Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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With his worries out of the way, Cedric suddenly became much more cheerful. He stopped reading and approached Kyle, saying, "Hello, can I call you Kyle?"
"Of course," Kyle nodded. "Actually, my father also works at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and he's your dad's colleague."
"Your father?" Cedric was taken aback, then asked uncertainly, "Is it Mr. Chris Chopper?"
"Yes," Kyle said.
Cedric suddenly realized, "Your last name is Chopper, and you know the Weasley brothers... Oh, I should have guessed that. We're neighbors!"
With this connection, the two of them quickly became more familiar with each other, interacting more naturally, like old friends who had known each other for a long time, even though they had never met before today.
"Oh, Kyle," Cedric asked curiously, seeming to recall something.
"I remember looking for you before, but you weren't home. My father told me back then that you'd been studying with Mr. Scamander since you were very young, and that you were bound to achieve great things in the future. Is that true? Did you really study with Mr. Scamander?"
Cedric was incredibly curious. After all, that was Scamander.
While there were many famous figures in the British wizarding world, most of them were only known within their respective countries.
For example, textbook authors or novelists with the Third Class Order of Merlin might have some fame at Hogwarts, but once they went somewhere else... like Ilvermorny or Beauxbatons, people wouldn't even know who they were.
There were only a handful of wizards who truly achieved such fame throughout the wizarding world, with their portraits printed on Chocolate Frog cards while they were still alive.
And Scamander was one of those few.
Naturally, Cedric was intrigued by this first time he'd been so close to a legendary figure.
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Elsewhere, Kyle stared at Cedric in disbelief.
He'd also been looking for him, and he wasn't home either? That was too much of a coincidence.
And Mr. Diggory, wasn't he in the same office as Chris? Where had he heard that rumor? How could he have been staying with Uncle Newt?
Kyle rubbed his forehead speechlessly, thinking for a moment. "First of all, it's true that he'll achieve great things in the future, but my father is Newt Scamander's student. I'm just hanging out there."
Newt, unlike Dumbledore, had a severe social anxiety disorder. It was better when he was younger. Though quiet, he could still make friends, battle the Dark Lord, and take on students, teaching them about magical beasts.
But ever since Grindelwald was imprisoned in Nurmengard Tower, Newt had rarely participated in social activities, completely absorbed in his magical beasts.
Especially in the past thirty years, he'd barely spoken to strangers, and his social anxiety had naturally worsened.
Did you expect Newt to be like a Hogwarts professor, lecturing a young wizard daily, then correcting their mistakes and grading their homework?
Impossible.
Furthermore, Newt was well aware that his personality wasn't suited to teaching. In his view, professors and teachers alike should emulate Dumbledore.
So Chris was his last, nominally, student.
In the decades that followed, although many others entertained the idea, some even approached Dumbledore, Newt refused them all.
He didn't want to mislead his students, even if they didn't mind. He couldn't get over the thought.
Kyle had initially gone there simply because Chris and Diana were too busy with work to care for him. Coincidentally, Newt's wife, Tina, had also learned of the situation and volunteered to take Kyle over.
While helping Chris, Tina also found something to do.
After all, having a quiet husband whose eyes were always on magical creatures was already enough; if Tina didn't find something to do, she'd probably go crazy.
Kyle had just turned six at the time, and in Tina's experience, that was when everyone hated him, and perhaps it could even help with Newt's social anxiety.
When their grandson was that age, he'd already been a real nuisance to Newt, talking more in a day than he had in the previous month.
And in that respect, Kyle certainly didn't disappoint Tina.
While he wasn't a pushover, he was incredibly curious, and since he was seeing so many magical creatures for the first time, he couldn't help but ask questions.
Perhaps because these questions were all about magical creatures, Newt, though he rarely spoke, would answer Kyle's questions earnestly.
As a result, he naturally talked more, and he did so willingly.
All in all, all three of them were very satisfied.
It was precisely because of this that, even though Chris and Diana weren't as busy later on, Kyle still went there for a while every year.
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Of course, Kyle didn't intend to tell Cedric about these things; after all, Newt still had to help maintain his image.
A reclusive legendary master of magical creatures sounded much better than a socially anxious old man.
So after a brief explanation, Kyle didn't intend to continue the topic. If he talked too much, it would easily give him away, so it was fine as it was.
"By the way, Cedric, what do you think of the professors at Hogwarts? Are they easy to get along with?" Kyle naturally looked at the book "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Defense" next to Cedric and said, "You know this is my first time at school and I don't know much about these things. What if I accidentally make a professor angry? Will I be expelled?"
"You don't have to worry about that at all."
Cedric said with a smile, without any doubt, "The professors are all very good... well, at least most of them are very good. And even... cough, even the strictest professors will not expel students easily. Unless you have done something that seriously violates school rules and regulations."
When he said the last sentence, Cedric's expression was very serious, and the corners of his mouth opened and closed slightly, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know how to start.
Seeing this, Kyle guessed what he wanted to say and quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, my last name is not Weasley, I will definitely not violate the school rules."
Hearing him say this, Cedric finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Sorry... I didn't mean that."
Kyle shook his head: "It's okay, I know."
Since they were talking about Hogwarts, Cedric also became interested, and in the following time he told Kyle some more detailed situations.
For example, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who was abandoned every year can be ignored, the Transfiguration professor who was obsessed with turning into a cat is the most majestic... and most importantly, the Potions professor who didn't wash his hair likes to deduct points, etc.
Basically, it was the same as what Kyle knew, nothing new.
[End of the chapter]