Half an hour later, the two emerged from Flourish and Blotts. Dumbledore glanced at Eeylops Owl Emporium nearby before turning to Kyle.
"Your wand and books are sorted. Shall we get you a pet next?"
Kyle's eyes lit up. "A pet? Can I get a phoenix like Fawkes?"
"I'm afraid not. Phoenixes are exceedingly rare magical creatures…"
"…but we can get you an owl."
Kyle's sparkling eyes dimmed instantly.
If he couldn't have a cool phoenix as a pet, what was the point of an owl?
He didn't want an owl. He wanted a crow to channel his inner Itachi Uchiha.
So, Kyle strode boldly into the owl emporium.
When he came out, he was holding a birdcage with a pitch-black crow inside.
Kyle stroked his chin. "You'll be called One-Versus-Seven."
Dumbledore chuckled, his bright blue eyes twinkling as he watched the excited Kyle. "Let's head to Madam Malkin's to pick up your robes. That's the last thing on our list."
But Kyle didn't follow. Instead, his eager gaze fixed on the cauldron shop in the distance. "Professor, I'd like to buy a cauldron."
With permission granted, Kyle shoved the birdcage into Dumbledore's hands and dashed to the shop. He scooped up the copper cauldron he'd had his eye on, paid for it with a grin, and rejoined Dumbledore.
By the time they finished shopping in Diagon Alley, the sun was high overhead.
"We've missed lunch at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, checking the time.
Now dressed in wizard robes, Kyle examined his new copper cauldron. "Professor, does Hogwarts have a kitchen?"
"Of course. Our meals don't appear out of thin air. Why do you ask?"
Swallowing hard, Kyle looked at Dumbledore with anticipation. "Let's go back to Hogwarts! To the kitchen! Let me treat you to a magical dish from the East!"
Dumbledore agreed with a cheerful laugh, curious to see what Kyle had in store.
"Come on, we'll use Apparition to get back to Hogwarts."
Grabbing Dumbledore's arm, Kyle felt himself squeezed into a tight ball, as if stuffed into a toilet and flushed through the pipes. When he came to, he was standing on Hogwarts grounds.
"Is that teleportation magic?" Kyle almost said Flying Thunder God Technique.
"You could say that," Dumbledore replied.
"Professor! I want to learn that!" Kyle's eyes turned into starry sparkles.
"That magic is a bit advanced for you right now. Let's tackle lunch first."
Twenty minutes later, they were in the Hogwarts kitchen, a vast room with a high ceiling, as large as the Great Hall above. Copper pots and pans gleamed along the stone walls, and a massive brick fireplace dominated one end.
Four tables stood in the kitchen, arranged exactly like the house tables in the Great Hall.
Kyle and Dumbledore sat across from each other, a steaming copper cauldron between them. Under a ghostly blue flame, the bright red broth bubbled, sending up spicy steam.
Kyle dipped a slice of beef into the pot, swished it briefly, and placed it on Dumbledore's plate.
"Professor, please try it."
The spicy aroma of the hot pot hit Dumbledore's nose, its tantalizing scent making him salivate. But the pile of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns Kyle had tossed into the pot made him hesitate.
I, Albus Dumbledore, would rather starve, jump off the Astronomy Tower, or die outside than eat a single bite from this pot.
But seeing Kyle's hopeful expression, Dumbledore couldn't bear to refuse. With a resigned sigh, he picked up his knife and fork, took a bite of the beef, and braced himself.
The next second, his tightly shut eyes flew open.
Delicious!
"I'm curious where you learned about this dish," Dumbledore said.
"Brooklyn's not far from New York's Chinatown," Kyle replied, popping another slice of beef into his mouth. He sighed inwardly, wishing Hogwarts' kitchen had tripe.
After a few more slices, Dumbledore set down his utensils and sipped from a goblet of chilled wine.
"This level of spice is a bit much for a hundred-year-old man."
Kyle: "…"
Fine, eat the clear broth then.
Staring at the cauldron, Kyle's hands slowly formed a hand sign—Wei. A puff of white smoke rose, and the cauldron transformed into a mandarin duck pot, with the spicy red broth now confined to one side.
Wandless Transfiguration?
Dumbledore was momentarily surprised by Kyle's talent but quickly regained his composure.
Grindelwald's son. Basic stuff. Don't overreact.
With that thought, Dumbledore calmly summoned a house-elf working in the kitchen to fill the other half of the pot with clear broth.
House-elves were small creatures with bat-like ears, bulging eyes the size of tennis balls, and long, flat noses. An ancient race conquered by wizards, they were trained from birth to serve, generation after generation.
The hot pot Kyle and Dumbledore were enjoying had been prepared by these house-elves under Kyle's guidance.
"Professor, once I've got my wand and books, am I officially enrolled? Will I attend classes with the other students?" Kyle asked.
Dumbledore, busy with the hot pot, chewed thoughtfully and shook his head. After swallowing, he explained, "The school year is already well underway. If you joined now, you'd struggle to catch up. You'll officially enroll in September with the next batch of first-years."
"Can I audit the professors' classes in the meantime?" Kyle asked.
Dumbledore swallowed another bite. "Auditing should be fine."
He pulled a piece of parchment from his robes and handed it to Kyle. "This is the first-year timetable. I recommend starting with Professor Flitwick's Charms class, then Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration. Their current lessons might be a bit advanced for you, but they'll still be valuable. If you have any questions about magic, you can find me in the Headmaster's office on the eighth floor. The password is 'Fizzing Whizzbees.'"
Kyle took the parchment and studied it closely. The timetable listed schedules for all four houses: Gryffindor and Hufflepuff on one side, Slytherin and Ravenclaw on the other.
Kyle remembered from the movies he'd seen in his past life that Harry Potter, the protagonist, and that arrogant kid he'd put in his place in Diagon Alley today were from Gryffindor and Slytherin, respectively. He could've sworn the movies showed Gryffindor and Slytherin sharing classes often.
But when he checked the timetable again, the two rival houses only shared Potions and Flying lessons.
Don't ask. The movies changed the setting.
All four houses had Charms and Transfiguration that afternoon, just in different orders. Kyle was more intrigued by Charms than Transfiguration. He decided to audit Ravenclaw's Charms class first.
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