A week after returning from Paris, on a sunny morning, Kael finally received a letter from Hogwarts.
That day, as usual, he went downstairs for breakfast, and found Fred and George already waiting for him in the living room.
After hiding for over a month, they now wished they could spend all day in the attic of Kael's house, researching those "Skiving Snackboxes".
Chris didn't find them noisy.
In fact, he even welcomed Fred and George's energy... it's quite nice to have some liveliness early in the morning.
"Did the school letter arrive?" Kael picked up a yellow parchment envelope from the table, the writing on it was green.
"That's right, it was delivered just a few minutes ago," Chris said.
"Five minutes," Fred said.
"We ran into the owl just as we were stepping out..."
"Kael, hurry up and take a look, you'll definitely be surprised."
Kael didn't say anything and started reading the letter earnestly.
Apart from stating that he should still take the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross Station to school on the first of September, the letter also listed the new books he would need for the year.
Third-year students need to read:
"Intermediate Transfiguration Technique" by Emeric Switch.
"Standard Spell: Level 3" by Miranda Goshawk.
"Break with a Banshee" by Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Gadding with Ghouls" by Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Holidays with Hags" ...
...
The remaining seven books were all by Gilderoy Lockhart.
Even though he knew it would be like this, seeing the exaggerated booklist really made Kael rub his forehead.
Gilderoy Lockhart's books aren't cheap, costing five Galleons each. Since everyone needs seven books, that's thirty-five Galleons.
This isn't a small amount; it's almost equivalent to Mr. Weasley's half-month salary.
And that's just one person's expense. Even if only half of Hogwarts buys new books, Lockhart could easily earn tens of thousands of Galleons.
The hard-earned accumulation of the Potter family over generations might not even compare to what he earns in one go.
No wonder Lockhart took this job... in the face of tens of thousands of Galleons, even the infamously notorious position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor doesn't seem so terrifying anymore.
In front of golden Galleons... a curse? Ha, it's just an ephemeral legend!
After reading the booklist, Kael pulled a second piece of parchment from the envelope.
"Why do you have one more sheet than us..."
Fred was puzzled at first, then realized, "Oh, I almost forgot, you're in the third year, so you need to choose your courses."
Kael looked at the parchment.
Third-year course selection:
(Choose at least two subjects, and purchase the required textbooks before the start of the term.)
Arithmetic Divination, "Numerology and Graphology" by L. Wakefield, M. Canero.
Divination, "Unfogging the Future" by Cassandra Vablatsky.
Care of Magical Creatures, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by Newt Scamander.
Muggle Studies, "Life and Habits of British Muggle Families" ...
And lastly, Ancient Runes.
"Ancient Runes Introduction"
"Rune Dictionary"
"Rune Symbols Explained"
"Magic Rune Collection"
"Magic Word Sound Table"
A total of five books, including a dictionary and a pronunciation table, clearly demonstrating the difficulty of the course.
And upon seeing the course, Fred and George shuddered in unison.
"Honestly, this course was the scariest disaster I've ever faced," Fred said, still shaken.
"Even scarier than having lunch with a Three-Headed Dog…"
Kael casually circled Ancient Runes, "So you two plan to drop this course this year?"
"No, we only dropped Divination."
"For the 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'," George said solemnly.
"So what are you planning to pick for your second course?" Fred asked, "Care of Magical Creatures? Or Divination."
"I suggest you go for Divination," George seriously advised, "The course is really easy, and it's simple to get high marks, as long as you... uh..."
At this point, George suddenly realized that Chris was also nearby, quickly changing his words, "…as long as you pay attention in class."
Chris chuckled, shaking his head amusingly.
Though Sybill Trelawney started teaching at Hogwarts after he graduated, the renowned "Professor of Deceit" was known to him.
Moreover, the fresh graduates at the Ministry of Magic would frequently chat about her.
… "When will Trelawney be fired" was consistently a popular topic in the Ministry.
So, Chris was very clear about the state of the Divination class.
However, he said nothing and continued to eat his breakfast calmly.
On the other side, Fred and George were still enthusiastically offering suggestions.
"Care of Magical Creatures isn't bad either," George said, looking at Kael, "For you, this course should be even easier than Divination."
"That's true," Kael nodded and marked the course as well.
Then came Divination... Arithmetic Divination... Muggle Studies...
In shock, Fred and George watched as Kael marked all the elective courses.
"Kael, you're not planning to pull a Percy, attending every single class, are you?"
George frowned, "Trust me, that's definitely not a good idea."
"You might not know, but Percy almost went mad in his third year."
"During the Christmas holiday, he slept at home for three whole days..."
"And didn't wake up in between…"
"Mom was so scared, she almost sent him to St. Mungo's!"
Even Chris, who was beside them, furrowed his brow slightly:
"I equally don't recommend you taking so many courses, Kael,"
he said, "You already have the Merlin Knight Order Second Class, there's really no need to obsess over twelve certificates.
Moreover... those who fool around with time eventually get fooled by time... do you understand what I mean?"
"Of course, Dad,"
Kael folded the course selection form, smiling, "Trust me, I can handle it."
"If you insist... well then," Chris hesitated for a moment but still nodded.
After that, Kael called Ladon over to send his course selection form back to Hogwarts.
Fred and George exchanged a glance, initially intending to convince Kael to drop a couple of courses…
After all, Percy serves as the best example.
They didn't want to see Kael end up looking perpetually tired, as if he couldn't wake up.
But alas, Ladon flew away too quickly, disappearing almost instantly outside the house, giving them no time to react.
Now that the form had been sent back to Hogwarts, the two could only temporarily abandon the idea of persuading Kael further…
They planned to write to others and try to talk to him again on the train.
Anyhow, they needed to convince Kael to change his mind before classes started!