In that dilapidated seaside hut, Harry spent the most wonderful night of his life.
Early the next morning, he was reluctant to wake up, fearing it had all been just a beautiful dream.
In this dream, a giant owl had delivered his acceptance letter to a school of magic, followed by a giant named Hagrid who revealed Harry was a wizard and used magic to punish his bullying cousin Dudley.
He dreaded opening his eyes, afraid he'd find himself back in that tiny cupboard at home. If possible, he wanted to stay in this dream forever.
Until Hagrid woke him up.
"Wake up, Harry, this is no time for sleeping in."
The half-giant rubbed his sleepy eyes, opened the window, and let in an owl. He paid five Knuts for the newspaper it carried in its beak.
"What's that, Hagrid?" Harry asked curiously.
"The Daily Prophet, the wizarding newspaper — all wizards read it." Hagrid stretched and said, "We'd better get going early, Harry. We've got lots to do today — need to go to London to buy all your school things, and get two birthday presents."
"Birthday presents?"
"For you and Kyle." Hagrid said, "Quite the coincidence, his birthday's today too."
He could actually get birthday presents?
Harry's heart skipped a beat, and he nearly jumped up with joy. Then he noticed the unfamiliar name and asked, "Who's Kyle?"
"Another young wizard at Hogwarts, though he's a year ahead of you." Hagrid replied, now fully dressed in his clothes and boots, "He's a kind-hearted lad, very friendly to his classmates. Both professors and students like him at school.
And his academic performance is excellent too — he's the only first-year in three hundred years to receive the Award for Special Services to the School. If all goes well, he might become the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin.
If you ever run into any trouble at school or have questions, you can go to him. He'll definitely help you."
By this time, they had made their way to the rocks outside.
Harry blinked, noticing Hagrid's evident admiration for Kyle. Indeed, the boy did sound exceptional. Though Harry didn't understand any of those titles, he could tell from Hagrid's tone that they must be remarkable achievements.
"Kyle..." Harry murmured, trying to picture what he might look like.
Having never seen a wizard before, Harry's imagination drew from TV shows he'd watched, mixed with Hagrid's appearance. An image quickly formed in his mind.
He pictured a boy in a pointed hat wearing either pure black, red, or blue robes, wielding a thick jewel-encrusted staff, wearing a serious expression — and oddly enough, with a dead ferret wrapped around his waist...
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"Achoo!"
In Saint Catchpole village, Kyle sneezed while eating his breakfast.
"Dear, are you catching a cold?" Chris asked with concern.
"No, my nose just suddenly felt itchy." Kyle said, rubbing his nose. He assumed it was from being around too many owls.
Someone must have leaked his birthday, as owls had been flying into his room since dawn, delivering beautifully wrapped boxes. The gifts now filled nearly half his room.
Just then, another owl swooped through the open window, placing a large box beside him.
"Looks like you're quite popular at school." Diana said with a smile, "To receive so many gifts."
"Mom, have you forgotten which house I'm in?" Kyle picked up a piece of bread and shrugged, "Hufflepuffs have always been the most well-liked — it's normal to have lots of friends."
Diana just smiled without saying anything.
Kyle looked at the nearby package from Lee Jordan, which, judging by its shape, probably contained a cake.
This was one of the items he'd received the most — there were over a dozen more cakes upstairs in his room. These would undoubtedly be his daily food for the next few days, just as they would be for the Weasley children. Ginny would probably be happy about that.
Kyle shook his head with a wry smile and helped himself to another sausage.
After breakfast, Chris called him aside and said, "We've thought about what you asked yesterday."
Kyle paused for a moment, then looked at his father expectantly, "You agree to teach me?"
"Of course, we have no reason to object." Chris said, "But... can you tell us why you want to learn Occlumency? You should know that this special type of magic is extremely difficult to master. Not just for a second-year student like you — even many adult wizards struggle to learn it."
"It's because of Oren." Kyle said after a moment's thought, "Earlier in the Forbidden Forest, I noticed he seemed able to guess what I was thinking. It felt awful."
That guy was just an excuse. Occlumency was currently the only known magic that could resist external mental penetration, and Kyle definitely needed to master it.
Additionally, if he wanted to learn about Horcruxes, he would inevitably need to handle the diary and the diadem, which also required knowing Occlumency. Given Voldemort's mastery of soul magic, if he were to touch those Horcruxes without having learned to protect his mind, he'd likely be seen through instantly.
In fact, Kyle had started trying to learn this magic last year, but progress had been very slow. As Chris said, Occlumency wasn't easy to master. Without proper guidance, self-study was incredibly difficult. He had spent half a term barely reaching the beginner's level.
And this level of Occlumency clearly wouldn't be enough to resist Voldemort's Horcruxes.
"Oren?" Hearing this name gave Chris a headache.
For over a month now, he'd been thinking about this, but aside from that rescue mission ten years ago, he truly couldn't remember having any other connection with him.
He sighed and said, "If you're sure you want to learn, we can teach you."
"I'm sure." Kyle nodded, "When do we start, after you get off work?"
"No, you won't be learning from us." Chris said mysteriously, "For Occlumency, we've found you the most suitable teacher, and they will definitely agree to teach you."
"Teacher?"
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