After Kyle boarded the train, most of the front compartments were already full.
It was the inevitable result of boarding right on time — finding an empty seat wouldn't be easy.
Using the Levitation Charm to carry his luggage, Kyle walked to the back of the train where he finally found a reasonably spacious compartment.
There was only one boy inside, about his age, whose looks — while not quite matching Kyle's own — were certainly better than those Weasley twins.
Knock Knock—
Kyle knocked on the compartment door and politely asked, "Hello, may I sit here? Everywhere else is full."
"Of course, go right ahead." The boy quickly replied.
"Thank you."
After entering the compartment, Kyle placed his luggage in the overhead rack, then extended his hand to the other boy.
"Hello, I'm Kyle Chopper, a first-year student."
The boy seemed lost in thought and didn't respond immediately. When he finally came to, he hurriedly reached out his hand and said, "Oh... sorry, Cedric Diggory, second year at Hogwarts."
Cedric?
Kyle was surprised—he hadn't expected to meet a "familiar face" so soon after boarding the train. The future Hogwarts champion, no wonder he was so handsome.
He remembered that Cedric's family also lived near Ottery St Catchpole, but for various reasons, they had never met.
Kyle had tried to visit him several times at first, but the Diggory house was always tightly shut, and eventually he gave up.
Who would have thought their first meeting would be on the train...
Seeing that Cedric seemed preoccupied, Kyle didn't say much more. After their brief greeting, he took out his copy of "The Standard Book of Spells" from Flourish and Blotts and began to read.
The other boy continued to stare into space.
Outside the window, a light rain had begun to fall. It was always like this here — the rain would come without warning.
Kyle glanced out the window but paid it no mind. He was used to it by now, and he rather enjoyed reading in this kind of weather.
Following his lead, Cedric stopped daydreaming and also took out a book to read. From the cover, it appeared to be "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection".
Studying Defense Against the Dark Arts on the school train was perfectly normal for Hogwarts students. After all, no one knew how long this year's professor would last — what if they were gone after just two lessons? It was always good to study ahead.
For a while, the compartment was filled only with the sound of turning parchment pages, a stark contrast to the noise in the corridor outside.
However, this peaceful moment didn't last long. Cedric hadn't even finished two pages when the compartment door opened again.
"Finally found you, Kyle. We specially saved you a seat, but you stood us up and left us waiting like fools until now."
"I think you owe us an apology."
Fred and George leaned against the doorway, taking turns questioning him. Both looked quite angry, as if he had committed some unforgivable offense.
"I can apologize." Kyle said calmly, closing his book, "But only if you swear on the Dungbomb that everything you just said is true."
In an instant, Fred's anger turned to hesitation, "Um, can I swear on the headmaster's name instead?"
George was similarly conflicted, "Or Professor McGonagall would work too."
"No!" Kyle shook his head, "It has to be the Dungbomb."
"..."
"Oh George, I think Kyle must be riding the Hogwarts Express for the first time and isn't familiar with the place, that's why he couldn't find us."
"Yes Fred, we can't blame him, we should have kept a better eye out."
The twins exchanged a glance and smoothly ignored their previous words, squeezing into the compartment as if nothing had happened.
Inevitably, they also noticed Cedric.
Fred flashed a mischievous grin and said, "Look who we have here, I can't quite remember..."
George raised an eyebrow and said, "Why, it's none other than Hogwarts' good boy, the Light of Hufflepuff, Mr. Cedric Diggory."
Cedric's face turned bright red at their words. Those embarrassingly over-the-top titles made him want to sink through the train floor.
He couldn't argue, though. Both the "good boy" and "Light of Hufflepuff" titles had come from his father, who had managed to spread them throughout the Ministry of Magic in just one short summer break.
Their families, naturally, had heard all about it.
Throughout the summer, nearly half of Cedric's letters had arrived signed "Light of Hufflepuff" — only those from his Muggle-born classmates were spared, as they hadn't known about the nicknames.
This was precisely why he'd chosen this compartment in the furthest corner, yet here he was — discovered by the two most troublesome students possible.
"Please, let me off!" Cedric pleaded, pressing his hands together, "I can lend you my homework."
He placed a stack of parchment on the table.
The twins had planned to tease him further, but the offered price was too tempting.
After all, this was the top student's homework!
George's expression turned serious as he hugged the parchment to his chest, "What are you talking about, Cedric? We know this wasn't your idea, we were just joking earlier."
"That's right." Fred nodded, "Don't worry, we won't tease you about this."
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Fred and George left with broad smiles on their faces, looking as if they'd just found a Galleon.
Once they were gone, Cedric let out a sigh of relief and looked embarrassedly at Kyle, "Sorry, I—"
"I should be the one apologizing." Kyle interrupted, "They came looking for me, after all. You wouldn't have been discovered otherwise."
Cedric shook his head with a bitter smile, "It would have happened sooner or later."
He could hide on the train, but once at Hogwarts, that wouldn't be possible. He'd have to face it eventually — it was just a matter of time.
Besides, the Weasley brothers' sudden appearance wasn't entirely a bad thing — they had shown Cedric a way to resolve this situation.
That solution was homework.
As the top student in his year, his summer homework was clearly in high demand, judging by the Weasley brothers' reaction. Using homework to keep the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors quiet shouldn't be difficult.
If he could control them, the issue would be mostly resolved.
As for Ravenclaw and Slytherin — given those houses' personalities, they probably wouldn't join in such commotion. Most wouldn't, anyway, and the few who might wouldn't matter much.
As long as his own house stayed quiet and those energetic Gryffindor lions were kept in check, this would all blow over in three days at most.
Just three days. That wasn't so long.
Thinking about it this way, Cedric suddenly felt that things might not be so bad after all.
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