For Kyle, who was accustomed to planes and high-speed rail, the Hogwarts Express — an old steam train — felt like absolute torture. After several hours, when the novelty and excitement of riding a magical train wore off, its flaws became glaringly apparent.
The train crawled along at barely eighty miles per hour, slower than most cars. The comfort was abysmal — it rocked and swayed so violently that Kyle questioned his life choices and fought to keep his breakfast down.
Reading proved impossible under these conditions. Thankfully, his compartment mate Cedric was chatty, making the journey more bearable.
After their discussion about professors, Kyle asked about other topics. Cedric eagerly shared stories about Hogwarts's interesting places and its fascinating portraits.
Kyle found all this information captivating, and to show his appreciation, he offered to buy snacks for their entire journey.
Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes — he bought it all.
Only one thing left Kyle speechless: true to the wizards' peculiar sense of humor, Cedric told an outlandish tale about the sorting ceremony.
"You have to catch the Golden Snitch in the Great Hall within ten minutes to be sorted?" Kyle gave a polite smile but remained silent.
At least Quidditch was more plausible than dragons — and very characteristic of Cedric.
"By the way, Kyle, have you thought about which house you'll be sorted into?" Cedric asked, popping a bean into his mouth, "It would be great if you could join Hufflepuff, though with your smarts, you'd probably prefer Ravenclaw."
Before he could finish speaking, his face twisted into an involuntary, comical grimace.
"Oh blast, it's liver flavor — my least favorite." Despite his complaint, Cedric swallowed it anyway.
"I've thought about it, but I'm not set on any particular house." Kyle said, trying a bean himself, "Besides, my seeking skills are average, so I might not catch the Snitch in ten minutes. I'll be grateful if any house will have me."
Hmm... this one's the new pepper steak flavor — not bad.
"Don't worry, you'll definitely make it." Cedric said with a laugh, "It's not that difficult."
Just then, the compartment door slid open. They both turned to look.
Familiar red hair, but not the twins — it was another Weasley.
Percy entered the compartment saying, "Kyle, Fred told me you were here... oh, you must be Cedric Diggory. I'm Percy Weasley, pleased to meet you."
Cedric, initially curious, gave a quick nod upon hearing his name, "Likewise, pleased to meet you, Percy Weasley."
Percy's formal demeanor made Cedric feel as though he'd been suddenly transported to an official ceremony rather than sitting on the Hogwarts Express. Though bewildered, he remained polite.
Kyle suppressed a laugh and waited for their greetings to conclude before asking, "Percy, did you need something?"
He knew all seven Weasley children well, though he and Percy rarely interacted.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I have a favor to ask." He reached into his pocket and produced a large rat.
"Scabbers hasn't been feeling well lately, so I was wondering if you still had any of that rat tonic you gave him before. I'd like to buy some if possible."
"Rat tonic?" Kyle eyed the scruffy grey rat with its missing front toe and smiled knowingly, "Of course, just wait a moment."
He retrieved a bottle of red liquid from his trunk and handed it to Percy.
"You know the routine — three drops once a week. This should last quite a while."
"Thank you." Percy quickly took the tonic, then hesitantly produced three silver Sickles, his face flushing, "I know this isn't enough, but it's all I have right now. I'll pay the rest as soon as I can."
"You don't need that much." Kyle accepted just one Sickle and returned the others, "It's just rat tonic, nothing special. One Sickle is plenty."
Percy stared at the returned Sickles, his face fluctuating between red and white, before releasing a soft sigh, "Thank you, Kyle."
"No need — I'm charging you. This is just a normal transaction."
"No, I know better." Percy's smile turned bitter, "If this were ordinary rat tonic, how could it keep Scabbers alive for eleven years? This must be Mr. Scamander's work. Only a legendary figure like him could make a common field rat live so long. On the market, this kind of tonic would cost at least ten Galleons."
Uh...
Kyle ground his teeth — he actually wanted to tell Percy.
Scabbers's longevity had nothing to do with the rat tonic, and it was merely Kyle's own creation, worth far less than ten Galleons. But the Peter Pettigrew situation was too complicated, and at eleven years old, he didn't want to attract Dumbledore's attention just yet.
He hadn't been entirely passive, though. Besides the rat tonic, he had told Percy long ago that rats were different from other pets — if they absorbed too much magical scent from wizards, they would be rejected by their own kind.
Percy had been skeptical at first, but once he attributed this wisdom to Scamander, he accepted it as gospel.
The boy truly cared for his only pet. He had made Scabbers a special nest in his room and significantly reduced physical contact. Except for necessary moments like now when he needed to carry him, Scabbers was essentially free to roam.
Noticing Kyle's continued silence, Percy decided not to linger.
"Anyway, thank you, Kyle. If you ever need help with academics, you can always ask me, and after graduation, I'll definitely pay you back those Galleons."
With that, Percy hurriedly left the compartment, leaving Kyle and Cedric staring at each other.
Finally, Cedric broke the awkward silence, "Um... you can still get rat tonic from Mr. Scamander?"
"Actually, I brew it myself, and not just for rats — I can make tonics for basically any pet." Kyle said with a shrug, not bothering to explain further, "It's not that difficult, just a bit tedious, which is why few people bother to learn it."
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