In the afternoon, they had Ancient Runes. This year, Professor Babbling still hadn't managed to convince Dumbledore to let her combine multiple grades into one class. This frustrated her, and she made sure the students felt it, too.
"How do different arrangements of the runes affect the completed symbol?" she asked, starting off the lesson.
Cho looked at the board and felt her head begin to spin. "But Professor…" she said, raising her hand, "isn't this usually the last topic we cover? Today's only the first day of school!"
"That's right. You all did very well last year," Professor Babbling replied, her gray eyes twinkling as she smiled. "So I've decided to skip over the basics and focus on some real knowledge."
"Everyone, look here. The pictograph has several components. Let's start with the most complex one…"
Cho's head swam again as she watched Professor Babbling draw the intricate pictograph. She couldn't make heads or tails of it but tried to concentrate, frantically scribbling everything down.
Poor Kanna, sitting beside her, was in the same predicament. Her hand never stopped moving, her quill nearly sparking across the parchment as she struggled to keep up.
When class finally ended, Cho and Kanna let out sighs of relief, rubbing their wrists as though they'd barely survived an ordeal. They'd been taking notes non-stop, and their hands were numb and aching.
It was then that Kanna noticed the parchment on Kyle's desk—completely blank.
"Kyle, did you understand everything?" she asked, astonished.
Hearing this, Cho turned as well, looking at Kyle with an expression as though he were some sort of supernatural being.
"Understand it all? No," Kyle admitted with a shake of his head. "This is something you have to build on gradually. Professor Babbling was a bit all over the place. No way anyone could learn it all in just one class."
"Then why didn't you take any notes?" Kanna asked, puzzled. "Didn't you hear clearly? You can copy mine if you want." She pushed her stack of notes toward him. "Though I missed some bits, so it might not be complete."
"Same here," Cho added, sliding over her own stack. "You could compare both sets and fill in any gaps… I don't want to look at these notes again anytime soon."
Kyle shook his head. "No need. I'm not planning to copy them. I wasn't going to from the start, or I'd have used a Self-Writing Quill."
"Oh… the Self-Writing Quill…" Cho groaned, grabbing her head. "Ugh, why didn't I think of that!"
But Kanna furrowed her brow, suddenly realizing something. "Wait… so you're not taking any notes at all?"
"Correct." Kyle shrugged, reaching into his bag and placing a thick book on the table. The Evolution of Runes.
"I was tipped off about it last year," he explained, flipping open the book. "So I borrowed it from the library for the entire year. Look here—this is exactly what Professor Babbling was talking about."
Kyle turned a few more pages. "And this part, too…"
Both Cho and Kanna leaned over to inspect the book.
There was a brief silence as they absorbed what they saw. Then, the air around them grew noticeably colder.
Kanna and Cho positioned themselves on either side of Kyle, their glares fixed on him with an intensity that could rival a storm.
"You have one minute to explain," Kanna said, baring her teeth menacingly.
Cho's fists were clenched as well. "Give us one good reason not to strangle you."
"No… this isn't my fault!" Kyle said, looking nervously at Kanna. "I did try to tell you. At least three times! I said it was all in the book and there was no need to write it all down. But every time, you told me to shut up so I wouldn't distract you."
"And you were even worse," he added, looking over at Cho. "I nudged you to let you know, but you tried to kick me. Luckily, I dodged in time." He lifted the hem of his robe, where a faint shoe print was still visible.
Cho's face flushed, and she stammered, at a loss for words. She vaguely remembered Kyle trying to get her attention, but at the time, Professor Babbling had been discussing something crucial, and she'd reacted automatically.
There was another brief silence.
Then, with a huff, Cho and Kanna silently picked up their notes and strode out of the classroom.
...
By the time dinner was served, Cho and Kanna had already borrowed their own copies of The Evolution of Runes from the library and were seated at the table, engrossed in their reading. The library had plenty of copies of each specialized book, so they didn't have to wait in line.
Seeing how focused they were, Kyle decided not to disturb them. Instead, he headed over to Cedric's table and took a seat.
The Great Hall was especially lively tonight, particularly around the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. Even from a distance, Kyle could hear Ron's booming voice, clearly bragging to Fred about something.
"You'll never guess what the baby Unicorn looked like when I first saw it—it was gold!" Ron exclaimed.
"Hagrid is amazing..." Hermione added. "I've read that baby Unicorns are very rare and are usually kept safe in the deepest parts of the forest."
"And I got to hold it…" Ron continued, narrowing his eyes with a slightly dazed look. "I don't think I want to wash my hands again this school year."
Fred and George took a step back, looking disgusted.
"Did you see Malfoy?" Harry chimed in, his face alight with excitement. "He kept trying to provoke Hagrid when we first got to the paddock, but the moment he saw the baby Unicorn, he clammed right up."
"If you ask me, Hagrid shouldn't let someone like him near a Unicorn," Ron muttered.
"Ron, Hagrid's a professor now!" Hermione chided. "He has to treat all students equally."
"Yeah, sure…" Ron shrugged, sounding unconvinced. "But you know Snape doesn't think that way."
…
"By Merlin, a Unicorn!" Cedric, who had been listening in as well, looked amazed. "Unbelievable! When we were third years, all we had were Bowtruckles and Puffskeins, and last year it was just Salamanders!"
"Do you think it's just for the third years, or will he show one to every year?" Cedric asked, glancing at Kyle.
"Not sure," Kyle replied, glancing over at the cheerful Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. "But you could always ask him."
"I'll do that first thing tomorrow morning," Cedric said, still looking a bit in awe. "How did Hagrid even manage that? Unicorns are some of the wariest Magical Creatures around. I've never heard of one in class before, let alone a baby."
Kyle took a bite of schnitzel, choosing not to comment.
It didn't surprise him that Hagrid had been able to bring the Unicorn. If anyone at Hogwarts could gain the trust of such a creature, it would be Hagrid. Not even Professor Kettleburn had managed it before his retirement—otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up stabbed in the stomach during one of his lessons.
"This year's classes are all incredible! Defense Against the Dark Arts is like this, and now Care of Magical Creatures, too…" Cedric said excitedly, glancing at his schedule. "Too bad we don't have Hagrid's class until Friday."