Hogwarts: I'm Really a Model Wizard

Molly gave Fred and George's ears a gentle twist as they fooled around.

"If you two manage to win a Special Award for Services to the School, then you can strut down Diagon Alley with your trophies all you like." She turned to Percy and said, "Well, dear, have a good term. Send me an owl when you get to school."

She kissed him on the cheek, and he walked away.

"Now for you two." Molly said, eyeing the twins, "Behave yourselves this year. And don't lead Kyle astray."

"Lead Kyle astray?" Fred's voice rose sharply, "Mom, are you joking?!"

"Of course not." Molly said.

A whistle sounded, and the train began to move slowly forward.

"Quick, get on board, and look after Ron."

"Don't worry, Mom, little Ronnie will be fine with us." Fred said, before hurriedly climbing aboard with George and Ron.

Kyle leaned out the window and waved to Molly.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Weasley!"

"Goodbye, dear." Molly called out, "Write to me if they get into any trouble!"

Choo Choo~

The train pulled away as Ginny ran alongside, waving until she couldn't keep up. Houses flashed past the window. As the train rounded a bend, she disappeared from view.

Kyle turned away and started playing wizard chess with Cedric beside him.

Cho and Kanna huddled together, secretly reading a magazine.

After one game, Cedric curiously tried to peek over at the magazine, but Cho pushed him away with a slap. Left with no choice, he returned his attention to the chessboard.

After two more games, the twins returned.

They slid open the compartment door excitedly, "Hey guys, guess who we just met on the train?"

"Who could you possibly meet on the train?" Cedric said absent-mindedly, "It's not like it's Harry Potter or anything."

"How did you know!" Fred exclaimed, his eyes wide, "That's exactly who it was!"

Cedric's hand froze mid-move as he held a chess piece, "Are you sure?"

"I asked him myself, and I saw the scar too — right there, like a bolt of lightning."

"Now that you mention it... I remember." Cedric said, tapping his forehead, "Given his age, he would be starting this year. Makes sense — You-Know-Who fell ten years ago, the timing matches perfectly."

"Never mind that." George said curiously, "Do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

"Probably not." Cedric said, "He was just a baby then, how could he remember?"

"That's true." Kyle smiled, "What, are you curious about Vol — You-Know-Who's appearance?"

"A bit." Fred said, leaning against the compartment wall, "I mean, he's You-Know-Who! Aren't you curious what he looked like?"

"No!" Kyle shook his head, "He's just a powerful wizard, what's there to be curious about? For all we know, he might not even have had a nose."

"Ha, as if!" Fred let out a strange laugh.

That was so like Kyle... You-Know-Who without a nose? It was the funniest joke they'd heard all year. The others reacted similarly; none of them could believe such an absurd idea.

After the laughter died down, Cedric rubbed his eyes and asked, "We'll be at Hogwarts soon. Are we selling maps again this year?"

"Of course." Fred nodded immediately, "This is a business worth dozens of Galleons, and we only get one chance per year. We can't miss it."

"Right." George said with a grin, glancing at Kyle, "As seniors, how could we bear to see those adorable first-years getting lost?"

Kyle raised an eyebrow. That was supposed to be his line, but this guy had stolen it.

"Are you all free right now?" Cedric suggested, "Why don't we make the maps here?"

The train had just departed, and they still had several hours before reaching Hogwarts — plenty of time to produce a batch of maps.

Cho and Kanna agreed right away. They had nothing else to do, and since they didn't enjoy wizard chess, having some real work seemed like a good idea.

Fred and George thought for a moment, then agreed too. Though they'd promised Lee they'd release spiders in the Slytherin compartments, making money was more appealing.

So everyone turned to look at Kyle.

"Of course I have no objections." He said with a shrug, "Since you've all decided, let's clear the table quickly. We can't fit parchment with all these snacks here."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone scrambled to clear away the snacks.

Seeing this, Kyle took out two stacks of parchment from his trunk. The thicker stack was the common type from Scribbulus — ten sheets for a Sickle, with bulk discounts available. He had brought about seventy or eighty sheets.

The other stack was much smaller, only about a dozen sheets. These were premium parchment with soft, clean surfaces and special gold-lined patterns at the top and bottom — real gold, not the gold paint they'd used last year. Naturally, this type of parchment was quite expensive: one Galleon per sheet.

Kyle placed both stacks of parchment and the original map on the table.

"What are we waiting for? Let's begin."

Everyone simultaneously reached for the common parchment, each taking about a dozen sheets.

Watching their actions, Kyle said irritably, "You lot sure know how to make things easy for yourselves."

While the copying spell process was the same, his premium version required adding special embellishments and decorations — quite troublesome to make.

He had only been trying to be polite by offering a choice, but he hadn't expected them to be so inconsiderate. If he'd known, he would have chosen first.

Kyle sighed. It was surprising how even Cedric and Kanna had learned to be crafty under the Weasley twins' influence. Those two brothers were truly a bad influence.

He sighed again and silently took out his wand, pointing it at the parchment.

✭ Geminio ➜ Duplication Charm ✭

The map's patterns began gradually appearing on the blank parchment. This time, Kyle estimated the Duplication Charm would last for an entire term.

Soon, the compartment was bustling with activity. The blank parchment pile grew smaller as the completed maps pile grew larger.

BANG!

Just as everyone was concentrating on their copying spells, there came a sudden knock at their compartment door.

✭✭✭

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