The incident from Defense Against the Dark Arts class spread quickly, though no one seemed particularly interested.
In any other class, a first-year student injuring a professor would have caused quite a stir — people are still talking about what happened in Charms on the first day of school, after all.
But when it comes to Defense Against the Dark Arts... it's hardly worth mentioning.
Their previous professor, as it turned out, was a deeply undercover Dark Wizard who was discovered and arrested by Aurors in the middle of class.
The professor before that was a potions enthusiast obsessed with experimental formulas. During one lesson, he presented his latest creation — the Omniscient Potion — claiming it rivaled Felix Felicis and could solve any problem with a single sip.
Well, that was that. To prove its effectiveness, he took a sip right then and there. He's still lying in St Mungo's Hospital to this day.
In comparison, Professor Oren's incident barely qualifies as gossip.
And so, Hogwarts' first weekend arrived quietly.
Kyle slept until almost nine, and it took Cedric banging on his door to finally wake him.
"What's so urgent this early?" After washing up, he threw himself onto a sofa in the common room, stretching comfortably.
"Early? It's almost lunchtime!" Cedric gave him an exasperated look and handed him a fresh pie from the kitchen.
It was filled with potato, beef, and onions, and tasted quite good.
While Kyle ate his pie, Cedric continued, "Quidditch tryouts start today. I'm going to give it a shot later. What about you? Want to join? Together, we could definitely win the Quidditch Cup this year."
"I'll pass." Kyle shook his head, "First-years aren't allowed on the house team. That's the rule."
Ever since flying lessons ended yesterday, he had abandoned the idea of joining the Quidditch team.
Diana had strictly forbidden him from buying a broomstick in his first year, which meant he'd have to use the school's antiques if he joined — something he couldn't accept.
These brooms were far too old, missing many essential features. Most crucially, they lacked the Cushioning Charm (Molliare) carved into the handle.
This feature was only introduced after 1930, following a seven-day Quidditch World Cup final that forced eleven players from both finalist teams to retire from the same injury. The Cushioning Charm became standard on broomsticks after that.
The school's pre-1930 brooms might suffice for occasional rides, but extended use could harm young wizards' physical and mental health.
Kyle certainly couldn't accept that. As for Cedric...
He patted his shoulder and said seriously, "If you make the team, I suggest you save up for a new broom."
Cedric nodded, "True, the school brooms are too slow, but if I make the team, my father will probably get me a Cleansweep Six."
"That'll work fine then." Kyle nodded.
Though the Cleansweep Six was a ten-year-old model, it had all the necessary features and would be sufficient for the house team.
"Oh, one more thing." Cedric pulled out two maps, "I've finished the Gryffindor and Slytherin maps. What next? Should we promote them ourselves or look for partners?"
"Let's find partners." Kyle said after a moment's thought, "Promoting it ourselves would take too much time. It's not practical."
"Yeah, I thought so too." Cedric nodded, "For Gryffindor, we can ask the Weasley brothers — they'll probably agree to help. But what about Slytherin? Do you know anyone there?"
Kyle shook his head. Of all four Hogwarts houses, Slytherin was the one he knew least, simply because they had no connections there.
"That's problematic." Cedric sighed, "I don't know anyone either."
Fresh from earning his first pot of gold, he was at his most enthusiastic and clearly didn't want to give up on Slytherin, their biggest potential market.
He had even created a special version of the Slytherin map, using the finest parchment with gold trim around the edges — a style perfectly matched to their taste.
Of course, the price would be slightly higher. You get what you pay for, after all.
The only remaining challenge was how to sell these maps. As two Hufflepuffs, they'd likely struggle to interest the Slytherins. And if Snape discovered their enterprise, he'd surely confiscate the maps and dock Hufflepuff twenty points.
They needed an intermediary — that much was clear. Despite further discussion, they couldn't devise a better solution.
Cedric suggested asking the Weasley brothers if they knew anyone in Slytherin. Though Kyle doubted this would help, they had no better options, so they agreed to try it.
At nearly ten o'clock, the two left the Hufflepuff common room together.
Cedric headed to the Quidditch pitch for team tryouts, while Kyle made his way to the library to return [The Bard in the Wind] which he'd finished the night before.
They parted near the Great Hall, as their destinations lay in different directions.
"Good luck making the Quidditch team." Kyle said with a smile.
"Don't worry!" Cedric gave a confident thumbs-up, "It's in the bag!"
Then they went their separate ways.
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
At the library, Madam Pince inspected Kyle's returned book for damage before handing him his next selection.
"The usual rules, you understand."
"Of course, no damaging the books." Kyle smiled, "I know."
"Very well."
Rather than returning to his dormitory, Kyle found a quiet spot in the library to start reading.
[Asian Magical Plants: A Detailed Guide]
The herbology book contained exactly what he needed. Kyle quickly located the relevant section.
"The Chinese Chomping Cabbage, an extremely dangerous aggressive plant, first discovered in..."
Using a prepared piece of parchment, he cast Geminio (Duplication Charm) to copy the content before leaving the library.
He decided to keep the book for now — after all, Professor Sprout might cover new species in their next lesson.
Better to have it on hand than need to borrow it again.
✭✭✭
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