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Chapter 167: The Darkest Hour of Hogwarts
Chapter 167: The Darkest Hour of Hogwarts
Fred and George didn't truly detest Ron; they were just disappointed in him. If they truly didn't care, they wouldn't have said what they did earlier.
"That's not entirely true," Kyle contemplated. "At least Ron is honest, and that's a virtue."
"By the way, why did they duel with Malfoy?"
"Apparently, it was because of that new student, Neville Longbottom," Fred thought for a moment before replying. "Malfoy hid his map and mocked him for his forgetfulness. Ron and Harry stood up for him, and that's how the conflict started. A three-on-three wizard's duel...who would've thought of that?"
"A sense of justice and loyalty...those are two more virtues," Kyle nodded, feigning solemnity. "So, Ron isn't as hopeless as you make him out to be...at least he's better than the fish in the Black Lake."
"We're not denying his actions," Fred shook his head, half amused and half exasperated. If it weren't for the fact that Ron's intentions were good and he hadn't brought shame to the Weasley name, they wouldn't have bothered with their foolish younger brother.
"We're just questioning his intelligence...Even going to Professor McGonagall to report the incident would have been better than wandering up to the fourth floor during curfew." George grumbled, "And after getting into such big trouble, he simply slept it off and forgot all about it."
Kyle raised an eyebrow, as if he had guessed the true reason for their anger.
The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was a long-standing issue. It was always a back-and-forth exchange of blows, and while one side might not always come out on top, they certainly wouldn't take the losses lying down.
Even Percy, whom they called a bookworm, would go straight to a professor to report any incidents.
George continued, "If it were me, I'd have at least five ways to make that Malfoy regret his actions."
"For example, hiring an owl to deliver a stink bomb disguised as an egg during breakfast."
"Or pouring a failed Potions experiment into his shoes."
"That might be difficult," Kyle stroked his chin. "Snape usually disposes of any unsatisfactory potions immediately. If you don't mind the deductions and detentions, I think it's better to just create an 'accident' and pour it on him directly."
Fred and George stared at Kyle, incredulous.
Use a failed potion to douse a Slytherin student during Potions class?
Even if it were truly an accident, Snape would probably deduct at least a hundred points, if not more.
Did Kyle really think they were that generous with their House points? Even if they didn't care about their grades, they didn't want to be at the bottom of the standings every year.
That would be embarrassing.
Fred and George rolled their eyes simultaneously, choosing to ignore Kyle's terrible suggestion.
"We've got it all figured out," George turned to look in Ron's direction, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
"To heighten Ron's sense of crisis and vigilance..."
"...and to prevent him from falling for such obvious traps again..."
"...we've decided to put him through special training..."
"Special training?" Cedric was puzzled. What kind of training could they possibly do that wasn't related to Quidditch?
"Yes, we're calling it 'The Darkest Hour of Hogwarts'!" Fred exclaimed. "We spent an entire night perfecting this plan."
"We had no choice. He's our beloved little brother, after all."
"Of course, this might cause Ron some suffering, but he'll gain much more from it."
"At least we know our limits and won't actually harm him.
Kyle didn't know if Ron would be grateful to Fred and George in the future, but he knew that Ron's days ahead wouldn't be easy.
'The Darkest Hour of Hogwarts'... the name itself was quite telling.
Although he didn't know the specifics, it certainly wasn't going to be pleasant.
Poor Ron, to have such unreliable brothers.
"Do you need any help?" Kyle asked.
"Not yet," Fred shook his head. "The initial plan is already perfect, and we can implement it tomorrow."
Kyle sounded a little disappointed as he said, "Okay, let me know if you need anything."
"Rest assured, we won't be shy about asking," Fred replied.
Suddenly, Kyle felt a strong tug on his fishing rod, so powerful that it almost pulled him into the lake.
Something big had taken the bait!
"Crack..."
The fishing rod snapped in half with a crisp sound.
Kyle quickly forgot about the bickering Weasley brothers as he reacted swiftly, grabbing the remaining half of the rod and pulling back with force.
"Quick, Cedric, cast a strengthening charm!"
Their fishing rods were simply made from rowan wood and spider silk, so it was normal for something like this to happen if they hooked a big catch.
"I'm on it, just hold on!" Cedric threw his own rod aside.
But before he could even draw his wand, Kyle was yanked to the ground, his fishing rod flying up and flinging a silver-white fish onto the grass a short distance away.
Paying no heed to the leaves and grass sticking to him, Kyle jumped to his feet and rushed over.
It was a one-foot-long broadback fish, roughly estimating to be about two pounds.
Kyle frowned.
While broadback fish were commonly found in the lake, a two-pounder was considered quite large.
However, the force he had felt earlier seemed disproportionate to the size of this small fish.
Rowan wood was known for its hardness and resilience, and a two-pound fish shouldn't have been able to snap it instantly.
"Strange..."
Cedric, who was crouching nearby, seemed to have noticed something. He pointed to the fish's belly and said, "Kyle, look here."
"What is it?"
Following Cedric's finger, Kyle suddenly froze.
He noticed that there was no hook in the fish's mouth; instead, it had been tied to the line.
The thin spider silk line was wrapped around the fish twice and secured with a neat bow.
"Kyle..." Fred asked uncertainly, "Did you enchant your fishing rod to tie knots automatically?"
"No way!" Kyle scoffed.
It was just a casual fishing trip, so why would he bother with such a complicated enchantment? He hadn't even heard of such a spell.
In fact, after seeing the securely tied fish, Kyle had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
Giant squid from the lake, or perhaps a mermaid...
Most likely, one of them had manually tied this fish to the spider silk line and sent it over.
As if to confirm his suspicion, the other boys' fishing rods started to move as well.
When they reeled in their catches, they found more broadback fish that had been tied in the same way.
Kyle's expression turned sour.
Sending fish their way after they had been fishing for over an hour without any bites was a bit much, wasn't it?
(End of Chapter)
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