Chapter 75: Kyle's Garden
Chapter 75: Kyle's Garden
With Kyle's help, Hagrid finally managed to deliver all the Christmas trees to the Great Hall before the feast.
By the time they arrived, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were already waiting in the hall.
"Hagrid, you're just in time," said Professor McGonagall. "These are the last two trees... Oh, wonderful floating charm, Mr. Jordan. Five points to Hufflepuff."
Professor Flitwick, who had been wondering how Hagrid was managing to carry two Christmas trees with such ease, now realized that Kyle was by his side, wand in hand.
"If the end-of-term exam were on the floating charm... I would give you an 'Outstanding' right now," Professor Flitwick said to Kyle, winking. He then used the same charm to take the two spruce trees and place them in their proper positions.
Professor McGonagall, meanwhile, hung the mistletoe with trailing garlands, filling the last remaining gaps on the walls.
A few minutes later, a flood of students poured into the Great Hall, and the feast officially began.
During the meal, Cedric looked at Kyle in surprise. "You're not going home for Christmas?"
Kyle nodded. "Yeah, there's no one at home. It's not really worth it. I'd rather stay here at Hogwarts."
Chris was busy returning the magical creatures they had caught earlier to their natural habitats, and he was currently traveling the world with his grandpa, Newt.
The Department of Mysteries seemed to be on an excursion as well. Diana had sent him a letter a few days ago saying that she might not make it back for Christmas, but she assured him that his gift would arrive on time.
With both Chris and Diana away, Kyle figured he might as well stay at Hogwarts, where he could at least keep himself occupied. He could spend time with Levi and maybe water the two ornamental plants he was tending.
"Why don't you come to my place, then?" Cedric suggested. "My dad would love to have you."
"Maybe next time," Kyle shook his head. "I just promised Hagrid that I'd help him take care of the animals during the break."
Cedric looked a little disappointed.
Kyle, on the other hand, was relieved. To be honest, he really didn't want to face Mr. Diggory, a parent who loved to show off his child's accomplishments, let alone spend two weeks with him.
Just thinking about it gave Kyle a headache. He felt that Chris was already doing his part in enduring that treatment.
To divert Cedric's attention and help him forget about the topic, Kyle turned to Connor, who was sitting next to them, and asked, "What about you, Connor? Are you going home for the holidays?"
Connor shook her head gently without saying a word.
Seeing this, Kyle didn't ask any further questions.
...
After the feast, the term came to an end.
The next day, the young wizards boarded the train back to King's Cross Station.
Michael and Ryan also left, leaving Kyle alone in the dormitory. Even the usually bustling common room was now much quieter.
This feeling wasn't so bad.
Kyle sat on a sofa near the fireplace, roasting a potato with its skin on. Next to him were some flatbreads, mushrooms, and thinly sliced beef.
When Kyle had gone to the kitchen to get these ingredients, the house-elves had offered to cook them for him, but he had refused.
All he wanted was to go through the process of cooking, and of course, to eat.
Kyle held the roasting fork and waited for the potato to turn black before taking it out.
After letting it cool down, he peeled the skin and took a bite. It was sweet and soft—delicious.
However, he might not have cooked it long enough, as the center was still raw.
Kyle scooped out the raw part with a spoon and tossed it to a mouse not far away.
As if to spite him, the mouse named Pocky glanced at the undercooked potato chunk and turned away, showing no interest in tasting it.
"Wow, a picky eater," Kyle felt a little embarrassed. Turning to Connor, he suggested sincerely, "I think you should starve it for a few meals."
Ignoring him, Connor left the common room with Pocky.
It was the Christmas break, and with the caretaker's cat unlikely to be roaming the castle corridors, she decided to take this opportunity to take her pet out for a walk around Hogwarts.
After being here for so long, it wasn't good to keep it cooped up in the dormitory all the time.
After Connor left, Kyle was alone in the room. Feeling a bit bored, he finished the food in front of him and then headed up to the Room of Requirement.
Thanks to Kyle's three months of hard work, in addition to the biting blue borage, there were now several new plants: sweet woodruff, dittany, belladonna, mistletoe, sneezewort... and a beautiful hydrangea.
The first three weren't particularly noteworthy, as they were common magical plants that could be bought in Hogsmeade. Kyle had simply asked someone to bring him a large bag of their seeds.
As for the last one... it came from the Hufflepuff common room.
One night, Kyle couldn't resist and snipped a small branch bearing a flower bud from the lush hydrangea...
It was truly a tiny branch, only about an inch long, and it wouldn't have any impact on the plant.
He had initially planted it here just to see if it would take root, and he was surprised to find that it had indeed survived.
Although it still looked small, Kyle was satisfied; as long as it lived, it would eventually grow.
Kyle walked straight to the very center of the room.
The biting blue borage thrived under his care. In just three months, they had grown from seeds into spheres the size of snitches, their gaping mouths filled with sharp teeth that looked powerful enough to deliver a substantial bite.
Kyle loosened the soil around them and shooed away a Billywig that had been hovering over his head.
"I'm busy right now, so go play over there," he told the insect.
A few days earlier, he had accidentally rescued this Billywig from becoming Mrs. Norris' lunch.
The little creature had a long gash on its body, likely from the cat's claws... So, Kyle brought it here and used the dittany to help treat its wound.
And then... it decided to stick around.
Fortunately, the Billywig was well-behaved. After Kyle spoke, it obediently flew to the side, just as instructed.
The room was quite spacious, filled with many magical plants, and most importantly, it lacked the presence of a certain high-jumping cat, which the Billywig seemed to enjoy...
After tending to the biting blue borage, Kyle walked around the room.
He still felt that the room was a bit empty. Although he had plenty of sweet woodruff and dittany seeds, he felt that it would be a waste to fill such a wonderful space with only common magical plants.
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Kyle gazed at the large empty space he had deliberately left on the left side of the room.
If he remembered correctly, they should be learning about Devil's Snare in their Herbology class soon.
...
(End of Chapter)
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