Chapter 818: Solutions and Rent
In the alchemy classroom, Kyle stared blankly at the Time-Turner on the table.
The whole situation was unbelievable. The Time-Turner that should have been taken by Dumbledore had somehow found its way back—and not just anywhere, but directly into the hands of Professor Viktor at Beauxbatons.
To be honest, Kyle’s decision to come to Beauxbatons had been entirely spur-of-the-moment, made only after he arrived in France.
He could just as easily have gone somewhere else—like Bordeaux, home to the magical opera house Cedric had strongly recommended. Nicolas was also a regular visitor there, though he personally preferred Muggle opera... He believed Muggles had a stronger sense of ambition and creativity—something he felt wizards often lacked.
Beyond the opera house, there was also the Red Cap Magical Circus, or the enchanted wine bars favored by minstrels and traveling wizards. Any of those could have ended up as Kyle’s destination.
But in the end, he chose Beauxbatons—largely due to a few things he saw in the shops, and Fleur’s influence.
In other words, it had only been a few short hours between the moment he made the decision and when he actually set out.
If he’d chosen differently—or never come to France at all—would he ever have seen this Time-Turner again?
After all, as Viktor had just said, the envelope had been mixed in with a pile of failed alchemical products. If Kyle hadn’t come clean at the last second, Viktor might never have remembered it...
Kyle had no idea how Beauxbatons typically handled failed alchemical creations, but he was sure they weren’t carefully archived somewhere. Most likely, a quick cleaning spell would have taken care of the whole lot.
"Who sent this thing?" Kyle asked again.
"If I knew, I would’ve told you immediately," Viktor said, flattening the envelope on the table.