The joyful days at Hogwarts flew by, and before anyone realized it, June had arrived.
Over the past four months, the number of people practicing climbing and water-walking by the Black Lake had grown from three to four.
In addition to the twin brothers who started it all, and Penelope who joined midway, Kyle had also roped in Cedric, whom he'd once briefly met in the kitchens.
Perhaps because of their shared training, the five of them quickly grew close.
Under Kyle's influence, the group had broken at least dozens, if not hundreds, of school rules over those four months.
Their antics included, but were not limited to: sneaking into the Forbidden Forest in the dead of night to mess with magical creatures, using secret passages to visit Hogsmeade on non-weekend days, violating the underage wizard alcohol ban, and, during a night stroll, blinding the castle's caretaker and prefect enforcer, Argus Filch, with a Lumos spell before making their escape…
Albus Dumbledore watched his half-son's behavior with a heavy heart, yet felt utterly helpless.
Verbal reprimands—those mild, toothless measures—had no effect on Kyle whatsoever.
As for corporal punishment, Dumbledore didn't believe any lesson of that sort would faze Kyle, who could endure severe burns to his arm without so much as flinching.
Even Professor Snape, whose perpetually dour expression and low-pressure aura struck terror into the hearts of Hogwarts students, couldn't intimidate Kyle in the slightest.
Thus, whenever Dumbledore thought about Kyle's education, a wave of melancholy washed over him.
Led by Kyle, with the Weasley twins—Gryffindor's most notorious pranksters—as the core, and joined by Cedric, a once-good kid led astray by the trio, the four of them had practically formed a "Father's Despair Alliance."
The Father's Despair Alliance, as the name suggested, was a group that left their old father—Dumbledore—utterly exasperated.
He couldn't very well petrify Kyle with a Petrificus Totalus and lock him in a dark, sunless room for a few days as punishment, could he?
What truly unnerved Dumbledore, however, was Kyle's magical talent.
Like his father, Kyle possessed extraordinary magical aptitude and showed a keen interest in highly dangerous combat magic.
Not long ago, at Kyle's request, Dumbledore had helped him refine a spell called the "Rasengan."
Though the Rasengan's power was only enough to destroy a single tree—and in the wizarding world, spells that could fell a tree were a dime a dozen—what shocked Dumbledore was the spell's boundless potential.
The Rasengan was formed from the most basic magical energy. With Dumbledore's profound expertise, the moment he saw the spell, he envisioned countless ways to infuse it with other magic.
For example—Fiendfyre.
He had, in fact, tested the power of a Fiendfyre Rasengan. The hundreds of square meters of scorched earth in the Forbidden Forest were proof enough.
Dumbledore could tell that this was far from the Rasengan's full potential.
That alone spoke volumes.
Fortunately, aside from blinding Filch with a flash of light and the somewhat excessive underage drinking, Kyle hadn't done anything else to worry Dumbledore—like bullying or worse.
At least for the time being, there was no immediate risk of a third-generation Dark Lord rising.
The scorching June sun baked the earth until it was blisteringly hot. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled, shimmering patches of light on the ground.
In the Forbidden Forest, Kyle, maintaining a bowing posture, slowly lifted his head, his eyes locked on the towering creature before him.
This was no ordinary horse. It had a massive eagle's head, legs that ended in sharp talons rather than hooves, and a pair of powerful wings that, when spread, spanned over twenty feet.
This was a hippogriff.
The hippogriff proudly raised its head, staring down at the young wizard bowing before it.
Just as Kyle was about to lose the battle against blinking, the hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees, lowering its body in a clear return bow.
"Ha! Kyle! You did it!" Hagrid's gruff voice boomed from the side. "Now you can ride Buckbeak!"
Buckbeak was the hippogriff's name.
At Hagrid's words, Kyle blinked his stinging eyes and cautiously stepped forward, using the expert cat-petting skills he'd honed in his previous life to scratch the feathers at Buckbeak's neck.
Buckbeak let out a pleased rumble and nuzzled Kyle's head, clearly enjoying the attention.
Relieved, Kyle boldly placed a hand on Buckbeak's body and, with a quick boost, swung himself onto its back.
"Alright, Kyle! Be careful not to pull its feathers—it'll get upset," Hagrid warned.
Once Kyle was ready, Hagrid gave Buckbeak's hind leg a pat. The hippogriff reared up on its front claws, its twelve-foot wings spreading wide.
Kyle clung to Buckbeak's neck as the creature shot into the sky like an arrow released from a bow.
The wind roared past him, and Kyle's heart soared with exhilaration.
This was way more thrilling than flying on a plane!
The breeze rustled the willow branches by the Black Lake as the majestic hippogriff soared, carrying Kyle in circles around the castle's towering spires before diving toward the mountains encircling Hogwarts.
After a few minutes of weaving through the valleys, Kyle had a bold idea.
He pulled out his wand, shrugged off his wizard robes, and leapt from Buckbeak's back.
As he free-fell, Kyle steadied himself and tapped his wand against the robes. In an instant, they transformed into an unpowered hang glider.
With his current skill in transfiguration, turning robes into a non-living object like a hang glider wasn't easy, but it was within his abilities.
Suspended beneath the glider, Kyle quickly caught up to the hippogriff ahead.
Buckbeak glanced back at Kyle and let out a piercing eagle cry.
For a few more minutes, the pair soared through the sky. Then Kyle adjusted the glider's direction, gliding slowly toward their starting point at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Buckbeak spread its wings, trotting a few steps on its four legs to halt its momentum before landing steadily on the ground.
Kyle's landing, however, was far less graceful.
When he was still three or four meters above the ground, he let go of the glider with his left hand.
With his right hand, he cast a cushioning charm on himself to soften the impact. The moment his feet touched the ground, Kyle rolled forward, coating himself in dirt before standing up.
Hagrid walked over.
He was clearly puzzled as to why Kyle had descended hanging from a hang glider but ultimately didn't ask.
"How was it, flying up there?" Hagrid asked.
Kyle picked up his fallen robes and waved excitedly at Hagrid. "It was Incredible, I wish to know how it would be to ride a dragon next!"
"Haha, now that's a question I'd like the answer to myself."
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