Something's Wrong! A Student Has Fallen from a Window!

Because of his chance encounter with Hagrid, Kyle's morning workout had been delayed.

By the time he emerged from the Forbidden Forest, the sun had fully risen. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds, coating all of Hogwarts Castle in a pale golden sheen.

After making up the hundred squats, Kyle gave up on running ten kilometers and chose to return to the castle for breakfast.

Having learned from yesterday's experience, Kyle had no intention of going to the Great Hall for the Western-style breakfast he wasn't used to. Instead, he made his way through the castle to a broad stone corridor in the basement.

The torches brightly lit the surroundings, which were decorated everywhere with cheerful paintings, most of them depicting food.

Kyle stopped before a portrait of an enormous silver bowl brimming with fruit and gently tickled the large green pear with his index finger.

The pear wriggled and giggled, suddenly turning into a large green door handle.

Behind the door was the kitchen Kyle so loved to see.

To Kyle's surprise, apart from the friendly House-elves, there was another student in the kitchen.

Caught sneaking food in the kitchen, the student gave Kyle a shy smile and explained, "Um, today is owl post day. The owls will make a mess of breakfast in the Great Hall later..."

Kyle understood why the other boy was here and friendly extended a hand. "Hello, I'm Kyle Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?" The other boy's eyes widened in surprise. After staring blankly for a moment, he finally came to his senses and took Kyle's hand. "I'm Cedric Diggory, from Hufflepuff."

Only then did Kyle take a closer look at him.

Cedric was very tall and exceptionally handsome, with black hair and bright gray eyes.

Since it was their first meeting, the atmosphere in the kitchen was somewhat awkward.

Kyle did not continue chatting with Cedric. Instead, he called over the House-elves and expertly directed them to prepare breakfast according to his instructions.

"Cut the char siu into small pieces, mince the scallions and ginger, then mix them with soy sauce and salt to make the filling!"

"Yes! Respected Mr. Dumbledore!" A House-elf pointed a finger at the kitchen utensils before it, and knives and other tools immediately began processing the ingredients as Kyle had instructed.

"Finely chop the raw shrimp, then pound it into a paste with the back of the knife. Add bamboo shoots, fatty pork, celery, shrimp pieces, and ginger, then mix evenly. We're making shrimp dumplings!"

"At once, sir!"

Because of Kyle, the kitchen became exceptionally lively.

Cedric watched everything before him with curiosity. The aromas drifting from the food immediately made the jam bread in his hands seem far less appetizing.

Before long, a dazzling variety of dishes was brought out one after another and placed on the kitchen table.

Looking at the shrimp dumplings, red rice noodle rolls, steamed pork ribs, boat congee, char siu bao, and other Cantonese dim sum dishes that were so familiar to him, Kyle was in high spirits.

How long had it been since he had eaten Cantonese morning tea? It had already been ten years since he transmigrated here.

Uh, you say New York's Chinatown also had Cantonese tea houses?

Sorry, Kyle had tried the Chinese food there before, but he found it completely inauthentic, without even a trace of the taste of home.

"Come eat with me." Kyle pushed a plate of dim sum toward Cedric.

As a food-loving little Hufflepuff badger, Cedric had been waiting for Kyle to say those words.

"Mm, I'm curious. Where did you learn to cook all this?" After swallowing a shrimp dumpling, Cedric voiced the question in his heart.

"I taught myself." Kyle blew on the steaming tea in his cup and spoke unhurriedly. "You might not believe it, but Professor Dumbledore found me while I was living on the streets, and that's how I was taken in."

Cedric had not expected such an answer. He looked at Kyle with some guilt, as though he felt he had asked an overly presumptuous question.

Kyle waved it off without a care. "Actually, life on the streets wasn't as hard as you think. It was pretty interesting, really."

Of course, that comfortable life had been built on the selfless contributions of New York's street thugs.

If an ordinary six-year-old without special abilities had been wandering the streets, not starving to death would have been fortunate enough.

"Really?" Cedric looked baffled. He did not quite believe Kyle, but the joyful smile on Kyle's face did not look like the expression of someone who had suffered much.

Seeing Cedric's expression, Kyle shrugged. "Once you see the secret base I built during my time on the streets, you'll understand."

At Kyle's words, Cedric suddenly became interested. "I'm looking forward to visiting your base."

A child of the Dumbledore family, with such an illustrious background, should have lived a wealthy, carefree life. Why had he ended up wandering the streets?

Cedric was truly curious about Kyle's bizarre past.

However, uncovering the truth behind it would have to wait. For now, he had no choice but to say goodbye to Kyle, because his first class of the morning was about to begin.

The two parted at the kitchen entrance. Cedric turned down a corridor and headed toward the Potions classroom.

Kyle, meanwhile, intended to go to the eighth floor of the castle to report to Dumbledore that the gamekeeper he had appointed was secretly raising a prohibited magical creature in the Forbidden Forest.

But before he even reached the grand staircase outside the Great Hall on the first floor, Kyle ran into the person he had been looking for.

"Have you been enjoying your time at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked with a gentle smile.

"Coming to Hogwarts feels just like coming home. Everyone here is so talented, and they all speak so nicely. I absolutely love it here!"

Hearing Kyle's answer, Dumbledore felt that something about it was off.

Then he remembered something else. Behind his half-moon spectacles, his eyes scrutinized Kyle.

"This morning, Professor McGonagall told me that a student had fallen from a window. But when we arrived at the lawn beneath the window of Professor McGonagall's office, we found nothing at all."

Kyle froze. Could Professor McGonagall have seen me climbing the wall?

Dumbledore's eyes glimmered with a deep blue light. For some reason, Kyle felt as though all his secrets were laid bare before those eyes.

Kyle did not know whether wizards had some form of mind-reading, but even if such magic existed, what needed denying still had to be denied.

"Is the student who fell all right?"

"Judging by how he looks now, he should be fine." As he spoke, Dumbledore stared unblinkingly at Kyle.

"It's good that he's all right." Kyle kept a straight face as he went along with Dumbledore's nonsense.

Then Kyle remembered what Hagrid had asked him to do. "Oh, right, Professor, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it? Go ahead."

Kyle tugged at Dumbledore's sleeve, signaling for him to bend down. "Hagrid is raising a three-headed dog!"

Dumbledore straightened and raised an eyebrow. "A three-headed dog? How large is it?"

"Uh, about as tall as Hagrid."