Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the following days, Kyle stopped spending all his time with the Wampus cat. Instead, at Tina's request, he set aside his mornings to bake cookies or bread with her.
Sometimes, he would also help Newt take care of the other magical creatures in the trunk.
He would then go to the Wampus cat to learn in the afternoon.
However, his progress was still slow; for a long time, he made no progress, always seeming to fall just short.
Another week passed.
A week later, when Kyle returned to the lakeside clearing, he was surprised to find that the cat-leopard Nadalie wasn't waiting there as before.
"Am I early?" Kyle murmured.
"No, your training is over."
At that moment, Tina and Newt walked over together, with the cat-leopard beside them.
"In fact, Nadalie couldn't see what you were thinking for days," Newt explained. "His attack on you later was purely instinctive."
Kyle frowned. "Instinct?"
"Yes," Newt said. "If you don't believe me, let's do a little test."
He took two apples, one large and one small, from the metal bucket he was carrying and said to Kyle and the cat-leopard named Nadalie, "Choose one, both of you."
The Wampus cat glanced at Kyle, then they both pointed to the larger apple.
Kyle turned his head in confusion.
Newt's face suddenly flushed.
"Ahem, it's a coincidence." Saying that, he poured the entire bucket of apples onto the ground. "Now, let's choose one more time."
The Wampus cat glanced at Kyle again, but this time, they each pointed to different apples.
They tried again, and it was the same.
Newt visibly relaxed. He took out his wand and put the apples back into the bucket, intending to deliver them to the Invisible Beast later.
"Now you believe me, right?"
"Yes, I believe you," Kyle nodded.
If the Wampus cat could still see his thoughts, this certainly wouldn't have happened.
Kyle followed them back to the room and asked suspiciously, "Did you find out a while ago?"
"About a week ago," Tina said. "Are you wondering why I only told you now?"
Kyle nodded.
"I wanted to confirm it before, and now it seems you've really mastered it. Besides..."
Tina couldn't help but laugh and said, "You've always performed very well, and it's quite interesting to see you occasionally suffer a setback."
"Uh..."
Kyle's lips twitched, looking helplessly at the ninety-year-old Tina.
What kind of twisted sense of humor was this?
But anyway, learning Occlumency was ultimately a good thing.
Afterward, Kyle stayed there for three more days, not leaving until a week before school started.
Newt didn't write to Chris; instead, he personally drove Kyle home, giving him a box before leaving.
"Your birthday present."
Newt said, "I prepared it beforehand, but you were busy learning Occlumency, so I could only deliver it now. I hope it's not too late."
Kyle excitedly accepted it.
The trunk looked a size smaller than Newt's, but it was new and the current trendy style, obviously recently made.
"The space inside isn't big, but it should be enough for you," Newt said with a smile. "Use it well... and don't put all sorts of magical creatures in there. I don't want to hear about you being expelled from Hogwarts one day."
As everyone knows, Newt is a well-known Hogwarts dropout... although he was expelled for taking the blame for someone else.
After Newt left, Kyle immediately turned and went home.
Chris and Diana weren't there, and the living room seemed empty.
Kyle didn't linger, went straight upstairs to his room, and then eagerly put the trunk on the floor, opened it, and jumped inside.
Underneath the trunk was a small room, but it was empty except for a simple shelf.
Outside the room was a wide meadow, roughly the size of two Quidditch pitches, with a small lake in the middle.
Compared to Newt's, it was indeed a tiny bit smaller, but it was enough for Kyle.
He was only twelve years old and still attending Hogwarts; even with that much space, he wouldn't have anywhere to use it.
Kyle walked around the meadow, planning each spot in his mind.
"This place is good... Once I learn the Weather Charm, I can build a few rocks and make a nest for the Moonbeast, and I can also raise Devil Snare nearby."
"This place is also good, close to the water source, so I can move the Chomping Cabbage here later."
"As for common plants like White Pepper, I don't need to worry about them too much; I can just find a spot near the Moonbeast."
"And those trees not far away, the Bowtruckle will definitely love them there."
As he walked, Kyle soon arrived at the lake in the middle of the meadow. Looking at the shimmering water, he subconsciously took a small step back.
But the next second, Kyle realized... what was he afraid of? There were no cats or Wampus here.
The lake was crystal clear, and you could see right to the bottom. Several lionfish were swimming leisurely in it.
Just as Kyle was about to go check other places, he suddenly felt something tugging at his pocket.
Kyle looked down, and a creature the size of his palm appeared before him.
It had some black fur, a small, flat mouth like a duck's bill, but overall it looked like a mole.
"Niffler...?" Kyle exclaimed in surprise.
He hadn't expected there to be a freebie in the trunk.
This Niffler must have been born not long ago, even smaller than Kyle's hand.
At this moment, it was clinging to his robe, its two little paws struggling to hold a Galleon, trying to stuff it into its pocket.
Kyle didn't stop it, just watched quietly until the Niffler was almost completely stuffed into its pocket, then he reached out and casually took the Galleon out.
Along with it, he also picked up the Niffler.
The little guy clung tightly to the Galleon, and Kyle shook it several times, but couldn't shake it off.
"How did you get here?" Kyle asked curiously.
If Newt wanted to give him the Niffler, he would have done so in person, not hidden it in a trunk, so this little guy must have sneaked over.
Perhaps because it was still too young, the Niffler tilted its head, seemingly not understanding what Kyle said, and continued to hug the Galleon, attempting to stuff it into its pocket with a pull-up-like, difficult motion.
[End of the chapter]