Chapter 393: A Solo Return
Chapter 393: A Solo Return
Hagrid's voice boomed, and Kyle noticed Professor McGonagall glancing around nervously, seemingly reluctant to let the other students hear about these events from over a decade ago.
Especially in their current location, Professor McGonagall paused the longest.
Kyle immediately feigned nonchalance and continued eating his meat pie.
"Hagrid, please! Keep your voice down," Professor McGonagall said.
But her reminder didn't have much effect.
Even when Hagrid intentionally lowered his voice, it was still quite audible.
"He even asked me to hand over Harry, that scum... Good thing I refused because I had Dumbledore's orders to take Harry to his aunt and uncle's house..."
"Hagrid!"
Professor McGonagall glanced their way again, her voice tinged with annoyance.
"Kyle, let's go find Autumn and Cedric."
At this moment, Conna suddenly spoke up, "They should be done talking by now, and I also need to buy something at Paddifoo's Tea Room."
"Looks like we're on the same page." Kyle stood up, about to pay when Conna had already placed two Galleons on the table.
"You..."
Kyle was about to say something but was pulled away by Conna without further ado.
All the way to the street, Conna smiled and said, "You treated me to coffee earlier, so it's my turn to treat you now."
"No..."
Kyle hesitated for a moment and said, "Actually, I meant you gave too much. It's one Galleon and five Sickles. Why did you give two Galleons?"
"Huh?" Conna was a bit stunned, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"You have to give me a chance too." Kyle shrugged.
Just as Conna was hesitating about whether to go back, Cedric and Autumn ran over from not too far away.
"Hey, where did you two just go?"
Upon seeing Kyle and Conna, Autumn immediately asked with dissatisfaction.
They had just been discussing whether to explore the Screaming Shack when they turned around and found only two barely touched cups of coffee on the table, but the two people who had come with them were gone.
"I went to almost every shop, but I couldn't find you." Cedric said.
"We're right here, at the Three Broomsticks." Kyle said, "I guess you didn't come here."
Cedric was taken aback, he hadn't been here before.
"But didn't you just have coffee?"
"Too sweet." Kyle shrugged, "Butterbeer suits our taste better."
Cedric pursed his lips, as if it was indeed the case... Strange, why didn't he notice the sweetness of the coffee earlier?
With the interruption, Conna felt embarrassed to ask for the remaining change and followed them with a pained expression.
Soon after, they found Fred and George at Zonko's and went to the Screaming Shack together.
Visiting the Screaming Shack had been planned long ago.
But when they actually arrived, they found it wasn't as interesting as the legends suggested.
After they opened the big lock on the door, they realized it was just an old room that hadn't been occupied for a long time.
The wallpaper was peeling, the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, and everything was broken, as if it had been smashed.
"Legends are indeed unreliable."
Fred kicked a broken stool in disappointment, "The residents must have made up stories about howling at night to attract more tourists."
"In my opinion, this is just an old, uninhabited room."
"George reached out and touched the table, "Look at this dust. Obviously, no one has been here for years."
"Could it be a ghost?" Autumn asked.
"Hogwarts is the place with the most ghosts. You've heard them howl before," Fred said, "And ghosts can't destroy these furnishings."
He picked up a broken chair leg from the ground and knocked it twice on the floor.
"I guess someone must have deliberately caused this damage, which is why those strange noises were made."
After waiting for several days, the disappointing reality of the unremarkable Screaming Shack dampened their enthusiasm to continue exploring.
After leaving, they returned directly to the castle.
Kyle trailed behind and re-locked the gate to the front door.
It was still early, and the castle was quiet.
Filch stood in the entrance hall, his gaze fixed on them... to be precise, on Fred and George.
As they exited Zonko's, their pockets were bulging, obviously filled with various treasures.
Read the error-free version on 69 Books! 6=9+Book_Bar_First_Release
Filch walked over and said, "Wait, I need to inspect..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Fred and George suddenly quickened their pace, darted past him, and disappeared into the entrance hall.
"Stop!" Filch roared, "You stop right there!"
Amid Filch's bellowing, the quiet castle instantly became lively.
...
By dinnertime, everyone gathered to discuss their holiday plans.
"What did you say?!" Cedric looked at Kyle in disbelief, "You're not spending Christmas at Hogwarts this year?!"
For the past three years, Kyle had always stayed at school during Christmas, and Cedric had assumed this year would be the same.
For this reason, he had persistently written to his father for a month and had his name added to the list of students staying at school just a couple of days ago.
He had wanted to surprise Kyle, but unexpectedly, Kyle had decided to go home this year!
On purpose, no doubt!
"Yes," Kyle naturally didn't know what he was thinking and calmly replied, "I can't always spend Christmas here, can I?"
"I..."
As Cedric was about to speak, Autumn, who had sneaked over, suddenly said,
"What a pity, I thought someone could keep me company."
"You're not going home this year?" Kyle asked.
"Yes," Autumn nodded, "My father wrote to me a couple of days ago saying they would be away during Christmas, so I have to stay at school."
"I see," Kyle nodded and then looked at Cedric, "What were you about to say?"
"Oh, nothing."
Cedric took a sip of pumpkin juice calmly, "I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. Also, I've chosen to stay at school this year, so I can't accompany you home."
"You're staying too?" Kyle raised an eyebrow, "Did Mr. Digory agree, or did you just make that decision yourself?"
"I signed the list of students staying at school a couple of days ago," Cedric said.
"Me too," Conna laughed and said to Autumn, "During the holidays, we can go to the library together."
Kyle suddenly realized that this year's holiday situation seemed to have reversed. Everyone else, except him, seemed to have chosen to stay at school, including Fred and George.
They were working on a new fast-acting Skipping Class Candy, as going home would easily be discovered by Mrs. Weasley.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report