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Chapter 550: Mr. Diggory Gets a Promotion
Chapter 550: Mr. Diggory Gets a Promotion
"Kyle, what are you looking at?" Cedric asked, noticing that Kyle had been poring over a small book during mealtimes for several days in a row.
It wasn't unusual for Kyle to read while eating, but it was odd that he had been fixated on this particular book for so long. It was just a few pages; how long could it possibly take to read? Even during their wizard chess games, Kyle had been holding onto the book.
"What did you say?" Kyle asked, looking up.
"I asked, what are you reading?" Cedric repeated.
"Oh, it's something Professor Dumbledore gave me," Kyle replied, rubbing his forehead. He didn't try to hide it and instead pushed the book towards Cedric. "I thought I'd be able to learn it in a few days, but it's much more complicated than I expected. I think it'll take about a week."
"Just a few parchment pages, and it's taking you this long? Are there complex spells written on them?"
Cedric leaned over curiously to take a look, then fell silent. The parchments contained minimal text, but the rest was filled with intricate magical scripts and symbols that were dizzying to look at.
"Are you studying ancient Runic with Professor Dumbledore?" Connor asked from beside them.
"Something like that," Kyle replied, stuffing a few slices of fried eggs and ham into his mouth and washing them down with pumpkin juice before continuing. "What he's teaching me is quite complex. I have to master this first."
"And this is the simplest part?" Cedric furrowed his brows as he examined the parchment again. "These are extension runes, addition runes, and light runes. Are you trying to create some high-level magical artifacts?"
"No, it's for a spell," Kyle said. "A spell invented by Professor Dumbledore. It's powerful but extremely difficult to master."
"Oh, I see," Cedric said, snapping his fingers in realization. "You must be preparing for the third task, trying to get a head start—"
Cedric abruptly stopped, feeling embarrassed as he noticed Fleur not too far away from them.
"I know what you're thinking," Fleur said calmly as she served herself some fresh leaves from the plate. "But there's no need to be so surprised or feel like you've let slip a secret. All champions are in the same boat before the third task.
"In fact, Madame Maxime has also been teaching me some spells lately that would never normally appear in textbooks."
"You too?" Cedric blurted out. "Why didn't you ever mention it?"
As soon as he said it, Cedric realized how foolish his question was.
Fleur represented Beauxbatons; of course, she wouldn't willingly share her secrets with them.
As expected, Fleur turned to look at him with a strange expression, as if she were looking at a running sea cucumber.
Cedric's face reddened, and he quickly tried to explain, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that, unlike Kyle, you don't seem to be constantly studying from a book."
"That's because we have other ways of learning," Fleur said. "Ways beyond textbooks. Krum is the same. Do you think he's been any different lately when he's in the castle?"
"Krum..." Cedric thought for a moment and shook his head. "Not that I've noticed."
He hadn't paid much attention to Krum, only occasionally spotting him during mealtimes in the Great Hall. As far as he could remember, Krum's behavior hadn't changed; he still ate in silence and then left.
"Of course, I'm in the same boat," Fleur admitted. "Madame Maxime wouldn't approve of me sharing these things with you either."
"Then why are you telling us all this?" Kyle asked, intrigued.
"That's because you brought up the topic first," Fleur said, glancing at the parchment on the table and quickly looking away. "It only seems fair, doesn't it?"
Kyle smiled but remained silent.
Just then, the owl post arrived.
The owls flew into the Great Hall, one after another, delivering letters and packages that rained down on the students.
Kyle looked up first to scan the covers of the Witch Weekly issues that landed in the hands of others, relieved to see that the grinning face on the cover wasn't his. He then turned his attention to the Prophet in front of him.
The second task of the Triwizard Tournament still dominated the front page, even after such a long time. It seemed that people couldn't get enough of discussing what had transpired beneath the lake.
The headline of the day featured the hippocampus, and Kyle wondered if it was because he had ridden one out of the water, securing the highest score. This once not-so-popular magical creature was now all the rage.
Although these dangerous creatures were banned from being kept as pets, people always found ways to circumvent the Ministry's inspections.
At the bottom of the newspaper was a piece of advice from the Ministry.
"The Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, headed by Amos Diggory, believes that people are currently being impulsive in their desire to keep hippocampi as pets. He considers this a foolish act, as hippocampi are wild and difficult to tame, not to mention their vengeful nature if one decides to abandon them...
"We've dealt with five incidents involving hippocampi just this week, and I sincerely hope there won't be a sixth."
"Oh, my dad got promoted," Cedric said, noticing the article. "He mentioned it to me last week, and I thought he was joking. But with this, he'll probably have even more work on his hands. I wonder if he'll still be able to accompany me on our trip to Austria during the holidays... We had planned it for Christmas."
"Austria?" Kyle asked, curious.
"Yes," Cedric said. "Wasn't the previous International Confederation of Wizards held there? I'm just curious to see the place.
"My dad promised to take me there during the break."
"Well, I guess that's unlikely now," Kyle said, spreading his hands.
The Beast Division was one of the busiest departments under the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, with six smaller departments under its jurisdiction, each dealing with a multitude of tasks daily.
When Chris was in that position, he was only able to take a day off every two weeks, on average.
"That's a shame," Cedric said, though his expression didn't show much disappointment.
While a trip to Austria would have been nice, Mr. Diggory's promotion was equally exciting.
Kyle continued flipping through the newspaper and, on the second page, his eyes landed on a familiar name.
[The Investigation into the Former Head of the International Magical Cooperation Department, Bartemius Crouch, Comes to an End]
(End of Chapter)
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