Chapter 804: School Begins, Dumbledore's Letter

Ron swore that this was definitely the most unforgettable vacation he had ever had.

The situation was tense for the first month and he was worried every day, but after the incident in Godric's Hollow, the Death Eaters suddenly became quiet for some reason.

He thought he could finally relax, but a few days later, he was sent to the Ministry of Magic and started working as soon as he opened his eyes... Even house-elves had time to rest, but he didn't.

But he finally made it through.

Although there was still homework to be done and there were only three days left before school started, compared to the work at the Ministry of Magic, the so-called homework was not difficult at all.

This was the first time that Ron found doing homework a very easy task. Not only did he finish it on time, he also took the time to help Harry draw a complete diagram of the planetary motion.

To be honest, Harry was stunned at the time, and for a moment he thought that a Death Eater had used Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as Ron and sneaked into number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

……

"Hurry up, hurry up."

On the first day of school, Mrs. Weasley woke everyone up early in the morning and urged them to go downstairs for breakfast.

"Mom, don't we go to school via Floo? Why are you in such a hurry?" Ginny walked down with sleepy eyes and asked while yawning.

"The plan has changed." Mrs. Weasley added two sandwiches to her plate. "Connecting to the Floo Network may destroy some of Hogwarts' protective magic, so you should take the train."

"Take the train?" Ron suddenly sobered up. "What if the Death Eaters attack? At least we have to send Harry over."

"No, no need." Harry next to him shook his head and said, "It's fine to take the train."

He always didn't want to look different from others. Everyone took the train, but he was the only one who was sent there. It felt as if he had to be taken care of. The mere thought made him feel uncomfortable.

Besides that, he really wanted to take a train ride, especially this year.

Just like adults never tell new wizards how the Sorting ceremony should be conducted, almost all seventh-year students will choose to take the train to Hogwarts this year, just like they did when they first went to the castle six years ago.

Harry thought so too. Since school was about to start, he had been hoping to take the train there. Even last night, he tossed and turned in bed, hesitating whether to tell everyone about his idea.

But he wasn't sure whether Sirius would agree, and this situation was simply a surprise to him.

Harry was genuinely worried that Mrs. Weasley would follow Ron's advice and Apparate him to Hogsmeade.

Fortunately, this did not happen.

"Don't worry about that." She said, "This year Minerva, Filius and Pomona will all be on the train, heading to Hogwarts with the students. There will also be three senior Aurors from the Ministry of Magic escorting them. It's safe."

"Professors will also take the Hogwarts Express?" Hermione asked in surprise.

She had rarely encountered a professor riding the Hogwarts Express, only twice in six years.

One of them was Slughorn, but he had an ulterior motive and wanted to make friends with students he was interested in on the train.

The other is Lupin. The reason why he takes the train is even simpler...it is the cheapest way and does not require any money.

I didn't expect that three professors would come this year, and they were all deans. Except Snape, all the other deans came.

"Yes, this was discussed before the holiday." Mrs. Weasley continued: "Although the Death Eaters have not been very active recently, the professors decided to proceed according to the plan just in case."

"Eat quickly, the car is waiting outside the door."

Everyone immediately sped up their eating.

"It's strange, why didn't Professor Snape participate in this escort?" Hermione asked puzzledly while eating an fried egg sandwich.

"Needless to say, the professors must not trust him." Ron said as a matter of course: "Maybe the professors have discovered his identity as a Death Eater and expelled him."

As he said this, Ron suddenly laughed.

"Malfoy has already left. If Snape is expelled as well, it will be perfect, hehe..."

Harry next to him couldn't help but laugh.

Yes, he couldn't even imagine how wonderful Hogwarts would be without Malfoy and Snape.

After a quick breakfast, everyone was driven outside by Mrs. Weasley.

"Have you got your luggage, wand...everything? Did you forget anything?"

"Ginny, your robes..."

"Ron, hurry up,"

"Harry, take your owl, it looks a little under the weather."

"Yeah." Harry looked at Hedwig in the cage.

It had been locked in a cage for two months, and normally the most it could do was fly around the house a few times, so it certainly didn't look very energetic.

He could imagine that his fingers would be pecked when he returned to Hogwarts.

But I can’t care about so much now.

A large group of people were noisily getting all the luggage into the car.

Mrs. Weasley came to the window.

"Arthur, be careful on the road."

"Don't worry, I know." Mr. Weasley said, "Besides, Kyle and Sirius are with us, don't worry."

Because everyone else was busy, the task of escorting them to the station fell on Kyle... Actually, he wanted to go too.

Before, he was always the one who was sent away, but now his identity has suddenly changed, which feels a bit novel.

When Ron got in the car, Mr. Weasley stepped on the accelerator and drove out with ease.

For some reason, the Weasleys were always pressed for time when they were catching a train, and this time was no exception.

They arrived at the station ten minutes before departure.

A group of people were pushing their luggage and running hurriedly towards the platform pillar. During this time, there was the chirping of owls, which attracted many Muggles to look over here curiously.

But they have long been accustomed to this.

There was a Muggle-Repelling Charm around Platform 9, but it was quiet once we got here.

"Hurry up, Ron, you're first," said Mr. Weasley.

Ron immediately rushed towards the pillar at the entrance.

"Harry follows, then Ginny, then Hermione..."

As they entered the platform, Kyle stood at the end, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

He did discover a few sneaky people, but they were not Death Eaters. They were probably Aurors from the Ministry of Magic, and they all had work badges on their chests.

That thing was designed by him, so he recognized it at a glance.

There weren't many people going to school this time, and after Hermione disappeared, Kyle followed Mr. Weasley into the platform.

Behind the pillar, there is another scene.

No matter how tense the situation was, the platform for the start of school was still bustling.

The crimson Hogwarts Express stopped at the platform, surrounded by students and their parents who came to see them off.

Kyle couldn't help but feel emotional as he watched the scene in front of him.

"What are you thinking about?" Mr. Weasley came over and asked.

"Finally, we made it." Kyle grinned.

Mr. Weasley was stunned. This answer was different from what he expected.

"Don't you miss your time at Hogwarts?" he asked.

"It will be more than a decade before I start to miss it," Kyle said with a smile. "Now I am just glad that I don't have to sit on the train for several hours, get up on time every day to go to class, or do homework...haha."

Thinking of this, Kyle laughed out loud.

"I decided to sleep until eleven tomorrow..."

"terribly sorry."

Just as I was thinking about it, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind me.

"Oh, Minerva," said Mr. Weasley, "I'm so glad to see you here."

"Me too, Arthur," said Professor McGonagall, and then she looked at Kyle. "I hate to spoil your fun, but I'm sorry to say that you have to join us this time."

"With you guys?" Kyle blinked. "What... does this mean?"

"Just take the train to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said calmly.

"Wait." Kyle took a step back subconsciously, "Professor, I have already graduated and I didn't repeat the grade."

"I know, but that's what Dumbledore meant," said Professor McGonagall.

"Professor Dumbledore," Kyle asked, "Is he back... um, I mean, is he back at school?"

"No." Professor McGonagall shook her head. "I haven't seen him for a month. No one knows where he has gone."

"Then what do you say..."

"He left a letter." Before Kyle could speak, Professor McGonagall stuffed a letter into his hand.

Kyle looked at the envelope in his hand and felt that it was a trap, so he wanted to throw it away.

If he accidentally dropped the letter, and accidentally cast a fire spell to destroy it when picking it up, then he wouldn't have to go.

But Professor McGonagall seemed to see through his thoughts.

"It's okay. I've already read the content. If you need it, I can repeat it to you."

"I..." Kyle felt a toothache, "Can I not go?"

"No, this is very important." Professor McGonagall shook her head.

"I shouldn't have come today." Kyle sighed.

"It's okay." Professor McGonagall continued, "I was going to pick you up, but Molly said you would come to the station to see someone off, so I didn't go."

"Okay..." Kyle sighed softly.

"So what is it...wait a minute." Kyle suddenly thought of something, and asked with a twitch in his mouth, "Dumbledore wouldn't want me to be the professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year, would he?"

It's not impossible.

Every year, Dumbledore's biggest headache is finding a new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts for the school. Who knows if he found one this year.

What if I can't find it and pull myself over to fill the tank...

Besides, as a graduate returning to Hogwarts, what else could he do except become a professor?

Thinking of this, Kyle became even more panicked and subconsciously took out his wand.

If Professor McGonagall dared to tell him that the envelope contained a professor's appointment letter, he would destroy it on the spot.

"Do you think so?" Professor McGonagall seemed to smile a little more.

"Although we have found a suitable professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, if you want, I can also make the decision and let you join.

"Honestly, I believe you can do this job well, even if you are the youngest professor at Hogwarts."

"No thanks, no need, I don't want to..." Kyle waved his hands repeatedly, rejecting Professor McGonagall's kindness, and at the same time he felt relieved.

It’s okay, as long as I’m not the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, there doesn’t seem to be any other trouble.

"So what is it..."

"Woo!"

Kyle was interrupted by a whistle, reminding everyone to get on the bus.

Mr. Weasley ran off to say goodbye to Ron and the others.

"Well, you can see for yourself when we get on the train," said Professor McGonagall. "We have to hurry over now."

Although Kyle was reluctant, under the sharp gaze of Professor McGonagall, he could only drag his heavy feet slowly towards the train, praying in his heart that the train would go faster, as long as it could leave before he got on.

Professor McGonagall didn't urge them and just watched from the carriage.

I don't know if she had given notice in advance, but this time the Hogwarts Express was particularly slow in departure. The whistle blew twice, but it still stopped there motionless.

"Hey, Kyle, here!" Ron leaned out of the car window and waved at him. "Don't send me off. We'll meet again at Christmas... eh?"

He watched helplessly as Kyle ignored him and slowly got into the car.

The next second, all the doors closed at once, and with the third whistle, the train finally moved.

"Oh, wait, did Kyle just come up?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Yes, you read that correctly," said Hermione.

"Maybe he forgot that he has graduated." Ginny whispered, "Fred told me before that when he came to see us off, he always had the urge to get on the train with us... Kyle just graduated, so it's possible that he forgot for a moment."

"Makes sense."

"Then let's go find him quickly, Ginny. Please help us find a carriage." Harry immediately retracted his head from the window. "The train hasn't gone far yet. He has enough time to get back to the platform."

The aisle was full of people and luggage, and Harry finally squeezed out a path, but when he finally reached the door, Kyle had disappeared.

There were people everywhere, and Harry searched for a long time but couldn't find him.

"It looks like he has come to his senses," Ron said, "Let's go back."

Harry thought about it and thought it made sense.

Kyle could Apparate, so he might have returned to the platform by now.

He leaned his head out of the window sill next to him and looked in the direction of the platform, but the train had just turned a corner and the platform was blocked.

"Don't worry, that's Kyle." Hermione was not in a hurry. "No, there are too many people in the corridor, Ron, we have to help maintain order."

"Why would I do anything unnecessary like that?" Ron muttered.

He didn't want to chase those little brats around, he just wanted to play a long-lost game of wizard chess with Harry in the box.

"Because you're a prefect!" Hermione pulled him towards the prefect's box without further ado.

By the way, she is the Head Girl this year and needs to assign tasks to all the prefects.

However, the Head Boy was not Ron, but a Ravenclaw boy.

After the two men left, Harry stood alone for a moment.

He had the feeling that Kyle was still on the train, because he didn't see anyone Apparate in the car.

Is it because there are too many people and it is blocked?

Harry thought doubtfully until Hermione and Ron walked away. Then he shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and turned to walk towards the rear of the car.

Hermione was right about one thing. He didn't need to worry about Kyle at all. Even if he really went to Hogwarts with him, he could come back at any time.

He might as well have wondered if Ginny had found an empty box.

Hopefully she finds it, and…there’s no one else yet.

For some reason, Harry had the idea that Ron and Hermione would not be back until at least noon, and if there was no one else in the box, he and Ginny would be able to be alone for a long time.

Harry couldn't help but quicken his pace...

At the same time, in an ordinary box, Kyle just walked in and saw Professor Flitwick reading a book and Professor Sprout fiddling with a flower pot.

"Long time no see, Kyle." Professor Sprout raised his head and said, "I have always regretted leaving Remus' wedding early. Fortunately, you are all right."

"Don't say that, Professor. After all, none of us expected the Death Eaters to suddenly attack." Kyle said, "But then again, what exactly does Professor Dumbledore want to talk to me about?"

"Why, Minerva didn't give you the letter?" asked Professor Flitwick.

"I gave it to you, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet," Kyle said. "I just feel like it's not a good thing."

"Don't be nervous, it's not that scary." Professor Sprout said with a smile, "I just want you to pretend to be him and attend the opening ceremony."

……