Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Kyle and Professor Sprout walked through the foyer, up the marble staircase, and down a corridor.
Professor Sprout's office wasn't large, but it was filled with the fresh scent of earth. A warm fire burned in the fireplace, and lush vines climbed the walls, with various magical plants everywhere, making it look exactly like the greenhouse outside the castle.
Near the window was a small desk.
Professor Sprout walked to the desk and pointed to a brown box on it.
"I received this package two days before the start of school. It was from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, along with a letter saying it was compensation for the damage to the Forbidden Forest."
At this point, Professor Sprout's expression suddenly became somewhat strange.
"But I remember that Minerva didn't seem to ask the Ministry of Magic for any compensation, so these things should be for you, right?"
"Ahem, yes, Professor."
Kyle said somewhat embarrassedly, "I did write to the Ministry of Magic, but that was at the request of the Aurors.
They seem to know that I used some valuable magical items in the Forbidden Forest, which is why I barely survived Oren's clutches, so they generously decided to give me some compensation."
"Is that so?" Professor Sprout said with a smile.
"But the letter also said that they would soon send someone to build a new greenhouse for Hogwarts. Was that also at your request?"
"Uh… no."
Kyle thought for a moment and said, "I just mentioned in the letter that too much dark magic had been cast in the Forbidden Forest, and many precious magical plants and trees that were hundreds of years old had been destroyed. "
"They're probably trying to compensate the school this way."
Professor Sprout's expression grew even stranger; her face flushed slightly, and she glanced subconsciously out the window.
She knew all too well what plants were in the Forbidden Forest.
Most of the rare and precious plants had already been moved to the greenhouse; what remained were mostly common varieties like white peas or bubble pods.
As for those so-called century-old trees… to be honest, after the Aurors left, she and Felius restored the damaged Forbidden Forest to its original state in just five minutes.
Professor Sprout cleared her throat and said righteously, "Yes, it's a real pity about those plants. It's rare that the Ministry of Magic thought of this and built a new greenhouse to protect them."
She seemed quite pleased, her tone light and cheerful, "Then, you can take stock of their compensation here and see if anything is missing.
But remember to hurry; I think the Sorting Ceremony should be starting soon." After Professor Sprout finished speaking, she left the office, closing the door behind her.
After she left, Kyle went to the desk and opened the box.
There weren't many things inside; about half of it was neatly arranged Galleons, roughly fifty in total, with the word "broom" written next to them.
Kyle had indeed thrown a broom in the Forbidden Forest, but it had been smashed in two by a falling tree during a later battle, rendering it completely unusable.
Presumably, the Ministry of Magic couldn't find such an old model, so they simply sold it for cash.
Kyle set the Galleons aside.
The broom was school property, so these Galleons were naturally irrelevant to him; the rest was the important part.
After removing the Galleons, only five tightly sealed glass jars remained in the box.
Inside were seeds, seeds of magical plants.
The jars were labeled with their names:
"Chomping Cabbage,"
"Mandragora aka Mandrake," and
"Angel's Trumpet."
"Venomous Tentacula,"
"Fanged Geraniums"
—Kyle picked up the bottles and carefully placed them into his shapeshifting lizard skin bag.
He felt a surge of relief.
To make things seem more plausible, he had reported these as "lost plants," which was why the Ministry of Magic had sent the items to Hogwarts.
After all, almost all of them were plant species listed as "extremely dangerous," especially the chomping cabbage and devil's snare, which were prohibited from trade; the Ministry of Magic explicitly forbade private cultivation and sale.
Before this, Kyle hadn't really been sure; frankly, he was gambling that the professor who received the package would open it.
If he did, then these seeds would only end up in the newly built greenhouse.
Fortunately, Kyle was lucky.
Professor Sprout didn't care much about anything except the plants in the greenhouse.
After putting away the bottles, Kyle breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
He was now genuinely grateful to the Ministry of Magic for packaging them so securely.
Receiving these seeds right under the nose of a botanical master—it was quite a thrill!
After leaving Professor Sprout's office, Kyle descended the stairs and returned to the Great Hall.
The new students had arrived, and the Great Hall was now a sea of pointed black hats, every long house table packed with students.
Before the head table lay the worn-out Sorting Hat, now adorned with a few things different from last year.
A red and blue cloth, perhaps a tea towel or a headscarf, was wrapped around the tip, and a small pair of sunglasses hung from the brim.
Kyle arrived just as it began to sing.
The Sorting Hat seemed very excited, wriggling on its triangular stool, and its melody was completely different from traditional wizarding music.
"...
Hogwarts truly is a school; the magic taught here is all incredibly wondrous.
Gryffindors possess courage and boldness, unafraid of hardship or danger.
Hufflepuffs are honest and hardworking, their students resilient and sincere.
Ravenclaws are clever and quick-witted, seeking secrets in books and exploring the meaning of magic.
Perhaps you'll go to Slytherin; they are calm and meticulous, showing no mercy to anyone in pursuit of glory.
Come, take me with you, don't be afraid.
One last thing, my name is the Sorting Hat.
Where I'll be sorted... don't be silly."
After the Sorting Hat finished singing, the entire Great Hall erupted in cheers, the young wizards applauding thunderously, as if trying to lift the ceiling.
Kyle turned to the other side, heading towards the Hufflepuff table.
Cedric had reserved a seat for him, right between him and Mikel.
"Kyle, you should have come sooner," Cedric said regretfully, "The Sorting Hat's tune is completely different from previous years."
"Yes, I heard it just now," Kyle said with a smile.
It seems the Sorting Hat received the Christmas present he gave him last year.
He just hadn't expected Hogwarts could still play those tapes.
[End of the chapter]