Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After saying goodbye to Cedric, Kyle left the castle and headed towards the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid was standing in his vegetable garden in front of his cabin, watering the pumpkins that were as big as cartwheels.
"It's Kyle, come in and have a seat."
The two entered the cabin, and Hagrid happily brought Kyle some rock bread and a teapot.
"How's the new school year going?"
"Not bad." Kyle didn't touch the rock bread, but took a sip of tea and said, "It's just that there are more classes every week than last year."
"Yes, the workload in the second year is indeed heavier than in the first year." Hagrid said with a smile, "But it won't be a problem for you. Harry mentioned you to me when he came here yesterday."
"Potter?"
Kyle was a little surprised. He remembered that he and Harry hadn't interacted much. Apart from meeting in the corridor last time, they hadn't spent any time alone together.
He had even given Harry a map and a bag of pet treats back then, so he figured the other wouldn't say anything bad about him.
"Harry said he hasn't been late these past few days thanks to the map you gave him," Hagrid said with a grin. He couldn't stop smiling at the thought of Harry sitting in the hut yesterday, telling him all the funny things that happened at school.
It was just that the little guy was too curious, constantly asking about the Philosopher's Stone, which was giving him a headache.
The Philosopher's Stone was a secret that Dumbledore had repeatedly warned him about, and as the most discreet person at Hogwarts, Hagrid certainly couldn't reveal it.
But at the same time, he didn't want to lie to Harry, so he could only make up various excuses.
It was quite a dilemma, and also a real headache.
"I see…"
Kyle nodded without asking further.
He guessed that Harry had just casually mentioned it while chatting with Hagrid, like talking about what he had for dinner the night before, nothing more.
If he had come a few days later, Hagrid might have forgotten about it.
Seeing that Kyle didn't speak, Hagrid picked up the copper kettle beside him and poured him another cup of tea, thinking to himself:
This is what chatting is all about—relaxed, enjoyable, and most importantly, requiring no thought.
"Try this." Hagrid handed him a plate of rock cakes, smiling. "I just baked them yesterday, they're still crispy. By the way, where are your friends? Why didn't they come with you?"
"Sorry, I just had breakfast, I really can't eat anything else."
Kyle politely declined Hagrid's offer to help him with his teeth, saying, "Aren't they selecting new Quidditch players? Cedric and the others are at the pitch."
"Yeah… Quidditch."
Hagrid realized. "Time flies, it's time to get new players again. I remember you like Quidditch, right?"
"Yes." Kyle nodded. "I've already signed up, but I can only take the test next week."
"I believe you'll pass."
"I think so too." Kyle smiled. "Besides, maybe Potter can join the team this year."
"Harry? Impossible." Hagrid shook his head. "First-year students aren't allowed to play Quidditch, that's the rule."
"That's true, but Gryffindor desperately needs a Seeker this year," Kyle said. "If Potter inherited his father's abilities, Professor McGonagall would probably make an exception and admit him."
"James…" Hagrid thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh, right, James was indeed an excellent Seeker. He even led Gryffindor to several Quidditch Cup victories back in the day."
Thinking of this, Hagrid couldn't help but chuckle.
If Harry could really join the Quidditch team in his first year, he'd surely be overjoyed.
After all, who doesn't love Quidditch?
But soon, Hagrid realized something, and his smile faded.
If Kyle and Harry were both on the team, then who would he cheer for when Hufflepuff and Gryffindor played…
Hagrid's face gradually scrunched up as he anxiously tugged at his beard.
Kyle called him three times before Hagrid finally snapped out of his reverie.
"What were you thinking about, so intently?"
"Nothing, nothing, I just suddenly remembered I haven't finished watering the pumpkin patch yet," Hagrid lied.
He had already decided to cheer for both houses simultaneously, the kind who applauds whoever scores, but he certainly couldn't say that out loud.
Hagrid went back to watering the pumpkin patch, and Kyle followed him outside, but didn't return to the castle.
His friends, including Mikel and Ryan, had all gone to the Quidditch pitch; there was no point in him going back.
Kyle looked around, found a flat spot, and began taking things out of his leather bag.
A portable stove, a cauldron, herbs… soon they were piled up on the ground.
"Kyle, what are you doing?" Hagrid asked curiously.
"Brewing some potions, or rather, pet tonics."
Kyle lit the stove with his wand and placed the cauldron on it.
Hagrid had initially been interested when he heard Kyle was going to brew pet tonics, but after watching for a while, he turned and went back to the pumpkin patch.
He couldn't understand it, he couldn't understand it at all.
Hagrid couldn't comprehend why Kyle couldn't just add all the powder at once, but instead added it in three separate batches, with varying intervals.
He wanted to memorize the whole process, but the intervals alone made him dizzy.
What he had just memorized was completely forgotten in the blink of an eye.
Hagrid decisively abandoned his plan to learn a trick or two and went to water the pumpkins.
Kyle, focused on the stove fire, didn't notice Hagrid's strange behavior. He held his wand, occasionally stirring the potion in the cauldron.
Brewing potions is a delicate task; even the simplest one can be ruined by a single oversight, and he didn't want to start over.
Time slowly passed.
After Hagrid finished watering all the pumpkins, Kyle was almost done.
He poured some dark green powder into the cauldron and stirred it counter-clockwise with his wand.
The orange-yellow liquid in the cauldron gradually turned red.
The red was beautiful, crystal clear, without a single impurity, like a melted ruby.
Kyle extinguished the fire in the furnace, and after the cauldron had cooled, he carefully poured the potion into a pre-prepared bottle.
Exactly one bottle.
"This is a pet tonic?" Hagrid looked at the bottle curiously.
"Yes." Kyle handed him the bottle, smiling, "But to be precise, it's a specially made rat tonic."
[End of the chapter]