Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Kyle stayed with Hagrid until noon before returning to the castle.
It was almost lunchtime, and he couldn't stay any longer.
Hagrid had wanted him to stay for lunch, but Kyle hesitated only a second before decisively refusing.
He had witnessed Hagrid take two long, unidentified creatures from a shelf outside, make a few simple cuts, and throw them into a nearby bowl, then smear a layer of yellow-green, sticky stuff on them.
If he didn't leave now, he'd probably spend his first weekend of the new school year in the school hospital.
Kyle left decisively, ignoring Hagrid's pleas, and quickly crossed the grounds back to the safety of the castle.
At this time, the Great Hall on the first floor was already quite crowded, and due to the Quidditch selections, the atmosphere was noticeably more lively than usual.
"If only I had flown lower," a Gryffindor student said regretfully at the doorway. "You guys don't know, the Golden Snitch flew just a few feet below me, and I didn't even see it!"
"What a pity…" his companion asked regretfully. "Do you still have a chance to make the team?"
"I should be fine," the man said. "The people competing for the Seeker position aren't doing very well. Many of them even fell off their brooms. Compared to them, I've done a great job."
"That's great!"
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Kyle heard similar conversations everywhere he went.
Interestingly, at the Gryffindor table, everyone who participated in the selection process was very confident, even those who had fallen off their brooms and gotten bruised and battered, still believed they could easily make the team.
As Kyle walked to the Hufflepuff table, Cedric walked over as well.
"How did the trials go?" Kyle asked.
Cedric shook his head, took a couple of gulps of pumpkin juice from the table, and said, "Lots of people signed up, but most didn't qualify. Some didn't even pass the aerial maneuver test. Oh, by the way, I saw your two roommates."
"Mikel and Ryan?"
"Yes."
Kyle asked curiously, "How did they do?"
"Uh..."
Cedric's expression suddenly became strange, as if he was carefully choosing his words. He remained silent for a while before continuing, "I think... they might not be very suited for Quidditch."
"Really..." Kyle was a little surprised.
For Cedric, usually such a nice guy, to say something like "not suited for Quidditch" could only mean that Mikel and Ryan's performance was really bad.
But Kyle remembered that their performance in flight class was pretty good; although not amazing, they at least flew very steadily.
"Were they too nervous and didn't fly well?"
"That's not related."
Cedric sighed. "The main problem is that they completely don't know the rules of Quidditch. That Ryan guy just charged around like a madman as soon as he came on, completely ignoring everyone else's positions, and he didn't even look, passing the ball to the opponent twice.
The other one was even more outrageous!
...You know what? He actually mistook the Quaffle for a cuddly ball and charged towards the goal with it."
"Uh..." Kyle was speechless.
But after all, he was his roommate, so he clicked his tongue and said, "At least he's pretty strong, that's a good thing, isn't it?"
"If only that were true." Cedric sighed again.
"In fact, he hadn't flown very far before he lost control of the ball. If the others hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been taken to the school hospital by now."
This time, Kyle really couldn't find any reason, and he wondered if it was just his imagination, but he noticed that Cedric's gaze towards him had suddenly become a little strange, as if it carried a hint of sympathy.
"It was just an accident," Kyle explained dryly. "Apart from Quidditch, they're usually pretty normal."
"If I remember correctly," Cedric said thoughtfully, "one of them blew up the Charms classroom with an Illumination Charm last year, right?"
"That's Mikel's physical condition," Kyle said seriously. "He can't control his magic output; it's beyond his control!"
"Okay." Cedric thought for a moment and continued, "What if they copied your name on their homework…"
"Uh…"
Before Kyle could speak, Cedric continued:
"During the Potions exam, they got Professor Snape to add water to the cauldron…"
"…"
"Dyeing themselves blue…"
"…"
"Wait…" Kyle's expression froze, and he asked, "How did you know that?"
He remembered that when he brought Mikel back, it was during class time; no one should have seen it.
"The Pendulum Courtyard is right outside the History of Magic classroom," Cedric said quietly. "You can see the entrance to the school hospital through the window."
"…"
Kyle was silent for a moment, then said earnestly, "Cedric, you've gone too far. Talking about others behind their backs is not the style of Hufflepuff."
Cedric looked at Kyle with a strange expression and didn't say anything.
"Alright, I'll let it go this time, but don't let it happen again."
Kyle calmly picked up a piece of toast and said, "Tell me about the other teams. Have they made any changes this year?"
Cedric felt that Kyle's change of topic was a bit abrupt, but he still went along with it. "Slytherin cleared the field when they were selecting players. All I know is that their new captain is Marcus Flint.
Gryffindor is still the same team as last year, with no outstanding new players. Oliverwood spent the whole morning pulling his hair on the field.
But Ravenclaw has produced an excellent Seeker. Guess who it is…"
"It's Cho." Kyle said, "She said she wanted to be the Seeker last year."
"That's right, it's Cho." Cedric laughed, "Of all the people who participated in the Seeker selection, she caught the Golden Snitch the fastest.
The Ravenclaw captain was overjoyed. If it weren't so early, he would probably have agreed to make Cho the new Seeker right away."
"You wouldn't believe it, Wood was green with envy back then," Cedric said, picking up a glass of pumpkin juice and laughing. "He went straight to Professor McGonagall and asked if first-years could participate in the selections, and got a real dressing down."
"Hey, I think I heard someone mention our beloved captain."
"Wood's that popular now?"
Just then, Fred and George walked over from a short distance away, sitting down on either side of Kyle and asking, "What were you talking about?"
"The Quidditch player selections," Cedric didn't hide anything, smiling as he asked, "So, Professor McGonagall agreed to let you select players from the first-years?"
(End of Chapter)