"That was brilliant... I can hardly believe Harry Potter caught the Golden Snitch with his mouth in the end."
"Potter is definitely an exceptional Seeker. When his broom malfunctioned, I thought Gryffindor was done for..."
"I'm certain the Quidditch Cup will belong to Gryffindor this year!"
...
Throughout the castle, excited discussions about the match filled every corridor.
Kyle made his way silently through the crowd, returning to the Hufflepuff common room where Cedric and Kanna awaited him.
As soon as they met, Cedric leaned forward eagerly, "What happened? Why are you only coming back now? And what was that phoenix all about?"
"The phoenix belongs to Professor Dumbledore — essentially his pet." Kyle explained, "It usually stays in the Headmaster's office, which is why you rarely see it."
After a moment's thought, Kanna asked, "So the Headmaster was looking for you earlier?"
"Yes." Kyle glanced around before quietly recounting what had happened in the forbidden area.
"The three-headed dog went berserk..." Cedric gasped, then quickly covered his mouth at his outburst, "Are you serious?"
"Of course." Kyle replied, "Why else would I miss watching the match and only return now?"
"But who would do something like that?" Cedric asked, puzzled, "Using Confundus Charms and Dark Magic on a three-headed dog... what could they possibly gain?"
"I don't know..." Kyle shook his head, "Professor Dumbledore hasn't had time to investigate yet."
Despite his words, Quirrell immediately came to mind.
The forbidden area, Fluffy guarding the Philosopher's Stone... this definitely had something to do with Quirrell, but Kyle couldn't figure out his motive. If Quirrell wanted to get through the trapdoor, enraging Fluffy would only complicate matters, not help him.
And if Fluffy escaped, Hogwarts would likely close down, eliminating any chance of obtaining the Philosopher's Stone.
It didn't make sense...
"Whatever the case, we should avoid the forbidden area as much as possible." Cedric said, his voice tinged with fear as he recalled the three-headed dog, "If we must go to the fourth floor, we should steer clear of that place."
"No need to be so nervous." Kyle reassured him, "Professor Dumbledore is already handling it. Just be careful and don't go near there intentionally."
After hearing his explanation, neither Cedric nor Kanna felt like discussing Quidditch anymore, and the group soon parted ways.
After Kyle left, Cedric suddenly realized he had forgotten to ask something important.
Why hadn't the Headmaster called Professor McGonagall for such a dangerous situation instead of Kyle? Was it because Kyle had been following Mr. Scamander and possessed knowledge about three-headed dogs?
Cedric looked up, but Kyle had already left the common room and vanished, leaving no chance to ask.
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
For some time afterward, Kyle was nowhere to be seen, not even at meals. No one knew where he had gone, as if he had vanished into thin air.
It wasn't until the next day, just before the match, that Cedric saw him again in the changing room. He was holding his broom, deep in conversation with Harris.
"Well done, Kyle." Harris smiled, patting his shoulder, "I thought you'd be too nervous to sleep, so I even prepared an Invigoration Draught for you."
After giving a morale-boosting speech, Harris had everyone check their brooms and uniforms once more before they lined up and headed to the pitch.
Today's match was packed with spectators. As last year's champions, the Hufflepuff team was greeted with thunderous applause as they entered.
Kyle noticed, however, that there were far fewer professors beside the commentator's box than yesterday. Half the seats were empty — apart from Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, no one else had come.
It seems the professors must also know about Fluffy, Kyle thought as he walked with the others to the center of the field.
Madam Hooch gave her usual instructions before blowing her whistle. Fifteen broomsticks rose into the air, soaring high above.
[It's Hufflepuff's Kyle, the first to grab the Quaffle!] Lee Jordan shouted from the commentator's box, [He's a newcomer to the team this year. Rumor has it he achieved an incredible score during tryouts. Whether he can maintain that in an official match... oh, he's passed to Captain Harris...]
For some reason, Lee had suddenly become very formal.
Dissatisfied murmurs rose from the stands — this commentary without any cheeky remarks wasn't what the crowd wanted to hear. But Lee paid no attention.
No joke — just yesterday he had been forced to copy an entire book called "How to Commentate Quidditch" under Professor McGonagall's supervision, from the end of the match until dawn, nearly dying in her office.
After that ordeal, he definitely needed to tone it down.
[As we all know, Hufflepuff's Harris is one of the finest Chasers, and his coordination with Kyle... oh my goodness! That's a dual-attack formation!
The Ravenclaw Keeper misjudged which player to block, the Quaffle is with Kyle... he scores! Hufflepuff takes the lead! Less than ten seconds into the game — they've broken the record for fastest goal!]
The stands erupted as spectators jumped to their feet, cheering and gesturing excitedly.
"Brilliant play!" On the field, Harris flew back and gave Kyle a light high-five.
[Perfect coordination...] Lee commented admiringly, [Ravenclaw is in for trouble.]
Just as he predicted, Kyle and Harris completely dominated the rest of the match. They moved like precision-tuned scoring machines, repeatedly sending the Quaffle through the goal posts.
Ravenclaw's Beaters tried to stop them, but Hufflepuff had anticipated this strategy — the Bludgers couldn't even get close.
After just half an hour, the score had reached ridiculous proportions.
Hufflepuff: one hundred and seventy.
Ravenclaw: zero.
By the end, even Lee felt somewhat numb, his voice unintentionally tinged with sympathy when commenting on Ravenclaw.
[Poor Wisner... he's been outplayed worse than the Chudley Cannons' Keeper that infamous season... I hope he can hold on.]
It was at this point that Kyle and Harris realized they might have gone too far. Harris shot an apologetic glance at the dejected Ravenclaw Keeper, silently signaling with his eyes. Kyle caught the message and nodded in understanding.
They were about to ease up and let Ravenclaw score a few goals.
But just then...
[Wait, is that the Golden Snitch?]
A flash of gold suddenly appeared near the bottom of the field. Cedric and Cho accelerated simultaneously, flying shoulder to shoulder, diving rapidly toward the ground.
Cedric's superior broom speed gave him the edge, and he reached the ground first.
"I've caught the Snitch!" He raised his arm high, the golden object glimmering between his fingers.
The match was over...
✭✭✭
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