https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-668-Assistance-from-the-Ministry-of-Magic/13012197/
Chapter 669: Kyle's Target
Chapter 669: Kyle's Target
Tonks did not leave with Wiktakross, and Fudge seemed well aware of Umbridge's capabilities, so as an Auror, her responsibility was clearly more significant, or perhaps she was the true Defense Against the Dark Arts professor all along.
Although she vehemently opposed this idea and repeatedly emphasized that she was merely there to assist Umbridge, Professor McGonagall still arranged for her to stay at Hogwarts.
That evening, she secretly made her way to the Hufflepuff common room.
When Kyle saw her in the dormitory, he was completely stunned.
"This is the boys' dormitory!" Mikel was also startled, and he covered himself with the curtain by his bed, leaving only his head exposed.
"Of course I know, you can't enter the girls' dormitory," Tonks said nonchalantly, "Come on, hurry up and get out. I've brought some good stuff."
She took out several large bottles of Butterbeer from behind her, and then closed the door.
"Why can girls enter the boys' dormitory..." Mikel muttered, "That's not fair!"
"You should talk to the founders about that, or even Professor McGonagall," Ryan wasn't too concerned and calmly said, "Complaining to us won't help."
"Forget it then," Mikel shrugged.
Going to complain to Professor McGonagall about why boys aren't allowed in the girls' dormitory? He would definitely get into trouble.
"Kyle," he changed the subject, "Do you know... what's her name again?"
"Nymphadora Tonks."
"Oh right, that's the one." Mikel nodded repeatedly, "Do you know her?"
"Yes, we've met a few times before," Kyle said, getting up from the bed, putting on a robe, and walking out of the dormitory.
At this moment, Tonks was already sitting in the common room's armchair, like a big sister, placing several bottles of Butterbeer on the table, and waving to the students around her:
"Don't be shy, go ahead and drink, it's on me."
Since only sixth-year students attended the Apparition class that morning, most people didn't know her yet, so those who remained in the common room just looked at Tonks in confusion, and no one moved.
"How did you get in here?" Kyle asked as he sat down across from her.
"You ask that... Don't forget I'm also a Hufflepuff graduate, okay?" Tonks said, "It's not like other houses with passwords, isn't it easier to get in here?"
"That's true," Kyle nodded, he had forgotten about that.
"I never thought that so many years after my graduation, I'd still be able to come back here," Tonks handed Kyle a bottle of Butterbeer, then opened one for herself and took a big gulp.
Then, as if she wasn't satisfied, she switched from Butterbeer to the higher-proof Honeydukes, drinking while nostalgically examining the common room's furnishings.
"There's really no change at all... Those few pots of flowers on the shelf, they were there when I entered school, and they're still there now. And these armchairs, do you see the one by the fireplace? I used to sit there and do my homework."
Sure enough, doing homework was a required course for every Hufflepuff, and even Tonks was no exception. Only Cedric and the rest were out of place.
Gradually, the common room became less crowded, and soon only Kyle and Tonks remained.
It wasn't until this moment that Tonks suddenly acted as if she was drunk, putting the bottle down on the table and saying angrily:
"You say, with so many people in the department, why do I have to come and help that woman..."
Kyle was startled by this sudden complaint and subconsciously asked, "Help who?"
"Who else could it be, Umbridge..." Tonks said, "Kingsley can go investigate the Death Eaters, clearly I have the advantage over him..."
To increase her credibility, Tonks turned her hair grayish-white, her eyes became sinister, and a few more wrinkles appeared on her face, making her look like an old witch who had been hiding in the dungeons for years.
At this moment, Kyle also understood. She was still troubled by Wiktakross's words earlier, and now she was here to vent.
"Coming to Hogwarts has its benefits..." Kyle said, "At least it's safe enough here, you don't have to worry every day, right?"
"Are you sure?" Tonks glanced at Kyle, "Is it safe to teach Dark Arts Defense at Hogwarts?"
"Um..." Kyle was momentarily speechless, "At least Umbridge is ahead of you, and strictly speaking, you're just a teaching assistant, so you're not eligible to be cursed yet."
"I'm not worried about that," Tonks waved her hand, "If Sirius was still a professor, I'd definitely come without saying a word, but Umbridge... honestly, no one in the Ministry wants to work with her, it's like a form of torture, even more annoying than a curse.
"If you had the choice, would you rather track down Death Eaters or work with Umbridge at Hogwarts?"
"Of course, at Hogwarts," Kyle said without hesitation.
"Are you serious?" Tonks transformed back to her original appearance and asked incredulously.
"Of course, I'm only in my sixth year now, who do you think would let me leave school to track down Death Eaters?"
"Kyle held the last bottle of Butterbeer in his hand, 'So, how did you guys decide who would represent Hogwarts? Did you draw lots or something?'"
"Of course not."
At this, Tonks grew angrier, "Today, when I went to work, I found the Auror Office empty, and then Fudge sent me over."
"Damn it, no wonder Alastor and Kingsley both had urgent matters, and neither went to the Ministry of Magic. They knew the Minister would be selecting people to go to Hogwarts today, but they didn't tell me!"
Kyle cleared his throat twice without speaking.
...
Tonks stayed in the common room until the early hours of the morning before finally leaving. This also caused Kyle to yawn repeatedly the next day when he arrived at the stadium.
"What's wrong, are you okay...?" Cedric asked anxiously, "I feel like you didn't get enough sleep, but didn't you return to the dormitory early yesterday?"
"Yes, but then I was called out again later." Kyle said.
"Tonks... um, Professor?"
Apparently, Cedric had also heard about this, but he was still adjusting to the change in her status.
Previously, they were classmates, and now they suddenly meet and she's become a professor. When Cedric first heard about this, he thought it was someone with the same name.
"You'd better call her a teaching assistant. If you call her 'Professor,' both of them will be unhappy." Kyle rubbed his eyes.
"Because of the curse?" Cedric asked after a moment of thought, "Who's the other person, the Apparition teacher, Tecros?"
"No, it's Umbridge." Kyle said. Professor Tecros didn't mind this, but Umbridge clearly didn't want to be on equal footing with the person assisting her.
At this moment, a deafening cheer suddenly erupted from outside, interrupting their conversation.
"I think we should go out." Cedric said, "How are you doing, do you need a replacement?"
"No." Kyle shook his head and stuffed a piece of chocolate into his mouth, "It's just a few hours of less sleep, no big deal."
The changing room door opened, and they strode towards the center of the stadium, the frost-covered grass crunching underfoot with a squeaky sound.
The Quidditch stadium was packed with people, and almost all the professors had come, which was rarely seen in regular matches.
Dumbledore sat in the center of the teacher's bench, and when Kyle looked over, he was still smiling and waving.
"Go, Hufflepuff, go!"
Tonks' hair had turned half yellow and half black, and she was shouting loudly from the teacher's bench, looking full of energy.
Do Aurors not need sleep?
Kyle was speechless.
However, under Tonks' influence, the Hufflepuff spectators became more and more excited, and their cheers directly drowned out the Ravenclaws next to them.
They arrived at the center of the stadium, and Madam Hooch stood there, ready to release the ball from the box.
"Captains shake hands." She said.
It's worth mentioning that Ravenclaw's captain, Roger Davies, was injured in yesterday's Care of Magical Creatures class and didn't attend today, so today's team was led by Qiu.
Amidst the teasing glances, Cedric stepped forward and shook her hand.
"Go for it."
"You too."
"Oh, go for it, tsk tsk..." Mikel muttered in a voice that everyone could hear, "Captains not trash-talking, the match feels like it's missing something."
Cedric and Qiu both pretended not to hear.
Fortunately, at this moment, Madam Hooch blew her whistle.
The match officially began,
Amidst the suddenly heightened cheers, Kyle and the others flew into the air, easily catching the Bludger that was thrown out.
"Good, now they're off." Lee Jordan's voice came from the stands.
"Kyle has the Bludger, he dodged Bradley and Stanton... Oh, Ingleby seems to want to use the Quaffle to stop Kyle's offense... Missed! Kyle dodged the Quaffle, and now he only has the Keeper in front of him..."
After a brief silence, the Hufflepuff stands erupted with an even louder cheer.
"Score! Hufflepuff scores!"
"The Firebolt is truly eye-catching, and it's the perfect combination with Kyle. Hufflepuff has taken the lead within a minute of the start, and Ravenclaw is in trouble..." Lee Jordan exclaimed.
"Block him!" Qiu anxiously searched for the Golden Snitch while shouting loudly, "Just like we practiced before, Bradley, you take Davies' position..."
Under Qiu's arrangement, two Ravenclaw Chasers immediately came to Kyle's side, one in front and one behind, trying to sandwich him.
Meanwhile, the Quaffle also flew in from the side.
Kyle didn't need to think; he knew this Quaffle probably wouldn't target anyone but himself.
Two Chasers, one Beater, he didn't expect Ravenclaw to restrict themselves by deploying half their team. This treatment was unprecedented.
"Kyle has slowed down... The Bludger is caught by Debris, oh my, I've never seen a match where the Chasers, not the Beaters, are targeted."
Li Hua exclaimed excitedly, "But there's no doubt that Autumn Zhang's decision was correct. If we let Kyle continue scoring, the match might as well be called off in twenty minutes, and even catching the Golden Snitch won't help us then..."
"But I think it's futile. The Firebolt Arrows are not something the Sweeping Series can easily stop..."
Kyle, of course, was well aware that the Firebolt Arrows were much faster than the Sweeping Series. With a slight acceleration, he could easily break through Ravenclaw's encirclement, but he had no intention of doing so.
While a one-sided match could also be exciting, it would quickly lose its appeal, and a back-and-forth game would better ignite the audience's enthusiasm.
Moreover, with Kyle scoring all the points, the other team members might feel left out. They had been training for so long, and it wouldn't be fair for them to always be in the background.
So, Kyle obligingly slowed down. After all, he was holding back three opponents on his own, and Hufflepuff still had the advantage. There was no need to rush.
As expected, the lone Debris only flew for a while before the Bludger in his hand was snatched away.
"Now it's Grace's turn with the ball. She's also a good player. She wants to pass to Kyle... Oh, the Bludger was blocked by Bradley, and he passed it to Debris."
"Don't worry about me. I'll hold them off, and you focus on scoring!" Kyle shouted to Grace as he flew past her. Grace nodded and steered her broomstick to chase after Debris.
"Hey, Kyle," Mikel flew over at this moment, waving his bat half-jokingly, "Should we target Autumn? If I knock her off her broom, won't I get kicked off the team?"
"Cedric isn't that petty," Kyle replied. "But if you don't target the Seeker for the entire game, he might kick you off the team instead."
"Then I'm relieved." Mikel smiled and swung his bat, forcefully hitting the Bludger towards Autumn. Whether it was intentional or not, the Bludger flew right past Autumn's head.
"You'd better be serious," Kyle said. "If we lose this match, Hufflepuff will become a laughingstock."
"I am serious. It's the bat's problem," Mikel explained, then raised his arm.
Sure enough, a crack appeared on the bat.
"I should have 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 should be able to hold on until the end of the match. Do you need my help?"
"I can manage on my own..." Kyle dodged another Bludger and looked up. "Go help Grace."
"Okay!" Mikel nodded and flew towards another Bludger.
...
With Kyle holding back the three Ravenclaws, the other two Chasers on the Hufflepuff team became more and more skilled as the match progressed. They scored a goal every few minutes, and after half an hour, the score had reached 130 to 20.
Although the gap was still significant, Ravenclaw at least had a chance if they could catch the Golden Snitch.
Ten minutes later, Hufflepuff scored two more goals... and at this moment, Autumn and Cedric, who had been hovering in the air, moved almost simultaneously.
They leaned forward on their brooms and raced in the same direction.
In an instant, the entire stadium fell silent.
"It's the Golden Snitch! Right in front of them!" Li Hua shouted. "Will Hufflepuff win with an absolute advantage, or will Ravenclaw turn the tables and snatch victory at the last moment? It all depends on who catches the Golden Snitch!"
Not many people were listening to him, as almost everyone's gaze was fixed on the two Seekers.
Kyle watched as the Golden Snitch flew past the Ravenclaw goalpost, heading towards the other side of the stands. Cedric and Autumn were already nearby, getting closer and closer, with only a few feet between them... Both reached out and grabbed forward.
The final whistle blew...
"Who caught it?!" Li Hua asked anxiously, his upper body almost leaning out of the stands.
Under the gaze of the entire audience, Cedric suddenly raised his hand, and between his fingers, a pair of wings were weakly flapping.
The moment the audience realized what had happened, they burst into excited cheers.
Tonks stood up excitedly and, in mid-air, conjured a Hufflepuff flag. She suddenly felt that coming to Hogwarts might not be a bad idea.
The team members embraced each other enthusiastically in the air and then landed back on the ground.
Cedric shook hands with Autumn again.
"What a pity. We were so close to turning the tables," Autumn said nonchalantly.
"Yeah," Cedric smiled, "Thanks to my arm being an inch longer than yours."
Autumn couldn't help but laugh.
Cedric was telling the truth. Although, in general, shorter Seekers might have an advantage in speed, having longer arms could be another crucial advantage in critical moments.
The Hufflepuff team stood together, waving their fists in the air and gesturing to their supporters.
...
(End of Chapter)
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