Chapter 75: Kyle's Greenhouse
Chapter 75: Kyle's Greenhouse
With Kyle's help, Hagrid finally managed to deliver all the Christmas trees to the Great Hall just in time for the feast.
When they arrived, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were already waiting in the Great Hall.
"Hagrid, you're just in time. These are the last two... Oh, wonderful Levitation Charm, Mr. Joe, Hufflepuff gets five points," Professor McGonagall said as she noticed Hagrid effortlessly carrying two Christmas trees.
Professor Flitwick, who was curious about Hagrid's strength, realized upon closer inspection that Kyle was standing nearby, wand in hand.
"If the final exam was on Levitation Charms, I could give you an 'O' right now," Professor Flitwick said to Kyle.
He winked at Kyle and then used the Levitation Charm to take the two fir trees from Hagrid and place them in their appropriate spots.
Professor McGonagall then took the mistletoe and wove it into garlands, filling the last gaps on the walls.
A few minutes later, a large number of students began to flood into the Great Hall, and the feast officially began.
At the dining table, Cedric looked at Kyle in surprise, "What? You're not going home for Christmas?"
Kyle nodded, "I can't. There's no one at home, so it's not much fun to go back. I might as well stay at Hogwarts."
Chris was responsible for returning the magical creatures they had caught to their original habitats and had been traveling around with Newt for some time.
The Department of Mysteries seemed to be on an assignment as well. A few days ago, Diana had sent him a letter saying that she might not be able to come back for Christmas, but the gifts would definitely arrive on time.
With both Chris and Diana away, there was no point in Kyle going home either. He might as well stay at Hogwarts, where he could at least have something to do.
For example, he could spend some time with Neville or take care of his two ornamental plants.
"Why don't you come to my house?" Cedric suggested after some thought. "My father would definitely welcome 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.
On the contrary, Kyle was relieved. To be honest, he didn't want to face Mr. Diggory, the baby-crazed maniac, let alone spend two weeks with him.
Just thinking about it gave Kyle a headache. One Chris was enough to deal with that treatment.
To divert Cedric's attention and help him forget about the topic, Kyle turned to Cona, who was sitting next to them, and asked, "What about you, Cona? Are you going home for the holidays?"
Cona didn't speak, she just shook her head lightly.
Seeing this, Kyle didn't ask any further.
...
After the feast, the semester came to an end.
The next day, the young wizards boarded the train back to King's Cross Station.
Michael and Ryan also went home, leaving Kyle alone in the dormitory, and even the usually bustling common room was much quieter.
This feeling wasn't bad either.
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 went to the kitchen to get these ingredients, the house elves offered to cook them for him, but he declined.
He only wanted to go through the process, and eating was secondary.
Kyle held the roasting fork, waiting for the potato to turn black before taking it out.
After letting it cool down, he peeled off the skin and took a bite. It was deliciously sweet and soft.
However, the cooking time might not have been perfect, as the center was still raw.
Kyle used a spoon to scoop out the raw part and tossed it to a mouse nearby.
"Kyle..." Conna glared at him, "Don't feed Pochy those strange things!"
"It's just a potato, nothing strange about it," Kyle waved dismissively. "Besides, who's ever heard of a mouse that doesn't eat potatoes?"
As if to spite him, Pochy, the mouse, glanced at the half-cooked potato and then wandered off, showing no interest in tasting it.
"Wow, a picky mouse," Kyle's pride took a hit, and he said to Conna earnestly, "I think you should starve it for a few meals."
Conna ignored him and left the common room with Pochy.
It was the Christmas holiday, and the caretaker's cat wouldn't be roaming the castle corridors all the time, so she decided to take this opportunity to take her pet for a walk and show it around Hogwarts.
After being here for so long, it couldn't stay locked up in the dormitory all the time.
After Conna left, the common room was empty except for Kyle. Feeling bored, he finished the food in his hand and decided not to stay there. Instead, he got up and headed to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor.
After three months of Kyle's efforts, in addition to the Spikeweed, there were also Borage, Fennel, Mistletoe, Sneezewort, and a beautiful Lacy Bellflower.
◇6◇9◇Book◇Bar◇
The first three were common magical plants, and their seeds could be bought in Hogsmeade. Kyle simply asked someone to bring back a large bag of them.
As for the last one... it came from the Hufflepuff common room.
One night, Kyle couldn't resist and snipped a small branch with a flower bud from the lush Lacy Bellflower...
It was indeed a very small branch, only about an inch long, and wouldn't have any impact on the plant.
He had initially planted it here just to see if it would work, and he was surprised that it had actually succeeded.
Although it still looked small, Kyle was satisfied. As long as it survived, it would grow over time.
Kyle went straight to the center of the room.
The Spikeweed was thriving, and in three months, they had grown from seeds to the size of a walking ball. Their wide-open mouths revealed rows of sharp teeth that looked very powerful, and a bite from them would surely pack a punch.
Kyle loosened the soil for the Spikeweed and shooed away the Billywig that had been hovering over his head.
"I'm busy right now, so go play somewhere else."
A few days ago, he had rescued this Billywig from Mrs. Norris's mouth, just in time to save it from becoming lunch.
At that time, the little guy had a long cut on his body, probably from being caught by Mrs. Norris... Kyle brought it here and used Borage to help treat it.
Then... it just stayed and wouldn't leave.
Fortunately, the little guy was obedient. After Kyle finished speaking, it flew obediently to the side.
The room was spacious, with many magical plants, and most importantly, there was no cat jumping around. The Billywig liked it here.
After loosening the soil for the Spikeweed, Kyle turned and walked around the room.
He still felt the room was a bit empty. Although he had plenty of Borage and Fennel seeds in his hand, he felt that it would be a waste to only plant these common magical plants in such a great place.
Kyle stroked his chin and looked thoughtfully at the large empty space on the left side of the room, which he had intentionally left vacant.
If he remembered correctly, the Herbology class should be learning about Devil's Snare soon.
...
(End of Chapter)
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