Konan's expression didn't change in the slightest despite the display of Monstrous Strength.
Ordinary physical attacks were useless against her, given her mastery of the Dance of the Shikigami. The hand that Hannah held tightly suddenly crumbled into countless tiny scraps of paper, slipping easily through the "Little Iron Girl's" fingers.
The paper gathered at Konan's wrist and quickly reformed back into the shape of a hand.
Noticing the confrontation between the two, Kyle sighed helplessly. Fortunately, after his previous experiences, he had become quite an expert at diffusing these kinds of "shura field" romantic tensions.
He pulled out a mini Shukaku—which looked somewhat like a raccoon dog but wasn't quite one—and handed it to Hannah.
Just like the underage version of the Two-Tails, this was a new species Kyle had created by magically modifying other Fantastic Beasts.
Hannah was instantly captivated by the "ugly-cute" mini Shukaku.
"What kind of animal is this? A tanuki?" Hannah asked curiously, blinking her eyes.
"You could say that. It's a gift for you. It doesn't have a name yet, so you can give it one."
Surprised and delighted, Hannah took the Shukaku into her arms.
She glanced at Kyle, then at Konan standing beside him, and suddenly made a very bold move.
Steeling her resolve, the little tough girl stood on her tiptoes and pressed her red lips firmly against Kyle's cheek.
"Whoa!" Witnessing this scene, the three Father-Grievers standing nearby erupted into a chorus of howling and cheering.
Kyle felt the soft sensation on his cheek and stood dazed for a moment.
Was he just... blindsided by a sneak attack?
By the time Kyle snapped out of it, the soft sensation was already gone.
Under the teasing gazes of the three Father-Grievers and the other patrons in the pub, Hannah ran away, her face flushed bright red.
At that moment, a soft, delicate hand crept toward Kyle's waist and gave the soft flesh there a ruthless pinch.
Luckily, after Hannah's successful sneak attack, Kyle had immediately anticipated this follow-up.
He had activated Demon Skin right before Konan made her move, making him completely immune to her assault.
Sensing that the texture under her fingers wasn't right, Konan realized she had failed to teach this philandering scoundrel a lesson. She shot Kyle an unfriendly glare.
With Kyle's lightning-fast reaction speed, it was absolutely impossible for him to fail to react to Hannah's sneak attack.
This guy must have stood there and let it happen on purpose!
I'll settle the score with you later!
Sensing Konan's gaze, Kyle rubbed the spot where Hannah had just kissed him with an innocent expression.
He clearly hadn't done anything.
As they say, a boy really has to protect himself when he's out and about.
Kyle turned his head and looked at the other three Father-Grievers sitting around a square table watching the show, his eyes flashing with a dangerous light.
The one who cheered the loudest just now seemed to be Cedric—that bastard who was already in a relationship, wasn't he?
He charged forward fiercely and was instantly "at one" with the other three Father-Grievers in a playful brawl.
After messing around for a while, Kyle pulled out his wand and used magic to repair the tables and chairs that had been knocked into pieces.
Kyle reached out to pull the other three up from the floor and introduced Konan's identity to them.
Upon hearing that Konan was the future housekeeper of the Kyle household, the three Father-Grievers exchanged looks.
Suddenly, the three of them shouted in unison toward Konan, "Hello, Sister-in-law!"
Watching the four Father-Grievers "getting along" again, Konan covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh.
Before long, the group passed through the small courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron and entered Diagon Alley.
Hogwarts was about to start its new term, and they hadn't yet prepared the new textbooks or potion ingredients required for the school year.
Since they were already at the Leaky Cauldron, they figured they might as well buy everything now; otherwise, they would have to make another trip to Diagon Alley after the award ceremony.
After walking only a few steps, they ran into the entire Weasley family in front of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
Mrs. Weasley had just picked up the custom dress robes the whole family had ordered specifically for the ceremony.
"Hello, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley."
"Hello, Kyle," Mrs. Weasley said with a beaming smile. She pulled over a tall, thin, and quite handsome young man to introduce him. "This is Bill. I don't think you've met him yet, have you?"
Bill Weasley was the eldest son of the Weasley family. His style looked very rock-and-roll—he wore his hair long and tied back in a ponytail, and he even had an earring with a dangling fang.
Kyle extended his hand. "Kyle Dumbledore."
"Bill Weasley."
Bill wasn't nearly as cold as his appearance suggested. He smiled at Kyle very amiably. "I've heard all about it. Thanks to you, my two good-for-nothing younger brothers managed to achieve what they have today."
George and Fred each gave Bill a disgruntled shove.
"Hey! What do you mean 'good-for-nothing'?"
"Ron is the only one who fits that description, okay?"
Nearby, Ron was caught in the crossfire without saying a word.
Hearing the twins, Harry let out a snort of laughter; he really couldn't help himself.
Harry had been staying at the Leaky Cauldron for over half a month, but he didn't mind it at all. On the contrary, he was very glad to be away from his aunt's house.
This time, he would also be attending the twins' award ceremony with the Weasleys.
That's right—under Mrs. Weasley's suggestion, the twins had invited Harry to attend. This had been settled a long time ago.
It was worth mentioning that if it weren't for Harry, his best friend Ron might have been the only one in the Weasley family attending in second-hand robes.
Since returning from their trip to Egypt, the seven hundred Galleons Mr. Weasley had won in the Daily Prophet had been mostly spent.
The remaining money was only enough for one set of new dress robes, so who should get them became a difficult question.
After a grueling... well, actually, the choice wasn't difficult at all.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could wear the old robes they had used when they got married. Although it had been a long time, Mrs. Weasley had kept them well-preserved, and they looked as good as new. After all, those robes held their memories.
As for Bill and Charlie, they both had jobs; spending a month's salary on a nice set of robes was no big deal.
And the twins went without saying—they had achieved financial independence long ago. They didn't even need to go to London to work; the money they made selling alchemical items at Hogwarts every month already exceeded Mr. Weasley's salary at the Ministry of Magic.
It was only because Mrs. Weasley didn't know how much they were actually making; otherwise, she would have confiscated every last Knut for the family treasury long ago.
Ginny had the sponsorship of her two "first-generation entrepreneur" brothers, George and Fred, so her saved-up pocket money was enough for a new outfit.
That left only Percy and Ron with no robes to wear.
The budget-conscious Weasleys chose Percy without hesitation.
The reason was simple: Percy's height had more or less stabilized. If they bought new robes for Percy, Ron could wear them in a few years when he grew into them. But if they bought them for Ron now, they would be wasted once he hit a growth spurt.
Formal robes weren't something you wore every day; as long as they were kept well, they would still look brand new in a few years.
So, the plan was for Ron to just find a pair of second-hand robes.
In the end, Harry, being the good friend he was, couldn't bear to watch and offered to buy robes for Ron.
The twins stopped him, insisting that Harry shouldn't have to pay. Thus, they took over the cost of Ron's new clothes themselves.
Of course, unlike Ginny, Ron would have to find a way to pay them back later—even if it meant working himself to the bone—whereas Ginny didn't have to worry about that at all.
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