Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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After returning from Diagon Alley, Kyle put aside everything and enjoyed his remaining vacation time, also testing the performance of his new broom.
A year later, Kyle finally received his own broom.
Not the outdated Nimbus 1700, nor the more cost-effective Sweeper series, but the Nimbus 2000, which had only been on sale a month prior and had become an instant sensation throughout the wizarding world.
It was also a birthday gift from Diana and Chris.
Because Kyle had been in Dorset, the gift had remained in his room until recently.
It must be said that as a broom coveted by almost every professional team, the Nimbus 2000 was indeed impeccable in performance.
Not only was it fast and stable, but it was also incredibly smooth to use; Kyle only needed a light touch to steer the Nimbus 2000 in the direction he needed.
With this broom, Kyle could even defeat the Weasley brothers in a two-on-one Quidditch match at St. Catchbolt Village.
The next day, Cedric finally returned from France and naturally joined Kyle's team.
The one-on-two became two-on-two.
Needless to say, Fred and George suffered a crushing defeat as expected.
"This isn't fair!"
George glanced at his old broom and sighed, "The difference in broom size is too big. If we had a Nimbus 2000... or even a Nimbus 1500, you wouldn't have a chance to win."
"That's not the most important thing, George,"
Fred said quietly, patting him on the shoulder. "We're about to start school, and Kyle will definitely be on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team this year. That's not good news for us Gryffindors."
"Yes…you're right."
George slumped to the ground, somewhat dejected.
He knew what Fred meant, of course.
With Kyle's addition, the Hufflepuff team could smoothly transition between generations without being weakened too much.
But it was different for Gryffindor.
After Charlie graduated, Gryffindor simply couldn't find a suitable Seeker to replace him.
Unlike other positions, the Seeker position requires extremely high talent, and such players are rare.
Seekers like Cedric, who displayed exceptional talent in their second year, are extremely rare even in the entire Hogwarts.
Lee Jordan's talent was decent; while not as good as Cedric, he wasn't far behind.
But unfortunately, he had already decided to become a commentator.
Thinking of this, Fred and George exchanged a glance and sighed in unison.
And so, summer vacation passed quickly.
On September 1st, Mr. Weasley once again took them to King's Cross Station.
At the station, Kyle observed his surroundings intentionally or unintentionally.
But when he got to the platform, he didn't see any boys wearing glasses nearby.
Had he arrived at the wrong time?
Kyle wondered, but didn't think too much about it.
Just then, Mrs. Weasley suddenly asked, "Alright, which platform is this?"
"Nine!" Ginny blurted out, "Mom, can I go?"
"You're too young, Ginny, don't talk now." Mrs. Weasley glanced to the side and said, "Percy, you go first."
Percy walked onto the platform without a word.
"Kyle, it's your turn."
Kyle nodded and followed her in.
The platform was already quite crowded. They found their friends and chatted in small groups about their summer vacation.
"Sorry, Kyle."
Percy, who was walking ahead of him, turned around and said, "I have to go to the prefect's car first. You know, the prefect is responsible for maintaining order on the train, and there are a lot of things that need to be prepared in advance."
As he spoke, he fiddled with the gold and red badge on his chest.
Percy had been talking about becoming a Gryffindor prefect for over a month now.
"It's alright, you go ahead," Kyle said. "I'll wait for Fred and George."
"See you at school." Percy fiddled with his prefect badge again, then picked up his luggage and walked towards the train.
Kyle remained where he was.
For some reason, quite a while passed before Fred and George finally entered the platform.
Upon meeting, Fred smiled and said, "We encountered a lost little wizard."
"Right after you and Percy left, Mama found her asking for directions to Muggle Platform 9 3/4," George said. "That little girl was really persistent; she seemed convinced there was a platform with a sign for 9 3/4."
"The Muggle was furious."
"When we came in, we heard him constantly complaining about how some people were wasting other people's time."
A little girl…
Kyle paused, wasn't that Harry Potter?
Just then, two more people entered through the passageway, one after the other.
They appeared to be a father and daughter.
The man who entered first looked about Chris's age, his hair neatly combed, and he wore a sophisticated dark suit.
He curiously surveyed his surroundings, finally fixing his gaze on the red Hogwarts Express.
Then, a little girl entered.
She dragged a large suitcase, her thick, long brown hair disheveled.
Upon seeing the girl, the man immediately extended his hand, saying, "Darling, let me help you with the suitcase."
"No, Daddy, I can manage," the girl shook her head. "I put a spell on the suitcase before we left; it's not as heavy as it looks. You know, I've memorized all my textbooks."
"Yes, I know, but Hermione..." The man hesitated, glancing at the large suitcase.
He had helped carry it down at King's Cross Station.
Well... the weight was almost exactly the same as when it was packed last night; the spell clearly hadn't worked.
"Wait a moment, Daddy."
At this moment, the girl also noticed Kyle and his two companions, or more precisely, Fred and George.
She walked over and said, "Thank you for helping me find the platform."
"You're welcome."
"It's nothing."
Fred and George shrugged dismissively; to them, it was just a trivial matter.
"No, without your help, I probably would have been searching at the station for ages." The girl shook her head. "I clearly memorized all my textbooks, but none of them had the platform location written in them—by the way, my name is Hermione Granger.
By the way, what are your names?"
"Fred Weasley."
"George Weasley."
[End of the chapter]