Chapter 53: Hagrid’s Letter
Selling the map had undoubtedly been a success. The young wizards were thrilled, the professors were pleased because no one was late to class anymore, and Kyle and his friends had made a tidy sum. If anyone was unhappy, it was probably Filch.
Ever since Fred and George became wealthy, the smell of Dungbombs often filled the corridors. Filch was furious and determined to catch the twins in the act, following them around all day. But Fred and George always found clever ways to lose him, leaving him more frustrated than ever.
Meanwhile, Cho and Kanna got to know Kyle better through all of this, especially Kanna. She no longer hid from Kyle in class, and her social anxiety seemed to have improved. Now, when she earned extra points from a professor, she could even manage a "thank you," just like everyone else.
Hogwarts' first-year curriculum remained relatively light, with usually only three classes a day. But if you counted the homework, it was a different story. The young wizards had to spend all their spare time in the library just to finish the feet-long essays assigned to them. And they had to be careful not to increase the font size—anyone who tried that trick learned a harsh lesson. The last student who attempted it not only lost five points, courtesy of Professor McGonagall, but also saw his workload doubled, earning him a black eye from the resulting sleepless nights. In the end, McGonagall canceled the punishment out of fear that the student might collapse from exhaustion, but since then, no one dared to play that game again.
Well, almost no one.
While homework was a nightmare for most students, it was a breeze for Kyle. To him, writing essays was easy. And since there was no plagiarism check for first-years, he could write almost anything. He would borrow a few sentences from relevant books, add in a few more for good measure, and then summarize everything neatly. In less than twenty minutes, he would have a polished essay, earning praise from professors for his "extensive reading."
Except for one professor. In Potions class, Professor Snape—who preferred not to be named—seemed to grow more displeased with Kyle by the day. Snape always found reasons to deduct points from him. Kyle could do nothing about it, so he tried to avoid Snape as much as possible. After each point deduction, he would buy a bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, planning to one day send an entire case to Snape anonymously.
On Halloween, Kyle was sitting in the library as usual, engrossed in a book. It wasn't until dinner was about to start that he brought the unfinished book, The Great Duel Masters, to Madam Pince.
"How many days this time?" Madam Pince muttered without looking up.