Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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The new student named Hermione soon left with her father.
As soon as she left, Fred wore a strange expression.
"She's memorized all her textbooks..."
"Yes, Fred, you heard me right." George suppressed a laugh. "We did see another Percy."
Percy had also memorized all his textbooks before enrolling, for which Mrs. Weasley rewarded him with a brand new robe.
"Which house do you think she'll be sorted into?" George asked.
Fred raised an eyebrow. "Is that even a question? Ravenclaw."
"I think so too."
"No, I think Gryffindor." At this moment, Kyle, who hadn't participated until now, suddenly spoke up. "Don't forget, Percy is in Gryffindor."
"That's different, Kyle." Fred shook his head. "Our whole family are Gryffindors."
George added, "In fact, we think Percy would have preferred Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat sorted him into Gryffindor."
Kyle stroked his chin and said, "How about we make a bet?"
Hearing about a bet, Fred and George immediately became interested.
"What's the bet?"
"How about a Galleon?"
Kyle pulled out a gold coin and dangled it between his fingers. "If she gets sorted into Ravenclaw, I'll give each of you a Galleon."
"…"
Fred and George exchanged a glance, quickly communicating with their eyes.
Soon, they reached an agreement.
Fred looked at Kyle and said with ill intent, "That's too boring. How about we do something more exciting?"
"How so…"
"We'll bet on this!" George pulled a toffee from his pocket. "If that little girl gets sorted into Ravenclaw, you have to eat this Fat Tongue Toffee at the opening banquet."
"Are you sure?" Kyle's eyes became a little strange. "What if she gets sorted into Gryffindor?"
"Then let's eat it," the two said simultaneously.
Kyle's eyes widened even more. He suppressed a laugh and took the toffee from George.
"Tsk, alright, I agree."
Fred and George extended their hands. "It's a deal!"
"It's a deal." Kyle extended his hand as well, shaking theirs.
He had only wanted to earn some pocket money, but since Fred and George were so enthusiastic, he didn't mind watching the fun.
The three of them looked at each other after letting go, smiled, and didn't mention the matter again.
Kyle looked at the platform entrance next to him and asked curiously, "It's been so long, why haven't Ron and Mrs. Weasley come in yet?"
"I don't know, maybe they've run into another lost first year," Fred said.
"This kind of thing is common at King's Cross Station."
George looked at the train. "Never mind that, let's get on the train quickly. Lee Jordan wrote that he got a huge bag spider as a pet. Has anyone noticed him coming?"
Speaking of pets…
Kyle subconsciously glanced at the unremarkable box in his hand.
Newt's reply arrived that afternoon, agreeing to Kyle's request to adopt the Niffler.
Now, the Niffler was in its crate, and Kyle had given it a nice name:
Jerry.
After the three boarded the train, Fred and George quickly went to find Lee Jordan, while Kyle carried his luggage towards the back of the train.
But before he could take two steps, a compartment door suddenly opened, and a small head popped out.
Kanna waved and said, "Kyle, over here!"
Kyle hurried over.
Only Kanna was inside. Upon seeing Kyle, she hastily closed the box door.
Kyle glanced at her warily and instinctively took two steps back. "What do you want?!"
"I have something to tell you."
Kanna, oblivious to Kyle's subtle movement, excitedly said after closing the door, "You know, Professor Snape is actually my relative!"
"Yes, I know."
"I couldn't believe it before, but… um?" Kanna's expression froze, and she said incredulously, "You, you know?!"
"Yes." Kyle smiled, "I also know that Professor Snape's mother's last name was Prince."
Kanna froze, completely stunned. Something wasn't right. This wasn't how she expected it.
Shouldn't Kyle be surprised and shocked?
But…
Kanna opened her mouth, then asked dryly, "How… how did you know?"
"My dad told me," Kyle put the suitcase on the shelf. "He's a classmate of Professor Snape, and he just happens to know some things."
It was indeed Chris who told him, during his visit to school before the holidays.
Kyle had only asked tentatively, but he hadn't expected Chris to actually know.
Kanna frowned. "Then why didn't you tell me before?"
"Would you believe me if I told you?" Kyle countered.
Kanna hesitated for a moment, then shook her head in frustration. Before what happened during the summer holidays, she certainly wouldn't have believed such an outrageous thing.
"By the way…" At this moment, Kanna seemed to suddenly remember something, and asked suspiciously, "Was Professor Snape's visit to me also related to you?"
Kyle didn't deny it.
"I'm paid to do my job, so how are things going? Have those troublesome things been resolved?"
The letter Kyle wrote on the first day of the holidays was sent to Snape, and the content was very simple, just describing Kanna's recent situation.
Although he exaggerated a tiny bit in some parts, the general outline was still roughly the same.
"Hmm, solved." Kanna gave Kyle a deep look.
"On the second day of summer vacation, Professor Snape came to my house. He identified himself and took me to Gringotts."
Kyle, who was taking out snacks, paused, then asked, "Why did he take you to Gringotts?"
Kanna said, "He had the goblins take back my family's old vault and transfer everything inside to his vault."
"Wait…you mean Snape moved everything from your family's house to his vault?"
Kyle felt increasingly uneasy. What kind of shady move was this?
Was he afraid others would steal from him, so he took everything himself?
Was he any different from everyone else?!
Seemingly understanding Kyle's meaning, Kanna quickly explained, "He didn't intend to take it for himself; he was just keeping it safe for me."
"I've heard that kind of talk too many times..." Kyle said sullenly, "Only a fool would believe that."
"It's true," Kanna said earnestly, "In fact, there wasn't much money left in my family's vault. The only thing of any value was probably the land deed.
But Professor Snape had piles of Galleons; he had no reason to lie to me."
"I hope so..." Kyle sighed, "Besides that, what else did he do?"
"He bought the house next door to my house and has been living there all summer."
At this point, Kanna couldn't help but smile. "In the past two months, everyone who came to my house has been driven away by him."
"Snape bought a house next door to yours?" Kyle's lips twitched.
Okay, he admitted his previous thoughts were a bit sordid.
[End of the chapter]