Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Looking at the five Moonbeasts, Kyle thought again of what happened last night.
Yesterday, while practicing spells in the Room of Requirement, he hadn't paid attention to the time, and by the time he came out, it was already late at night.
Frustrated by the repetitive nature of his actions and the slow progress, Kyle decided to go for a walk before bed to clear his mind. He left the castle through a secret passage in the tapestry on the first floor.
He had only intended to visit the Quidditch pitch, but lost in thought, he unknowingly went the wrong way. When Kyle looked up, he found himself near the Moonbeasts' lair.
It was all fate. Since he was already here, there was no reason to leave empty-handed.
These five Moonbeasts were ones Kyle had brought back from the Forbidden Forest; such a task wasn't difficult for him.
Moonbeasts are gentle magical creatures. Although they all hid in their caves out of shyness when they first saw Kyle, they began to peek out one after another as he swayed his body in the moonlight.
Seeing this, Kyle swayed even more energetically.
He had learned this dance from Newt, and because it imitated the Moonbeasts' dance, he could gain their trust in a very short time.
Kyle was just a beginner, so the effect was only so-so. If Newt had danced it, he could have charmed a whole bunch of female Moonbeasts.
It was simply outrageous.
However, the dance moves were a bit too embarrassing, especially since it was late at night and there was no one else around. Otherwise, Kyle would never have done it.
Absolutely not!
After Kyle had danced a short while, the Moonbeasts had gradually accepted him and came out of their caves.
After feeding them some herbal leaves, Kyle began to try and get closer to them.
Perhaps due to their frequent contact with Hagrid, the Moonbeasts in the Forbidden Forest were almost entirely unsuspecting. After Kyle promised to provide them with plenty of white sage leaves, the five little gluttons couldn't resist approaching.
Kyle had originally intended to take only two, but looking at their large, watery eyes, he felt it wouldn't be right to leave any out, so he simply took them all.
They were just some herbal leaves; he could afford to keep them.
The whole process went very smoothly. With his reminders, the Moonbeasts didn't make a noise and quietly followed him out of the Forbidden Forest.
The only troublesome part was bringing them back to the Room of Requirement.
Because the Cloak of Invisibility was too small, it could only cover one Moonbeast at a time, so Kyle had to bring them in five times through the secret passage behind the tapestry.
By the time he delivered the last Moonbeast to the Room of Requirement, it was already past midnight.
Kyle's legs were trembling, and he plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, taking a long time to recover.
But it was all worth it. With these five Moonbeasts, the problem of plant fertilizer was completely solved.
Kyle was very satisfied with the five little guys' condition. Although they seemed a bit scared, that was normal, as long as they weren't clamoring to go back.
After staying a while longer, they should get used to it.
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After leaving the Room of Requirement, Kyle went to the kitchen to pack some food and took it to Hagrid's hut.
Hagrid's cold hadn't gotten better, and he looked weak and listless.
"I brought you some scones and sausages." Kyle placed the things he was carrying on a shelf.
"Thank you, Kyle."
Hagrid picked up the copper kettle to pour Kyle a glass of water, but half of it spilled outside, which made him a little frustrated.
"I've never had a cold before."
Hagrid handed the water to Kyle. "Yesterday, Poppy gave me a whole bucket of medicine to drink, and it tasted awful."
"That's how it is when you're sick." Kyle took a sip of water. "How are you feeling? Are you feeling better?"
"Worse." Hagrid shook his head.
Yesterday he only felt a little dizzy, but after drinking the medicine, he started to feel uncomfortable all over and couldn't muster the energy to do anything.
This feeling made Hagrid extremely uncomfortable.
Kyle, looking at him, asked with some confusion, "Didn't Madam Pomfrey give you a Pepperup?"
A Pepperup was the school hospital's main cold medicine; Cedric and Ryan had taken it when they had colds recently.
Although it would produce white smoke coming out of their ears, it wouldn't cause Hagrid's listlessness.
After all, students had to attend classes, and being listless was unacceptable.
"A Pepperup? No," Hagrid thought for a moment and said, "Poppy said that wasn't suitable for me. He gave me a different potion; I don't know what it is."
Kyle suddenly realized.
That made sense; given Hagrid's size, ordinary stimulants or cold medicine wouldn't have much effect on him.
Thinking of this, Kyle suddenly remembered something and glanced at Hagrid again.
This drunken-like state seemed increasingly familiar.
About a year ago, one of Newt's horned beasts in his trunk also caught a cold, and after Newt gave it a special potion, that big guy seemed to be in the same state.
This…
Kyle pursed his lips, sensing he'd discovered something incredible.
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The train arrived as scheduled, reaching Hogwarts before the dinner.
The entire castle bustled with activity once more.
Fred and George returned to the castle and immediately sought out Kyle.
"Why didn't you tell us you weren't coming home for the holidays!"
Fred said through gritted teeth. "Mom didn't see you and took it all out on us!"
"She thought we bullied you," George said angrily. "She didn't give us a kind look the entire holiday."
"Do you know how we've been these past two weeks?"
Fred said, increasingly aggrieved. "On Christmas Day, even Ron got to eat delicious turkey and sausages, while George and I only got to eat those dry sandwiches!"
"It's all because of you!"
The two men, their faces stern, cornered Kyle against the wall, giving him the impression that he wasn't leaving until he explained himself.
"I already told you, it was the day before we left school," Kyle explained, raising his hands above his head. "You were working on a suit of armor in the fifth-floor hallway."
"The day before we left school?"
"The fifth floor?"
Fred and George's expressions suddenly turned somewhat guilty.
They remembered that they had indeed been to the fifth floor before leaving school, and had seen Kyle there.
But at that time, they had just discovered the Marauder's Map password clue behind the armor and hadn't paid any attention to what Kyle had said.
The two exchanged a glance, seemingly reaching a tacit understanding.
"It's still your fault, why didn't you write a letter!"
"We've been eating sandwiches for two weeks, we can't just let this go!"
[End of the chapter]