ebonymovies Chapter 250: Course Selection
Chapter 250: Course Selection
A week after returning from Paris, Kyle finally received a Hogwarts letter on a bright morning. Heading downstairs for breakfast, he found Fred and George waiting in the living room, looking restless and eager.
After hiding out for over a month, they now spent nearly every day in Kyle’s attic, happily working on their Skiving Snackbox experiments. Chris, surprisingly, didn’t mind their racket—in fact, he welcomed it, calling it "early morning excitement."
“A letter from school?” Kyle picked up the yellow parchment envelope with its distinctive green writing.
“Yeah, it just arrived,” Chris said.
“Five minutes ago,” Fred added.
“We caught sight of the owl on its way out…” George chimed in, grinning.
“Kyle, read it. You’ll be in for a surprise.”
Kyle opened the letter and read it carefully. As usual, it informed him to board the Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross Station on September 1st and included a list of required books for the upcoming school year.
For third-years, the list read:
by Emeric Switch by Miranda Goshawk by Gilderoy Lockhart by Gilderoy Lockhart by Gilderoy Lockhart…and seven more books in the same series, all by Gilderoy Lockhart
Though Kyle had expected it, he couldn’t help but rub his forehead at the sight of this extravagant book list. Lockhart’s books weren’t cheap, averaging around five Galleons each. With seven required books, the total came to thirty-five Galleons—a substantial sum, nearly half of what Mr. Weasley earned in two weeks.
For Hogwarts families across the board, even if only half of the students purchased the books, Lockhart stood to make tens of thousands of Galleons. The Potter family’s hard-earned wealth over several generations wouldn’t add up to what Lockhart would pocket in a single year. No wonder he’d taken the Defense Against the Dark Arts job—professor’s curse or not, who could resist the allure of such easy profit?
After skimming the book list, Kyle pulled out a second piece of parchment from the envelope.
“Hey, why do you have an extra one?” Fred asked, momentarily puzzled. Then he realized, “Oh, right—you’re in third year now. You get to choose your classes.”
Kyle looked at the parchment listing his options:
Third-Year Electives
Arithmancy
Divination
by Cassandra Vablatsky
Care of Magical Creatures
Muggle Studies
Ancient Runes
Kyle noted the five books listed for Ancient Runes, which included dictionaries and syllabaries—a clear warning about the complexity of the course.
When they saw Kyle’s choice, Fred and George shivered in unison.
"Seriously, this class is the worst disaster I've ever faced," Fred said, his voice tinged with lingering dread. "Even worse than that time we had lunch with the Three-Headed Dog..."
Kyle casually circled on the form. “So, you two aren’t taking this again this year?”
"Nope, just dropping Divination," Fred said.
"To focus on re
“That’s true,” Kyle agreed, marking a line next to as well. Then he glanced down at the remaining options—, , and —and, to Fred and George’s astonishment, he marked all of them.
“Kyle, you’re not planning to take as many classes as Percy, are you?” George asked, eyebrows raised. “That’s… a terrible idea.”
"You may not know this," Fred said, "but Percy nearly went mad in third year."
"Slept at home for three straight days over Christmas holidays…" George added, "…and didn’t wake up once the whole time!"
"Mum was so scared she almost sent him to St. Mungo’s," Fred finished.
Even Chris, listening in, looked concerned. "I wouldn’t recommend taking so many classes either, Kyle. You already have an Order of Merlin, Second Class—no need to chase twelve OWLs"
He glanced at his son. "Besides… those who try to cheat time often find time turns on them in the end. You understand what I mean?”
“Of course, Dad,” Kyle said, folding the course selection sheet with a smile. “Trust me, I can handle it.”
“If you’re sure… alright.” Chris nodded after a brief hesitation.
Kyle called for Ratton, who took the form in his claws and sped off toward Hogwarts, disappearing in a flash.
Fred and George looked at each other in alarm. They’d meant to talk Kyle into choosing fewer classes—after all, they’d seen firsthand how Percy had been reduced to a pale, sleep-deprived wreck by third year. But Ratton was already gone, leaving them no time to react.
Seeing their efforts dashed, the twins exchanged resigned looks. They’d have to regroup and try another plan. They would write to their friends and rally them on the Hogwarts Express. One way or another, they were determined to talk Kyle out of his decision before classes started!