Chapter 27: First Class
Although Kyle never had to worry about delivering letters personally, having his own owl at Hogwarts was still a good idea. In the wizarding world, owls served a similar function to phone numbers in the Muggle world—they often represented the identity of their owner. And that was still quite important.
Take, for instance, Kyle's mother, Diana, who worked in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. This department had very strict security protocols, and letters sent there were meticulously screened. The Ministry would check everything—from the identity and status of the owl, to the sender's details, and even the letter itself, ensuring there were no hidden Jinxes or magical substances. Only after everything was confirmed would the letter be delivered to the Department of Mysteries, often in the form of a paper airplane. Even Kyle's letters weren't exempt from this process, though they were expedited due to his connection.
With the efficiency of the Ministry of Magic, this entire screening process could take at least a day. But with Ratton, things were different. Diana could apply to have him registered as a special owl. This status would grant priority processing, and the screening could be simplified. Instead of the full inspection, they would only need to verify the owl's status, the sender's identity, and perform a basic check for Jinxes, all of which could be done on the spot.
Diana had reminded Kyle of this when they were at Platform 9¾, telling him to use the same owl consistently for his letters, or else he'd need to buy one from Diagon Alley. Naturally, Kyle had no intention of buying an owl when he already had Ratton. Problem solved.
Kyle took some owl nuts from his Mokeskin pouch, along with a few bags of Murtlap-dried rat jerky, and offered them to the group of owls.
He also grabbed some water, added two bottles of owl tonic, stirred it well, and poured the mixture into a stone trough nearby. This was their payment for the trouble—they couldn't be expected to lose their feathers for nothing.
While the owls feasted, Kyle took Ratton back to the castle and headed straight for the Hufflepuff common room. Passing the barrels in the kitchen corridor, he returned to the dormitory, but Mikel and Ryan were already gone, likely off to class. Not giving it much thought, Kyle placed Ratton on the shelf beside his bed, grabbed his textbooks, and left.
In the common room, he ran into Cedric, who was also getting ready to head out.
"Kyle, I was just about to look for you," Cedric said, approaching quickly. "What's your first class?"