Chapter 26 - Radon

Chapter 26 - Radon

The next morning, Kyle was forced to crawl out of his warm bed early. He hadn't drawn the curtains the night before, so the sunlight streamed through the circular window of the dormitory, hitting his face like a spotlight.

"Who could sleep like this?" he thought grumpily.

Kyle reluctantly got dressed and stretched as he walked to the window. Although their dormitory was located in the basement of Hogwarts Castle, it was surprisingly sunny due to the uneven terrain. Through the round window, he could see swaying grass and dandelions outside.

Kyle glanced at his two soundly sleeping roommates and, with a blank expression, opened the window to its fullest extent.

"There are still five years to go before the O.W.L.s exams," he thought, "how can they sleep so soundly at their age?"

Besides, it was already half past seven, which was practically eight-fifty, leaving only a few minutes until the nine o'clock class. After all, this was their first class after entering Hogwarts. It was important to leave a good impression on the professors, and being late wouldn't be ideal.

The morning breeze, carrying a hint of mist, was undoubtedly the best alarm clock.

"I'm so considerate," Kyle nodded with satisfaction.

He did it for his roommates' benefit, not because he wanted them to get up early with him. A Hufflepuff like him would never do such a thing.

After a quick wash, Kyle left the dormitory through the common room passage. As everyone knows, the staircases at Hogwarts have quite the personality. It's as if they have minds of their own, always changing their direction at the most inconvenient times, silently enjoying the desperate cries of the unlucky students.

Kyle had prepared himself for some detours, but whether it was because he had ample time or because it wasn't yet the staircases' "working hours," he walked from the common room to the Great Hall without encountering a single moving staircase. They remained perfectly still the entire time.

This left Kyle somewhat disappointed. To be honest, he was actually quite looking forward to experiencing the moving staircases.

Although it wasn't even eight o'clock yet, there were already quite a few people in the Great Hall, especially at the Ravenclaw table, which was nearly full. The other Houses also had a few scattered older students.

Only Hufflepuff... had just Kyle.

As soon as he sat down, a steaming breakfast appeared on the plate in front of him.

A glass of milk, two sausages, and a piece of bread.

Not a feast, but not bad either, and he could always ask for more if needed.

Kyle ate his breakfast leisurely. Soon, two familiar figures walked into the Great Hall one after the other.

"Hey Kyle, why are you up so early?" Michael and Ryan walked over quickly.

"I didn't want to be," Kyle said, cutting a sausage and putting it in his mouth with a straight face, "I was planning to sleep in, but the dormitory window was open, and the wind was too cold, so I couldn't fall back asleep. What about you two? Why are you up so early?"

"Same here," Michael said with a grimace, "I thought you were the one who opened the window."

"The window was already open when I left," Kyle emphasized the words "when I left."

"Oh, then it must have been the wind," Michael took a big bite of his bread, "But it's good this way. I didn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. If the window hadn't been open, I definitely wouldn't have gotten up before nine. If I were late for the first class... I can't even imagine the consequences. I'd probably be expelled."

Beside him, Ryan nodded in agreement. Although he usually got up around eight o'clock at home, that was only because his mother would drag him out of bed. If he were left to wake up naturally, he probably wouldn't have made it to the first class either.

Kyle smiled and said, "Then you two have to thank the kind person who opened the window for you."

"Yeah," the two sleep-deprived boys focused on their breakfast, not noticing anything amiss in Kyle's words.

Michael even added, "They helped us out."

By this time, Kyle had finished his last sip of milk and stood up, saying, "You guys keep eating, I'm going to explore somewhere else."

"Okay," they both replied in unison.

...

Bidding farewell to his food-obsessed roommates, Kyle headed straight for the castle gate. It was just past eight o'clock, and there was still plenty of time before class. When he had the chance, Kyle decided to settle the pet issue. There was already a cat and a toad in the dormitory, and he couldn't appear antisocial, could he?

Stepping out of the castle gate, Kyle skillfully raised his arm. In an instant, seven or eight owls flocked from all directions, landing neatly on the stone steps in front of him.

"This time it's not about delivering letters," Kyle said, looking at them. "I'm going to be at Hogwarts for a long time, and I'd like to hire one of you to be my exclusive messenger during this time. As for compensation... full board, at least one pack of owl nuts per day, at least three packs of Moaning Myrtle's Rat Treats per week, and one bottle of owl tonic per month... that's all for now, but we can add more if needed. Additionally, these conditions will remain in effect even after I graduate, until the owl can no longer fly. So, if any of you are willing, fly onto my shoulder."

This had nothing to do with Kyle's inherited talent. As the dedicated messengers of the magical world, owls have a natural affinity for magic. With a little training, they can understand the words of wizards. And the owls at Hogwarts were the best in the business.

Although Kyle's words were a bit complex for them, with some gestures, they could understand about seventy to eighty percent of what he was saying.

In less than a second, the owls scrambled towards Kyle's shoulder. Some of the slower ones even launched attacks on the owls in front of them.

For a moment, chaos ensued, with feathers scattering everywhere.

Kyle scratched his head with a wry smile, wanting to stop them, but it was too late. The situation was no longer something he could calm down with just a few words.

Fortunately, it didn't last long. A large brown owl, relying on its size advantage, easily defeated the other competitors and stood proudly on Kyle's shoulder as the victor.

Kyle recognized this owl.

About three years ago, when Chris found it, it was covered in wounds and lying unconscious near the entrance of the Ministry of Magic's owlery, clutching an undelivered letter in its talons.

Chris discovered it just in time and immediately treated it, taking it home and caring for it meticulously for over half a month, finally bringing it back to life.

Even so, it was left with a long scar on its face. This scar was caused by dark magic and was very difficult to remove. Neither Chris nor Newt could do anything about it, and even its feathers couldn't hide it.

Compared to other owls, this made it look exceptionally... ugly.

But Kyle didn't care about that. He scratched the brown owl's neck feathers and smiled, "Hello there, Radon."

The owl tilted its head and gently rubbed its beak against Kyle's fingers.

Radon was the nickname Kyle had given it initially. He didn't know its real name at first, and he only called it that for convenience when feeding it. He didn't expect it to stick.

When Hagrid came to take it back, he called "Sai Ban, Sai Ban" in the nearby woods for over half an hour, but the owl didn't react at all. It wasn't until Kyle softly called out "Radon" that it flew out unhurriedly.

Hagrid was dumbfounded at the time, unable to recover for a long time. It felt as if the daughter he had raised with painstaking effort had been taken away by Kyle.

Needless to say, he was quite heartbroken.

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