https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-752-Showing-the-Professor-a-Different-World/12539358/
Chapter 753: Sweet Pudding
Chapter 753: Sweet Pudding
"Professor McGonagall, what do you think...?"
Two hours later, Kyle and the professors left the Room of Requirement just before curfew.
"Without a doubt, this is indeed Rowena Ravenclaw's doing," Professor McGonagall said. "Aside from her, I can't imagine anyone else capable of achieving this."
"So, should I notify you when I come tomorrow?" Kyle asked.
After all, there was only one key, and since he didn't want to entrust it to anyone else, he had to go with the professors if he wanted to visit the Room of Requirement.
"That won't be necessary..."
"You can go on your own..."
To Kyle's surprise, all four professors turned down his suggestion.
"Do you find that strange?" Professor Burbage asked with a hint of a smile.
"A little," Kyle admitted.
Although Ravenclaw's memories were primarily in Ancient Runes, the Hogwarts professors were no slouches either, and it was unlikely that they couldn't understand... at least Professor Burbage certainly had no issues.
Yet, like Professor McGonagall, she had refused the invitation to return without hesitation.
"It's like this..." Professor Burbage explained, "Our understanding of magic has already formed a system, and this understanding has permeated our entire lives. It's difficult to change."
"And more importantly," Professor McGonagall continued, "this is your makeup lesson. Lady Rowena Ravenclaw likely made adjustments and selections specifically for you... It suits you, but not us."
"Is it really of no help at all?" Kyle frowned.
He had originally hoped to use this "makeup lesson" to improve Hogwarts' overall combat capability.
"Of course not," Professor McGonagall's expression turned serious. "I'm just saying that the content isn't suitable for us. However, their unique insights into Transfiguration and their ideology, which is completely different from modern Transfiguration magic, are worth referencing."
"I gained a lot, but I need time to slowly organize these insights and ideas and try to incorporate them into my magic. It can't be done in a day or two."
"I feel the same," Professor Flitwick piped in. "I've been inspired to revisit that essay on wandless spellcasting theory from ten years ago.
"Previously, due to certain reasons, I couldn't put my ideas into practice, but just now, I saw another possibility."
"Thank you, Kyle," Professor Flitwick said happily as he patted Kyle's back.
...This was already the highest he could reach.
"Is that so?" Seeing that the professors had gained something from the experience, Kyle didn't say anything more.
As for Professor Sprout, she wasn't interested in Charms, only magical plants... Unfortunately, there weren't any Herbology classes a thousand years ago, and she couldn't take the potted plants displayed in the school with her.
This was quite embarrassing.
It could be said that she was the only one who didn't gain anything from this, but Professor Sprout herself didn't seem to mind.
...
With the professors' consent, Kyle no longer had to worry about any other issues.
For the next few weeks, he would go to the Room of Requirement early in the morning and only come out at night.
Sometimes, if it got too late, he would just stay there.
After all, the Room of Requirement had replicated a complete Hogwarts, which naturally included the common rooms of the different houses.
And everyone knew that the way to enter the Hufflepuff common room had never changed. Kyle easily opened the barrel door.
Unlike the common room in his memories, there were only nine dormitories here.
Moreover, perhaps because this place hadn't appeared in Ravenclaw's memories, the common room was empty.
This feeling was a bit strange, but it was fine for a temporary overnight stay.
During this time, Kyle could clearly feel that his Ancient Runes proficiency was gradually improving.
It wasn't a dramatic improvement, but more like climbing stairs—slow but with each step clearly felt. This feeling left Kyle very satisfied and even a little addicted, wishing he could stay there forever.
But that was impossible.
The lock that Rowena Ravenclaw had added to the Room of Requirement not only kept others out but also prevented house-elves from entering.
They couldn't bring food in.
If Kyle wanted to eat, he had to go out.
But these were minor issues. He just had to treat it like regular classes. The only difference was that it was always daytime in the Room of Requirement, so even if it was night outside, he could still go to the classroom to study.
However, to ensure he had sufficient energy every day, Kyle would usually only stay until eleven o'clock before returning to the common room for a late-night snack. He would then come back the next morning.
It was also because he frequently appeared in the Great Hall, and the professors helped to make excuses for him, that his absence from regular classes didn't cause much of a stir.
Everyone just thought he was studying in his own way. After all, it wasn't unusual for students, especially those with excellent grades, to make unusual decisions in their seventh year.
There were even students who spent their entire seventh year interning at the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic, such as Nifadora Tonks, who had also graduated from Hufflepuff.
People had gotten used to such occurrences.
...
In this way, half of April quietly passed.
The weather turned hot, and clear blue skies appeared above the castle towers. These signs of summer's approach didn't bring much cheer to Hogwarts.
"Professor McGonagall probably forgot that we just took our O.W.Ls last year and won't be preparing for N.E.W.Ts until next year," Ron grumbled in the library. "Hermione, do you know what the 'Gamper Definition' is? All I know is the Gamper Fundamental Principle of Transfiguration. Did they just change the name?"
"Of course not," Hermione said, her head buried in a thick book. "The Gamper Definition is the theoretical foundation for human transfiguration and also includes all possible situations that may arise during human transfiguration... Look it up yourself, it's in the book 'The Sorcerer and the Beast'."
"Thanks," Ron mumbled, finding the brown Transfiguration reference book.
Next to him, Harry was standing with a single finger raised, vigorously waving his arm.
He was practicing wandless spellcasting, also part of their Charms homework.
It was unclear what had gotten into Professor Flitwick's head, but starting last week, he had suddenly begun requiring everyone to attempt wandless spellcasting in class, and on top of that, they weren't allowed to utter the spell aloud.
It had to be said that this was truly difficult.
Harry felt like his arm was about to fall off, yet the parchment on the desk had barely moved, and he even suspected that it might have been the wind.
"Darn it... I wonder if Professor Flitwick's method even works!" Harry muttered.
"It definitely works," Hermione said, glancing up at him. "I did it in class. First, you need to calm yourself down and silently recite the spell in your mind, absolutely focusing on nothing else!"
Harry tried several more times but still to no avail. He helplessly rubbed his sore arm.
"No way, the Quidditch match is coming up soon... This year is Gryffindor's best chance at winning, I can't help but think about it," Harry said.
"Quidditch again." Hermione rolled her eyes, clearly not understanding. "Is there anything else besides Quidditch in your heads? Why don't you learn from Kyle? During Hufflepuff's last match, he didn't participate, but Hufflepuff still won."
"It was a narrow victory," Harry corrected. "If the match had gone on for another five minutes, the outcome would've been different."
"Am I analyzing the game with you?" Hermione raised her voice, then immediately closed her mouth.
She subconsciously looked around.
Fortunately, due to the increasingly difficult homework, many students were in the library, all flipping through books and quietly grumbling. Even when shushed by Madam Pince, they would forcefully turn the pages to vent their dissatisfaction.
So her raised voice wasn't particularly noticeable.
"Listen," Hermione said, "if you want to complete Professor Flitwick's assignment for the next class, you must concentrate and forget about the match. Maybe you can learn from Kyle and put yourself in the position of a substitute player."
"That's impossible," Ron interjected before Harry could speak. "Don't forget, Harry is the best Seeker, and the most important one. If he doesn't participate, we'll definitely lose."
"So, are you saying that Professor Flitwick's homework isn't important?" Hermione retorted, "Both last year and five years ago, there were questions about wandless spellcasting in the N.E.W.Ts. Don't you want your certificates?"
"It's just a small part of the entire exam, it's not that big of a deal," Ron said nonchalantly. "Besides, N.E.W.Ts are still a long way off."
Although Harry didn't say anything, he sided with Ron on this matter.
Giving up Quidditch? That was impossible; he knew he couldn't do it.
However, Hermione probably guessed as much and huffed, giving them a disapproving glance before yanking her homework back to her side of the table.
"Then good luck to you two... Mr. Quidditch." With that, she stood up, hugged two books to her chest, and marched out of the library without looking back.
"Why's she angry again?" Ron mumbled.
"You really shouldn't argue with her," Harry sighed, regretting that he hadn't stopped Ron earlier.
After all, Hermione held their homework in her hands, and arguing with her was of no benefit. That was why he hadn't said anything earlier.
Why couldn't Ron learn to hold his tongue?
The current homework was much harder than before, and without Hermione's help, could they even finish it on time? Harry sighed once more.
Ron also felt a bit of regret, but he stubbornly persisted, "So what? We'll just do it ourselves.
"By the way, Harry, have you gotten Slughorn's true memory yet?"
"Not yet," Harry said, feeling even worse. "He seems to be guarding against me. Whenever we're alone, he quickly finds an excuse to leave. It's happened several times."
"You're just lacking some luck." A voice piped up from nearby.
It was Hermione, who had returned with three more books in hand, ready to ask Madam Pince for help.
"Or you can try again," she continued after a brief pause. "Tomorrow is the Easter holiday, a good opportunity. I think you should try again."
"I've tried many times already.
...
In the evening, a grand Easter feast was held in the Great Hall.
Although the Easter holiday was two weeks long like Christmas, no one chose to go home this time, not a single person. Everyone decided to stay at Hogwarts.
Outside, Death Eaters were becoming increasingly active. From the descriptions in the Prophet, it seemed that the Death Eaters were no longer content with hiding. They had taken to the streets, spreading fear wherever they went.
Clashes between Death Eaters and Aurors were almost constant. People went missing daily, and the Dark Mark, which had been absent for over a decade, now reappeared over houses every few nights.
Because even if someone wanted to go home for the holidays, they would be sternly stopped by their families, who would urge them to stay at Hogwarts.
At the dinner table, Kyle ate the chocolate Easter eggs specially prepared by the house-elves while turning his head towards the teachers' table.
As expected, Dumbledore was still absent, but this time, Snape remained. When Kyle looked over, their eyes met in midair, and then both looked away as if in tacit agreement.
It is worth mentioning that Snape was now aware of the Room of Requirement's secrets, thanks to Professor McGonagall filling him in.
During this time, Professor McGonagall had visited the Room of Requirement twice, and on her second trip, she brought along Snape.
But since Kyle held the key, even though Snape was extremely curious, he didn't utter a word, seemingly waiting for Kyle to make the first move.
But would Kyle indulge him?
Of course not! He completely ignored Snape and, after entering the Room of Requirement with Professor McGonagall, slammed the door shut.
This left Snape in a foul mood.
Moreover, after that incident, Professor McGonagall didn't plan on visiting again anytime soon, so Snape would have to find an excuse to tag along with Kyle if he wanted to go.
He regretted more than once why he had left the school over a trivial matter earlier. If he had stayed with the other professors, he wouldn't need to find excuses now.
...
As for Dumbledore, he, too, had learned about the events at the school from Professor McGonagall's letters, and he rushed back that very night.
But as luck would have it, Kyle happened to pull an all-nighter in the Room of Requirement that night due to a crucial issue he couldn't figure out.
The next day at noon, when Kyle emerged for lunch, Dumbledore had also left the school just ten minutes earlier for other matters.
And this kind of situation occurred more than once. Every time Dumbledore returned, it coincided with Kyle spending the night in the Room of Requirement.
This left Dumbledore in a sour mood, and he even suspected that Kyle might be doing it on purpose.
However, Dumbledore was overthinking it.
Kyle had no idea that a centenarian had waited for him at the door for several nights. He was simply following his own pace with his studies.
"What are your plans for the holiday?" Connor asked as she picked up a piece of pudding. "Are you going to the Room of Requirement again?"
"Definitely." Kyle replied, "Why don't you join me? I feel that the Ancient Runes class there is perfect for you. Although it's not exactly easy to understand, it's not too difficult either, and it's very detailed.
"After you've studied for a while, you should be able to understand the other classes as well."
"Okay." Connor only hesitated slightly before nodding in agreement. After all, she didn't have anything else going on, and learning Ancient Runes would be a good use of her time.
"But, Kyle..." She suddenly remembered something and hesitated, "Do you think we could bring Professor Snape along this time?"
"Why?" Kyle asked.
"He's asked me several times, and he keeps getting distracted. I think he's curious about it too."
"Then why doesn't he come and ask me himself?" Kyle cleared his throat and pretended to be serious as he said, "He's a professor, and if he requests that I take him to have a look, I definitely won't refuse... But since he hasn't said anything, he must not be interested."
Connor rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on because of the dynamic between Snape and Kyle...
How long had they been competing with each other like this, and they were still so relentless about it? Didn't they ever get tired of it?
"How about this, I'll ask him on his behalf. Can I?" Connor turned to look at Snape, who was intentionally glancing their way, and sighed, "You know, I can fully represent Professor Snape."
"Hmm... I'll consider it." Kyle stroked his chin as he thought.
But the next second, he felt a soft, moist sensation on his cheek, along with the sweet taste of pudding.
"Then how about this?" Connor asked.
"Cough, yes... Of course..." Kyle blurted out, "No problem, leave it to me."
He subconsciously glanced at the teachers' table.
Snape must have seen the kiss Connor had just given Kyle, and he immediately erupted with a strong aura of dark magic, as if he was about to rush over and cast a set of deadly curses on Kyle.
But was Kyle scared?
Not only was he not intimidated, but he also smugly raised an eyebrow at Snape.
Snape was so angry that he crushed the baked potato in his hand into a pile of mush, kneading it over and over.
"Do you have to provoke him like that?" Connor shook her head helplessly as she watched their little interactions.
"Sorry, it was a reflex." Kyle quickly composed himself, suppressing his smile and turning away from Snape.
(End of Chapter)
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