Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 743: Hagrid’s Request

After the Start-of-Term Feast, Dumbledore returned for Harryʼs weekly memory lesson.

By the time Kyle arrived after receiving news from the portrait, the lesson had already ended, and Dumbledore had left the school again. Harry, still dazed from recalling something, remained in the office, lost in thought.

“Kyle, are you here to see Professor Dumbledore too?” Harry asked. “He just got a message through the fireplace about the Dark Mark appearing somewhere, and then he rushed off.”

“Ah, that’s fine,” Kyle replied. “I didn’t have anything urgent to ask him anyway. I’ll just wait until another time.”

After making two fruitless trips, Kyle was far less eager than before. With the Time-Turner in his possession, he figured that if Dumbledore needed him, he would come to him instead.

The two left the Headmaster’s office together.

As they walked down the corridor, Harry glanced at Kyle and hesitated, his mouth twitching slightly. “Kyle, you…”

But he suddenly stopped himself.

“What?” Kyle asked, puzzled.

“No, it’s nothing,” Harry shook his head.

Since Dumbledore had left abruptly due to the emergency, Harry was left with lingering questions, and he needed someone to talk to. Kyle would have been a good choice—he was intelligent, well-informed, and had even been involved in several secret plans.

But for that very reason, Harry found it difficult to see Kyle as a peer. He preferred to talk about these matters with Ron or Hermione.

Quickly changing the subject to avoid raising suspicion, Harry asked, “I just wanted to ask—how hard is Apparition to learn? We’re starting lessons on Saturday.”

“Sirius was supposed to teach us, but he left school not long after term began, and he hasn’t had the time since.”

“It’s not too difficult,” Kyle said, giving Harry a knowing look. “There’s a trick to it, though—it’s much easier if you’ve seen someone else do it before you try.”

“In that case, Professor Dumbledore did show me once… well, through the Patronus,” Harry said. “It was the night I went to see Professor Slughorn, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant. I felt like a stuffed toy being tossed in a washing machine.”

“That’s normal. It gets easier with practice,” Kyle reassured him. “Besides, if you’ve had a more thrilling experience, you’ll find that being a stuffed toy isn’t so bad.”

“A more thrilling experience?” Harry frowned. “What do you mean? Doesn’t Apparition work the same way for everyone?”

“Not a person—a phoenix,” Kyle muttered, glancing behind him with a slight shudder.

He was certain that anyone who had learned Apparition while being carried by a phoenix would find mastering the spell much easier afterward. But not many people got that opportunity.

Harry, never having experienced it, couldn’t quite grasp what Kyle meant.

Their conversation dwindled into silence, but by then, they had reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

Harry looked at the large portrait of the Fat Lady and exhaled in relief.

“See you tomorrow, Kyle.”

“See you tomorrow.”

After Harry entered, Kyle turned and headed downstairs in the opposite direction.

…

The day after the holidays, Hogwarts was blanketed in heavy snowfall, and overnight, a thick layer of nearly five inches had settled over the grounds.

A group of first-year students trudged through the snow on their way to the greenhouse for Herbology. Those heading to Care of Magical Creatures faced the same struggle.

Hagrid, looking unusually distracted, moved through the empty pumpkin patch near the Forbidden Forest, gathering a group of Mooncalves. Their unique appearance immediately captivated the students, who crowded around them in fascination.

“I can’t believe it,” Kanna whispered. “Hagrid is actually showing Mooncalves to a seventh-year class instead of some other creature with fangs and claws.”

“Yeah,” Kyle nodded in agreement.

It was no secret at Hogwarts that Hagrid had a fondness for creatures that weren’t exactly friendly-looking.

For students below fifth year, this wasn’t much of a problem, since he was limited to teaching about magical creatures ranked below XXX. But it was a different story for sixth and seventh years.

The N.E.W.T. curriculum had a much broader scope, with far fewer restrictions on course content. Recently, Care of Magical Creatures had started to feel more like A Comprehensive Guide to Fierce Magical Creatures.

The last time, it had been a Manticore… the time before that, a Graphorn. To be honest, even Kyle was curious about where Hagrid kept finding these things and couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer variety of species lurking in the Forbidden Forest.

Now that Hagrid had suddenly brought in something as harmless as a Mooncalf, Kyle couldn’t help but feel a little thrown off.

“He can’t be under the Imperius Curse, can he?” Ryan whispered, clearly thinking the same thing as the others.

“I was wondering that too, but I doubt it,” Kyle replied. “The only way to control Hagrid would be if You-Know-Who himself cast the Imperius Curse.”

“Then why’s he acting so weird all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know… maybe the Mooncalves were just easier to prepare,” Kyle suggested.

They trudged through the deep snow to the edge of the pumpkin patch. Only when they got closer did Kyle notice that Hagrid seemed distracted—he wasn’t as animated as usual when teaching.

Once all the students had arrived, he spoke only a few words before handing out cabbages, instructing them to feed the Mooncalves themselves.

No one complained. On the contrary, the students were thrilled—especially the girls, who had wanted to do exactly this since first laying eyes on the creatures.

Hagrid’s unusual behavior only seemed to make him more popular.

“Kyle, do you have a moment?”

Just as Kyle reached for a cabbage from the basket, Hagrid approached him, speaking in a low voice.

“You’re the professor of this class, Hagrid,” Kyle shrugged. “If you think I have time, then I have time.”

“It’s like this…” Hagrid led Kyle a little further away, lowering his voice. “Do you still have any of that Spider Tonic you gave me before?”

“What?” Kyle didn’t register what Hagrid was talking about at first. It took him a moment to recall after Hagrid repeated himself.

He had brewed Spider Tonic before—and had even swiped… well, traded a large bottle of Acromantula venom from Hagrid in exchange.

“I gave it all to you,” Kyle said. “But it’s not difficult to make. If you need more, I can brew another batch.”

“That’d be great,” Hagrid exhaled in relief. “It’s just… can you do it quickly? Aragog’s getting too old, and I should’ve come to you sooner.”

Hagrid didn’t even realize he’d let the spider’s name slip—he was too anxious. The last time he had asked Kyle for Spider Tonic, he had vaguely said it was for a friend.

Now, he had outright named his Acromantula—the same one that had been living in the Forbidden Forest for over sixty years.

Kyle had dealt with Aragog before. It was an easy-going spider, all things considered, and the two got along quite well… at least, Kyle thought so.

“Forget about the reward,” Kyle said, waving his hand. “I didn’t use all the spider venom last time, so I don’t need any more.”

Times had changed. Thanks to Aragog’s generosity, Kyle had long since achieved what he considered spider venom freedom. Several large pint-sized bottles still sat in his suitcase, untouched.

He had originally planned to sell them for some Galleons, but the opportunity never arose. Now, this seemed like the perfect time to put them to use.

Besides, Kyle genuinely wanted to help Aragog. If he hoped to collect more venom before graduation, it was only fair to provide some restorative tonic in return.

“Never mind,” Kyle said, glancing at the students gathered in the pumpkin patch. “There’s still some time before class ends. If I start now, I should be able to finish before then. I’ll just need to find a place…”

“No need to look,” Hagrid interrupted. “Go to my cabin. It’s warm there, and no one will disturb you.”

“Okay.” Kyle nodded, then turned and walked into the nearby cabin.

Inside, the fire roared fiercely, sending a wave of heat surging out as soon as he opened the door.

But a fire that intense wouldn’t work for potion-making. Kyle had to switch to a smaller heating stove nearby, setting up a crucible on top of it.

Hagrid stood watch by the door, occasionally peeking in through the window.

This continued for about thirty minutes, until class ended—just as Kyle stepped out of the cabin, a large blue bottle of tonic in hand.

“This should last about three months.”

“Thank you, Kyle.” Hagrid beamed, taking the bottle before hurrying off toward the Forbidden Forest.

Kanna approached, watching Hagrid disappear into the trees with curiosity. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked. “What did you give him, some kind of magic potion?”

“It’s Spider Tonic,” Kyle replied. “Hagrid keeps a colony of Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest.”

At the mention of Acromantula, Kanna’s expression immediately changed. Even Kyle had struggled to accept the idea of spiders the size of carriages when he first learned about them—let alone Kanna, who had never seen one in person.

“You brew Spider Tonic?” she asked in disbelief.

“There’s no choice. Their venom is extremely valuable,” Kyle shrugged. “Just don’t tell Professor Snape, or I’ll never get any more of it.”

“But isn’t Hagrid the one keeping them?” Kanna asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kyle said, putting away the empty crucible before stepping out of the cabin. “If the spiders willingly give me venom, I can’t exactly refuse, can I?”

Kanna remained skeptical, watching him with a look of pure disbelief.

Although she had no fondness for Acromantulas, she had learned a fair bit about them through her Potions studies. Those creatures were notoriously vicious and aggressively hostile toward wizards.

Professor Snape had even given them a direct warning: when it came to certain rare potion ingredients, just buy them. Trying to save money on something like Acromantula venom was a risk no sane person should take.

Kyle, however, simply smiled mysteriously and offered no further explanation.

Of course, he had his own tricks for handling Acromantulas, but they weren’t exactly methods he could teach someone else. It was better to just handle it himself.

Leaving the cabin behind, the two followed a long trail of footprints in the snow, making their way back to Hogwarts Castle.

When they reached the entrance hall, they happened to run into Hermione, Harry, and Ron coming down the stairs together. The three of them seemed to be in the middle of an argument.

“No one is saying you have to stay and help,” Hermione said, her tone edged with impatience as she looked at Ron. “But could you at least stop coming up with bad ideas?”

“Bad ideas?” Ron shot back, his voice rising. “Am I wrong? Harry is Slughorn’s favorite student in Potions! If he asks, Slughorn won’t say no.”

“Do you really think Professor Slughorn doesn’t realize that isn’t Harry’s true skill level?” Hermione’s patience wore even thinner. “And even Dumbledore couldn’t get the information from him. He’s obviously determined to keep it hidden, so why would he tell a student?”

“Horcrux… Horcrux… I’ve never even heard of it before. It must be extremely advanced magic. I think getting this information will be difficult. We need to come up with a proper plan.”

“Why make it so complicated? You’re overthinking it!”

“At least I’m thinking at all, unlike you,” Hermione snapped, suddenly losing her temper.

“How am I not thinking—” Ron, now equally irritated, shot back.

While the two of them argued, Harry stood off to the side, watching helplessly. He was used to this sort of thing by now—every time he tried to seek advice, Ron and Hermione would end up arguing because they had different opinions.

But as the three of them noticed Kyle and Kanna approaching, they abruptly changed the subject—whether for the sake of secrecy or simply out of habit.

“Ron, the potions assignment is due soon,” Hermione said in an overly sharp tone. “Make sure you finish it quickly. Professor Slughorn will be checking next class, and we can’t afford to lose any more points for Gryffindor over this.”

“Yes, of course,” Ron replied, matching her tone. “But if you could just lend me your assignment—”

“Don’t even think about it!”

Kyle, listening to their exchange, shook his head slightly. He had to admit, their attempt to shift the topic was terrible.

Since when is the focus of the potions assignment a Horcrux? How had they even come up with that?

At this point, it was no longer a Potions class—it was starting to sound more like a remedial course taught by Voldemort himself.

Still, Kyle chose not to point it out. He didn’t want to embarrass them too much. Acting as if he hadn’t heard anything, he simply greeted them before continuing into the Great Hall.

As soon as Kyle was out of earshot, Harry whispered, “Hermione, you really didn’t have to do that. Kyle already knows about the Horcruxes. He was there when Dumbledore showed me that memory last time.”

“What?” Hermione spun to glare at Harry. She had thought she had changed the subject seamlessly—only for it to turn into a complete joke instead.

“You didn’t give me the chance to say anything,” Harry muttered.

He had only spotted Kyle sitting across from them just as Hermione abruptly shifted the topic. He hadn’t had time to warn her.

However, his explanation didn’t seem to satisfy Hermione. She glared at him again, her face turning slightly red in frustration.

“Wait, Harry,” Ron said suddenly, as if realizing something. “If Kyle knows about the Horcruxes, why don’t you ask him? He must know something.”

“I… I can’t.” Harry shook his head and lowered his voice. “I don’t really know why, but whenever I’m around Kyle, it feels like I’m talking to a professor. Of course, it’s just a feeling.”

“Really?” Ron blinked. “I don’t feel that way.”

“Maybe it’s because I’ve seen him more often in the Headmaster’s office.” Harry thought for a moment. “You know, very few students even go there, right?

“But Kyle has been there loads of times. Even the previous Headmasters know him.”

“Well, that just makes it even easier,” Ron said. “You don’t have to ask yourself—just bring Kyle with you when you ask about Slughorn’s Horcrux memory. That way, you’ll have a much better chance.”

Harry just shook his head and said nothing.

His logic told him Ron was right. If Kyle helped, he wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. Kyle would almost certainly find a way to get Slughorn’s real memories.

But deep down, Harry didn’t want to ask for his help. He couldn’t quite explain why, but maybe it was because this was the first time Dumbledore had personally given him a task, and he wanted to complete it on his own.

He might as well try Ron’s method first.

Harry thought to himself.

Maybe he should just ask Slughorn directly after the next Potions lesson. It might actually work. After all, he couldn’t think of a better plan.