June was the last month of the Hogwarts school year, and all students were about to face a hellish ordeal—final exams.
Of course, final exams had nothing to do with Kyle for the time being. After all, he hadn't even enrolled yet. His first finals wouldn't be until next June.
This was also why, while all the other students were busy with exams, Kyle was leisurely riding a Hippogriff in the Forbidden Forest.
On the other hand, the situation for Cedric and the twins was not so great.
History of Magic that afternoon was their last exam.
Under the leadership of a certain bad influence, they were now showing the initial symptoms of needing Professor Yang's electroshock therapy.
For countless days and nights when they had no classes, the trio holed up inside Kyle's suitcase, wasting their time in the arcade and at the shooting range.
In classes like Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions, the professors kept them under high pressure, so the trio didn't dare to relax.
But in a class like History of Magic, where the professor didn't even remember their names, the three of them had completely cut loose.
So when it came time for the History of Magic exam, having only crammed for two days, they could only bite the bullet and go in. They didn't even know if it was possible to fail a class at Hogwarts.
After Kyle had finished who-knows-how-many cups of tea in Hagrid's hut, the bell signaling the end of the exams finally rang from the distant castle. The students' cheers could be heard even from inside the hut.
Kyle stood up and said goodbye to Hagrid.
He had plans with the twins and Cedric to climb the wall and go fool around in Hogsmeade now that exams were over.
Er... the reason they had to climb the wall was...
On a previous weekend, they had secretly snuck into Hogsmeade, only to run head-on into Dumbledore right as he was walking out of the Three Broomsticks.
What made Dumbledore furious wasn't their unauthorized trip, but the alcohol they were carrying, which they had bought from the Hog's Head.
And then, the four of them were in for it.
Not only did Dumbledore confiscate their alcohol, but he also sealed up Kyle's wine cellar. The furious Dumbledore didn't even spare the secret passages leading from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade.
Of course, none of this could stop Kyle, who, from a previous life, had extensive experience climbing walls to skip school and go to internet cafes.
So the secret passages were blocked. But with Hogwarts' ridiculously long border, surely Dumbledore couldn't have placed a barrier around the entire school, right?
Thus, their method of getting out changed from "using secret passages" to "climbing the wall."
It was a method Dumbledore found impossible to guard against.
Kyle soon met up with the other three at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
After meeting up, the four of them quickly crossed the sun-drenched lawn and arrived at the stone wall surrounding the castle.
Kyle glanced at the tall pillars topped with winged boars on either side of the distant main gate, then looked away and turned to the other three. "Let's go."
He led the charge toward the stone wall, running straight up the four- or five-meter-high surface. After a few steps, he vaulted, twisting in mid-air to land on the ground outside the wall.
After learning tree climbing and water walking, even the tens-of-meters-high ramparts of Hogwarts castle wouldn't have been a problem for the members of the "Father-Worrying Alliance," let alone this perimeter wall that was a mere four or five meters high.
After walking for twenty or thirty minutes, they arrived near Hogsmeade. Kyle opened the ninja tool pouch he had gotten back from Dumbledore—the one with the Undetectable Extension Charm on it.
To be precise, it couldn't really be called a tool pouch anymore. It was just a storage pouch, as Dumbledore had confiscated all the ninja tools that were inside.
He dumped out a large pile of strange and assorted items.
The pile included, but was not limited to: cosmetics, hairnets, wigs, fake beards, clothes, shoe lifts...
"I really don't know where you get all this weird stuff," Cedric said, skillfully grabbing a shoe lift and stuffing it into his own shoe.
"Who cares where it comes from?" George said, clapping Cedric on the shoulder. "If it weren't for Kyle, how would we be able to disguise ourselves to sneak into the Three Broomsticks, right, Fred?"
Fred, busy stuffing his fiery red hair into a hairnet, replied without looking back, "I'm more curious where Kyle learned all this stuff."
Hearing this, Kyle—who was currently putting in colored contacts to hide his heterochromia—felt his face darken.
Don't ask. If you must know, blame the anime club from his past life.
Back when the club was recruiting, all he saw at the performance were cute girls in cosplay. But after he passed the interview and joined, he discovered the entire club was made up of guys.
It's a long, sad story!
A moment later, the four, now completely disguised, strolled leisurely into Hogsmeade.
As long as they slightly disguised their still-somewhat-childish voices, no one would be able to tell they were underage wizards.
The four crossed the street and entered a crowded, noisy pub. Behind the bar, a woman with a graceful figure and pretty face was tending to a group of rowdy wizards.
"Hello, Madam Rosmerta," Kyle called out.
Madam Rosmerta, seeing her four regular customers, greeted them happily. "The usual for you gentlemen?"
Judging by their conversation, it was obvious the four of them had given the Three Broomsticks plenty of business.
Kyle extravagantly slapped a large bag of Galleons onto the bar. "No, today I'm going to challenge the record."
Hearing him mention challenging the record, Cedric and the twins instantly turned pale.
"Um, Ky—cough—Bruce, I don't think anyone broke your record," Cedric said, tugging on Kyle's sleeve. "Maybe we should just…"
Before he could finish, someone interrupted. "Mr. Wayne! Someone's about to break your drinking record!"
George and Fred exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
The four of them hurried to the back of the pub, where a rowdy crowd was gathered around a table, shouting.
"Come on! Come on!"
"Number twenty-eight!"
"Twenty-nine!"
"That's thirty! He's tied the record!"
The challenger at the center of the adoring crowd had his back to Kyle and the others as he raised the final glass of Firewhisky.
He tipped his head back and downed the shot, then turned the glass upside down. A single remaining drop trickled down the side and dripped onto the tabletop, making a tiny splash.
The empty glass signified a new record, and the pub erupted in deafening cheers.
But when the crowd saw "Bruce Wayne"—the creator of the original record—had arrived, the pub suddenly fell silent.
Because of the sudden quiet, the old wizard who had broken the record turned his head in surprise.
Kyle stared blankly at the man's heterochromatic eyes—one dark, one light. "Who are you?"
"Just a passing wizard. I'm looking for my son."
George, Fred, and Cedric all gasped.
Kyle froze. "You can't find your son?"
"Yes. It happened a long time ago," the old wizard said, his voice tinged with sadness.
Kyle stared blankly into the man's eyes. "I can't find my father either."
"That is truly a shame." The old wizard lowered his gaze.
"Yeah..."
"Well, good luck to you."
"Good luck to you, too. I hope you find your son soon."
"And I hope you find your father soon."
Everyone in the pub looked back and forth between Kyle and the old wizard.
George, Fred, and Cedric facepalmed in exasperation.
Kyle turned, took one step, and then finally realized.
Wait! Heterochromia!?
Kyle reached up, swiped a hand over his eye, and removed the colored contact, revealing his original eye color.
"Son!?"
"Dad!"
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