https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-60-Helping-the-Headmaster-Pacify-His-Pet/12538159/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-62-A-Tense-Standoff-at-the-Hospital-Wing/12538161/
Chapter 61: Conflict
Chapter 61: Conflict
When Kyle exited Dumbledore's office, he held something new in his hand, in addition to the Anti-Agressive Potion—a feather, still warm.
It was a freshly plucked phoenix tail feather that Fawkes had given him as a gift when he noticed Kyle was about to leave.
A single Borage flower in exchange for a fresh phoenix tail feather—Kyle had made a profitable trade.
What a generous phoenix.
After leaving the eighth floor, Kyle quickened his pace towards the Quidditch stadium.
However, upon his arrival, he encountered a group of badgers scurrying towards the hospital wing, carrying Cedric, who looked to be in great pain.
Simultaneously, they cursed angrily:
"Those despicable Slytherins!"
"Their rude and dirty tactics! They don't deserve to play Quidditch!"
"Slytherin's team should be disqualified!"
Cedric, being carried by the badgers, held his head with one hand and clutched his right leg with the other, his face contorted in agony.
Seeing this, Kyle hurried to catch up.
It wasn't difficult to guess from the badgers' conversation that Cedric had been injured by a Slytherin player.
In the crowd, Kyle spotted Ryan and Mikkel. He approached them swiftly, patting one of them on the shoulder and asking, "What happened out there on the pitch?"
Startled, Ryan turned and exclaimed, "Kyle... where were you? Why are you just arriving now?"
"I was called to the Headmaster's office," Kyle explained briefly before asking again, "Never mind me for now. How's Cedric?"
Ryan's face turned red with anger as he spoke, "It's all because of those despicable Slytherins! Don't you know, Cedric was just about to catch the Snitch. We were so close to winning...
But then, their captain took advantage of the fact that Cedric's attention was focused on the Snitch, and punched him right in the head, knocking him off his broom!"
"That's right," Mikkel agreed angrily. "And do you know what that despicable guy said to Professor Hooch? He claimed that he mistook Cedric's head for a Bludger!
That rude idiot, an undeveloped gorilla, doesn't deserve to participate in such a sport. He should've been sent off the field!"
"This isn't soccer, Mikkel," Ryan reminded him. "In Quidditch, you can't send a player off the field..."
"Then they shouldn't just give Hufflepuff a penalty shot! It's so unfair!" Mikkel argued, his neck stiff with indignation.
Through Ryan and Mikkel's explanations, Kyle quickly understood what had transpired, just as he had suspected.
Resorting to underhanded tactics when facing a likely loss—a typical Slytherin move.
Soon, they arrived at the hospital wing.
"Merlin's beard, what happened here!"
Madame Pomfrey appeared furious. "A broken nose, and his right leg is completely snapped. I don't understand why Hogwarts insists on hosting such dangerous games."
"It happens every year, every single year..."
Madame Pomfrey took just a second to mend Cedric's broken leg, then shooed everyone out.
However, she asked Kyle to stay behind.
With the freshly mended bone, Cedric needed someone to look after him as he couldn't move around yet. There were other patients in the hospital wing, and Madame Pomfrey couldn't manage everything on her own.
Out of all the students there, she only remembered Kyle, so the task naturally fell to him.
As she ushered them out, she continued to mutter about the dangers of the sport and the incompetence of the teachers.
There was no denying Madam Pomfrey's skill; had Cedric broken his arm instead of his leg, he might have been discharged by now.
"It's just a shame about the game. We were leading by thirty points," Cedric lamented.
Leaning back on his pillow, he sighed in frustration. "If only I had paid more attention to my surroundings."
"Don't worry about it," Kyle consoled him. "It's just one game, and winning isn't everything. Besides, foul play is a Slytherin tradition. Even if you had avoided this incident, they would have found other ways to cause trouble for you. If you kept dodging them, you wouldn't stand a chance at catching the Golden Snitch."
"You're right," Cedric agreed, his expression troubled as he ran a hand through his hair. "But what about the future matches? How will I handle them?"
Hufflepuff and Slytherin would face off more than just this once; under normal circumstances, they would meet at least three more times.
Cedric certainly didn't want to end up in the hospital ward after each game.
"Don't worry," Kyle said after a moment's thought. "Just focus on recovering, and leave the rest to me."
"Are you planning to join the Quidditch team?" Cedric asked, his eyes lighting up. "Which position do you have in mind? Chaser, perhaps?"
"You're getting ahead of yourself," Kyle scoffed. "The games have already started. Unless a player voluntarily drops out, there's no way I can join the team now."
The rules regarding Quidditch at Hogwarts were clear: each house had only one opportunity to recruit new players, and it had to be within the second week after the start of the school year.
Typically, the captains of each house team would make their selections by the weekend of the first week and then submit the names to Professor Hooch during the designated period in the second week.
This allowed new players to benefit from three additional group training sessions, and the professors tended to turn a blind eye to such arrangements.
However, once that second week had passed, Professor Hooch was unwavering in her refusal to add new players to the teams, unless there were exceptional circumstances where a player had to withdraw due to unavoidable reasons such as transfer, withdrawal from school, or a physical condition that prevented them from continuing to play Quidditch.
Otherwise, all requests were denied.
On this matter, Professor Hooch was unyielding.
"So, when you say 'leave it to me'... wait, you're not planning to cause trouble for Slytherin, are you?" Cedric asked, his expression turning serious. "Please don't do anything that breaks school rules. It's just a broken leg, not a serious injury.
And you're only in your first year. Most of the Slytherin players are in their third year and above; they'd love nothing more than for a first-year student to pick a fight with them.
And Professor Snape wouldn't—"
"Hold on," Kyle interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "What's this about first and third years? Do you think I'm planning to challenge them to a duel?"
"Er, no?" Cedric's expression turned uncertain.
"You wish," Kyle said with a dismissive glance. "I think Madam Pomfrey should come back and take a look at your head. You might have a concussion."
(End of Chapter)
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