Chapter 3: CHAPTER 3 - Diagon Alley
After much deliberation, Kyle ultimately decided to deceive his father just this once and kept the news of the three-headed dog, Fluffy, to himself.
After all, he shared the same fondness for magical creatures, but unlike Newt, he didn't possess such extraordinary talents. A creature like Fluffy was rare even in Greece, and if he missed this opportunity, it would be hard to encounter such a magical creature again.
When comparing the two, he chose to deceive his father.
However, as a form of compensation and to ease his conscience, Kyle immediately broke free from the twins' grasp and went to Chris, giving him an apologetic look.
This left Chris utterly confused.
Equally puzzled were the twins.
They had just been about to continue their little prank—throwing some Jumping Powder onto Kyle's head—but at the last second, Kyle ducked down and ran. They had already tossed the powder, and no matter if he had dodged a second sooner or later, why did it have to be at this moment?
The twins stood there dumbfounded, helplessly watching as the Jumping Powder they'd thrown created a beautiful crisscrossing arc in the air before landing directly on the other's head.
"Hiss... hiss…"
"Darn… darn… darn…"
Two hurried gasps and the sound of frantic scratching filled the air, drawing everyone's attention. They instinctively turned toward the source of the noise.
What they saw was Fred and George, looking like two adult baboons, furiously scratching their heads.
Their already unruly hair was now a complete mess under their wild hands. Honestly, even the Sorting Hat looked better than their current state.
"Oh, Fred, George, what are you two up to now?!"
Seeing the increasing number of people staring at them with strange looks, Mrs. Weasley's face turned red as she hurried over to the twins, grabbing their ears with one hand each and dragging them toward a nearby alley.
At least there would be fewer people there, and she could save a bit of face.
Unlike the main street of Diagon Alley, where her sons were mimicking baboons in public.
Merlin's beard! If this continued, the Weasley family's centuries-old reputation would truly be gone, just like that!
Mrs. Weasley acted decisively, but unfortunately, the twins seemed to suffer. Their gasps grew louder, and for some reason, Kyle thought he saw tears in their eyes.
If it were true… then he could only say they truly lived up to being twins, even their tears seemed to appear in the same spot.
On the other side, watching Mrs. Weasley drag the twins away, Mr. Weasley clearly sighed in relief. He fought to suppress his embarrassment and kept urging everyone to go ahead and buy what they needed, telling them not to wait for him.
At the back of the group, Kyle stood next to Ron, trying his best to hold back his laughter, but it wasn't easy.
However, the moment he looked up and met Diana's gaze, he froze, forced to put on a polite yet awkward smile.
His mother was great in every way, but her sixth sense was ridiculously accurate. He'd never been able to hide anything from her.
He'd been lucky when he crossed over; he had arrived about five or six months before she gave birth to him. If not, he was sure his identity would have been discovered by now.
"Really..." Kyle scratched his head, thinking to himself, "With a mom like this, there's no such thing as privacy."
Diana didn't say anything, just shot him a warning look before turning away.
It wasn't really that serious; Molly was simply a bit too worried.
As for the twins, they were well-known troublemakers at Hogwarts, and their antics had long spread through the wizarding world. Even Diana had heard of them.
Some of the strange things they had done included blowing up toilet seats, using sacks to capture Mrs. Longbottom during late-night strolls, and throwing dung bombs under the seats of Slytherin first-years, falsely accusing them of having accidents in class. Who knew how many more stories there were?
Compared to these, mimicking baboons in public was nothing at all.
Thus, the most anyone did was chuckle. It was impossible for this to tarnish the Weasley family's reputation (except, of course, for a certain unnamed member of a pure-blood family with platinum blonde hair).
Mrs. Weasley's exaggerated reaction was simply due to her not being used to it yet.
Whether it was Bill, Charlie, or Percy, they were all outstanding children, and Mrs. Weasley had subconsciously applied that same standard to the twins. Even though their behavior was far from that of their older brothers, this perception couldn't be easily changed.
After all, Bill and Charlie weren't always well-behaved either, but one couldn't deny that they were among the best students at Hogwarts.
To put it another way, just imagine Percy, ever so serious, mimicking a baboon in the street, and you could understand Mrs. Weasley's reaction.
But this was only temporary. Once a year or two passed, as news from Hogwarts increased, Mrs. Weasley would gradually get used to it.
At least the next time something like this happened, she would be much calmer.
After the brief interruption, the group soon split up.
Since Ron and Ginny weren't of age to attend Hogwarts yet, the Weasley family had only come to Diagon Alley to buy books for the twins and Percy for the new school year.
But Kyle, being a new student, had to buy a lot of things, and the most important item on his list was, of course, his wand.
No need for guidance, Kyle skillfully maneuvered through Diagon Alley and quickly found the destination: a small, shabby shop.
Ollivanders: Fine Wands Since 382 B.C.
Kyle stood at the door, slightly speechless, as he looked at the shop. Every time he visited, he couldn't help but feel exasperated. It was just so run-down—there was so much dust on the windows that you could probably build a sculpture out of it. Did wizards really like that old-timey feel?
But places like Gringotts and the Flying Broomstick Shop were nice, clean, and pleasant to look at.
Or was it simply the confidence of having an exclusive business? No matter how shabby the place, you still had to come?
But Gringotts was also an exclusive business…
Kyle had thought about this a lot in the past and had even asked Chris and Mr. Weasley, but he still hadn't gotten an answer. Standing here now, he could only shrug and accept it as the eccentricity of an artisan.
Asking about it directly was out of the question—one didn't want to offend anyone. After all, Ollivander was one of the most famous wand makers in the wizarding world, and maintaining good relations was important.
But next year, Ron would be attending Hogwarts, and maybe he could convince the twins to ask Ron, their youngest brother, for help.
After all, it wasn't really betraying a friend, was it?
He wasn't betraying his best friend—he was just having Ron Weasley, the younger brother of his beloved twins, help out.
(End of Chapter)
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