The new student, Hermione, soon left with her father. As soon as she was gone, Fred pulled a strange face.
“She finished all her textbooks…”
“Yes, Fred, you heard right,” George said with a smirk. “We’ve just met another Percy.”
Percy had also completed all his textbooks before starting school, which earned him a reward from Mrs. Weasley: a brand-new set of robes.
“What house do you think she’ll be sorted into?” George wondered aloud.
Fred raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it obvious? Ravenclaw, of course.”
“No, I think it’ll be Gryffindor.” Kyle, who had been quiet until then, spoke up. “Don’t forget, Percy’s in Gryffindor.”
“That’s different, Kyle,” Fred shook his head. “Our whole family’s in Gryffindor.”
George added, “In fact, we think Percy would prefer to be in Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat placed him in Gryffindor.”
Kyle rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Why don’t we make a bet?”
At the word "bet," Fred and George immediately perked up.
“A Galleon, maybe?” Kyle suggested, taking a gold coin and twirling it between his fingers. “If she’s sorted into Ravenclaw, I’ll owe each of you a Galleon.”
Fred and George exchanged a quick glance.
They soon reached an agreement.
Fred gave Kyle a mischievous grin. “That’s a bit tame—let’s make it more interesting.”
“We bet on this!” George pulled out a Toffee from his pocket. “If that girl ends up in Ravenclaw, you’ll have to eat this Ton-Tongue Toffee at the opening banquet.”
“Are you sure?” Kyle’s expression turned a little odd. “And if she’s sorted into Gryffindor?”
“Then we’ll eat it,” the twins replied in unison.
Kyle’s expression grew even stranger. He stifled a laugh as he took the Toffee from George.
Fred and George extended their hands. “It’s a deal!”
“It’s a deal,” Kyle said, shaking hands with them.
He had just been looking to make a bit of pocket money, but since Fred and George were so keen, he didn’t mind letting the twins add a twist to the fun.
After they shook on it, they shared a sly grin, and none of them brought it up again.
Kyle glanced over at the platform entrance and asked curiously, “It’s been a while now—why haven’t Ron and Mrs. Weasley come through yet?”
“Not sure,” Fred replied. “Maybe they ran into some lost first-years.”
“That happens all the time at King’s Cross,” George added, looking toward the train. “Forget it; let’s get on board. Lee Jordan wrote earlier that he’s got a huge tarantula as a pet. Have either of you spotted him yet?”
Kyle’s eyes drifted to the unremarkable-looking box he was holding. Newt’s reply had come in just that afternoon, and he’d agreed to let Kyle adopt a Niffler.
Now, Niffler was in the box, and Kyle had even given him a fitting name: Jerry.
After boarding the train, Fred and George quickly disappeared in search of Lee Jordan, while Kyle hauled the luggage toward the back. He hadn’t gone far when a compartment door nearby slid open, and a small head peeked out.
“Kyle, over here!” Kanna waved.
Kyle hurried over, and as soon as he entered, Kanna closed the compartment door eagerly.
Eyeing her cautiously, Kyle instinctively took two steps back. “What do you want?”
“I want to tell you something.”
Kanna didn’t seem to notice Kyle’s wariness. After shutting the door, she said excitedly, “Guess what? Professor Snape is actually related to me!”
Kanna blinked, stunned. “You...you knew?!”
Kyle laughed. “Yep. I also know that Professor Snape’s mother’s last name was Prince.”
Kanna’s entire expression froze as if she’d gone numb.
This didn’t make sense—this wasn’t how she expected things to go. Shouldn’t Kyle have been shocked? Yet here he was, just... amused.
Her mouth opened slightly, and she asked in disbelief, “How do you know?”
“My dad told me,” Kyle said, lifting the suitcase onto the shelf. “He was in school with Professor Snape and happened to know a bit about it.”
Chris had, in fact, told him during a visit just before the holidays. Kyle had only asked on a whim, not expecting Chris to actually know.
Kanna frowned. “Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Would you have believed me if I had?”
Kanna hesitated, feeling a pang of frustration. Before what happened over the summer, she probably wouldn’t have believed something so far-fetched.
“Oh, right…” Suddenly recalling something, Kanna asked suspiciously, “Did Professor Snape come to see me because of you?”
“You were paid to help me, so what was the deal? Were the... problems solved?”
Kyle had written to Snape on the first day of the holiday, detailing Kanna’s situation. Though he’d added a few dramatic touches, the account was mostly accurate.
“Yes, it was taken care of,” Kanna said, giving Kyle a pointed look. “The day after the holiday started, Professor Snape came to my house, introduced himself, and took me to Gringotts.”
Kyle, in the middle of digging through his snacks, paused. “What did he take you to Gringotts for?”
“He asked the goblins to repossess our old vault and transfer its contents to his vault.”
“Wait... Are you saying Snape took everything from your vault and moved it to his?” The more Kyle listened, the stranger it sounded. What was Snape up to? Afraid someone else might take it, so he took it all himself?
Picking up on Kyle’s thoughts, Kanna hurried to explain. “He didn’t take it for himself; he’s just holding it for me.”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. Who’d actually believe it?”
“It’s true,” Kanna insisted seriously. “There wasn’t much left in our vault anyway. The only thing valuable was probably the deed to our land. And Professor Snape has loads of Galleons—he doesn’t need to lie to me.”
“I hope so...” Kyle sighed. “Besides that, did he do anything else?”
“He bought the house next to ours and stayed there all summer.” Kanna couldn’t help but smile at the memory. “For two months, he chased off anyone who tried to visit.”
“Snape bought the place next door?” Kyle’s mouth twitched.
Okay, he admitted to himself, maybe his initial suspicions were a little off.