After a while, Fred and George joined them, making the compartment rather crowded.
"Why can't Hogwarts give the train bigger compartments?" Fred complained.
"I heard the prefects' compartment is quite spacious and comfortable." George said with a smile, "Too bad none of us are prefects."
"Speaking of which, Percy will become a prefect next year, right?" Kyle asked.
Fred frowned as if Kyle had announced the cancellation of next year's Quidditch matches rather than merely mentioning Percy.
"As much as I hate to admit it, probably yes." George said, "I bet if that happens, Percy will wear that prefect badge all summer long."
As he spoke, he stuck a Chocolate Frog card to his chest and paraded around the corridor outside the compartment, imitating Percy. His ridiculous gestures and exaggerated expressions had everyone laughing.
When it came to livening up the atmosphere, the Weasley brothers never disappointed.
They played a few more rounds of Exploding Snap before Cho brought up the notice letter, asking if they truly couldn't use magic during the holidays.
"Actually, you can — you just need to make sure there's an adult wizard nearby." Fred explained, "That way, the Ministry won't know who cast the spell."
Cho frowned, "I'll pass then."
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
As the train passed through town after town, Kyle and the others changed out of their wizard robes into jackets and shirts.
Finally, the train arrived at Platform 9 at King's Cross Station. A wizened old guard stood by the barrier, letting people through in small groups to avoid attracting Muggle attention.
With fewer passengers than usual, Kyle's group quickly said goodbye to Kanna — who would be taking the Knight Bus home — and passed through the barrier.
The group made their way toward the Muggle world exit.
Cho's father was waiting to pick her up. He was a kindly-looking Asian man who greeted Kyle and the others warmly, inviting them to visit during summer holidays.
However, Kyle noticed a hint of wariness in the man's eyes, especially when looking at him and Cedric.
"Kyle, run!" The Weasleys' little sister Ginny suddenly dashed over, "Did you get in trouble at school? Mum's been angry the whole way here. You'd better run quickly, or it'll be too late!"
"Thanks for the warning, Ginny." Kyle said quietly, patting the little girl's head, "But it's already too late."
Right on cue, Molly Weasley came storming over.
"Brother, good luck to you."
"We'll always remember you."
Fred and George betrayed him by jumping aside, their expressions eager for the impending spectacle.
"You went into the Forbidden Forest with a dark wizard!" Molly stormed toward Kyle, "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"
Behind her stood Diana, her expression grave.
Kyle promptly bowed his head, "I was wrong, and I promise it won't happen again!"
As he spoke, he swiftly produced the report card he had prepared in advance.
"Whatever you're showing me won't get you out of this. To do something so dangerous—" Molly's scolding halted as she glimpsed the report card.
Full marks... full marks...
Nearly every subject showed perfect scores, with just one falling a single point short. Even Bill hadn't achieved such exceptional grades during his time.
"Merlin..." Molly dabbed her hands on her clothes and carefully accepted the report card, "Kyle, you'll definitely become Head Boy!"
She beamed with pride before turning to her twins.
"Where are your report cards? Let me see them."
Fred and George's smiles vanished, and they considered claiming their report cards were lost.
But they knew if they did, Molly would surely write to Hogwarts — and if they showed them now, they might not survive their departure from King's Cross Station.
Seeing the pair frozen in place, Molly's gaze hardened.
"Mum, our report cards are in our trunks." Fred said quickly, "It's not convenient to get them here."
"We've got newspapers in there too — what if the Muggles see them?"
Molly glanced at the passing crowds and, deciding their reasoning made sense, didn't press further.
"Then let's go home now."
At this point, Kyle approached his mother.
Though Diana's expression was serious, she didn't scold him as Molly had.
Her eyes went to his finger as she asked, "How many times did you use it?"
Kyle knew she meant the number of Apparitions. He raised his hand and said, "Once."
The ring had originally had three crescent decorations, but now one was missing.
Diana's expression softened considerably. If he'd only used it once, the situation couldn't have been too dire.
Kyle asked nervously, "Can it be restored?"
He recalled his mother's previous letter mentioning he could Apparate directly home instead of taking the train. If it could be used so casually for transportation, surely it must be reusable.
Diana nodded and said, "Yes, but it's complicated. It'll take a week."
Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. A week was fine — even a month would be okay. He wouldn't need it now anyway.
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
Just as before, Arthur Weasley drove the Ford Anglia, taking everyone back to St. Catchpole village.
On the way, Fred and George's smiles had vanished, as if the car were taking them not home but to their execution.
Back at the Burrow, Percy immediately produced his report card — unsurprisingly, he ranked first in fourth year. Molly hugged him joyfully, though her enthusiasm might have been even greater had she not seen Kyle's grades earlier.
Then she turned to Fred and George...
Kyle stood by with his arms crossed, anticipating what would unfold, but Diana pulled him away before he could witness it.
On their way home, two piercing screams rang out across St. Catchpole village, echoing for what seemed like ages.
✭✭✭
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