Chapter 11: I Don't Have the Surname Weasley, So How Could I Break School Rules?

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After his worries disappeared, Cedric became significantly more cheerful. No longer focused on his studies, he took the initiative to speak to Kyle: "Hi, can I call you Kyle?"

"Of course," Kyle nodded. "In fact, my father also works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and he's a colleague of your dad."

"Your father?" Cedric paused in surprise and then asked uncertainly, "Is it Mr. Chris Choba?"

"Yes," Kyle replied.

Cedric suddenly realized, "You're a Choba, and you know the Weasley brothers… oh, I should have guessed! We're neighbors!"

With this newfound connection, their relationship quickly became much closer, and their interactions felt more natural, as if they were old friends who had known each other for a long time.

Despite the fact that they had never met before today.

"By the way, Kyle," Cedric seemed to remember something and asked with curiosity, "I recall I came looking for you once, but you weren't home. At that time, my dad told me you had been following Mr. Scamander since you were very young, and you would surely achieve something great in the future.

Is that true? Have you really been studying under Mr. Scamander all this time?"

Cedric was genuinely curious; after all, this was Scamander they were talking about.

While there are many celebrities in the British magical community, most are only somewhat famous in their own countries.

For instance, there are authors of textbooks and novelists who have received the Third Class Order of Merlin; they might be well-known at Hogwarts, but once you leave for places like Ilvermorny or Beauxbatons, people might not even know who you are.

In truth, only a handful of wizards achieve such widespread fame in the magical world that they have their portraits printed on Chocolate Frog cards while they are still alive.

And Scamander is one of those few.

Being so close to a legendary figure for the first time, Cedric was naturally very curious.

...

On the other side, Kyle was looking at Cedric in disbelief.

He had also been looking for Cedric, but he wasn't home either? What a coincidence!

Moreover, wasn't Mr. Diggory in the same office as Chris? Where did he hear such gossip? It was impossible that he had been with Uncle Newt all this time.

Kyle rubbed his forehead in frustration and thought for a moment before saying, "First of all, the notion that I will achieve something great in the future is certainly correct, but my dad is actually Newt Scamander's student. I simply visit him for fun."

Newt is not like Dumbledore; he suffers from severe social anxiety. He was somewhat better in his younger years—though not very talkative, he could make a few friends, fight against the Dark Lord, or mentor a few students in magical creature knowledge.

However, ever since Grindelwald was imprisoned in Nurmengard, Newt rarely participated in social activities and focused entirely on magical creatures.

In the past thirty years, he has hardly spoken to strangers, and his social anxiety has only intensified.

You can't expect someone like Newt to teach a young wizard every day like a Hogwarts professor, checking for gaps in knowledge and grading assignments.

That's impossible.

Furthermore, Newt is well aware that his personality is not suited for teaching. In his view, whether it's a professor or a teacher, they should be like Dumbledore.

Thus, Chris became his last official student.

In the following decades, although many people had this idea, and some even enlisted Dumbledore to act as a negotiator, Newt rejected all of them without exception.

Newt didn't want to misguide the younger generation; even if the other person didn't mind, he couldn't get past his own conscience.

Initially, Kyle went to visit because Chris and Diana were too busy with work to take care of him. Coincidentally, Newt's wife, Tina, learned about this and kindly offered to take Kyle in. While helping Chris, Tina could also find something to keep herself occupied.

It's understandable; being around a quiet husband who was completely absorbed in magical creatures was already quite enough for Tina. If she didn't find something to do, she would likely go stir-crazy.

At that time, Kyle had just turned six, and according to Tina's experience, that was an age when children could be rather challenging. Perhaps it would also help address Newt's social anxiety.

Their grandson, at that age, had caused Newt no end of trouble; he spoke more in a single day than he had in the entire previous month.

On this front, Kyle certainly didn't disappoint Tina.

Although he wasn't a troublesome child, he was very curious, especially since it was his first time seeing so many different magical creatures. Naturally, he couldn't help but ask a lot of questions.

Perhaps because these questions were all related to magical creatures, Newt, who rarely initiated conversations, would respond thoughtfully whenever Kyle asked.

As a result, he spoke more than usual and did so willingly.

In short, all three of them were very satisfied.

Because of this, even when Chris and Diana became less busy, Kyle continued to visit every year for a while.

...

Of course, Kyle didn't intend to share these details with Cedric; after all, Newt's reputation needed to be upheld.

A reclusive legendary master of magical creatures sounds much better than a socially anxious old man.

So, after briefly explaining, Kyle decided not to continue the topic. The more he talked, the easier it would be to slip up; the current level of conversation was just right.

"By the way, Cedric, what do you think of the professors at Hogwarts? Are they easy to get along with?" Kyle naturally glanced at the book "Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection" next to Cedric and added, "You know it's my first time at school, and I'm not familiar with these things. What if I accidentally upset a professor? Would I get expelled?"

"You really don't have to worry about that."

Cedric, believing him, replied with a smile, "The professors are all great… well, at least most of them are. Even the strictest professors won't easily expel a student.

Unless you do something seriously against school rules."

When he said that last part, Cedric's expression turned serious, and his lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something but didn't know how to begin.

Seeing this, Kyle guessed what he was trying to say and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Don't worry; I don't have the surname Weasley, so I definitely won't break any school rules."

Hearing this, Cedric finally relaxed. "Sorry… that's not what I meant."

Kyle shook his head. "It's okay; I understand."

Since they were discussing Hogwarts, Cedric became more enthusiastic and shared more detailed information with Kyle.

For instance, he mentioned that there was no need to worry about the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, that the Transfiguration professor, who was obsessed with becoming a cat, was the most intimidating… and most importantly, that the Potions professor, who didn't wash his hair, loved to deduct points.

Basically, everything Cedric mentioned was consistent with what Kyle already knew; there wasn't anything particularly new.

(End of Chapter)