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Chapter 355: Cedric's Source of Joy
Chapter 355: Cedric's Source of Joy
The train chugged along the tracks, billowing steam as it made its way through the countryside.
Once Kyle and the others had arrived, Connor and Autumn stopped browsing through magazines with Luna and began sharing their holiday experiences.
Mention of this topic immediately irritated Autumn.
"That liar, Cedric!" she exclaimed angrily. "He told me Beauxbatons Academy was in the Pyrenees Mountains, but when we went there, we couldn't find the place he described on any map. We spent the entire day going around in circles and discovered nothing!"
"That's not surprising," Kyle remarked. "I'm not sure about the others, but the locations of the three major European wizarding schools are protected to prevent their teaching methods from being exposed and to safeguard the students and schools from potential harm."
"Just like Hogwarts," Ginny added. "If a student from Beauxbatons came to visit, they would only see a barren cliff."
Autumn and Connor were stunned. They had always assumed the protection charms were solely to prevent Muggles from discovering the schools, similar to the Anti-Muggle charms at the Leaky Cauldron. They never imagined that these protections also worked on wizards.
"But why is Cedric able to..." Autumn trailed off, puzzled.
"He might have met someone who told him about Beauxbatons' location," Kyle speculated. "If a professor or someone from the school mentioned it to him, the protective charms would be ineffective."
Alternatively, if a student from the school brought him there, it would have the same effect, similar to the Fidelius Charm."
Autumn recalled Cedric mentioning that he had met an elderly wizard in France who had revealed the location of Beauxbatons Academy. That must have been how he bypassed the protections.
Feeling a bit dejected, Autumn wondered why she hadn't had such luck...
"The Fidelius Charm?" Ginny looked up from the magazine, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I think Dad mentioned that spell before, but I can't quite remember."
"It's a type of binding magical promise, often used to conceal crucial secrets," Kyle explained.
"Is it taught at school?" Ginny's eyes lit up with interest.
"No," Kyle shook his head. "The complexity of that charm far surpasses the average student's ability. If someone attempts it without sufficient skill, it could backfire on them. So, unless the professors deem you capable, they won't teach it to you even if you ask."
"Oh..." Ginny looked a little disappointed.
"Ginny, do you have some secret you're hiding from us?" Fred asked with a mischievous grin.
George leaned in as well. "Tell us, we promise we won't tell anyone."
"You said the same thing last time," Ginny retorted, rolling her eyes at the twins. "If I had known that spell before the holidays, Percy wouldn't have nagged me for two months!"
Fred and George retreated, knowing they had been caught out.
The Hogwarts Express continued its journey northward, and the landscape outside the windows grew increasingly desolate. As the clouds thickened in the sky, the daylight began to fade.
People hurried past their compartment, laughing and chasing each other in the corridors.
"No fireworks in the corridors, you lot! Which house are you from?" Percy's voice rang out from beyond the door.
But instead of heeding his warning, the students only grew louder, their laughter echoing as they ran off.
Percy gave chase, calling out, "Stop right there! I'm the Head Boy!"
At that moment, the door was flung open, and Cedric slipped inside like a thief.
"You two better run," he said, looking at Fred and George with a solemn expression. "Percy knows about your prank with his badge, and from the looks of it, he wants to kill you and then hang your bodies outside the train for everyone to see! If it weren't for us running into someone setting off fireworks in the corridor just now, he would have been the one bursting in here."
Fred and George exchanged a glance and smiled.
"Why should we run? Let him come," Fred said, seemingly unfazed.
"Do you think we're afraid of that big-headed Percy?" George added with a laugh. "Let us tell you, we're not afraid at all."
As they spoke, they took out candies and offered them to the others, showing no signs of worry.
The ruckus outside the compartment gradually faded.
They heard Percy's voice again, "How audacious of you, Slytherin, to disregard even the Head Boy. I will definitely report this to Professor Snape..."
Although his voice was faint, the fact that they could hear him meant he was nearby.
Fred suddenly slapped his thigh. "I almost forgot, Lee Jordan asked us to find him after we boarded the train."
"I remember that too," George nodded. "He also said he had something important to discuss with us."
"Well, we don't have anything going on right now, so let's go find him."
"Alright."
They both stood up and casually walked to the compartment door, peering out cautiously.
"Fred! George!" Percy's roar could be heard from a short distance away.
The two of them flung the door open and darted out swiftly.
Due to their haste, George bumped his head on the door frame, causing him to grimace in pain. Nonetheless, he rubbed his head and followed closely behind Fred.
Laughter erupted in the compartment.
Cedric walked over and sat in the spot they had vacated, shaking his head. "I thought they really weren't afraid."
Ginny giggled. "A few weeks ago, they locked Percy in a pyramid. When he found out, he gave them a good thrashing. If you observe carefully, you'll notice George occasionally rubbing his left buttock. Percy thought he was the mastermind behind the prank, so he gave him an extra beating..."
The laughter in the compartment grew louder, especially from Cedric, who seemed to find the twins' misfortune even more amusing than his own good fortune.
At one o'clock, the plump witch pushing the food cart arrived at their compartment door.
Having barely eaten anything in the morning, Kyle was already hungry, so he bought a large stack of cauldron cakes.
He opted for the largest size, which would be enough for the six of them to share.
Although the taste of these cakes was mediocre, they were still much better than chocolate or candy.
After finishing the cakes, they chatted for a while longer. As the time approached three or four o'clock, the sky outside began to drizzle, obscuring the rolling hills in the distance.
As a prefect, Cedric was supposed to help maintain order in the carriage. However, Percy was overly diligent, and his voice could constantly be heard outside, reprimanding any young witches and wizards who dared to stick their heads out.
There was little point in Cedric adding to that.
Cedric took the rare opportunity to relax and joined Kyle in a game of Exploding Snap.
(End of Chapter)
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