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Chapter 619: Fudge's Letter
Chapter 619: Fudge's Letter
On Friday, the weather remained cold and damp, just like the previous days. The rain hadn't stopped, but the Hufflepuff Quidditch team didn't miss a single training session.
As Fred had said, Cedric was becoming more and more like Oliver Wood. Even with this light rain, let alone a heavy downpour, he probably wouldn't pause the training.
At half past eight in the evening, the exhausted team returned to the warm common room.
Kyle removed the waterproof badge from his clothes, picked up the hot cocoa that Conna had prepared earlier, and took a sip.
Cedric also held a cup of hot tea, which he had fetched from the kitchen himself.
"Tomorrow is the Hogsmeade visiting day," said Midan Conna, the new third-year Keeper, as he carefully removed the badge from his clothes and stored it away before speaking, "What's it like? I've never been there."
Only third-year students and above were allowed to visit Hogsmeade on designated weekends, while younger students had to stay within the castle.
"It's quite interesting," Cedric said, "I suggest you start with Honeydukes, the most popular shop in Hogsmeade, always packed with people."
"Zonko's is also great," Conna recommended, "You can buy many fascinating magical items there, like the Quick-Quotes Quill and Reusable Parchment."
"Of course, if you're into something less conventional, you mustn't miss Zonko's," Kyle added.
"Then head to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer," another suggested, "You must try it, along with the Pumpkin Juice, Cherry Honey Soda, and it's much better than the pumpkin juice at school."
Midan's eyes lit up, wishing he could fly to Hogsmeade right away.
The conversation naturally shifted from training to Hogsmeade.
Unlike Midan, Kyle, Cedric, and the other upperclassmen had been there many times, and with only a few shops, they had lost count of how many times they had wandered back and forth, and the novelty had long worn off.
Most of the time, they were sharing tips with Midan and the other new third-year teammate, recommending places to visit.
The most frequently mentioned were Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks, both related to food.
Kyle had also recommended another place, the Shrieking Shack, earlier.
Sirius had bought it earlier, planning to open a new shop with Lupin.
However, Voldemort's resurrection disrupted their plan, and now Lupin had many tasks to handle, while Sirius was taken away for investigation by the Ministry of Magic.
So, the newly renovated Shrieking Shack was put on hold, and no one knew when it would reopen.
As it approached ten o'clock, the group, overcome by fatigue, retreated to their respective dormitories.
The next morning at breakfast, most of the young witches and wizards excitedly discussed the upcoming Hogsmeade visit in the Great Hall, making early plans for what to buy first.
However, Cedric, a seventh-year, wasn't very interested. He decided not to go this time, opting to stay in the castle and take advantage of the absence of others to train on the pitch.
Cedric was confident he could beat them all, except for Gryffindor.
Harry's Firebolt was hard to ignore, and the threat was too great. Although Kyle also had the same broom, their positions were different.
Kyle was a Chaser, relying on scoring goals to gradually gain an advantage, but Harry was a Seeker, and the match would end as soon as he caught the Golden Snitch.
Although a year ago, they had managed to hold Harry's Firebolt once with an unexpected plan, it was only successful because of the element of surprise.
Now that they were prepared, the same plan could not be used again... Harry wasn't that stupid, and he must have already figured out a way to counter it.
So, they needed to come up with another plan...
As for Kyle, he originally had no intention of going to Hogsmeade.
It wasn't because of Quidditch, but because he didn't have any particular shops he wanted to visit, and he might as well stay in the common room and play Wizard's Chess.
That was Kyle's initial plan, but just as breakfast was about to end, a brown barn owl delivered a short letter to him.
There was only one sentence in the letter.
【See you at the Three Broomsticks】
Apart from that, there was nothing else, not even the sender's name.
As Kyle wondered who had sent the letter, he suddenly noticed that Professor Umbridge was looking at him from the classroom.
At that moment, Kyle understood.
The night before, he had been thinking that a week had passed since the last detention, yet there had been no news from the Ministry of Magic. He thought Fudge could really keep his cool, but he didn't expect to receive a letter the very next day.
So, after finishing breakfast, Kyle joined the others in the entrance hall, and Professor McGonagall and Professor Umbridge led them to Hogsmeade.
"Didn't you say you weren't going to Hogsmeade today?" Conna asked curiously as they walked across the grounds. "Why did you change your mind?"
"I'm meeting someone," Kyle said.
"Who is it? Professor Black?"
"No," Kyle shook his head. "You'll know when we get there."
Seeing Kyle's mysterious expression, Conna didn't ask any further questions.
(Chapter End)
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