Chapter 74: Christmas Eve
Chapter 74: Christmas Eve
"Kyle, come and build a snowman with us!" Fred and George greeted him enthusiastically, inviting him to join them.
But Kyle declined without hesitation.
Their art was too avant-garde, with abstract shapes and free-flowing lines, exuding an intriguing air of mystery.
Kyle was just an ordinary person with average abilities and limited skills; how dare he overestimate himself and participate in such a grand project?
He wasn't worthy.
...
Not far ahead, a group of Hufflepuff students were gathered by the edge of the Black Lake.
The heavy snowfall had formed a thick layer of ice on the lake, and they were discussing whether to make a hole in the ice to fish and make a delicious stargazing pie.
Nearby, some students were having a snowball fight, and Kyle saw a Gryffindor senior secretly stuff a stone into a snowball and throw it at a Slytherin.
Fortunately, the stone missed its target and instead almost hit Professor Aurene as it arced through the air.
"Young man, be more careful when playing snowball fights. Don't put stones in them," Professor Aurene said, flicking the snowball away with his wand. "I won't deduct points this time, assuming it was an accident, but don't let it happen again."
The Gryffindor nodded repeatedly.
Everyone was having fun, except for Filch, who was visibly annoyed.
Since the young wizards didn't have the habit of wiping their shoes, they left a trail of dirty footprints on the ground as they returned to the castle after the snowball fight.
This undoubtedly increased Filch's workload.
Later, he simply brought a chair and sat at the castle's entrance, only allowing the students to enter after they had cleaned their shoes.
In History of Magic class, Kyle fell asleep in just thirty seconds, and his sleep quality was even better than when he was in the dormitory.
If it weren't for Conna waking him up at the end of class, Kyle might have slept until noon.
"Students from both houses are falling asleep..."
Conna rubbed her slightly red eyes, looking like she had just woken up herself. "Why can't the school change the History of Magic professor?"
"Perhaps Professor Binns doesn't need a salary," Kyle shrugged.
Apart from this, Professor Binns' position was irreplaceable.
Not to mention that he worked year-round without a break and didn't have various personal matters like other professors, maintaining a 100% attendance rate throughout the year.
Additionally, the History of Magic exam questions were very simple; as long as you carefully reviewed the textbook before the exam, getting an 'E' was not a problem.
So, not even the school governors, let alone Headmaster Dumbledore, would agree to replace this chosen part-timer.
"That stingy old bee."
Kyle pouted, expressing his disdain for Dumbledore's ruthless exploitation of the elderly professor.
...
As December arrived, the weather grew colder, but the young wizards' spirits lifted, a stark contrast to their listlessness from the previous month.
Christmas vacation was approaching...
This meant they would soon enjoy a full two-week break.
In this atmosphere, the students struggled to focus on their classes, often daydreaming during lessons.
The professors initially deducted a few points to make them a bit more tense, but it didn't have much effect.
Perhaps it only worked for a few minutes; after that, they reverted to their previous unfortunate state of being unable to concentrate.
After discovering this, the professors decided to turn a blind eye to the situation. Every year, they had grown accustomed to this, as no new lessons were taught before the holidays anyway. As long as the students didn't go too far, they chose to ignore it.
However, there were two professors who didn't follow this mindset.
Professor Binns didn't care about Christmas; in his History of Magic class, he continued to drone on in his dirge-like tone about the invention of the Self-Stirring Cauldron.
"The Self-Stirring Cauldron is a magically enchanted cauldron that stirs potions automatically. It was invented by Gaspard Sington in the late 20th century, and because of this..."
As for the other professor, it was none other than Professor Snape.
He didn't care why students were distracted and didn't show any leniency like the other professors. If a student from any house other than Slytherin was caught, they would lose three House Points.
Thanks to his relentless efforts, by the day before Christmas, Slytherin's House Points were far ahead, almost a hundred points higher than Ravenclaw, the second-place house.
Professor Snape was very satisfied with this result.
Slytherin's six-year championship streak was now secure. The night before leaving school, Kyle ran into Hagrid in the Great Hall, looking a bit flustered.
This was the first time Kyle had seen Hagrid since their midnight excursion into the Forbidden Forest a month ago.
The main reason for their avoidance was their guilt. For the past month, all five of them had been avoiding Hagrid.
But now that they had encountered him, they couldn't pretend they hadn't seen him.
Kyle approached Hagrid and waved, "Hagrid, how are you doing lately?"
Hagrid lowered his head, "Sorry, I don't have time to chat now. I still have a lot of preparations to make."
"Merlin's beard, I forgot that Hogwarts is going on holiday tomorrow. I thought it was still Halloween," Hagrid said as he continued walking briskly towards the castle.
Kyle had to jog to keep up with Hagrid.
"Do you need any help?" Kyle asked.
Hagrid thought for a moment, "If you're not busy..."
"Could you help me get some mistletoe for decorations? The banquet is about to start, and I'm worried I might run out of time," Hagrid said.
"Of course," Kyle replied.
Kyle and Hagrid walked towards the cottage next to the Forbidden Forest.
Not far away were two fir trees with diameters of around 60-70 centimeters, along with a small pile of mistletoe and other decorative plants.
"You take those decorative plants, and I'll handle the rest," Hagrid said.
Hagrid bent down and struggled to lift the two fir trees.
When Hagrid stood up, his face was flushed, indicating that lifting two trees at once was quite a challenge for him.
Suddenly, Hagrid heard a voice from behind.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
In an instant, he felt lighter, and the two fir trees seemed to disappear.
Hagrid turned around in surprise and looked at Kyle.
"The Levitation Charm? Impressive!"
"You're exaggerating, Hagrid," Kyle shook his head. "Anyone can do this."
"Is... is that so?" Hagrid blinked in confusion.
He remembered his school days, and it wasn't like this at all.
It had only been a few years, and the new students of Hogwarts were already this talented?
(End of Chapter)
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