Chapter 634: Ron's Attitude
Chapter 634: Ron's Attitude
The next morning, as students passed through the entrance hall, they noticed a large notice posted on the bulletin board by the Great Hall entrance.
Hogwarts High Inquiry Officer Proclamation
"In order to regulate school activities, all student organizations, associations, teams, or clubs must be registered with the High Inquiry Officer (Professor Umbridge)
..."
Students on their way to breakfast in the Great Hall gathered around the bulletin board, discussing in confusion the reason for this sudden new rule and worrying if it would affect the clubs they participated in.
Standing apart from the crowd, Kyle also took note of the notice.
It seemed that Umbridge had her own ideas and hadn't adopted all of his suggestions. Initially, she wanted to disband all clubs and then re-form them, but now they simply needed to register.
Although there was no difference in essence, it would save a lot of time.
Next to the bulletin board was a table where Filch sat with a stack of parchment in front of him.
"Anyone who needs to register should come here; I'm in charge of this!" Filch announced loudly, a hint of pride in his voice. "Leaders, write down the names of all members, along with your activity times and locations. No activities are to take place before registration is complete."
A long line had formed in front of him, stretching from the bulletin board all the way to the front door.
Cedric was among those in line and happened to be at the very front, just finishing up as Kyle looked over.
"They've included Quidditch in this," he said to Kyle, hurrying over to emphasize, "'Quidditch teams' and all."
"But it's fine now. Everyone knows about the Quidditch teams, so there's no point hiding it. Just write down the names, that's all."
Soon after, Hermione and Harry rushed over.
"Hey, did you see it..."
"...the notice in the entrance hall."
"Do you think she might have found out something?" Harry asked quietly.
"Definitely," Kyle replied. "But don't worry, she doesn't know the specifics, so there won't be a problem."
"Then why post this notice?"
"Because anyone who dares to register is definitely in the clear," Hermione said. "This way, if she catches us gathering in the future, she can charge us with a legitimate offense.
"But first, she'd have to catch us."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say something more when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve.
It was Ron.
"Come on, Harry," he said, his face set in a scowl as if he wanted to leave immediately. "Don't reveal too much. It might be that someone snitched."
As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at Kyle.
"Well..." Harry hesitated, but in the end, he let Ron pull him away.
"Sorry, Kyle," Hermione said angrily. "Ron's like this because of his brother. I think there must be some misunderstanding between you."
"I know," Kyle said.
Ever since the news of his "fight" with the Weasley brothers spread, he had expected this reaction. Only their own group knew the truth; others, including Hermione, were unaware.
This was to prevent them from accidentally revealing too much. After all, Kyle had seen Harry and Ron "conspicuously plotting" in the corridors more than once. If they knew the truth, the risk would be too great.
Seeing Kyle's nonchalant attitude, Hermione suddenly asked, "You must have some plan, right?"
"Why do you say that?" Kyle replied.
"Who knows..." Kyle responded noncommittally, "maybe they just like the look."
"Come on, Hermione, we've got class soon!" Ron's voice called out from a distance.
Hermione frowned, seeing that Kyle wasn't going to offer any further explanation, and made her way back.
"Oh, right," Cedric suddenly remembered something, "you should remind Angelina about the notice including Quidditch teams. Tell her to find time to go register, otherwise, you might not be able to book the pitch for practice."
"Okay, I will," Hermione said, and then returned to the Gryffindor table, taking a seat next to Harry.
"That girl sure is clever," Cedric said with a smile, "she's already guessed most of it. Why don't you just tell her the truth? After all, it was her idea to start self-study of Dark Magic Defense. Telling her shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"It's not a problem with just her," Kyle said, "but she'll definitely tell Harry and Ron afterward. The fewer people who know about this, the better."
"Makes sense," Cedric nodded, "but don't you care about Ron's attitude towards you?"
"What's there to care about?" Kyle laughed, "in fact, the worse he treats me, the better. It makes our falling out seem more real, and Umbridge will be even more convinced.
"If he knew the truth, he wouldn't be able to act this way."
"That's true."
At that moment, a flock of owls flew into the Great Hall, and the conversation shifted away from Ron.
As usual, Kyle glanced at the copy of the Daily Prophet that was delivered. The front page featured a photo of the Weird Sisters and an article about their upcoming performance in Cornwall.
There was also a story about a wizard who had played a prank on Muggles by enchanting an entire street's gardens, causing the plants to grow to ten feet high overnight.
Lastly, there was the regular riddle in the Prophet.
It was all trivial news, with not a single familiar name mentioned, indicating that the wizarding world had been peaceful and quiet lately.
Kyle put down the newspaper and looked up just in time to see Filch enter and hand a stack of parchments to Professor Umbridge at the staff table.
"When did she come in?"
"Just now, a minute ago," Cedric said, glancing at Filch as he took the parchments away.
"It's strange that Umbridge has left this whole thing to Filch."
"What's strange about that?"
"I mean, isn't Umbridge the type to love the spotlight?" Cedric said, "She always relishes displaying her power to students or other professors. This should have been a great opportunity for her.
A single rule has everyone lining up to sign, and it should make her feel quite accomplished. But why did she hand it over to Filch?"
"Maybe she thinks it's a boring task," Kyle suggested, "Anyway, her purpose has been achieved. All that's left is to write down a few names, times, and locations, and anyone could do that.
"And there are quite a few clubs and organizations in the school, adding up to fifty or sixty. It would be tedious to record them all."
...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
