially invited Kyle to the Three Broomsticks for a drink, while also asking curiously how he had felt about yesterday's first Alchemy Class.
"It was all right. It didn't go that smoothly, but it wasn't terrible either." Kyle accepted a Butterbeer from him.
Everyone had started from scratch, so they were all more or less at the same starting line. That had its advantages too—he could simply proceed step by step, starting with the very basics.
He had also noticed that almost all the students who had chosen Alchemy Class came from Muggle families. Only two were from wizarding families.
Students from Muggle families were great. Their foundations might have been weaker—or rather, practically nonexistent—but they had no preconceived notions about Hogwarts. They approached every subject with tremendous enthusiasm and curiosity.
Kyle had only shown them a few little trinkets he had picked up from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and they had already been completely dazzled.
Especially after seeing a fist-sized Hungarian Horntail that could fly and breathe fire, as well as lifelike wizard chess pieces, the few third-years' eyes had gone red. They sat there whooping and hollering, practically desperate to throw themselves into learning alchemy at once.
"That's good. I was worried you'd be nervous." Hagrid sat down beside Kyle.
"I was so nervous the first time I taught a class that I couldn't sleep for several nights."
"Hagrid, aren't you getting something wrong here..." Kyle glanced at him. "I only changed subjects. It's not like this is my first time teaching students."
"It's different." Hagrid waved a hand. "Before, you were only filling in. It's different now—you're a proper professor."
Kyle said nothing, mainly because he could not figure out what was different