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Chapter 669: Kyle Under Fire
Chapter 669: Kyle Under Fire
Tonks did not leave with Thicknesse; it seemed that Professor Fudge was well aware of Umbridge's capabilities. As an Auror, Tonks' responsibilities were evidently more significant, or one could say that she was the true Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher going forward.
Despite her protests and repeated assertions that she was merely there to assist Umbridge, Professor McGonagall still arranged for her to stay at Hogwarts.
Thus, that evening, she sneaked into the Hufflepuff common room.
Kyle was dumbfounded when he saw her in the dormitory.
"This is the boys' dormitory!" Mikel was startled as well, hiding under his bed curtains with only his head poking out.
"Of course, I know, you guys can't enter the girls' dormitory." Tonks said nonchalantly, "Now, come on out. I've brought some good stuff."
She took out several large bottles of butterbeer from behind her and shook them, then closed the door.
"Why can girls enter the boys' dormitory... It's not fair!" Mikel muttered.
"If you have a problem with that, take it up with the founders or Professor McGonagall," Ryan replied calmly. "Complaining to us won't change anything."
"Never mind, then," Mikel shrugged.
He certainly wouldn't want to complain to Professor McGonagall about why boys weren't allowed in the girls' dormitory; he knew better than to invite that kind of trouble.
"Kyle," he changed the subject, "do you know that... what's her name again?"
"Nymphadora Tonks."
"Oh, right. Do you know her?" Mikel asked, nodding eagerly.
"Yes, we've met a few times," Kyle replied, sitting up on his bed and throwing on a robe before stepping out of the dormitory.
Tonks had already made herself at home in the common room, sitting in one of the armchairs like a boss as she placed bottle after bottle of butterbeer on the table and waved to the surrounding students.
"Don't be shy, help yourselves. It's on me," she said.
As only the sixth-years had attended the Apparition class that morning, most students didn't recognize her. Those who remained in the common room simply eyed her with curiosity, unsure what to make of this unexpected visitor.
"How did you get in here?" Kyle asked as he sat down across from her.
"That's a strange question... Don't forget, I'm a Hufflepuff graduate too," Tonks said. "Unlike other houses, we don't have passwords. It wasn't exactly difficult to get in here."
"Good point," Kyle nodded, realizing he'd forgotten about that particular quirk of Hufflepuff House.
"I never thought I'd be back here after all these years," Tonks said, handing a bottle of butterbeer to Kyle and opening one for herself. She took a long swig, then sighed contentedly.
However, it seemed like butterbeer wasn't strong enough for her, as she soon switched to a higher-proof mead, taking gulps in between nostalgic glances around the common room.
"Nothing has changed at all... Those flowers on the shelves, they were there when I started, and they're still here... And these armchairs, see that one by the fireplace? That was my spot for doing homework."
Sure enough, it seemed that doing homework was a common trait among Hufflepuffs, and even Tonks wasn't exempt. Only Cedric seemed out of place among his peers.
Gradually, the common room emptied out until only Kyle and Tonks remained.
Suddenly, as if drunk, Tonks slammed her bottle down on the table and grumbled, "You know, there are so many people in the Ministry, and yet I have to be the one to come help that woman..."
Kyle was taken aback by this sudden outburst and asked reflexively, "Help who?"
"Who else? Umbridge..." Tonks said, her voice tinged with annoyance. "Why does Kingsley get to go after Death Eaters? I have far more advantages than him..."
To emphasize her point, Tonks' hair turned gray-white, her eyes took on a sinister glint, and her face gained a few more wrinkles, making her look like an old witch who had spent years cooped up in a dark room.
Kyle understood now; she was still stewing over Thicknesse's words from earlier. She had come to vent her frustrations to him.
"There are benefits to being here at Hogwarts..." Kyle said, "At least it's safe, and you don't have to live in constant fear, right?"
"Are you sure about that?" Tonks shot him a look. "Teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts is safe?"
"Well..." Kyle hesitated, "At least you have Umbridge as a buffer, and technically, you're just an assistant, so you probably won't be cursed."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Tonks waved her hand dismissively. "If Sirius were still a professor, I would've come without a second thought. But Umbridge... honestly, no one in the Ministry wants to work with her. It's torture, more annoying than any curse.
"If you had a choice, would you rather track down Death Eaters or work with Umbridge here at Hogwarts?"
"Of course, I'd rather be here at Hogwarts," Kyle replied without hesitation.
"You're serious?" Tonks asked, her eyes wide with disbelief as she returned to her usual appearance.
"Of course, I'm in my sixth year. Do you think anyone would let me leave school to go chasing after Death Eaters?"
Kyle cleared his throat, not knowing what to say.
...
Tonks stayed in the common room until the early hours of the morning before finally leaving, which resulted in Kyle yawning repeatedly the next day as he stepped onto the pitch.
"Are you alright? You look a bit out of it, and I thought you went back to the dormitory early yesterday?" Cedric asked worriedly.
"Yeah, but then I got called out again," Kyle replied.
"Tonks... erm, Professor?"
It was clear that Cedric had heard about the situation, but he was still adjusting to the change in her status. He had been classmates with her, and now she was suddenly a professor; when he first heard the news, he had thought it was someone else with the same name.
"You'd better call her Assistant Professor," Kyle said, rubbing his eyes. "If you call her Professor, neither of them will be happy."
"Because of the curse?" Cedric asked after a moment's thought. "Then who's the other person, the one teaching Apparition, Professor Tekross?"
"No, it's Umbridge," Kyle said. "Professor Tekross doesn't mind, but Umbridge obviously doesn't want to be on equal footing with someone who's assisting her."
Just then, a deafening cheer erupted from outside, interrupting their conversation.
"I think we should head out," said Cedric. "Are you alright to play, or do you need a substitute?"
"I'm fine," Kyle shook his head and popped a Chocolate Frog into his mouth. "I just had a few less hours of sleep, it's no problem."
As they opened the changing room door and strode towards the center of the pitch, the frosted grass crunched under their feet.
The stands around the Quidditch pitch were packed, and almost all the professors were present, which was a rare occurrence for regular matches.
Dumbledore sat in the middle of the staff seating area and waved at Kyle when their eyes met.
"Go, Hufflepuff, go!"
Tonks' hair had turned half-yellow and half-black as she cheered loudly from the staff seating, looking full of energy.
Do Aurors not need sleep? Kyle wondered.
However, spurred on by Tonks' enthusiasm, the Hufflepuff spectators became increasingly excited, their cheers drowning out those from the neighboring Ravenclaws.
As they reached the center of the pitch, Madam Hooch stood ready to release the balls from their boxes.
"Shake hands, captains," she said.
It was worth mentioning that Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw captain, had been injured in yesterday's Care of Magical Creatures class and was unable to participate in the match, so today's team was led by Autumn.
Amidst a mixture of teasing looks, Cedric stepped forward and shook her hand.
"Good luck."
"You too."
"Oh, break a leg, tch..." Mikel muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "It just doesn't feel right when the captains don't exchange taunts before the game."
Both Cedric and Autumn pretended not to hear him.
Fortunately, at that moment, Madam Hooch blew her whistle.
The game officially began.
Amidst the suddenly heightened cheers, Kyle and the others soared into the air, easily catching the Bludgers as they were thrown out.
"Alright, they're off! Kyle has the Quaffle, he dodges Bradley and Stanton... Oh, Ingleby seems to want to use the Bludger to stop Kyle's advance... He missed! Kyle dodges the Bludger, and now it's just the Keeper in front of him..."
After a brief silence, an even louder cheer erupted from the Hufflepuff stands.
"He scored! Hufflepuff takes the lead!"
Lee Jordan shouted excitedly, "The Firebolt is truly remarkable! It's a perfect match for Kyle, and Hufflepuff has taken the lead within the first minute of the game! Ravenclaw is in trouble..."
"Block him!" Autumn cried out anxiously, scanning the sky for the Golden Snitch. "Bradley, you take Davies' position, just like we practiced..."
At Autumn's command, two Ravenclaw Chasers quickly moved to flank Kyle, one in front and one behind, attempting to box him in.
At the same time, a Bludger flew in from the side.
Kyle knew without a doubt that this Bludger was specifically targeting him and no one else.
Two Chasers and a Bludger, he thought. I never expected Ravenclaw to commit half their team to stopping me. What an honor!
"Kyle has slowed down... Debys has the Quaffle now. My, I've never seen a match where they focus on a Chaser like this instead of the Seeker.
Of course, Kyle was well aware that the Firebolt was much faster than the Sweeping series. He could easily break through Ravenclaw's encirclement with a slight acceleration, but he had no intention of doing so.
A one-sided game might be exciting, but it would soon lose its appeal. A back-and-forth match would ignite the audience's passion to the fullest.
Moreover, if he scored all the points, the other team members would feel left out. They had been training for so long, and he didn't want them to feel like mere background props...
So, Kyle obligingly slowed down. After all, he was holding off three players by himself, and Hufflepuff still had the upper hand. There was no need to rush.
As expected, Debys, flying solo, soon had the Quaffle snatched away.
"Now it's Grace with the Quaffle. She's quite a skilled player too. She's trying to pass to Kyle... Oh, the Quaffle's been intercepted by Bradley, and he passes it to Debys."
"Don't worry about me," Kyle shouted to Grace as he flew by. "I'll hold them off. You three take care of the scoring!" Grace nodded and pursued Debys on her broom.
"Hey, Kyle," Mikel flew over, brandishing his bat with a half-joking suggestion. "Shouldn't we target Autumn? If I knock her off her broom, I won't get expelled from the team, right?"
"Cedric's not that petty," Kyle replied. "But if you don't target the Seeker for the entire game, he might just kick you off the team."
"Then I'm relieved." Mikel smiled. He swung his bat, sending the Bludger toward Autumn, but whether intentionally or not, the Bludger flew right past her head.
"You'd better take this seriously," Kyle said. "If we lose this game, Hufflepuff will become a laughingstock."
"I am serious," Mikel explained. "It's the bat. It's got a crack in it."
Indeed, there was now a crack on Mikel's bat.
"I should've listened to Weasley and bought a new bat," Mikel muttered. "These school-provided ones are too old."
"Do you need a time-out?"
"No," Mikel shook his head. "I think it'll hold until the end of the game. Do you need my help?"
"I'm fine..." Kyle dodged another Bludger, looking up. "You go help Grace."
"Will do!" Mikel nodded and flew toward another Bludger.
...
With Kyle holding off three Ravenclaws, the other two Chasers on the Hufflepuff team were having the time of their lives. Every few minutes, they scored a goal, and half an hour into the game, the score was already 130-20.
While the gap was still large, Ravenclaw at least had a chance if they could catch the Golden Snitch...
Ten minutes later, Hufflepuff scored two more goals... and at that moment, Autumn and Cedric, who had been hovering in mid-air, suddenly moved as if by mutual agreement.
They leaned forward on their brooms, racing toward the same spot.
In an instant, the entire stadium fell silent.
"It's the Golden Snitch! It's right in front of them!" Lee Jordan shouted excitedly. "It all comes down to this—will Hufflepuff win with an overwhelming advantage, or will Ravenclaw pull off a last-minute comeback? It's up to which Seeker can catch the Snitch!"
Hardly anyone was listening to him, as almost everyone's gaze was fixed on the two Seekers.
Kyle watched as the Golden Snitch flew past the Ravenclaw goal post, heading toward the other side of the stands. Autumn and Cedric were right beside it now, closing in, with only a few feet between them... Both reached out, their hands stretching forward.
The ending whistle blew...
"Who caught it?!" Lee Jordan asked anxiously, his upper body leaning so far forward that he nearly fell out of the stands.
Under the gaze of the entire audience, Cedric raised his hand. Between his fingers, a pair of wings fluttered weakly.
The crowd erupted into a frenzy of excited noise when they realized what had happened.
Tonks jumped to her feet, waving a Hufflepuff flag that she had conjured in mid-air. She was beginning to think that coming to Hogwarts wasn't so bad after all.
The team members embraced each other in the air and then landed back on the ground.
Cedric shook Autumn's hand once more.
"What a pity," Autumn said nonchalantly. "We were so close to a comeback."
"Indeed," Cedric smiled. "Luckily, my arm is an inch longer than yours."
Autumn couldn't help but smile at that.
Cedric was telling the truth. While shorter Seekers generally had an advantage in speed, having longer arms could make all the difference in crucial moments.
The Hufflepuff team stood together, pumping their fists in the air and waving to their supporters.
...
(End of Chapter)
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