Chapter 679: Bellatrix and Umbridge
Chapter 679: Bellatrix and Umbridge
As May arrived, the weather gradually turned fair and clear. The sky was as azure and pristine as a basket of forget-me-nots swaying in the breeze.
Not long ago, Hufflepuff had played their second Quidditch match against Slytherin and won by a significant margin.
Slytherin seemed to want to replicate Ravenclaw's strategy of using their player advantage to trap Kyle, who possessed the Firebolt.
However, without Qiu Zhang, Kyle easily broke through the encirclement of Montague and the others, leaving the sluggish Nimbus 2001 far behind, unable to even catch a glimpse of his broomstick.
The entire match turned into his personal showcase, and the stands were filled with incessant screams and cheers.
Half an hour later, Cedric caught the Golden Snitch right under Malfoy's nose, freezing the score at 360 to 10.
This match had essentially secured the Quidditch Cup for Hufflepuff. Their score far surpassed that of the second-place team, and they only needed to score a few goals in the next game to claim the cup.
This prospect thrilled the Hufflepuffs.
However, Snape didn't seem to share their joy. He stood on the platform, his expression gloomy as he watched Kyle being celebrated in the center of the crowd. Lost in thought, he turned and strode back toward the castle.
After the match, with exams looming closer, the Hufflepuffs could only briefly indulge in their excitement before plunging back into their heavy workload.
Three days after the Quidditch match, on the first weekend of May, the sixth-year students gathered in the Great Hall as usual for their Apparition lessons.
"As we discussed before, everyone can practice at their own pace," said Professor Toquero.
However, most students lacked enthusiasm. In recent lessons, someone had splinched during every Apparition attempt, and one student had even left half their body behind.
Although Professor McGonagall had promptly reattached the unfortunate student, this gruesome incident had inevitably left most students feeling apprehensive, hindering their progress.
Nevertheless, some individuals remained unaffected.
When Connor reappeared with a crisp crack five feet away within the wooden hoop, Professor Toquero applauded happily.
"Excellent! No mishaps for five consecutive weeks..." He smiled at Connor and said, "You've got it down perfectly. There's no need to attend further lessons. Just show up for the exam next month."
"Thank you, Professor," Connor replied, beaming.
Amidst envious gazes, she ran over to join Kyle on the other side of the Great Hall.
In fact, after the first Apparition lesson, Professor Toquero had stopped paying attention to Kyle, and he had kept his promise by giving Kyle a large bag of candies.
However, Kyle had distributed them among everyone present, including the professors.
"I've got it down..."
"Congratulations..."
They spoke in unison and then left the Great Hall together.
"How are those Fire Dragon claws coming along?" Kyle asked.
"They've all been ground into powder, and I have enough to last until the exam," Connor replied happily. She took out a box and handed it to Kyle. "Here, this is for you."
"What is it?"
"I don't know. Professor Snape asked me to give it to you," Connor explained.
Kyle hesitated for a moment, reaching for the box, "Umm... this box doesn't have frog brains or mouse spleens in it, does it?"
"How is that possible!" Connor retorted indignantly. "Why would Professor Snape give you those things?"
"Well, it's not entirely impossible..." Kyle muttered.
After all, he had just crushed Slytherin in the Quidditch match a couple of days ago, and it wouldn't be surprising if Snape, a petty man, held a grudge.
"Hmm?" Connor narrowed her eyes. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Kyle coughed awkwardly and quickly took the box from her.
He always felt that Connor had somehow guessed his thoughts... Perhaps he needed to intensify his training in the Art of Mental Block.
With Connor watching, Kyle mustered his courage and opened the box.
Thankfully, it didn't contain anything bizarre. Inside were a pile of eggshells and a complete horn.
Kyle immediately recognized the horn of a unicorn, with its distinctive golden spiral pattern.
He was surprised; this wasn't cheap at all... and neither were those eggshells.
There were six eggshells in total: three silver ones that shimmered like finely crafted silver artifacts, which could only be the eggshells of a bird snake, and three orange ones with irregular red stripes.
"Fire Ash Snake eggshells?"
Kyle was even more astonished. These were rare and valuable, not any less precious than a unicorn horn.
All in all, the contents of this box were worth more than a hundred Galleons.
The fact that Snape had sent him items worth over a hundred Galleons felt odd. Was today April Fool's Day?
No, that had already passed a month ago.
Kyle scratched his head. "Connor, these should be for you, right..."
"Of course not," Connor said. "Professor Snape specifically instructed me to give them to you."
The items in the box added up to about a hundred galleons, and the value of the Fire Dragon claws that he had given to Connor was also just about a hundred galleons on the market.
Now it made sense.
He clicked his tongue...
Having realized this, Kyle put away the box without hesitation. "Thank Professor Snape for me. By the way, did he say anything?"
"No..." Connor glanced to the side.
In fact, when Snape had given her the box, he had also instructed her to stay away from Kyle, his teeth clenched in anger.
But she didn't mention that, and before coming here, she had also taken away a piece of paper that was included with the box.
"That shouldn't be the case." Kyle shook his head and didn't say more. "Never mind, I'll take these items. Just remember to thank Professor Snape for me."
"Okay." Connor nodded.
"Also, could you give this to Professor Snape as well?" Kyle took out something that was the size of a palm and wrinkled.
"What is this? Snake skin?" Connor asked, taking it.
"Something like that. It's a snake molt from a Basilisk. You can tell him it's from me. I think Professor Snape will like it." Kyle said with a smile.
...
The next day, as Kyle was about to go to the Ministry of Magic as usual, he had just walked out of the common room when he saw Snape standing in the corridor like a ghost. As soon as he spotted Kyle, he pulled him to the side without a word.
"So the Basilisk was indeed in your hands!" Snape said, his face gloomy.
"You shouldn't jump to conclusions, Professor Snape." Kyle's expression didn't change. "Professor Dumbledore handled the Basilisk, I know nothing about it."
"Then how do you explain this?" Snape took out the snake molt.
"Oh, I picked this up." Kyle said, "You gave me such a precious gift, I should return the favor... If you don't like it, then forget about it."
As he spoke, Kyle reached for the snake molt.
Instinctively, Snape pulled his hand back, and Kyle grabbed at thin air.
"You..." Snape stared at Kyle, his face shifting through various emotions. "Do you have more of this? Give it to me!"
"It's all gone." Kyle blurted out, "But Professor Dumbledore entrusted the Basilisk to Mr. Scamander's care. If you want it, you can go to him."
Snape's face turned slightly blue.
If he knew where Newt Scamander was, would he have come to Kyle?
"How about this..." Kyle continued, "I can go and ask Mr. Scamander if he has any extra snake molts. What do you think? I believe he should have quite a few there. Then I'll have Connor deliver them to you."
"That's not necessary..." Snape said coldly, "You'd better stay away from her!"
With that, he turned and left without another word.
Kyle watched his billowing cloak and spread his hands helplessly.
Really, it was just a Quidditch match. Although the score difference was quite large, he had also let Slytherin score a goal. It wasn't a complete shutout, was it? Was it worth holding a grudge over until now?
"So petty." Kyle muttered.
Snape, who hadn't gone far, suddenly paused. Just as he was about to turn around, he saw Harry and Ron running down the stairs with their brooms. They almost crashed into him.
"What are you two doing!" Snape asked, his face dark.
"We're going to the Quidditch pitch. We're going to train today..." Harry said softly.
"Before you answer my question, you should apologize first." Snape said coldly, "Five points from Gryffindor."
"Oh, sorry..." Harry said.
"There's no courtesy." Snape drawled, "Five more points from Gryffindor."
"All right, sorry, Professor Snape." Harry said.
"Hmm." Snape acknowledged with a nonchalant indifference, "Also, running in the corridors is prohibited. Five more points from Gryffindor."
Harry clenched his fists tightly, forcibly suppressing the urge to punch Snape in the face, his teeth gritted in anger.
But to Snape's disappointment, Harry held back in the end and didn't do anything outrageous.
However, after deducting a total of fifteen points from Gryffindor, Snape's mood improved significantly. Without paying any further attention to the glaring Harry and Ron, he strode toward the underground classroom.
"He must be taking out his frustration from the other day's Quidditch match on us."
As soon as they confirmed that Snape was out of earshot, Ron spoke up, "I heard that Montague and the others were severely reprimanded, and Malfoy as well. Cedric caught the Golden Snitch right under his nose, and Snape was furious."
Hearing this from Ron, Harry's anger dissipated somewhat.
The match a few days ago was one of the most exciting he had ever seen. Slytherin had trailed by more than three hundred points, and he had cheered nonstop throughout.
To cheer for Hufflepuff, he had even bought a flag and waved it until his hands were sore.
In comparison, losing fifteen points didn't seem like a big deal. Anyway, they were already in last place, so losing another fifteen points didn't matter much.
"The only pity is that they scored one goal." Ron sighed, "If the Hufflepuff Keeper had been more reliable and stopped Montague's goal, they would have had no points at all.
"We need to hurry," Ron glanced at the time, "Blame Snape for holding us up. We're already late for practice."
"You're right, if Angelina sees we're any later, she'll kill us," Hermione added.
The pair exchanged a glance and sprinted towards the castle entrance.
After everyone had left, Kyle emerged and made his way up the stairs to the fourth floor.
Even though Umbridge had left the school, her office had been retained, and the fireplace within was still operational every weekend for students to travel to the Ministry of Magic.
When Kyle arrived at the Dark Magic Defense office, Cedric was already waiting for him.
"Why are you so late? We're already past our start time," he said anxiously.
"Sorry, I bumped into Professor Snape on the way, which delayed me a bit," Kyle replied nonchalantly, "Also, our working hours are different from the official staff, as long as we're at the Ministry by 9 am, it's fine."
"Well, yes, but it's still better to be early," Cedric urged.
They stepped through the fireplace and soon arrived at the Ministry of Magic.
As usual, the place was bustling with witches and wizards going about their business.
And due to the recent frequent news of Death Eater disturbances in the papers, there seemed to be an even larger crowd seeking assistance.
"Breaking news, Death Eaters have been spotted in the south again," two witches were discussing the latest headlines as they rode the elevator.
"It's that madwoman, Bellatrix Lestrange, she seems to be searching for something."
"Yes, I heard she ran into the Hit Wizards who were after her, and the whole street was destroyed in the battle."
"It would've been great if it had been the Aurors... maybe then they would've caught her."
Initially, Kyle didn't pay much attention, assuming it was just more of Umbridge's fake news.
However, as one of the witches exited the elevator, he caught a glimpse of the newspaper in her hand and was surprised to see that it indeed had a photo of Bellatrix.
Just as Cedric was about to speak, Kyle dashed out of the elevator as soon as it stopped at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
"Wait, Kyle, you haven't arrived yet..." Cedric called out, but Kyle was already gone.
"What's the rush?" Chris asked as Kyle burst into his office.
"Do you have a copy of the Prophet here?" Kyle asked urgently.
"Oh, it's over there," Chris pointed to a still-sealed newspaper on the desk, "It was delivered just a minute ago."
Kyle immediately tore it open and began reading.
As expected, Bellatrix's photo was on the front page, where she was seen using her wand to force back the Hit Wizards, laughing maniacally as she vanished in a cloud of black mist.
"Hit Wizards encountered the escaped Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, in Hampshire, and after a fierce battle, she managed to escape.
"Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary, is suspected of being interrogated with the Cruciatus Curse and has been sent to St. Mungo's Magical Injury Hospital..."
Kyle didn't think the photo was fake, as Bellatrix's insanity was not something easily imitated.
More importantly, he also spotted Dumbledore in the photo.
Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, Dumbledore could be seen in a flash of firelight in one corner, apparently having been transported by Fawkes.
Perhaps it was because of Dumbledore's presence that Bellatrix had fled so hastily.
"Dad, do you know what's going on?" Kyle asked, "Surely the Order has some information?"
Chris glanced at the newspaper and then used his wand to shut the door.
"I do know something about it," he lowered his voice, "The Headmaster is going to look for someone, and coincidentally, the Death Eaters are also searching for the same person."
"Who is it?"
"Bob Ogden," Chris replied after a moment's silence.
"That name again," Kyle frowned, "Who is he exactly?"
This time, Chris didn't elaborate, simply shaking his head, "This is an Order matter, Kyle. Although Dumbledore said that we shouldn't hide anything from you, there's nothing you can do to help with this."
Chris didn't want to divulge more about Bob Ogden, and Kyle, sensing this, didn't press further. Instead, he asked, "Then what about the Hit Wizards? Why aren't the Aurors handling it?"
"Well..." Chris suddenly laughed, but then restrained himself, realizing it might be inappropriate, "It's quite a coincidence, but remember that suggestion you gave to Fudge?"
"Yes," Kyle nodded, he hadn't kept this a secret from Chris or the core members of the Order.
"That's it," Chris said, "We received news yesterday that someone was illegally smuggling two Kneazles into Hampshire, so Umbridge thought this was a perfect opportunity to make a move, and she rushed over there early this morning."
(End of Chapter)
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