Professor Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was as terrible as ever, especially after his arm was injured, and the task of caring for his "teaching assistant" fell to the young wizards.
A Gryffindor student near the podium was unfortunate enough to receive this task.
Kyle noticed that when the student took the large lizard, his face turned pale, and he stood rigidly, not daring to move. It was as if he wasn't holding a harmless little animal, but rather Professor Snape's Animagus form.
"I'm so sick of this..."
As Kyle was leaving the classroom after class, he overheard the student complaining to his friend.
"That lizard smells exactly like Professor Quirrell. Does it eat nothing but garlic? Now that smell is all over me too! It's disgusting... I hope the cleaning charm works, otherwise I'll need to buy new school robes."
Kyle instinctively sniffed himself; he did have a garlic smell, though not as strong as Quirrell's. Since they had just left the Defense classroom, not many people would notice it.
With such a powerful odor, the student's desire for new robes made perfect sense.
Several people walked quickly past him, and when they reached the second floor, Kyle suddenly stopped.
He turned to his companions and asked, "I'm planning to go to the library. Do you want to join me?"
"No, no."
Michael and Ryan shook their heads firmly.
Kyle wasn't surprised; they only went to the library for homework, avoiding it at all other times.
"I won't go either." Kanna said after a moment's thought, "I've been studying the notes Professor Snape gave me. He'll be checking them at Christmas, so I don't have time for anything else."
"Snape's notes?" Kyle's eyes lit up, "Can I borrow them to look at... don't worry, I'll make a copy, it won't take up your time at all."
Last year, he had received Professor Flitwick's Charms notes, which contained not only unique insights but also practical application tips. This knowledge, absent from textbooks, had been incredibly valuable to him — the kind of material no amount of Galleons could buy.
"Of course you can look at them if you want." Kanna replied without hesitation, "You go to the library first, and I'll make you a copy when I get back. But... be careful when reading them, don't let Professor Snape find out. He told me not to share them."
As she spoke, her expression grew slightly strange.
In fact, when Snape gave her these notes, he not only instructed her not to share them but also specifically mentioned someone's name. She couldn't bring herself to say it in front of the person concerned.
"Don't worry, Professor Snape will absolutely never find out." Kyle promised, patting his chest, "I'm the most tight-lipped person at Hogwarts."
"Also..." Kanna continued, "My Duplication Charm isn't as good as yours, so the copy will probably only last about a week. You'd better read quickly."
Kyle wasn't concerned about this issue either.
He had a Quick-Quotes Quill and could transcribe everything. It wouldn't take a week — half a day would be plenty.
After deciding, Kanna and the other two returned to the common room, while Kyle took a detour and headed straight for the library.
Many young wizards at Hogwarts enjoyed reading. Even though classes had just ended, the library was almost full. Near the entrance, Kyle spotted the Gryffindor trio sitting at a table with a tall stack of books beside them.
Kyle glanced at them instinctively.
Hermione's presence wasn't surprising; she practically treated the library as her dormitory, visiting nearly every day.
But Harry and Ron were different. Like Kyle's roommates, they typically avoided the library, rarely appearing there.
What surprised him even more was the absence of parchment or quills on their table — clearly, they weren't doing homework.
Were they actually there to read books? That was unusual.
Nevertheless, Kyle didn't say much, just briefly greeted the three of them before heading toward Madam Pince.
"Harry..." Ron said quietly as he watched Kyle walk away, "What do you think about asking Kyle? If anyone knows who Nicolas Flamel is, it might be him."
"No way!" Hermione cut in before Harry could respond, "This is too dangerous. Don't forget, Snape tried to kill Harry last time. We can't drag Kyle into this too."
"Yeah... Hermione's right." Harry nodded after a moment's hesitation.
He agreed it was better not to tell Kyle about this. Besides, Ron's suggestion was just speculation.
Being clever didn't guarantee Kyle would know who Nicolas Flamel was. Hermione was the perfect example of that.
"Fine, I was just suggesting." Ron shrugged, "If you don't agree, then forget it."
While they were discussing this, Kyle had borrowed his book and was heading out of the library.
As he passed by the trio, he noticed them giving him strange looks. Their smiles seemed forced and awkward.
Awkward about seeing him? Were they ill, or was something wrong with their mental state?
Confused by their behavior, Kyle frowned and quickly left the library. Though he didn't understand what was happening, he decided it was safer to keep his distance from them.
Hermione proved his point — she used to be such a nice girl, but since she started hanging out with those two, she'd become strange as well.
Scary!
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After returning to the common room, Kyle first found Kanna and got Snape's notes.
The notes weren't thick, about the same size as Professor Flitwick's notes he'd received earlier, likely not the complete set.
"Make absolutely sure Professor Snape doesn't find out." Kanna reminded him again, "Otherwise, I'll be in trouble."
"Don't worry." Kyle took the notebook and found an empty spot to sit down.
Rather than examining Snape's notes immediately, he opened the book he had borrowed from the library: "Legendary Alchemical Items".
The first page featured self-stirring cauldrons, an item mentioned in last year's History of Magic class. Their invention had significantly improved potion success rates and reduced accidents — quite an important development.
Following the self-stirring cauldron were entries on broomsticks, Sneakoscopes, Time-Turners...
Kyle had no interest in these items. He quickly flipped through the pages until he found exactly what he was looking for.
The Philosopher's Stone!
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