Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 689: Before the Holidays - Novel Cool

Chapter 689: Before the Holidays

Chapter 689: Before the Holidays

The events that transpired in the Department of Mysteries the previous day had spread throughout the wizarding world, thanks to The Daily Prophet.

However, the newspaper made no mention of the Prophecy Orb; it only stated that Voldemort, along with his Death Eaters, had attempted to seize something and had caused extensive damage to the main hall.

As a result, many perceived this as Voldemort's declaration of war against the Ministry of Magic, indicating that he had assembled a sufficient number of followers and was ready to create havoc. This news also instilled a sense of unease among the wizarding community.

But none of this mattered much to the students of Hogwarts.

In the afternoon, nearly the entire school gathered at the Quidditch pitch to witness the most crucial final match of the year.

It was a close contest between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, with only a twenty-point difference in their overall scores. The winner of this match would undoubtedly claim the Quidditch Cup.

From the start of the game until now, the stands had been filled with continuous cheers and shouts of encouragement for the teams. Everyone was giving their all to support their favored side.

"For both teams, this is a match they absolutely cannot afford to lose..."

Jordan Li's voice echoed across the commentary booth, "Whether it's Cedric, Ted, and the Weasley brothers from Gryffindor or Angelina from Hufflepuff, they will all graduate next year. No one wants to leave Hogwarts with regrets!"

"Oh, look, the Snitch is in Kyle's hands, which is not good news for Gryffindor... Angelina is chasing after Kyle... Unfortunately, her broomstick can't keep up with the Firebolt..."

Jordan Li refrained from his usual banter and witty remarks, instead providing a professional commentary on the match, a stark contrast to his typical style.

This was not just because of the players he had mentioned earlier, including himself, who were all in their seventh year. This match held significant importance for him as well.

"Look, Harry has spotted the Golden Snitch!" Jordan Li's voice had grown hoarse from all the shouting, but he didn't seem to mind as he leaned forward in his seat, "It's right in front of the Ravenclaw stands, and Cedric has seen it too... They're speeding up... Who will catch the Snitch? I wish I had a powerful telescope right now..."

"Look over there, Kyle has reached the goalposts... He's thrown the Quaffle... It's the middle goalpost... Can Ginny... Oh, she blocked it! The temporary replacement goalkeeper saved the most crucial moment!"

Amidst Jordan Li's enthusiastic commentary, Madam Ho blew her whistle.

The Golden Snitch had been caught.

Harry raised his arm high, and between his fingers fluttered a pair of wings, weakly flapping in defeat.

The audience erupted into a frenzy of noise and excitement.

The match concluded with a score of 210 to 220.

Gryffindor emerged victorious, marking their first win against Hufflepuff in six years and putting an end to their undefeated streak.

The players embraced each other in excitement, with Harry and Ginny at the center of the celebration.

As everyone returned to the pitch, Dumbledore appeared with a gleaming Quidditch Cup in his hands.

"Congratulations!" he said, presenting the trophy to Cedric.

Indeed, Gryffindor had won the match but also lost it.

Before the game, Hufflepuff held a twenty-point lead, but by the end, their advantage had narrowed to just ten points.

"What a shame..." Neville sighed from the stands, "If only Harry had caught the Snitch when we were seventy points ahead."

"He knew it was impossible," Hermione, recently discharged from the hospital, said beside him, "Hufflepuff's Chasers are too strong. Continuing the game wouldn't have made a difference, and we might have even lost our lead."

"You're right," Neville nodded, and then he joined the others in their joyous celebration.

Regardless, they had managed to defeat Hufflepuff at least once.

"To be honest," Cedric asked Kyle in the changing room, "Did you do that on purpose?"

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.

"Of course, I'm talking about the last Quaffle," Cedric said solemnly as he carefully folded his team uniform, "From such a close distance, I don't think you would have missed, especially against Ginny, who was a temporary replacement goalkeeper."

"Ginny's flying skills aren't bad either," Kyle said, "And you're overestimating me a bit. Even the most renowned Chasers in professional teams can't guarantee a perfect success rate every time."

"Besides, isn't this a good outcome? Both teams won the match... It's a win-win situation, and everyone's happy."

"You're right," Cedric agreed as he packed his uniform into a bag.

By the time they exited the changing room, the audience had already left, and the once bustling Quidditch pitch had fallen silent just five minutes ago.

Cedric stood quietly at the changing room door, as if he could still hear the distant cheers.

At that moment, the other players approached from the changing room.

"Do you want to stay and watch some more?" Kyle asked.

"No need," Cedric replied, turning to join the others in their cheerful conversations, they headed out of the pitch together.

"Honestly, I can't believe we won the Quidditch Cup..."

"Professor Sprout is overjoyed. I've never seen her this happy in a long time..."

"Professor McGonagall seems pretty pleased too..."

"Yes, this is the best outcome..."

"We must have a celebration, a grand feast..."

"It would be fantastic if we could celebrate with Gryffindor. That would be so much fun."

"How about we hold a celebration banquet in the Great Hall..."

"That's a possibility, but the Slytherins and Ravenclaws won't be happy about it. If you get into a fight, just make sure you don't drag us into it."

...

When the team returned to the castle, they suddenly realized that the Gryffindor students had already started celebrating. They were gathered in small groups, laughing and talking loudly.

Even though the Slytherins deliberately mentioned that Gryffindor had lost the Quidditch Cup, they didn't seem to care. When they saw Kyle and his teammates, they greeted them enthusiastically.

After putting away their broomsticks in the dormitory, Kyle went back outside to the grounds.

The scorching sun shone down on the ground, but there were still many people on the field. They lay on the grass, sunbathing, chatting, snacking, reading the Daily Prophet, and enjoying the rare moments of peace.

As Kyle walked by, some people waved at him, saying that today's match was one of the best they had ever seen.

Kyle smiled and acknowledged them, but he didn't really pay much attention... People always said that after every match.

Conna was in the library, probably the only person who still needed to study at this time.

Fred and George were also busy preparing for the opening of their shop, and they had been hard to find lately.

Kyle felt a bit bored, and he decided to return Cerberus first.

Hagrid seemed to be waiting for him here, and Kyle had tried to stay as far away from the cabin as possible. But as he approached the woods, he still couldn't escape Hagrid's attention.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Hagrid's loud voice carried across the distance.

"You're going the wrong way, it's over here..."

Kyle had no choice but to turn around and walk towards Hagrid.

"Today's match was truly amazing." Inside the cabin, Hagrid poured Kyle a cup of dandelion juice, "I can't think of a better outcome than this."

"I feel the same way." Kyle picked up the cup and took a sip of the juice Hagrid had recently made, it tasted quite good due to the added honey.

"I've heard about it..." Hagrid suddenly spoke, his expression turning serious. "I have to say, Kyle, you went too far this time."

Kyle was startled, thinking Hagrid was referring to him taking Cerberus away. Just as he was about to explain, Hagrid spoke again, "You've been keeping the Cat Leopard a secret from me all this time!"

"What, the Cat Leopard?" Kyle blinked.

"Yes, I've heard all about it. The magical Cat Leopard saved Harry twice in the Department of Mysteries. You know I love those magical creatures, yet you kept it a secret from me. Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Or do you think I'd tell the professors or others?"

"Of course not," Kyle quickly replied. "It's just... well, okay, I admit I was wrong about this."

Kyle opened the box, and the next second, the Cat Leopard jumped out. It looked around to ensure there was no danger, then lay down next to Kyle, lazily licking its fur.

Hagrid, who was about to take a sip of tea, froze with his hand in mid-air, staring intently at the Cat Leopard. His eyes were filled with deep admiration.

The Cat Leopard seemed to sense something, and it raised its head to examine Hagrid for a moment before lying back down.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" Hagrid casually tossed his cup to the side, his gaze fixed on the Cat Leopard's six legs, "It must be incredibly fast when it runs."

"Yes," Kyle nodded, "Apart from the Firebolt, the Cat Leopard's speed surpasses that of any broomstick."

Hagrid's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Can it stay in the Forbidden Forest?" he asked, "I can take care of it."

Before Kyle could respond, a whimpering sound suddenly came from the corner near the bed.

Fang was curled up, his tail tucked between his legs, whimpering as if trying to squeeze himself out of the cabin.

"More importantly, Newt has been banned from almost every country, so even if we wanted to send him away, we couldn't. And he's almost a hundred years old now, so it's not like he can pull off the same stunts he did when he was younger."

In his youth, Newt would dare to fly across two countries on a Thestral, and even outwit local Aurors with his skilled Apparition.

But twenty years ago, Tina had put a stop to that.

"I really wish I could go and see..." Hagrid said, still mesmerized by the Cat Leopard.

This time, Kyle didn't say anything.

He could have introduced Hagrid to Newt, but he didn't plan to.

It wasn't just because Hagrid often let slip things in front of Harry... Of course, that was part of the reason, but the main reason was that he and Newt didn't see eye to eye on certain principles.

Just the fact that Kyle had bred the Blast-Ended Skrewt was enough for them to have little in common.

Moreover, Hagrid preferred dangerous creatures with fangs and claws, which was also different from Newt.

Although there were some of these magical creatures in Newt's case, there were more Mooncalfs and Nifflers, ordinary magical creatures.

Hagrid knew this too, so he didn't say anything more. He got up and went outside the house.

Soon, Hagrid returned with plenty of food: chicken stoats, beef legs, and wart hog meat... all prepared for the magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest.

"Look, see what you like." Hagrid squatted in front of the Cat Leopard and asked expectantly.

The Cat Leopard first glanced at the chicken stoat, which was completely featherless, and pushed it aside with some disdain, as if it was wondering who would like to eat such "junk food."

In the end, it chose the beef leg over the wart hog meat.

This was mainly because it had just had a hearty wart hog meal the day before, and it wanted to change its taste and have something lighter.

Kyle stayed in the cabin until almost evening, and then returned to the castle under Hagrid's reluctant gaze.

On the way back, Kyle felt like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't quite remember what it was.

"Forget it, it's probably not important," Kyle shook his head and walked into the castle along the stone steps.

...

The day before the holiday, everyone was discharged. Sirius, Lupin, and Mad-Eye Moody accepted Dumbledore's invitation and attended the banquet.

Unlike the first time when they arrived, which was met with silence, when Mad-Eye Moody limped into the Great Hall, there was a burst of loud applause and cheers.

They had all been Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, and they were among the most popular ones, so their popularity remained high.

"This feeling is not bad," Mad-Eye Moody said as he sat down at the staff table.

No wonder Dumbledore always stayed at school and didn't go anywhere... If it weren't for more important tasks, being a professor at school seemed pretty good.

"I'm glad everyone is here together," Dumbledore stood up and pointed to Sirius and the others, saying, "And we have also welcomed a few... old friends, I suppose."

Another round of enthusiastic applause filled the Great Hall.

"Alright, alright..." Dumbledore waved his hand, "Before the banquet begins, we have some important announcements to make. Let me think...

"The first thing is, I believe you all already know from the newspaper about what happened in the Ministry of Magic recently..."

Everyone subconsciously looked at Kyle, as the latest issue of the Daily Prophet provided a more detailed account of the incident at the Ministry.

On the front page, Auror Kingsley thanked Kyle for saving them, but he deliberately omitted the magical creatures and replaced them with reinforcements.

"That's right, it's true," Dumbledore said with a smile, "Kyle Joba showed admirable courage and extraordinary wisdom in the previous battle, for which I will award Gryffindor one hundred points."

Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table.

"Additionally..." Dumbledore had to raise his voice to continue speaking, "He has also been awarded the Hogwarts Special Contribution Award, so Gryffindor gets another two hundred points."

Next to the Great Hall, the Gryffindor hourglass was almost filled to the brim with gems.

"With that, there's no suspense for the second announcement," Dumbledore smiled, "Congratulations to Gryffindor, they have won this year's House Cup!"

The cheers grew louder, almost lifting the ceiling.

Dumbledore didn't say anything more. He waved his hand, and various delicacies instantly appeared on the golden plates.

After the last pudding disappeared, at the end of the banquet, Dumbledore stood up again, his expression becoming more serious than before.

"After you've eaten your fill, I must say something that might dampen your spirits..." he said slowly, "I hope that while you enjoy yourselves, you will also pay attention to your safety and avoid places with few people..."

Dumbledore spoke at length, mostly reminding everyone to be aware of the unusual things happening around them.

The Great Hall gradually became quiet, as everyone understood his meaning. Voldemort and the Death Eaters weighed heavily on everyone's minds, like heavy blocks.

Some people didn't even want to leave the school. They wanted to stay and spend their holidays here, but that was impossible.

Dumbledore and the professors had their own affairs to attend to, and without them, the school wouldn't be as safe.

...

(End of Chapter)

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