Chapter 505: Conflict
Chapter 505: Conflict
For an entire morning, Kyle and Connor stayed in their cabin.
Come midday, Hagrid invited them to join him for lunch.
"It's a steak stew," he said, "You can't imagine how delicious it is."
Connor was curious, expecting some exotic dish, until she saw Hagrid toss a large, unidentified claw into the pot.
That was when she swiftly made her decision... to head back to the castle.
Kyle felt the same, as Hagrid's so-called steak stew only had a palm-sized piece of steak, with the rest being a random assortment of ingredients.
A stew was fine, but the steak was more of a token gesture.
Having made their decision, the duo quickly got up and left the cabin, despite Hagrid's attempts to persuade them to stay.
And they were immensely grateful for their decision.
Perhaps to celebrate the Triwizard champions, today's lunch featured entirely new dishes, including French classic red wine beef stew, puff pastry onion soup, and a nameless crispy roll... likely a specialty from Durmstrang, and it tasted quite delightful.
"I'm glad we came back," Connor said as she served herself a bowl of onion soup, "I can't even imagine what it would taste like to cook steak with those huge claws."
"It's hard to imagine," Kyle said with a laugh.
Aside from aesthetics, their definition of deliciousness differed greatly from Hagrid's.
However, returning to the castle had its downsides, as Kyle had to face his enthusiastic classmates, though to be honest, they were a bit too enthusiastic.
Just during one meal, a thick stack of books had appeared next to Kyle.
These were borrowed from the library, supposedly to help with the Triwizard Tournament, but upon flipping through them, Kyle realized he had already read more than half of them.
Moreover, this situation repeated itself in the following days, and Kyle had to set aside time to decline these well-meaning offers... oh, and to give autographs.
Kyle never thought that he would be asked for autographs at Hogwarts, just like Krum.
This was also the first time Kyle realized how much fame came with being a Triwizard champion. When he became the youngest member of the Merlin Knights, no one had asked for his autograph.
Additionally, students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would attend classes with them during regular school hours.
However, they were mostly sixth and seventh years, with not a single fifth year among them.
The most popular among them was undoubtedly Krum. Whether it was during class or when he appeared elsewhere in the castle, he was always surrounded by a large crowd.
Draco Malfoy was the most frequent presence in that crowd. After staying quiet for two months, he had reverted to his old arrogant self the previous week.
And he had started causing trouble for Harry and Ron again... especially Ron.
Whether it was during class or the occasional encounters in the castle, Malfoy would subject Ron to ridicule and sarcasm, and this was the first time Ron experienced what Harry had gone through before.
Ron was furious, and on several occasions, he wanted to start a fight with Malfoy, only to be stopped by others.
This situation persisted for a week until Wednesday noon when Ron was on his way to the Great Hall for lunch, and he happened to overhear Malfoy badmouthing him in front of Krum.
"That red-haired idiot," Malfoy said loudly, "He loves to suck up to anyone famous, first Potter... that fool with the scar on his head.
I guess he thought latching onto Potter would get him out of that... place you can barely call a house, but it's hilarious that he still hasn't gotten his wish.
Viktor, you have to be careful, don't let him cling to you, that tag-a-long..."
"Malfoy!"
Ron pushed through the crowd, his face red with anger, "Do you dare say that again?"
"Oh, I thought it was someone important.
"Don't get angry, Ron."
"He just wants you to make the first move so that Professor Snape has a reason to punish you," Hermione pleaded.
"I don't care... I'm going to rip his mouth off today!" Ron fumed, struggling to break free.
"How terrifying," Malfoy continued his taunts. "And your father, that old Weasley, he's quite an embarrassment to the Ministry with his shabby appearance..."
Ron struggled even harder.
"Ha, at least you lot dress respectably."
Fred and George pushed their way through the crowd from the other side, not as agitated as Ron but rather looking quite pleased.
"George, remember the photo in the Prophet the other day?" Fred asked.
"Of course, Fred, Mr. Malfoy all dressed up certainly left an impression," George replied with a smile.
He cleared his throat and began to mimic the content from the newspaper, gesturing wildly as he spoke, "I didn't know... Mr. Minister, they forced me to do it, I'm innocent..."
This was Malfoy's defense during his trial, which was printed alongside the photo in the newspaper.
Fred, on the other hand, was imitating Narcissa Malfoy from the photo with exaggerated tear-wiping gestures.
The two of them took turns, almost like they were performing a play, perfectly reenacting the scene from the photo, causing quite a few people to burst out laughing.
"How dare you!" Malfoy's pale face turned slightly red, and he drew out his wand, pointing it at them. "You'll pay for this!"
"Oh yes, go ahead!" Fred said calmly, also drawing his wand. "If you have the guts, then do it, and then you can claim innocence like your father did. Isn't that what your family is best at?"
Malfoy glared at Fred, his chest heaving. The next second, both of them moved almost simultaneously.
"Dentifrous Charm!"
"Armor Charm!"
A pillar of light shot towards Fred but rebounded even faster, hitting Malfoy instead.
Malfoy flew backwards, his teeth visibly growing at an alarming rate, extending beyond his lips and down towards his chin.
"What's all this ruckus about?" A soft voice cut through the air.
Snape had arrived, and seeing Malfoy on the ground, looking like a squirrel, he opened his mouth to speak...
"Professor, your timing is impeccable. Take a look at this... I was truly terrified just now," Fred said, drawing out the last word. "I was just practicing the Ironskin Charm when Malfoy suddenly collapsed. What's going on here?"
"Practicing the Ironskin Charm?" Snape narrowed his eyes.
"Yes," George piped in. "We really like this curse, so we often practice it."
"That's the spirit!" Another voice joined in.
With a clumping sound, Professor Moody strode over with his wooden leg, his blue magical eye fixed on Snape before shifting to Malfoy, who was just picking himself up off the ground.
"Looks like he got hit by his own curse," Professor Moody said gruffly. "How interesting... Using dark curses on your classmates in broad daylight, Snape, how do you usually handle these things?"
Malfoy seemed frightened, not daring to utter a word.
Snape's expression darkened.
"Slytherin loses ten points, and Malfoy is to be confined to the dormitory," he said coldly, grabbing Malfoy by the robe and dragging him away without another word.
"Oh!"
"Praise the professor!"
Fred and George high-fived, seemingly celebrating their victory.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
