Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Nothing at Hogwarts is easy, except for the Quidditch match, where Hufflepuff easily defeated Ravenclaw.
The moment the Golden Snitch was caught by Cedric, the Ravenclaw students in the stands were completely stunned. They sat there, utterly speechless.
Professor Flitwick came by halfway through the match, but he only stayed a few minutes before leaving, clutching his chest.
Less than half an hour later, 320 to 0…
Despite being used to consistently finishing last in Quidditch, such a huge score difference was still hard for them to accept.
Especially that glaringly obvious "0" on the scoreboard!
Even just one goal would be great…
"Cedric, why are you flying so fast!"
Kyle whispered after returning to the ground, "We've already won, catching the Snitch is pointless."
"I have to keep searching for the Snitch, I don't have time to keep an eye on the score."
Cedric glared at Kyle, gritting his teeth, "Besides, have you ever seen a match where the Snitch is given up… Giving up on the Snitch is giving up on honor, no Seeker would do that!"
"On the contrary, you guys, I was just not paying attention for a moment, and it's already 170-0!
That score is too outrageous, couldn't you have gone easy on me a little… What, don't you want to go to Charms class?"
"I wasn't paying attention either…" Kyle said with a bitter face, "It was just too easy, by the time I remembered, the match was already over."
The two looked at each other and sighed at the same time.
In the following days, the atmosphere in Ravenclaw was extremely gloomy. Their relationship with Hufflepuff used to be quite good, but now everything had changed.
Although no fight broke out, the relationship between the two sides was extremely strained.
Even when Hufflepuff wizards occasionally greeted them, they would turn away as if they hadn't heard them.
In this atmosphere, Kyle and Cedric had been avoiding Cho for the past few days, too embarrassed to speak to her.
However, Cho herself didn't seem to care too much, and her initial annoyance gradually dissipated after the match ended.
In her view, the Hufflepuffs won honorably, and their loss was due to their own lack of strength.
After a Transfiguration class, Cho watched Kyle about to dash out of the classroom, and with a speechless smirk, called out, "Hey, Kyle!"
"Uh..."
Kyle immediately froze, stiffly turning his head as if he'd just noticed her. "Oh, Cho... cough cough, I didn't even notice you were here."
Cho chuckled at his clumsy excuse, shook her head, and took a deep breath. "I forgot to take notes in class. Can I borrow yours to copy?"
"Of course, no problem."
Kyle quickly pulled out a black notebook and handed it over.
"Look at it as you like, you can return it whenever you want... um, you don't have to."
"Thank you." Cho took the notebook.
Kyle chuckled awkwardly, "It's my pleasure, it's my pleasure..."
After Kyle left, Cho casually tucked the notebook into the back of her textbook.
As a Ravenclaw, she certainly couldn't have forgotten to take notes; this was just an excuse for Kyle and Cedric constantly worrying about her and avoiding her like she was some mysterious figure.
Seeing Kyle's visibly relaxed demeanor, Cho rolled her eyes and sighed, "Ugh, stupid boy."
Kanna, standing beside her, nodded in agreement.
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Meanwhile, Kyle told Cedric about what had just happened while having lunch in the Great Hall, then left the castle and headed towards the Forbidden Forest.
Dumbledore had successfully healed Fluffy the day before.
Kyle had also visited the Forbidden Forest. As soon as he entered, Fluffy excitedly ran over, its three large heads vying to snuggle into his arms, showing no sign of the torment it had just endured from dark magic, it was incredibly carefree…
but perhaps that's one of the advantages of not being very intelligent.
Kyle wanted to check on Hagrid's condition.
After all, while Fluffy was receiving treatment, he sat at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest every day, preventing anyone from approaching, and hadn't even eaten much.
The food Kyle had brought over the past few days had remained untouched.
Kyle estimated that if Dumbledore had been any slower, the hallucinations Fluffy had seen would likely have become reality.
When Kyle arrived at the cabin, Hagrid was cooking something. He had lost a lot of weight, but his spirits were high.
"Kyle, you've come!" Hagrid greeted him warmly.
"I just got out of class and thought I'd drop by," Kyle said with a smile. "Are you making lunch?"
He even peeked into the pot.
But Kyle immediately regretted it.
It was a pot of very strangely colored soup, brown with a few reddish hues, and seemingly tinged with purple.
Bubbles rose to the surface every now and then, and as soon as Kyle got closer, he smelled a strong, fishy odor.
"Hagrid, are you…making a potion?" Kyle asked suspiciously.
After all, he had only seen liquids of this color and consistency in Potions class.
Or more accurately…in Mikel's cauldron.
"Potion? Of course not, I don't know how to make that kind of thing," Hagrid shook his head. "This is for Fluffy. It has dragon blood, dragon liver…all his favorite foods.
The poor little guy must have been terrified these past few days; he needs a good nourishment."
Hearing that it was for Fluffy, Kyle didn't say anything more.
Judging from Cerberus's taste, this pot of failed potion... well, stew was quite a feast.
Hagrid stirred the pot a couple of times with a large spoon, then brought out rock cakes and tea from the cabin and placed them in front of Kyle.
"Fluffy is fine, he's as lively as ever, nothing could be better."
Hagrid wiped his eyes and said, "That poor little guy, if I find out who used dark magic on him, I'll make sure they pay!"
With that, Hagrid crushed the rock cake in his hand, sending the larger pieces flying onto the pot with a series of clinking sounds.
Kyle chuckled dryly. Perhaps only Hagrid would call a ferocious-looking, three-headed dog, several feet tall, "little guy"...
Ignoring Hagrid's peculiar description, Kyle asked curiously, "Hasn't Professor Dumbledore found out who did it yet?"
"No,"
Hagrid sighed, "but he definitely will. Nothing at Hogwarts can hide from Dumbledore, otherwise he wouldn't have placed the Philosopher's Stone there... Oh, I shouldn't have told you this."
[End of the chapter]