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Chapter 607: The Start-of-Term Feast
Chapter 607: The Start-of-Term Feast
During the remainder of the journey, aside from the necessary inspections of the carriages, everyone's conversation revolved around the attacked Moody and the Death Eaters.
They were curious to know if there would be a change in the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year, or if Sirius alone would be in charge.
If it were the latter, they wondered if Sirius would be attacked as well.
The train continued northward, and the weather remained unpredictable. It started to rain outside, the raindrops tapping intermittently on the window, lulling people into a sleepy daze.
Suddenly, the lights in the carriage came on.
"We'd better change into our robes," Autumn said, glancing out the window. "We should be arriving soon."
Fred and George began to don their robes, and Cedric opened the compartment door in preparation.
Finally, the train began to slow down, and a bustle of noise filled the air. Everyone crowded into the corridor, ready to disembark.
As the prefects were responsible for maintaining order, Kyle and the others were the last to leave the carriage.
A person holding a lantern shouted for the first-year newcomers to pass, but the height of the lantern was noticeably lower than in previous years.
"Look, that's not Hagrid," Fred noticed the anomaly and asked, "Do you know who she is?"
She was a witch, and unlike the unkempt Hagrid, her hair was neat and meticulously groomed.
At that moment, she was calling out loudly, asking the first-year students to gather in front of her.
However, no one had any impression of her.
"She's Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank," Kyle suddenly said. "A somewhat well-known Magizoologist who has published numerous articles about unicorns."
"Magizoologist..." George blurted out, "Do you think the school is replacing Hagrid?"
"I don't think so," Kyle shook his head. "I believe Hagrid might have something temporary come up, so they asked her to help welcome the newcomers."
If he hadn't guessed wrong, Hagrid and Madame Maxime should still be in the land of the giants, trying to persuade them to join the Order of the Phoenix instead of siding with the Death Eaters.
However, this task was no easy feat.
Giants were inherently brutal, and the Death Eaters' ideology seemed to align more with their nature... Of course, it all depended on whether Hagrid could convince them.
Without further attention to Grubbly-Plank, the group followed the crowd toward the carriages.
Along the way, Kyle noticed that Connor kept glancing at him from time to time.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Nothing," Connor shook his head. "It's just that you seem to be in a really good mood. Is there something you're happy about?"
"Sort of... But am I that obvious?" Kyle touched his face.
"Not obvious, but I can tell," Connor said with a grin. "And on the train, you didn't shirk your prefect duties... Before, you would always pass the tasks to Cedric."
"She's right," Cedric chimed in from the side.
"Don't worry, it won't happen again," Kyle forced a dry laugh.
"That's for sure," Cedric said in a slightly annoyed tone. "I'm in my seventh year now, and I'll be graduating next year. I certainly can't come back just to help you maintain order."
"That's a good point," Kyle laughed.
His cheerful mood today was mainly due to what had happened the previous night.
After thoroughly recounting the scene of encountering Voldemort and the subsequent troubles caused by the Death Eaters to Newt, the latter finally put away the parchment and didn't bring up writing to Dumbledore again.
Of course, Kyle also promised that he would never release what was in the box unless he encountered Death Eaters.
To be honest, that was already Kyle's intention, so he agreed without hesitation.
Now he had three trump cards up his sleeve. In terms of safety, he could say that he was fully prepared, and without hesitation, he could even face Voldemort and buy himself time to escape.
In such a situation, he was naturally delighted.
Although he had tried to restrain himself, he didn't expect Connor to see through him.
However, Connor didn't press the issue further, and the group boarded an empty carriage, rocking gently as they made their way toward the castle.
After about ten minutes, the carriage stopped in front of the stone steps leading to the oak front doors. Fred was the first to jump off.
He glanced into the distance toward Hagrid's hut.
"There's no light in Hagrid's hut," Fred observed.
"That's to be expected," Autumn added as she stepped down, "If he were here, there would be no need for Ms. Grubbly-Plank to help with the newcomers."
"Let's go inside, it's freezing out here," Fred said.
"Oh, okay," Connor quickly followed the crowd up the steps.
They walked through the warm entrance hall and headed for the door on the right that led to the Great Hall, preparing to attend the start-of-term feast.
"Look, I told you they would make it," Kyle said as they entered the Great Hall, pointing to the Gryffindor table.
There, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were waving frantically.
They sat in the front row, apparently the first to arrive.
If Kyle's guess was correct, Mrs. Weasley must have used the Disapparition spell to send them to Hogsmeade, from where they returned to school.
That was the fastest way.
Upon seeing them, Fred and George immediately went over, eager to ask about the questions that had been bothering them during the journey. Autumn also made her way to the Ravenclaw table.
Kyle, Connor, and Cedric approached the Hufflepuff table and found a row of empty seats at the edge.
Sirius was still sitting in his usual spot, which meant that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher hadn't changed this year.
It wasn't easy to find a reliable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher these days. While Sirius might not be as good as Professor Moody, he was still decent, and certainly better than Quirrell, Lockhart, and the others.
The only problem now was that no one knew how long he would be able to continue teaching.
Cedric hoped he could last through the term. After all, he would be graduating next year, and by then, whoever the new professor was wouldn't matter to him.
That would be Kyle's problem.
With that thought, he suddenly noticed Kyle staring blankly at the staff table.
"What are you looking at?"
Kyle shook his head.
He was just surprised not to see Umbridge, but soon realized that this was probably for the best.
Because of him, she was probably busy dealing with people from the Wizengamot, especially since he had officially submitted his request to Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement a few days ago.
Judging by the timing, the Wizengamot should be taking action soon, and as one of the key people mentioned, Umbridge wouldn't have the time to come to Hogwarts.
Great, he didn't have to deal with that incompetent fool.
Kyle's mood improved significantly, and he even found the Sorting Hat's song more pleasant to listen to.
To be honest, the song this year wasn't that great. It seemed like the Sorting Hat had added some extra bits to a good song, offering advice to all the students and reminding them to unite.
Most students were gossiping about it, except for those who knew the truth—they understood that it was the Sorting Hat's warning.
After the Sorting Hat's song ended, Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a list of first-year students. She glared at those who were whispering, and the hall immediately fell silent.
Professor McGonagall scanned the list and called out the first name.
"Juan Abernathy."
A nervous boy stumbled forward and was sorted into Gryffindor.
The Great Hall erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Slowly, the long line of new students shortened until, half an hour later, the last student was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Kyle joined the others in clapping.
The feast officially began, and the tables were suddenly filled with all sorts of delicious food. Having only picked at their food on the train, they were eager to dig into the feast before them and temporarily forgot about their other concerns.
Kyle chose a beef rib for himself and served some to Connor as well. This was a specialty of the house-elves, and he had tried it once last year when he had asked for a midnight snack. It tasted amazing.
As was customary, the main course was followed by various desserts.
Kyle tried the pudding that Connor recommended, which had orange marmalade in it. It was sour and sweet, perfect for finishing the meal.
When everyone had eaten their fill, the plates were emptied, and Dumbledore stood up. The hall fell silent once more.
"Well, as we digest a sumptuous feast, I ask that you remain quiet for a moment while I address a few start-of-term notices, as is customary."
"First years are not to enter the Forbidden Forest," Dumbledore said. "And neither are students from other years."
"Also, we have two changes to our teaching staff this year. Firstly, due to special circumstances, Professor Moody will no longer be teaching, but Professor Black has kindly agreed to take over the remaining three grades."
The Great Hall erupted in applause, except for the Slytherin table, which remained quiet.
They didn't want Sirius to continue teaching at the school, just as the Gryffindors desperately wanted Snape expelled.
Dumbledore continued, "Additionally, I am pleased to introduce Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures until our gamekeeper returns."
Professor Grubbly-Plank stood up and nodded to the students.
Polite applause filled the hall.
"Lastly, the Quidditch trials will take place in the second week after the start of term."
"Wonderful!" Cedric exclaimed, waving his hand.
He had been waiting for this.
Due to the Triwizard Tournament last year, the Quidditch matches had been canceled, and he had been waiting an entire school year for this news.
"Kyle, we're definitely going to win the Quidditch Cup this year, right?" Cedric asked excitedly.
"Yes, of course," Kyle replied. "The championship is ours, as a graduation gift for you."
"That would be fantastic," Cedric said with a smile.
"Since you're so happy..." Kyle patted his shoulder. "...I'll leave the first-years to you, alright?"
"No problem," Cedric agreed without hesitation.
But soon, he realized that the surrounding students were getting up, and the sound of chairs scraping against the floor filled the hall, along with a buzz of conversation.
Dumbledore had just announced the end of the feast, and everyone was preparing to return to their dormitories.
At this time, the prefects of each house were responsible for leading the first-years to their common rooms.
Obviously, Kyle had once again delegated his task to Cedric, and he had agreed without thinking.
...
(End of Chapter)
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