Chapter 422: The Generous Acromantula
Chapter 422: The Generous Acromantula
With his bounty of Acromantula venom, Kyle finally left the Forbidden Forest, content with his haul.
A total of nineteen pints of venom would translate to a whopping 1,900 Galleons; the small amount he had given to Rubeus for the knobbly troll legs had returned to him many times over.
Of course, there wasn't meant to be this much, but the old spider, realizing the shamefulness of its fickle behavior, took the initiative to offer more.
It wasn't that the Acromantula didn't want to give more; it was that their productivity was limited. From Aragog himself down to the tiny spiders no bigger than a fingertip, they had all been milked dry to barely muster these nineteen pints.
As Kyle left, the spiders could barely stand, lying on the ground twisted and turned, like they had drunk bad liquor.
The scene was quite touching to Kyle, and he decided that as soon as he returned, he would quickly prepare a batch of spider restorative medicine to give to Hagrid to pass on to the Acromantula.
He hoped that the medicine would help them recover sooner... After all, under normal circumstances, the process of restoring venom for Acromantula was quite slow.
In a cheerful mood, Kyle strolled into the castle, unaware of a pair of eyes fixed on him from the shadows.
"Aha!"
Filch jumped out from some hidden corner, his voice dripping with malice. "Caught you out after curfew, haven't I?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Filch, but I'm afraid I don't understand what you're saying."
Despite the startle, Kyle maintained his composure. "I just got up early and went for a walk outside. That's all."
"And you expect me to believe that nonsense?" Filch sneered. "It's only five in the morning. No young wizard would be up this early."
"Maybe I slept early last night," Kyle replied. "If you don't believe me, you can ask around in the Hufflepuff common room. Everyone knows I was back in the dormitory by ten o'clock and didn't leave again the entire night.
"Or you could ask the portraits hanging in the corridor."
Seeing Kyle's calm demeanor, Filch, who had been quite confident a moment ago, now wavered.
"I will," he said, leading Kyle to a portrait in the kitchen corridor. "You still have a chance to come clean now, or else..."
"No need, Mr. Filch," Kyle interrupted.
He addressed the portrait directly, "Good day. Did you happen to see any Hufflepuffs wandering around after curfew last night?"
"Wandering? No!" The wizard in the portrait replied emphatically.
"Are you sure?" Filch asked, his face darkening.
"Of course," the wizard said. "Last night, I was having a staring contest with the lady across the hall, which started at nine o'clock. If any young wizard had passed by, I would have seen them immediately."
Filch's face twisted in displeasure.
"Well, there you have it, Mr. Filch," Kyle said with a smile. "If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way...
Oh, and by the way, I've noticed that Mrs. Norris seems a bit thin lately. Could it be that Hogwarts hasn't been paying its staff lately? You're skimping on her food, aren't you?"
Filch's face grew even more unsightly, as if he had just heard that the school was planning to replace him with a Dementor.
"I have not skimped on Mrs. Norris' food!" he roared. "Never!"
"Hmm..." Kyle shrugged noncommittally. "She has lost weight, though. Perhaps you should buy her some nice fish treats to improve her diet."
"Mind your own business..."
Filch had been frustrated these past few days, having not caught a single student breaking the rules. And now, early in the morning, he had been accused of depriving Mrs. Norris of food. He was so angry he felt like breathing fire.
"Well then, Mr. Filch, I'll be heading back. See you next time..."
Kyle waved and turned, striding down the corridor.
As the door to the corridor closed, Filch's voice faded away.
There wasn't a soul in the common room... but then, it was only five in the morning, and no Hufflepuff worth their salt would be up at this hour. Usually, only Ravenclaws would be early risers...
There was no point in trying to sleep anymore, so Kyle downed a bottle of Wake-Up Potion and settled into the armchair closest to the fireplace with a book.
It wasn't until seven o'clock that people started trickling into the common room.
...
First period was Divination.
While most students, including the professors, viewed Professor Trelawney as nothing more than a fraud leeching off of Hogwarts, there were some who believed her to be a powerful seer.
"I used to think she was a fraud, too, until all her predictions about me came true..."
In the dim and stuffy attic room, Michael excitedly explained, "She predicted that I would be away from everyone for a while, and then I ended up in the hospital wing over the weekend... That counts as being away, right?"
Michael was referring to the events after the Quidditch match, where he had been knocked in the head by a rogue Bludger and Madam Pomfrey had insisted he stay in the hospital wing for two days.
"She's made the same prediction about me," Kyle said, "It's just a coincidence."
In fact, it wasn't just them; even Cedric had received one of her ominous predictions.
In her conscious state, Professor Trelawney was indeed a fraud, but she possessed a wealth of experience and knew exactly what to do to ensure that her off-the-cuff "prophecies" eventually came to pass.
The Quidditch players were an easy target.
After all, with both practices and matches, it was inevitable for players to get injured in Quidditch.
So, during the first Divination class after the start of term, almost all the Quidditch players ended up on her prophecy list.
Professor Trelawney didn't need to do anything except wait, and when the players inevitably got injured, her prophecies would come true.
Through this method, she had gained quite a few admirers, like Michael.
He had joined the team later than the others, and when Professor Trelawney got wind of this, she added his name to her prophecy list on a whim.
Coincidentally, this prophecy was made on a Friday, and it came true the very next day during the match on Saturday.
So, Michael was now a firm believer, a loyal devotee of Professor Trelawney.
Today, Professor Trelawney maintained her usual demeanor, and with the Quidditch match drawing near, her focus once again turned to the team members.
As she passed by Kyle, she continued on without pausing, showing no interest in him whatsoever.
From her experience of watching the matches, she knew that Kyle had never been injured during a game, and the chances of her prediction coming true for him were slim, not worth her effort... but there was another who would suit her purposes perfectly.
She made her way over to Michael's table and casually paused, watching as he fiddled with the astrolabe.
"There's something here..." Professor Trelawney murmured, leaning closer, "Something's moving... What could it be... Oh!"
She suddenly shook her head and sighed, "Dear, if I were you, I'd be wary of a person with messy hair... Yes, the very person you're thinking of. It would be best to stay away from them before Easter."
Michael immediately tensed up and began looking around anxiously, trying to identify who Professor Trelawney was referring to.
...
(End of Chapter)
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