https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-651-What-Do-You-Mean-You-Provoked-Him-/12539060/
Chapter 652: Judgment
Chapter 652: Judgment
Umbridge's search mission began that very day.
At 8:30 in the evening, Kyle dismissed Malfoy and Crabbe and made his way to the eighth floor.
As soon as he left the stairs, a sneaky head poked out from behind a tapestry on the eighth floor.
"Well?" Fred whispered.
"It's clear, I'm the only one here," Kyle signaled.
Only then did Fred come out, "What's the situation now?"
"Malfoy and Crabbe are on the sixth floor, Montague's on the fifth, and there are people on the third and second floors as well..." Kyle said, "I suggest you avoid the stairs or wait a while."
"We can't, curfew is about to start, and it'll be more troublesome if we're caught then," George thought for a moment and asked, "What about heading towards the tower? I remember there's a secret passage there that leads directly to the first floor."
"That'll work." Kyle said, "They won't be able to check that far so soon... Remember to bring the Marauder's Map."
"Don't worry." Fred nodded and retreated behind the tapestry. Kyle hesitated, then cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and retreated back to the corner by the stairs.
Soon, a door suddenly appeared on the opposite wall, and a large group of people began to file out. They were students who had just finished the DA meeting.
Under Fred's command, they divided into three teams very tacitly.
Fred led the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students towards the tower. They needed to return to their common rooms via that route.
The Gryffindor students didn't have this problem, as their common room was right there on the eighth floor, just around the corner.
After everyone had left, Kyle walked straight to the door and entered the room.
The few people in the room turned anxiously at the sound, only relaxing when they saw it was Kyle.
"Kyle, is it all true?" Hermione immediately asked, "Does Umbridge really know we're teaching ourselves defensive magic?"
"Yes." Kyle nodded.
"But that doesn't make sense." Hermione frowned, "We added some magic to the list, and the person whose name is written down has no way of revealing what's going on here. How did she find out?"
"Apart from the Unbreakable Vow, other magical contracts aren't foolproof." Kyle said calmly, "For example, the magical constraints among DA members aren't that strict. If they're not careful during casual conversations, they might leak some secrets.
"Or, someone might have lost that fake Galleon, and if the person who found it noticed the changing numbers...they could also guess some of what's going on."
"It has to be Neville..." Ron blurted out, "He's always losing things."
"No, Ron." Hermione shook her head, "Neville has never missed a single meeting. If he lost his Galleon, how would he know the time?"
"Maybe..." Ron mumbled, still feeling that Neville was the more likely culprit.
"By the way." Harry suddenly remembered something and asked, "Kyle, how did you know that someone was planning to catch us in the castle today?"
Hermione and Ron looked over as well, while Cedric and Fall remained calm.
"It's simple." Kyle said calmly, "Because the one responsible for catching you is me."
The room fell into an eerie silence.
Harry's eyes widened as if he had just witnessed hundreds of giants riding broomsticks charging past him, followed by Ron performing a tap dance on a broomstick.
Ron's current expression was quite fitting for that state of mind...dazed, shocked, and incredulous. He felt like his brain wasn't quite enough.
When Cedric had first received the news, his reaction hadn't been much better than the trio's; he had even spilled ink all over his Potions essay and had to rewrite it.
Cedric's laughter brought the others back to their senses.
"Y-you're here to catch us?" Ron exclaimed, taking a step back. "Harry, Hermione, run!"
Believe it or not, Ron was showing some sense of camaraderie, not forgetting his two friends even in his panic. His brain, however, wasn't the most efficient tool in a crisis.
Hermione, looking at Kyle and Cedric, who wore mischievous smiles, and then at Ron, who was still shouting, felt her lips twitching, and a faint blush began to creep onto her cheeks.
This was too embarrassing. If she had known, she wouldn't have let Ron stay... and Harry, who was still hesitating, was no better.
They were better suited to sitting by a warm fireplace, discussing which homework to tackle first.
"Ron, use your brain!" Hermione snapped. "If Kyle wanted to catch us, why would he go through all this trouble? He could just bring Umbridge here!"
"Huh?" Ron paused, and then his face turned bright red.
"Yeah," Harry chimed in, waving his arms. "And how could Kyle possibly catch us with Cedric here too?"
Hermione didn't bother with them and turned excitedly to Kyle. "So, this was your plan all along? To gain Umbridge's trust by fighting with the Weasley twins?"
"Something like that," Kyle replied with a smile.
He checked the time. "Well, curfew is almost here, and I can't stay too long. You all should head back too... Oh, and remember, there are people patrolling every floor now, so be careful not to get spotted."
"Don't worry," Cedric said, exchanging a glance with Cho. "We can use Disillusionment Charms."
"I have my Invisibility Cloak, so we're good," Harry added.
Although he, Ron, and Hermione had grown quite a bit, fitting all three of them under the cloak would be a challenge, but thankfully, the Gryffindor common room was just around the corner, so they didn't need to go far.
And with Kyle in charge here, the cloak was just an extra precaution.
"Alright then," Kyle nodded and turned to leave the Room of Requirement, but before stepping out the door, he turned back and said, "Remember to let me know about the next meeting in advance."
"Will do," Cedric replied.
As the door closed behind Kyle, Harry blinked, feeling as though he had just woken up from a dream—the whole situation felt surreal.
"Umbridge has no idea that Kyle is on our side," Harry said, rubbing his face. "I'd love to see her face when she finds out. That would be a sight."
And with that, Harry started laughing, followed by Ron, Hermione, Cedric, and Cho.
It was like a Quidditch match.
There were many ways to win—skilled players, relentless practice, and smart tactics all played a part.
But the surefire way to victory was having the referee on your side...
And that's what Kyle was—their referee.
As long as he was in the game, they didn't have to worry about being discovered by Umbridge.
It was an incredible feeling, to say the least.
...
(End of Chapter)
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