At the end of July, St. Catchpole Village received a special guest.
Hagrid, finally discharged from St. Mungo’s, had pieced together everything that had happened with the help of Newt and a Healer. From the professors, he’d learned about the events in the Forbidden Forest at the end of the semester. It shocked him to hear that Kyle had been in mortal danger twice, both incidents indirectly caused by him.
“It’s all... my fault... I’m such a... stupid idiot!”
In Kyle’s living room, Hagrid covered his face with his hands and sobbed. “I almost got you killed in the Forbidden Forest, an’ then… because of me, you met a werewolf in St. Mungo’s. I shouldn’t be allowed to stay at Hogwarts—I should spend the rest o’ me life as a Muggle!”
Hagrid’s grief and remorse shook him visibly, the nearly four-meter-tall giant weeping like a scolded child. Thick, heavy tears disappeared into his beard.
“Hagrid, calm down.” Kyle handed him a tablecloth. “Here, dry your face. Don’t forget, you were a victim in the whole Oren mess too. And I’m positive you didn’t write that note, right?”
Kyle shot a glance at his poor sofa. Supporting Hagrid was a struggle on its own, but each shudder and shake from Hagrid made the sofa groan ominously, the wood creaking as if about to give way.
“But yeh could’ve died!” Hagrid sniffled, wiping his face. “I told Oren about Fluffy, only then he could trick you into goin’.”
“He’d have found a way anyway, Hagrid. Don’t forget he was my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor; he was always cooking up reasons to take me to the Forbidden Forest.”
“But you would’ve been on yer guard against any other excuse!” Hagrid’s shoulders were still trembling. “An’ if you hadn’t come to see me, yeh wouldn’t have met the werewolf at St. Mungo’s.”
“It was an accident, Hagrid,” said Kyle, shaking his head. “And thankfully, I was there. Do you realize how many innocent patients could have been killed that day… or turned into werewolves? We managed to stop a major crisis.”
Kyle paused, then continued with a slight smile. “In fact, I should be thanking you—because of the werewolf incident, I’ll probably be getting an Order of Merlin soon. Director Sykes promised she’d nominate me.”
“Gulpin’ gargoyles… the Order of Merlin…” Hagrid finally lifted his head, awestruck. “Kyle, you’ll be the youngest recipient ever.”
“Who knows,” Kyle shrugged. “Have a toffee; it might cheer you up a bit.”
“Thank you, Kyle,” Hagrid said, taking the toffee Kyle handed him and wiping his nose with the back of his hand. “Oh, and that reminds me—I’ve got a gift for you too.”
Kyle felt a bit uneasy. “It’s… not a new flavor of ferret sandwich, is it?”
Hagrid managed a forced smile. “If that’s what you like, I can make it next time. But no, not today.” He pulled a large box from behind his back. “I just found out yer birthday’s tomorrow. So, happy birthday in advance, Kyle. Made you a cake m’self.”
Kyle opened the box to reveal a large chocolate cake thickly covered in icing, with the words Happy Birthday Harry? spelled out in green.
The words were misspelled, but the intention was clear. That, however, wasn’t the issue.
Kyle’s eyes narrowed, his face a mixture of confusion and disbelief. “This is… for me?”
When had he changed his name? Did Chris and Diana know about this?
“Of course, you don’t like… wait, sorry, I grabbed the wrong one.” Hagrid, noticing the writing on the cake, gave Kyle a hearty pat on the head—hard enough to knock over an ox—then reached into the other pocket of his coat and pulled out a second box.
Inside was another frosted chocolate cake, identical to the first except that the icing was yellow, and this time it read Happy Birthday Kyle!—still misspelled, but it was the thought that counted.
“Your birthday’s the same as Harry’s, so I mixed up the cakes.”
“Thanks, Hagrid. I really like it,” Kyle said sincerely. He cut a small slice and took a bite, only to be overwhelmed by the intense sweetness that hit him like a wave of pure sugar. It was as if he’d downed a mouthful of syrup.
He should have known better than to eat anything homemade from Hagrid.
Kyle gritted his teeth and forced himself to swallow, fighting through the saccharine overload.
“How does it taste?” Hagrid asked, looking hopeful.
“It’s amazing!” Kyle replied, managing a thumbs-up. “I’ve never had a cake this sweet before.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Hagrid beamed. “Would you like some more? There’s plenty left.”
“No, no, I’ll wait until tomorrow and share it with my friends,” Kyle said quickly, shaking his head. “Fred and George would be sorry to miss out on such a… delicious cake. Cedric’s coming back soon too, and I want to save him a slice.”
“Yes, good things are meant to be shared,” Hagrid chuckled. “Feel free to visit me anytime after school starts.”
“Uh, sure, sure.” Kyle cleared his throat, feeling the sugar settle heavily, and hastily changed the subject. “So, you’ve got a cake for Harry too?”
“Yes. Dumbledore agreed to let me take him to Diagon Alley,” Hagrid replied, frowning. “I was supposed to go tomorrow, but his acceptance letter hasn’t reached him. Dumbledore asked me to go earlier to make sure there aren’t any problems.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. “That’s odd.”
“Exactly, so I’ll head to Surrey this afternoon and deliver it myself. Can’t have Harry missing his start at Hogwarts,” Hagrid said, nodding firmly.
“Oh, don’t worry too much. Sometimes it’s the owls’ fault,” Kyle replied, looking out the window thoughtfully. “Some Muggles don’t like birds—maybe they shooed away the owl with the letter. How about this: you give me the letter, and I’ll have Ratton deliver it. Then you can take him straight to Diagon Alley.”
“Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?” Hagrid hesitated, reluctant to let go of delivering it himself.
“No trouble at all,” Kyle said, waving him off. “It’s a Hogwarts tradition for new students to get their acceptance letter from an owl. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment for a young wizard—miss it, and there’s no second chance.”
Hagrid paused, Kyle’s words striking a chord. Yes… how could he have forgotten that?
After a moment’s hesitation, Hagrid pulled out a pale yellow envelope and handed it to Kyle. “Alright. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Not a problem,” Kyle replied, taking the envelope.
Hagrid lingered a while longer but eventually headed to the door. Just before he left, Kyle called out, “By the way, Hagrid, what did you think of that toffee you tried earlier?”
“Toffee? I haven’t eaten it yet,” Hagrid said, smiling. “I’m taking it to Harry—he’s never had magical sweets before.”
Kyle could only nod. “Safe travels, Hagrid.”
After Hagrid left, Kyle called Ratton over, handing him the acceptance letter and the enchanted toffee, which he secured next to the envelope’s wax seal.
“Be careful,” he warned Ratton. “That family isn’t exactly friendly, and they might be armed.”