https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-748-Six-Hundred-Years-of-Luck-Seriously-/13013093/
Chapter 747: Lucky Gryffindor
Chapter 747: Lucky Gryffindor
By the time Kyle emerged from the Headmaster's Office, it was already afternoon, and the gloomy weather persisted with no sign of the relentless rain letting up.
Kyle stood in the corridor on the eighth floor, gazing out at the curtain-like rain in a daze.
He couldn't help but wonder about the disagreement between Dumbledore and Snape. Was it because of Malfoy's recent actions?
Or was it related to Cona, or perhaps... Snape was tired of his double agent role between Hogwarts and the Death Eaters and wanted to return to a normal life?
Any of these possibilities could be true.
However, it was certain that he hadn't received Dumbledore's support, otherwise, they wouldn't have argued so fiercely.
Kyle guessed that it was most likely about Malfoy, as he was the one causing the most trouble lately.
As for Cona... to be honest, unless Dumbledore wanted her to join the Order of the Phoenix and Snape strongly objected, she was capable of making her own decisions in other matters.
Moreover, Kyle didn't think Dumbledore would insist on having a newly graduated witch join the Order, nor was it necessary.
As for returning to a normal wizard's life... before the threat of Voldemort was completely eliminated, it was probably just a dream for Snape, a dream that would remain just that.
"Draco Malfoy," Kyle muttered to himself.
At that moment, a group of first-year students ran up the stairs, chasing and playing noisily, startling Kyle out of his thoughts.
Perhaps they hadn't expected to see a seventh-year student standing there, as they all froze in their tracks, startled.
In his fear, one boy dropped the Quidditch player model he was holding.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not Filch, and I won't deduct points for talking loudly in the corridor," Kyle said, pointing at the broken model.
"Reparo."
"Th-thank you," the boy stuttered, his face turning red with excitement as if he had just witnessed an extraordinary piece of magic.
To be fair, for a first-year student, especially one from a Muggle background, witnessing a non-verbal Repairing Charm was indeed impressive.
The commotion caused by the students snapped Kyle out of his thoughts, and he left the eighth floor, heading straight to the Hufflepuff Common Room.
Although Kyle felt like there was something else he needed to discuss with Dumbledore, he only paused briefly before continuing downstairs.
Oh well, it probably wasn't important.
...
Fortunately, the news of Slughorn and Ron being under the influence of the Love Potion hadn't spread because only a few people were aware of it. Life at Hogwarts continued as usual.
Dumbledore had left the school again, and with the Death Eaters becoming increasingly active, his schedule was busier than ever.
However, thanks to the efforts of the professors, Hogwarts remained a safe haven, with no hint of danger in the air. Everyone's attention was focused on the upcoming Quidditch match the next day.
The match was between Gryffindor and Slytherin, long-standing rivals.
Although Harry had the Fire Arrow, Gryffindor's support wasn't as high as expected due to the absence of one of their key players and the poor performance of their Beaters in the previous match.
Most people still favored Slytherin, even though their new recruits in the past two years hadn't been impressive. They excelled in consistency and had three Chasers who were veterans with over three years of experience, working together seamlessly.
More importantly, they had a significant physical advantage, resembling a wrestling team with their large builds.
On the morning of the match, Kyle and Cona went to the Great Hall for breakfast.
As soon as they entered, they found themselves in the middle of an argument between two groups of students. It wasn't Harry and Malfoy this time, but Ron and the Slytherin Chaser, Vase.
"What's going on?" Kyle asked quietly.
"Oh, it's that Slytherin song about the Weasleys," Ryan, who had arrived earlier, explained. "Harper is organizing a choir, and they just happened to walk in on it."
'Weasley's Song', a mocking song about Ron, designed to torment his mental state, with lyrics that changed every month but always revolved around him.
Since last year, Slytherin had been singing it repeatedly whenever Gryffindor had a match, and it had proven to be highly effective.
Whenever Ron got nervous, he would become a sieve, constantly dropping the Quaffle.
Slytherin was likely using the same tactic to disrupt Gryffindor's performance.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn right after Ryan finished speaking. Kyle saw Crabbe stumble and fall, as if he had stepped on something slippery, crashing into the person in front of him.
Then, he collided with another person, setting off a chain reaction.
Before Kyle knew it, the Slytherins who were standing together started falling one after another, entangled with each other, and screaming in pain.
Vase, trapped beneath the pile, turned purple, frantically waving his arms in an attempt to free himself.
Ron burst into laughter at the sight.
"Weren't you just singing happily? Why stop now..."
He strolled over to the Gryffindor table, with Lavender bouncing excitedly beside him, her eyes filled with admiration.
"Oh, they've made up so quickly?" Neville asked, approaching from behind, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"What do you mean?" Kyle inquired.
"I don't know," he replied. "Just now, Ron and Lavender had a big argument in the Common Room, apparently because of Romilda Vane. Lavender was furious, and Ron didn't explain, insisting it was all a misunderstanding."
"I thought they'd keep arguing, but who would've thought they'd make up in less than twenty minutes? It's...amazing?"
Neville shook his head, at a loss for words.
Kyle also found it rather astonishing, but he didn't pay it much mind. Perhaps Ron had told the truth.
Those who frequently indulged in Love Potion knew that such feelings were uncontrollable, and whatever actions they took shouldn't be considered strange.
The two of them made their way to the Hufflepuff table and sat down.
"Who do you think will win this time?" Conna asked.
"Probably Gryffindor," Kyle answered, "if Harry performs as usual."
By now, Vasay had been pulled out, but his arm seemed broken, meaning he couldn't participate.
With this, both Slytherin and Gryffindor were missing a key player, and the situation returned to the initial balance.
The two chatted as they ate breakfast.
Soon, the messenger arrived.
A large flock of owls flew into the Great Hall, one after another, delivering letters and packages to everyone.
Among them, three owls caught everyone's attention as they flew side by side, holding a rope together, with a large package tied beneath it, heading straight for Hufflepuff.
The round package landed on the table with a thud, rolling forward for two circles while making a dull sound, knocking over several plates and a pitcher of pumpkin juice along the way.
"Oh, these owls are definitely not from the post office; they're too rude," Mickey said, wiping his face after getting splashed with pumpkin juice, unable to hide his curiosity as he stared at the package.
"Who's this for?"
"There's a letter with it; you'll know once you see the name," Ryan leaned in, "Hogwarts Great Hall, Hufflepuff Table, Miss Conna Prince..."
"Conna, what did you buy?"
"Huh?" At Ryan's words, Conna, who had also been curious about the package, suddenly froze, "For me?"
"Of course, your name is on the letter," Ryan handed it over, "Didn't you know?"
"I didn't know, and I didn't buy anything," Conna took the letter, puzzled.
With just a glance, she understood what was going on.
"It's from the Elite Potion Masters."
Conna suddenly became excited, gripping Kyle's arm with enthusiasm, "They said I passed...I've become an official member of the Elite Potion Masters!"
A collective gasp filled the air, and everyone instinctively turned to look.
Although some of the younger wizards didn't know what the Elite Potion Masters were, the astonished expressions on the faces of the sixth and seventh-year students hinted that it was an extraordinary organization.
"Congratulations," Kyle said with a smile, "But didn't you already know? Professor Slughorn hinted at it during the first Potions class."
"That's different," Conna said solemnly: "Until the actual results are out, everything else is just speculation."
Conna held the letter and read it again, simultaneously emptying the envelope of its other contents.
It was a delicate blue badge with a smoking cauldron, the symbol of the Elite Potion Masters.
Professor Slughorn wore an identical badge on his robe, which he donned at every party.
"That's amazing," Ryan exclaimed, "You must be the youngest member, I remember Professor Slughorn saying so."
"For now, I suppose so," Conna nodded. "Kyle, I sense a hint of disappointment in you."
"I am a bit," Kyle admitted, "I thought they'd be more formal, but they sent it by owl."
"You thought this was a Order of Merlin Medal?" Conna asked, slightly annoyed.
Kyle shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
Even though Conna hadn't received a formal ceremony, it was still an impressive achievement. If Professor Slughorn had presented it, it would have been more ceremonious, and perhaps Hufflepuff could have even earned a hundred points!
"Wait, did you forget about this package?" Justin suddenly spoke up.
Upon his reminder, Conna remembered that there was also a package delivered alongside the letter.
Meanwhile, the commotion had attracted the curiosity of others.
"What's this?" Seamus approached and asked.
"I don't know, the letter didn't mention it," Conna shook her head.
"Can we open it?" Mickey asked eagerly.
"Of course, no problem," Conna replied, "I'm curious too.
After receiving Conna's consent, Mickey immediately opened the package.
However, as he peeled off the last layer of parchment and saw the contents inside, a disappointed expression appeared on his face.
"They're so stingy." Mickey muttered, "Conna, you might be disappointed. They only sent you an old cauldron."
"Tsk, it's just a cauldron, can't they even afford a new one?"
It wasn't that bad... Kyle instinctively glanced over.
The package wasn't fully unwrapped, only half of it was exposed.
It was indeed a cauldron, but it was red and covered in scratches as if scraped by a knife, looking old and worn at first glance.
But it was just an appearance.
"This isn't an old cauldron..." Kyle reached out and touched the cauldron, and a warm sensation came from his fingertips, as if he were touching the wall next to the fireplace.
Mickey also touched it.
"Strange, is this cauldron used before? This is even more outrageous."
"No, this is a Fire Crab shell." Kyle explained, "This material has excellent heat conduction properties, able to absorb and evenly distribute the flame's temperature in the shortest time, and it's recognized as the best cauldron in the magical world, made from Fire Crab shell."
After Kyle's explanation, everyone suddenly realized.
"So they're not stingy?"
"On the contrary." Kyle raised his eyebrows, "This cauldron isn't cheap."
"How much is it?" Someone asked.
"I don't know." Kyle shook his head, "I've never bought one, and in most cases, most people don't need such a thing. A regular cauldron is sufficient."
Hearing Kyle's explanation, the others didn't pay much attention. In their opinion, it was just a cauldron, not a golden one, so how expensive could it be?
"I take back what I said..."
Kyle looked at Conna and smiled, "Even such a good thing was directly delivered by owl, seems like they truly don't care about ceremonies and such."
"You can use this to brew potions in the future, and the effect will be much better than a regular cauldron."
"Forget it." Conna shook her head, "I'm afraid that if I get used to it, I won't be able to use a regular cauldron anymore."
"Moreover, Professor Snape and Professor Slughorn are also members of the Elite Potion Masters Association, and they also use regular cauldrons, right?"
"It's not the same." Kyle shook his head and lowered his voice, "I dare not speak of others, but when Professor Snape brews the Phoenix Potion, he definitely uses the Fire Crab cauldron. You'll definitely need it too, better get used to it beforehand."
"Actually, I originally wanted to send you a Fire Crab cauldron for your birthday, but now it seems I have to think of another gift."
...
Through word of mouth among the Hufflepuff students, the news of Conna becoming an official member of the Elite Potion Masters Association instantly became the hottest topic in the hall, even surpassing the upcoming Quidditch match.
However, since they knew that the members of the Elite Potion Masters Association were few, this topic was like a gust of wind, blowing for a moment before passing, and then returning to the focus on Quidditch.
"You go ahead, I'll tell Professor Snape this good news, he'll definitely be very happy."
When everyone was preparing to go to the Quidditch pitch, Conna suddenly spoke up.
"Ah, yeah..." Kyle pouted and said casually.
There was no way, although everyone had the same starting point, but thinking that Snape would be happy made him unhappy.
At this point, Snape was probably the same.
But Conna insisted on going, so Kyle could only accompany Ryan and Mickey to the pitch, and they took a spot in the front row, leaving a space for Conna.
"Look."
As the players from both sides entered the field, Mickey suddenly pointed below and said, "The Slytherin team's Seeker isn't here either."
Kyle also noticed.
Malfoy wasn't in the team, and in his position stood a stranger, looking young, probably a newly recruited player.
Malfoy didn't come to the match?
Kyle almost instinctively took out the Marauder's Map.
Since most people were at the pitch, the situation in the castle could be seen at a glance.
Seeing Malfoy's name appearing in the library, and there were quite a few people around, Kyle finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, if Malfoy wanted to do something, he definitely wouldn't choose to go to the library, a place with many people. Moreover, it wasn't easy to escape Madam Pince's watchful eyes, as she could always notice everyone's subtle movements at the first moment.
But what was Malfoy doing in the library, was he searching for something?
Kyle hesitated for a while, but still closed the Marauder's Map and continued to stay here to watch the match.
With Dumbledore and Snape watching, he didn't need to join in the excitement, better focus on his own tasks.
At this moment, the ceremony of the team captains shaking hands had begun below.
"Both main players are absent, including the most important Seeker..."
Ryan beside him said sourly, "Gryffindor's luck is really good."
(End of Chapter)
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