Snape limped away, and Filch, seeing this, could only follow him with disappointment. He had thought they would finally reopen the dungeons, but it turned out to be false hope.
"That's not fair!" Fred glanced at Snape's retreating figure with a grimace, "Hufflepuff had three people there, so why did he only take points from Gryffindor?"
"He probably just said it out of habit, don't worry about it." Kyle patted his shoulder and added seriously, "I'd like to express the most sincere gratitude to Gryffindor on behalf of all Hufflepuffs."
Fred placed his hand on his arm and replied with equal seriousness, "In return, Gryffindor would like to make one request."
"No." Kyle refused without hesitation.
"Hey, I haven't even said what it is yet..."
"Whatever it is, no!"
"We'll talk about this later..." Cedric frowned, "Have you noticed that Professor Snape's leg seems to be injured?"
"We've known for days." George said with a shrug, "While teaching Potions, he stood in one place the entire time and didn't move around once — something that would have been impossible before."
"Since then, we've suspected something was wrong with his leg."
"And we found bloodstains on the Potions classroom floor, but none of the students were injured that day."
Fred and George took turns speaking, quickly sharing the clues they had discovered.
"No wonder we've rarely seen him lately." Cedric remarked, then asked with puzzlement, "But don't you find it strange? This is Hogwarts — why would Professor Snape suffer such a serious injury?"
"Who knows." Fred pondered, "Maybe he went to the Forbidden Forest. I heard he often goes there to collect potion ingredients, so perhaps he encountered some dangerous magical creature."
"Or maybe he went to the forbidden corridor." George suggested, "Remember that on Halloween all the professors were searching the castle for the troll. He might have gone there and been bitten by that three-headed dog."
The group continued their conversation as they left the corridor.
Although Snape and Filch had already departed, they might return unexpectedly. To avoid trouble, it seemed wiser to move elsewhere.
Soon after, the group split up at the staircase. The twins headed back to Gryffindor Tower, while Kyle and Cedric made their way downstairs toward the Hufflepuff common room. Kanna mentioned needing to visit the library and left them midway.
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
During the following week, Kyle's schedule grew even busier, as did everyone else's. They devoted at least an hour daily to working on new products in that empty classroom.
Then, in the second week, the Quidditch season finally began.
That morning dawned clear but cold. The Great Hall filled with the enticing aroma of roasted sausages, and excited chatter buzzed throughout as students anticipated the upcoming Quidditch match.
"The first match pits Gryffindor against Slytherin." Cedric said, eating his bread while consulting the schedule he'd prepared, "They play first, then we face Ravenclaw."
"Gryffindor..." Michael, sitting nearby, mused thoughtfully, "Their Seeker is that first-year, Potter, right?"
Hogwarts never kept secrets for long. Despite Oliver's stringent precautions, news of Harry becoming Seeker had leaked out anyway.
A first-year exceptionally becoming Seeker — the youngest player in a century — had catapulted Harry's popularity beyond Kyle's. He quickly became the main topic of conversation throughout the school.
Opinions about his potential, however, remained divided. Some believed he would perform brilliantly, while others dismissed the idea with contempt.
For instance, Draco from Slytherin had repeatedly declared in public that he would follow Harry with mattresses raised above them to prevent him from falling.
While everyone else only cared about Harry's performance, Draco alone worried about his safety. Tsk, if that isn't true love, what is?
Everyone turned toward the Gryffindor table. Harry sat there with an irritated expression, surrounded by a group of students holding sausages and toast, all apparently trying to persuade him to eat something.
"He looks really nervous." Michael said.
"Everyone's like that their first time... well, at least most people are." Cedric paused mid-sentence when he noticed Kyle calmly eating his toast.
Despite also being a newcomer facing his first match, Kyle showed no signs of nervousness, appearing exactly as he always did.
Just then, Fred and George entered the Great Hall, but instead of sitting down to eat, they merely walked around once and left.
Seeing this, Kyle, Kanna, Cedric, and Cho from the Ravenclaw table quickly finished their breakfast and followed them out. The group trailed Fred and George all the way to the entrance tunnel of the Quidditch pitch.
A wooden rack had been set up there, neatly displaying various blue-glowing cheering props. Among them were bottles that emitted lion roars and snake-shaped glow sticks that floated in the air.
The flickering blue light seemed to dispel the cold; the closer one approached the rack, the more noticeable the warmth became.
"Bluebell Flames... truly a genius idea." Fred said, touching the rack, "Now these young wizards won't have to freeze while watching the match."
The Bluebell Flame Charm was a magical spell that, despite having "flame" in its name, wasn't very hot — only about fifty degrees Celsius — making it safe to hold in one's hand. This explained its alternative name: Cold Fire. The flames also looked beautiful, resembling blue bellflowers.
"Everything's here." George said, "We need to enter the pitch early, so we might not be able to help later."
"Don't worry, we'll take care of the rest." Cedric reassured him with a smile.
They hadn't planned on having Fred and George help today anyway; the twins had insisted on their own.
Cho found a place to sit by the rack and said contentedly, "But seriously, it's incredibly comfortable here."
At that moment, she finally understood why Kyle had chosen this location as the selling point. The warm bluebell flames danced, dispelling the cold and creating a world completely different from the bitter chill of the tunnel outside.
Soon, the match was about to begin.
Oliver called Fred and George to the players' changing room, and young wizards began to appear in the distance.
They had left the Great Hall and were heading toward the pitch.
✭✭✭
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