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Chapter 10: Cedric
Chapter 10: Cedric
By the time Kyle boarded the train, the compartments in the first few carriages were mostly filled with passengers.
It was inevitable, as he had boarded at the last moment, and now finding an empty seat would be a challenge.
Carrying his luggage with a levitation charm, Kyle walked to the very end of the train before finally discovering a relatively spacious compartment at the back.
There was only one boy in this compartment, roughly the same age as him. In terms of looks... while he might not match Kyle, he was certainly more attractive than the Weasley twins.
"Knock knock..."
Kyle knocked on the compartment door and politely asked, "Hello, may I sit here? Everywhere else is packed."
"Of course, please come in," the boy quickly replied.
"Thank you," Kyle said as he entered the compartment. He placed his luggage on the rack above and extended his hand. "I'm Kyle Jooba, a first-year student this year."
The boy seemed deep in thought and didn't respond immediately. When he snapped out of his daze, he hastily reached out his hand and said, "Oh... sorry, I'm Cedric Diggory, a second-year student at Hogwarts."
Cedric?
Kyle was a bit surprised to encounter a "familiar" face so soon after boarding the train—a future hero of Hogwarts, which explained his handsome looks.
Kyle recalled that Cedric's family also lived near St. Kachibor Village, but due to various reasons, the two had never met before.
Not even once.
Kyle had tried to look for him a few times, but the Diggory house was always closed up tight. Eventually, Kyle gave up.
Who would have thought that their first meeting would be on the train...
However, noticing that Cedric seemed preoccupied, Kyle didn't say much more. After a simple greeting, he took out a copy of 'Common Curses and Counteractions' that he had bought from Flourish and Blotts and started reading.
Cedric continued to space out.
At some point, a light drizzle began to fall outside the window, typical of this place where rain could arrive without warning.
Kyle glanced out the window but didn't pay it much mind. He was used to it by now and quite enjoyed reading in this environment.
Influenced by Kyle, Cedric also snapped out of his daze and took out a book to read—'Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection' by the looks of it.
It was quite common for Hogwarts students to start revising Dark Arts Defense on their way to school.
After all, no one knew how long this year's professor would last, and it was possible they might kick the bucket after just a couple of lessons. So, it was always good to get a head start.
For a while, the only sounds in the compartment were the rustling of parchment pages, a stark contrast to the noisy corridor outside.
But this tranquility didn't last long.
Before Cedric could finish two pages, the compartment door opened once more.
"We finally found you, Kyle," said Fred.
"We saved you a seat, and you stood us up, making us wait like idiots," George added.
"I think you owe us an apology," they said in unison, their expressions furious as if Kyle had committed some heinous crime.
"I can apologize," Kyle said calmly, closing his book. "But on one condition—you must swear on a Dungbomb that what you said is true."
Fred's angry expression immediately turned conflicted. "Umm... can I swear on the Headmaster's name instead?"
"Or Professor McGonagall's," George suggested.
"No!" Kyle shook his head. "It has to be a Dungbomb."
...
"Oh, George, I think this is Kyle's first time riding the Hogwarts Express, and he's not familiar with the train, so he couldn't find us," said Fred, realizing their mistake.
Inevitably, their eyes also landed on Cedric.
Fred flashed a mischievous grin. "Now, who do we have here? I can't quite recall."
George raised an eyebrow. "Why, it's none other than our model student of Hogwarts, the pride of Hufflepuff, Mr. Cedric Diggory."
As soon as their words landed, Cedric's face reddened furiously at the embarrassing prefix, wishing he could punch a hole through the train in his mortification.
However, he had no retort.
After all, the model student and Hufflepuff's pride monikers had come from none other than his father, and within just one summer break, the entire Ministry of Magic had come to know of it.
This, of course, included their families.
Thus, during this summer vacation, half of the letters Cedric received were addressed to 'Pride of Hufflepuff'.
The other half were from Muggle-born students who were unaware of this incident.
And it was because of this incident that he had deliberately chosen this far-flung compartment, never expecting to still be found, and by the most troublesome duo, no less.
"Please, have mercy!" Cedric pleaded, hands clasped together. "I can lend you my homework."
As he spoke, a stack of parchment was placed on the table.
The twins had intended to continue their teasing, but the offer was too good to pass up.
This was the homework of the top student of the year!
George's expression turned serious as he quickly gathered the parchments into his arms. "Now, Cedric, don't say that. We know this isn't your intention, we were just joking around."
"That's right," Fred nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, we won't mock you because of this."
...
Fred and George left with broad smiles on their faces, looking as if they had just stumbled upon a bag of Galleons.
Once they were gone, Cedric heaved a sigh of relief, glancing apologetically at Kyle. "Sorry about that..."
"No, I should be the one apologizing," Kyle interrupted. "After all, they were looking for me, and if not for that, you wouldn't have been bothered."
Cedric shook his head with a bitter smile. "It was bound to happen sooner or later."
He could hide on the train, but once they arrived at Hogwarts, he would have to face everyone. It was only a matter of time.
Moreover, the sudden appearance of the Weasley brothers wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as it had given Cedric an idea to resolve this issue.
And that was through his homework.
As the top student of the year, his summer assignments were highly sought-after, as evidenced by the Weasley twins' reaction. So, using his homework to keep the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors quiet should be a viable solution.
As long as he could control them, eighty percent of the problem would be solved.
As for Ravenclaw and Slytherin... given the nature of those houses, they probably wouldn't get involved in such a fuss. At most, a few individuals might, but it wouldn't matter much.
As long as the people from his house didn't stir up trouble and the energetic lions of Gryffindor stayed out of it, the issue would blow over in at most three days.
Just three days, that was all.
Thinking about it this way, Cedric suddenly felt that the situation wasn't as bad as he had initially thought.
...
(End of Chapter)
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