The new student called Hermione soon left with her father.
As soon as she was gone, Fred wore a bemused expression.
"She's memorized all the textbooks..."
"Yes, Fred, you heard correctly." George said, suppressing a laugh, "We've definitely found another Percy."
Percy had also memorized all the textbooks before starting school, earning himself a set of new robes from Molly as a reward.
"Which house do you think she'll be sorted into?" George asked.
Fred raised an eyebrow, "Is that even a question? Definitely Ravenclaw."
"I think so too."
"No, I think it'll be Gryffindor." Kyle chimed in suddenly, "Don't forget, Percy's in Gryffindor."
"That's different, Kyle." Fred shook his head, "Our whole family's been in Gryffindor."
George added, "Actually, we think Percy wanted to be in Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor."
Kyle stroked his chin, "Why don't we make a bet?"
At the mention of betting, Fred and George immediately perked up.
"What are we betting?"
"How about a Galleon?" Kyle took out a gold coin and twirled it between his fingers, "If she gets sorted into Ravenclaw, I'll give each of you a Galleon."
"..." Fred and George exchanged glances, silently communicating something.
They quickly reached an agreement.
Fred looked at Kyle with mischief in his eyes, "That's too boring, let's make it more interesting."
"How so..."
"We'll bet this!" George pulled out a toffee from his pocket, "If that little girl gets sorted into Ravenclaw, you have to eat this Ton-Tongue Toffee at the start-of-term feast."
"Are you sure?" Kyle's expression turned peculiar, "What if she gets sorted into Gryffindor?"
"Then we'll eat it." They said in unison.
Kyle's expression grew even more amused, and, suppressing a laugh, he took the toffee from George.
"Well, alright, I accept."
Fred and George extended their hands, "Then it's a deal!"
"It's a deal." Kyle clasped their hands to seal the agreement.
Originally, he had just wanted to earn some pocket money, but since these two were so enthusiastic, he didn't mind watching the show.
After letting go, the three looked at each other, broke into smiles, and dropped the subject.
Kyle glanced at the platform entrance nearby, "It's been quite a while — why haven't Ron and Molly come through yet?"
"Not sure, maybe they've run into another lost first-year." Fred said.
"That happens quite often at King's Cross." George looked toward the train, "Never mind that, let's get on board. Lee wrote earlier saying he got a huge tarantula as a pet — has anyone seen him arrive?"
Speaking of pets... Kyle unconsciously glanced at the plain box in his hand.
Newt's reply had arrived that afternoon, approving Kyle's request to adopt the Niffler.
Now the Niffler was in the box, and Kyle had given it a name: Jerry.
After boarding the train, Fred and George quickly went to find Lee, while Kyle headed toward the back with his luggage.
But before he could take more than a few steps, a compartment door suddenly opened, and a small head poked out.
Kanna waved and said, "Kyle, over here!"
Kyle hurried over. Inside was only Kanna, and after he entered, she eagerly closed the compartment door.
Kyle looked at her warily, instinctively taking two steps back, "What are you up to?"
"I have something to tell you!" Kanna hadn't noticed his small movements. After closing the door, she excitedly said, "Did you know that Professor Snape is actually my relative too!"
"Yeah, I knew."
"I couldn't believe it at first, but... huh?" Kanna's expression froze, "You — you knew?!"
"Yes." Kyle smiled, "I even know that Professor Snape's mother's surname was Prince."
Kanna was completely dumbfounded. This wasn't how the scene was supposed to play out.
Shouldn't Kyle be surprised and shocked? But...
She opened and closed her mouth, asking dryly, "How — how did you know?"
"My dad told me." Kyle said, putting his box on the luggage rack, "He was classmates with Professor Snape, so he happened to know some details."
This information had indeed come from his father during his visit to the school before the holidays. Kyle had only asked tentatively, but Chris actually knew about it.
Kanna frowned, "Then why didn't you tell me before?"
"Would you have believed me if I had?" Kyle countered.
Kanna hesitated for a moment, then shook her head dejectedly. Before everything that happened during the summer holidays, she indeed wouldn't have believed something so incredible.
"By the way..." She seemed to suddenly think of something and asked suspiciously, "Was Professor Snape coming to find me also related to you?"
Kyle didn't deny it.
"Getting paid to solve problems, right? So, did those troublesome matters get resolved?"
The letter Kyle wrote on the first day of the holiday was sent to Snape. The content was simple — just describing Kanna's recent situation. Although he might have exaggerated some parts just a tiny bit, it was mostly accurate.
"Yes, they're resolved." She gave him a deep look. "On the second day of summer break, Professor Snape came to my house, revealed his identity, and took me to Gringotts."
Kyle, who was taking out snacks, paused, "Why did he take you to Gringotts?"
Kanna said, "He had the goblins reclaim my family's previous vault and transferred everything in it to his vault."
"Wait... you're saying Snape moved all your family's belongings to his vault?" Kyle found this increasingly suspicious.
What was Snape up to? Was he just taking everything first before others could get to it?
How was he any different from the others who might try to claim it?!
Seeming to understand his doubts, Kanna quickly explained, "He's not trying to keep it for himself — he's just safeguarding it for me."
"I've heard that line too many times." Kyle said glumly, "Only a fool would believe it."
"It's true." Kanna said seriously, "Actually, there wasn't much money left in my family's vault — the only thing of real value was probably our property deed. But Professor Snape's vault is already piled high with gold Galleons, so he has no reason to deceive me."
"Let's hope so..." Kyle sighed and asked, "Did he do anything else?"
"He bought the house next door to mine and stayed there all summer." At this point, Kanna couldn't help but smile, "For these two months, he chased away everyone who came to our house."
"Snape bought a house next to yours?" Kyle's mouth twitched.
Alright, he had to admit his previous thoughts had been a bit crude.
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