Kyle and Professor McGonagall’s exchange was overheard by many students. Yet for those still struggling to vanish a simple snail, the conversation might as well have been in another language. They weren’t equipped to join in such a high-level discussion, and they couldn’t understand it anyway, so they focused on their battles with the snails in front of them.
The two Transfiguration classes flew by, and by the end, only Kyle and Kanna had completed the task. As a reward, Professor McGonagall gave both of them a ten-point boost for their house and excused them from howork. Only those two were spared from the task; everyone else had to practice the Vanishing Spell overnight and turn in a five-foot essay by the following afternoon.
The classroom erupted in groans of protest. For most, this was a staggering load. Many were only just realizing the true intensity of fifth-year coursework. Last year, assignnts had been three feet long at most, and now they were facing five-foot essays, nearly double the workload.
Mikel and Ryan, in particular, looked crestfallen. It wasn’t just the amount of work—it was that Kyle didn’t have to do it, which ant they’d lost their best reference for the assignnt.
Later in the afternoon, they had two back-to-back Charms lessons. Like Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick began with a serious reminder of the importance of the fifth-year exams, telling them that they’d need to work harder than ever to et their potential. When the lesson ended, the students watched him anxiously, half-dreading what was to co. Professor Flitwick didn’t disappoint, assigning a sizable load of howork.
Thankfully, since the next Charms class was the very next morning, the assignnt was shorter—just three feet. But this still didn’t lift the spirits of the weary students.
By dinner that evening, the fifth years were notably quiet. Even Mikel, usually the life of the table, ate without a word, quickly finishing his al and then dashing off to the library. With a total of eight feet of howork to get through, no one could afford to waste ti.
Cedric observed their silent determination with a knowing expression. Having gone through it all himself, he recognized the struggle. But, like Kyle, he had often found himself exempt from extra assignnts, lightening his workload.
And this was only the first day.
In the days that followed, the fifth-year students ca to fully grasp the realities of their O.W.L. year. Ten feet of howork each day beca the norm, alongside a constant stream of spells and charms they had to master. Even Divination, which was supposed to be light, turned into a chore when Professor Trelawney required them to record their dreams and make detailed prophecies from The Dream Oracle—at least three tis a week.
Their ti in the library grew with each passing day, and their favorite gas of wizard chess and Exploding Snap were left untouched. Once, Kyle heard one of the chess pieces in the common room muttering angrily from the corner, complaining about the dust that had gathered from lack of use.
In fact, so many students were recording dreams about assignnts in the library that nearly half of their Divination work started to sound strikingly similar.
While his classmates toiled, Kyle appeared almost relaxed. With so many howork exemptions, he actually visited the library less and less—Kanna did the sa. In the common room, they were the only two fifth-years who could afford a quick round of Exploding Snap, and many students looked on with thinly veiled envy.
One Saturday, Kyle awoke to an empty dormitory. Mikel and Ryan had left early to work in the library, leaving only their made-up beds behind. He couldn’t believe he was the last to wake up, and for a brief mont, he felt a twinge of guilt.
Leaving the dormitory, he saw Kanna already waiting for him in the common room, seated in an armchair with a high stack of Exploding Snap cards ready on the table.
After breakfast in the Great Hall, the two of them headed up to the Room of Requirent on the eighth floor together.
“Are you ready?” Kyle asked, opening the suitcase.
“I’ve been ready for ages,” Kanna replied, and without hesitation, she jumped into the suitcase.
The room inside was familiar, but this ti, it felt different. With Kyle by her side, she didn’t have to worry about running into any dragons unprepared. The space wasn’t large, and she’d seen most of it last ti, so her gaze went straight to the door.
“Follow …” Kyle said, reading her thoughts, and led the way.
In the next instant, Kanna froze, stunned. She’d expected that any place housing a dragon would be spacious, but she hadn’t anticipated that the room would be this enormous.
She stood on tiptoe, but still couldn’t see the end of the space. “You didn’t bring the Forbidden Forest in here, did you?” she asked, half-jokingly.
“No, no…” Kyle shook his head. “It’s a bit smaller than the Forbidden Forest—maybe half the size.”
As he spoke, he extended an arm to grab the Niffler, who was attempting to snatch sothing from his pocket, and casually tossed the little creature back into the bushes. But Kanna was too captivated by the landscape before her to notice.
To her surprise, the room contained several distinct climates. Directly ahead was a lush forest, but next to it stretched an endless desert, and across from that, a snowy landscape with fresh snow falling. Each zone was separated from the others by narrow paths, like distinct sections of a wizard’s chessboard.
Just then, a shadow passed overhead, casting the two of them into sudden shade.
Kanna looked up and gasped—a massive dragon, several dozen feet long, was swooping down from the sky, landing gracefully in front of them. It was Norbert, the sa dragon that had scared Ron senseless earlier.
Kanna felt a jolt of instinctive fear, but Norbert didn’t even glance at her. Instead, the dragon lowered his massive head—roughly the size of a small table—towards Kyle in a familiar, almost affectionate gesture. Kyle braced himself, but even so, he was still knocked back several ters from the impact.
“Oh dear…” he muttered, rubbing his chest, as Kanna struggled to hold back her laughter. “I’ve warned him about this, but he never listens. You’ll want to be careful when you’re here on your own—it’s no fun getting hit by him.”
Kanna laughed, a mix of nervousness and amusent, eyeing the enormous creature with lingering apprehension. She made a ntal note that she’d never venture here alone without Kyle.
“Is this really a dragon?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“What else would it be?” Kyle replied with a grin, patting Norbert on the head. “It’s certainly not a tabby cat…”
Well, if it could shapeshift, maybe, Kanna mused to herself. After all, who would expect a dragon to be this… friendly?
Kyle noticed her hesitant curiosity and smiled. “Do you want to pet him?”
“Can I?” Kanna’s eyes lit up. She’d never had the chance to touch a dragon before.
“Of course, go ahead—don’t worry.”
Encouraged by Kyle’s reassurance, Kanna took a deep breath and reached out, gently placing her hand on Norbert’s side. The dragon’s scales were rougher than she’d imagined, and pleasantly warm, like a wall next to a roaring fireplace.
Kyle then led her around to Norbert’s back. Climbing on, Kanna’s face broke into a wide smile. The sensation was completely new to her, exhilarating and a little surreal.
Norbert, however, was less pleased. He snorted, releasing a small puff of flas, and though he remained still with Kyle there, he expressed his displeasure by swishing his tail, thudding it against the ground with a loud, rhythmic bang.
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