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Chapter 616: The Abundance of Clubs at Hogwarts
Chapter 616: The Abundance of Clubs at Hogwarts
After leaving Professor Umbridge's office, Kyle hurried through the corridors, heading towards the Great Hall.
It was already noon, and the Great Hall was filled with students having their lunch.
Near the Hufflepuff table, Cedric and the other team members were gathered, discussing the new recruits who joined the team that morning.
Upon seeing Kyle, Cedric quickly moved aside, making room for him.
"How was your detention with Professor Umbridge? Did she give you a hard time?"
"What did Umbridge have you do?"
As Kyle sat down, the surrounding students eagerly asked.
"It was okay," Kyle paused for a moment before continuing, "I had to write a sentence five hundred times."
"That's not too bad..." Cedric said, "It could have been worse."
"Yeah," Kyle nodded, "But five hundred times is a lot. It took up ten parchment sheets. It felt like writing an extremely long essay."
"That's not bad at all," Conna comforted him and pushed a plate of pies towards him, "Would you like some pie?"
"Thank you, I've been hungry for an hour now," Kyle cut a piece and popped it into his mouth.
The beef pie, seasoned with onions and pepper, tasted quite good.
"By the way," he turned to Cedric, "How are the new recruits this year?"
"They're just average," Cedric replied, "We didn't find any exceptionally talented players this year. The only decent one is a third-year goalkeeper."
"Fleur Delacour, a fifth-year, is also a good flyer, but she doesn't seem to take Quidditch seriously. During the tryouts, she made it clear that she would prioritize her 'Charm Club' over team practices if there was a scheduling conflict."
"Wait, what club did you just mention?" Kyle asked, looking up.
"Charm Club," Cedric repeated.
"Is there such a club at Hogwarts?" Kyle wondered.
"Not only is there one, but there are quite a few," Cedric said, "For example, there's the Wizard's Chess Club, the Elegant Robes Club, and the Afternoon Tea Club, among others."
"These clubs are independent of the professors and are formed by students with shared interests. They have fixed meeting times and locations. I joined the Wizard's Chess Club in my fourth year."
"I've never heard of these clubs before."
"Do you have time to participate in these clubs?" Cedric asked in return.
Kyle was momentarily speechless. He had indeed been quite busy. Attending the professors' clubs alone took up a lot of his time, not to mention the Quidditch team practices and his studies in Ancient Runes. Whatever spare time he had left was usually spent on homework.
He did have more free time last year, but back then, he was representing Hogwarts as a champion, and no one would bring up such trivial matters to him.
Now that he thought about it, Kyle vaguely remembered hearing discussions about joining clubs in the common room, but he hadn't paid much attention at the time.
"I see..." Kyle nodded and looked at Conna curiously, "Did you join the Charm Club?"
"No," Conna replied, "This is the first time I've heard of it."
"Me too," Kyle laughed, "It seems this club isn't as authoritative as it sounds."
Conna couldn't hold back her laughter.
"I advise you to be careful. Just because you weren't invited doesn't mean others aren't authoritative."
"The Charm Club has quite a few members, and it's challenging to join. You have to go through a series of tests," Cedric explained.
Kyle looked at him and asked, "So, Autumn is a member too?"
Cedric fell silent for a moment. "Alright, it's not that authoritative."
As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but laugh.
"But I wasn't wrong about one thing—the club does have a lot of members."
Cedric continued, "Besides Flo, Gryffindor's Vicky is also on the team, and she's flying quite well."
"But Captain Angelina didn't select her. Instead, she chose Ron Weasley, who is average in every aspect."
"I think they might be putting on an act... after all, the Weasley family has produced many outstanding members."
"Maybe you're overthinking it," Kyle said. "Besides, perfect teamwork can make up for individual skill gaps. We still have some time before the first match; a few extra training sessions will do the trick."
"That's what I think too," Cedric said.
In the afternoon, the idle group decided to venture outside.
Fred and George wanted to check if Hagrid had returned; their Skiving Snackbox series required some special Venom Tentacula Berries from the Forbidden Forest as ingredients, which would save them a lot of money if they collected them themselves.
However, when they approached Hagrid's hut, it remained tightly shut, with no sounds coming from within, suggesting no one was inside.
"Looks like Hagrid hasn't returned yet," Fred said. "I wonder what he's up to."
"Don't think about it now," George said excitedly. "Don't you think this is a great opportunity? With Hagrid absent, the Forbidden Forest is unguarded. Why can't we go in and collect the berries ourselves?"
"Hey, listen," Cedric glanced at the twins, "Are you sure it's okay to say this in front of us?"
Fred and George then realized that they were surrounded by four Prefects.
And Prefects could overlook House affiliations, meaning they could deduct points regardless of the House involved if they caught students breaking the rules.
"Can't you pretend you didn't see anything?" George said with a mischievous smile. "After all, opportunities like this are rare, and we only want to collect some berries."
"Just collect berries?" Autumn questioned their statement.
"Of course," Fred assured. "We promise to only pick berries, but not how far we'll venture in." Kyle added.
The berries needed for the Skiving Snackbox weren't rare; they could be found both on the outskirts and deep within the Forbidden Forest.
Given their adventurous nature, they would undoubtedly choose the ones from the deepest parts.
Seeing their plan exposed, Fred and George didn't feel embarrassed. But before they could argue, a stern voice called out from a distance.
"What are you doing here?"
Professor Grapple emerged from the Forbidden Forest, carrying two large buckets and eyeing them suspiciously.
"Students are not allowed in the Forbidden Forest. Go back, or I'll inform Professor McGonagall."
"No, we're here to find Professor Hagrid," George quickly explained. "Where did he go?"
"Looking for Hagrid again," Professor Grapple muttered under her breath, then shook her head. "I don't know, but you'd better hurry back to the castle. Students shouldn't be here unless it's for Care of Magical Creatures class."
"Yes, Professor. We're leaving now," Cedric said.
The group headed back to the castle, with Fred and George joining them.
"She's so unapproachable," Fred muttered. "I prefer Hagrid."
"Yeah," George agreed.
"You didn't always say that," Autumn said with a smile. "Weren't you the ones who often complained that Hagrid was too strict with the Forbidden Forest, making it hard for you to sneak in?"
"But at least he's willing to listen to us."
"Sometimes he even goes into the forest to help us get what we need."
...
(End of Chapter)
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