"What Three-Headed Dog? I've never owned Fluffy!" Hagrid burst out, sounding agitated, as if someone had pressed the accelerator on his temper. Even the roots of his beard seemed to tremble. Pointing at Kyle, Hagrid jumped up and down in a fluster, exclaiming, "How can you go around slandering someone's good name for no reason!"
"Oh," Kyle said, as if a sudden realization dawned on him, "so his name is Fluffy. That's not a bad name, actually."
Hagrid's expression froze for a moment before he quickly denied it. "I didn't... I didn't say anything. You must've heard wrong."
He was clearly rattled and didn't dare admit the truth. Out of everyone at Hogwarts, Kyle was the last person Hagrid wanted to discover Fluffy's existence—even more so than Dumbledore. The reason was simple: Kyle's father, Chris, worked as the deputy director of the Magical Creatures Management and Control Department Beast Division.
His office was in charge of regulating magical creatures of unknown origin, like Fluffy. If Kyle sent word home about the three-headed dog, Fluffy would certainly be confiscated, and Hagrid had no idea what would happen to him after that. Worse still, Hagrid himself might end up in Azkaban.
The thought of Fluffy being taken away, possibly killed, combined with the terrifying prospect of Azkaban, made cold sweat break out on Hagrid's forehead. "No, I absolutely can't admit it," he resolved, trying to remain calm.
Hagrid put on what he thought was a stern, intimidating face, hoping to scare Kyle away. Given his towering height of over three meters, his burly frame alone could be quite menacing. Unfortunately, his darting eyes and the obvious sweat dripping from his brow undermined the effect.
Kyle had to suppress a laugh. If it weren't for Hagrid's nerves, maybe I'd believe him, he thought.
"Alright, I must've heard wrong, and obviously, you don't have a three-headed dog," Kyle said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Let's just consider this a bit of trivia. Goodbye, Hagrid."
He turned to walk away, but after a few steps, he stopped, glanced over his shoulder, and said, "Oh, by the way, if your puppy starts showing signs of loss of appetite, irritability, or depression, don't worry. Just let him roam the Forbidden Forest for a bit. That should do the trick."
Kyle's words hit Hagrid like a ton of bricks, and though Kyle didn't push the subject further, Hagrid's face paled. Still, Kyle wasn't in a hurry—he could always meet Fluffy next year when the creature would be locked up on the fourth floor. And then, he could observe the beast as much as he liked, maybe even pull a hair or two for good measure. He could knit a sock with it, for all he cared.
Leaving the edge of the Forbidden Forest behind, Kyle leisurely strolled across the grassy grounds toward the castle. As he neared the gate, he spotted a familiar figure darting by, crouching low among the bushes. Curious, Kyle wandered over to see who it was.
"Kanna? What are you doing here?" Kyle asked, puzzled.
"Who—!" Kanna jumped at the sudden sound of Kyle's voice, clearly startled. It took her a few moments to compose herself.
"I-I'm looking for something," she mumbled, glancing up briefly at Kyle before returning to her search through the bushes.
Kyle observed her for a moment before taking out his wand. "You won't find anything this way. Let me help you."
Kanna, realizing what he was about to do, quickly shook her head. "No, it's not going to work. I dropped a galleon. The Accio spell won't work on it."
Kyle nodded in understanding. Magical currency, whether it was a galleon, sickle, or knut, was all imbued with an Anti-Theft Charm, preventing them from being summoned by magic. It was a basic protective measure.
With a sigh, Kyle put away his wand and knelt down to help her sift through the undergrowth. Kanna hesitated, clearly not wanting to inconvenience him, but after a moment of deliberation, she whispered, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Kyle replied casually. "We're friends, after all. How much did you lose, anyway?"
"Twenty," Kanna whispered quietly.
Kyle paused, thinking he had misheard. "How many?!"
"Twenty," Kanna repeated, her voice soft. "Maybe even more. I've been losing galleons since the start of term, and these are the last of them."
Kyle stared at her, at a loss for words. Twenty galleons? That was no small sum. If he had lost that much money, he would've been ready to tear the whole school apart looking for it. With a sigh, he lowered his head and continued combing through the bushes, muttering under his breath about the absurdity of losing so much money at once.
...
The undergrowth in front of the castle was dense, and it took the two of them more than an hour to search through it. But the result was disappointing.
Not only had they not found a Galleon, they hadn't even come across a Knut.
Kyle stood up, rubbing his back, and asked, "Are you sure it fell here?"
"I... I don't know," Kanna said after a moment of hesitation. "It was still here before herbology class yesterday, but this morning it was suddenly gone."
"Could it have fallen during flying lessons?" Kyle mused for a moment before suggesting, "Have you checked near the Quidditch Pitch?"
"I checked this morning," Kanna replied. "There's nothing at the Quidditch Pitch or in the castle. If it's not here, then the only place left is the greenhouse."
"The greenhouse? There's nothing there," Kyle said decisively.
He was completely certain. No one else had been around, and as for the greenhouse... Kyle was 100% sure that there hadn't been a trace of anyone there either. The floor had been spotless. He had checked thoroughly at the time.
"How about we check the other side?" Kyle suggested. "Maybe we missed something earlier."
"No need," Kanna shook her head. She hadn't found any of the galleons she'd dropped in the past, and she figured it would be the same this time. In truth, how often did someone recover their galleons after dropping them?
"Alright," Kyle didn't press the matter. In his mind, families like Kanna's, purebloods who could afford to wear such exquisite robes, probably never worried about running out of galleons. Twenty or thirty galleons seemed like nothing to someone like her.
Brushing the dust from his robes, he asked casually, "Need me to lend you some until your owl arrives?"
Kanna's eyes flickered slightly, and after a brief pause, she said, "It's fine. Galleons aren't really necessary at Hogwarts. I'll just head to Gringotts after the holidays. I just need the rat tonic in the meantime... Can I pay you after Christmas?"
Kyle paused mid-motion as he brushed off his robes, glanced at Kanna, and said, "Don't worry about it. You can pay me next year if you like."
After making sure his robes were clean, the two of them began walking back toward the castle.
On the way, Kyle asked curiously, "By the way, where's your rat? I don't see you carrying it."
"Pocky?" Kanna broke into a rare smile at the mention of her pet. "It's playing with Delina's hamster in the dormitory."
"What's a field mouse doing playing with a hamster?" Kyle said with a mocking sneer. "I have a friend, Percy Weasley from Gryffindor, who also has a field mouse. I'll introduce them to each other later. By the way, is your Pocky male or a female?"
Kanna blushed slightly but whispered in response, "Female, she's female."
"Perfect," Kyle said, his eyes lighting up mischievously. "Percy's Scabbers is a male. How about we pair them up and have a litter of baby mice next year?"