https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-752-Introducing-the-Professor-to-the-World/13013097/
Chapter 753: Sweet and Refreshing Pudding
Chapter 753: Sweet and Refreshing Pudding
"Professor McGonagall, what do you think...?"
Two hours later, Kyle and the professors left the Room of Requirement just in time for the curfew.
"Undoubtedly, this is undoubtedly Rowena Ravenclaw's work," Professor McGonagall said. "Aside from this statement, I can't think of anyone else capable of such a feat."
"Should I inform you when I come tomorrow, then?" Kyle asked.
After all, there was only one key, and he didn't want to entrust it to others. If anyone else wanted to visit the Room of Requirement, they would have to come together.
"No need..."
"You can come alone..."
To Kyle's surprise, all four professors declined his suggestion.
"Do you find this strange?" Professor Babbling asked with a hint of a smile.
"A little," Kyle replied honestly.
Although Ravenclaw's memories primarily focused on Runes, the professors at Hogwarts were no ordinary wizards and witches. They couldn't possibly not understand... At least Professor Babbling certainly had no issues.
But like Professor McGonagall, she refused the invitation to visit again.
"It's like this..." Professor Babbling explained, "We are different from you. Our understanding of magic has formed a system, and this system has been with us for most of our lives. It's difficult to change."
"And more importantly, this is your supplementary lesson," Professor McGonagall added, "I believe Rowena Ravenclaw specifically tailored and filtered the lessons. All the classes are customized for you... They suit you but not us."
"So, there's absolutely no benefit for us?" Kyle furrowed his brows.
He had initially hoped to use this "supplementary lesson" to enhance the overall combat capabilities of Hogwarts.
"Not at all, I'm just saying the content isn't suitable for us." Professor McGonagall's expression turned serious. "But their unique insights into Runes and their entirely different concepts from modern Transfiguration are still very valuable for reference.
"I've gained a lot, but I need time to slowly organize these insights and concepts, attempting to integrate them into my magic. This isn't something that can be done in a day or two."
"Me too," Professor Flitwick said in a high-pitched voice, "I've been inspired, and I might revisit that paper on wandless magic from ten years ago.
"Due to certain reasons, my ideas couldn't be put into practice, but just now, I saw another possibility."
"Thank you, Kyle," Professor Flitwick happily patted Kyle on the back.
...This was the highest he could reach.
"Is that so?" Seeing that the professors had gained something, Kyle didn't say more.
As for Professor Sprout, she wasn't interested in spells, only in magical plants... Unfortunately, there were no Herbology classes a thousand years ago, and the potted plants in the school couldn't be brought out.
This was quite embarrassing.
She was the only one without any gains, but Professor Sprout herself didn't mind much.
...
With the professors' permission, Kyle no longer had to consider other issues.
For several weeks after, he would arrive early in the morning and stay until late at night in the Room of Requirement.
Sometimes, if it was too late, he would even stay there.
After all, the Room of Requirement replicated Hogwarts, including the common rooms of the different houses.
Everyone knew the way into the Hufflepuff common room, and it had never changed. Kyle easily knocked on the wooden door.
Unlike the common room in his memories, there were only nine dormitories here, and not a single person in sight.
This felt a bit strange, but it was fine for a temporary stay.
During this time, Kyle could clearly sense his Rune skills improving, step by step. It wasn't a sudden leap but more like climbing stairs—each step was clear, and this feeling left Kyle satisfied and wanting more. He almost didn't want to leave.
But that was impossible.
The restriction Rowena Ravenclaw placed on the Room of Requirement blocked not only others but also house-elves.
They couldn't deliver food inside.
If Kyle wanted to eat, he had to go out.
But these were minor issues. He just treated it as a regular class schedule. The only difference was that it was always daytime in the Room of Requirement, and even if it was night outside, he could still go to the classrooms.
However, to ensure he maintained his energy, Kyle would usually stay until 11 p.m. and return to the common room for a late-night snack. He would then come back the next morning.
Also, because he frequently appeared in the Great Hall, and the professors helped explain his absence from classes, there wasn't much discussion about it outside.
Everyone assumed he was studying in his way, especially since it wasn't unusual for seventh-year students, especially high-achieving ones, to make such decisions.
Some even spent their entire seventh year interning at the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office, like Nymphadora Tonks, also from Hufflepuff.
Everyone had gotten used to such occurrences.
...
Under these circumstances, half of April quickly passed by.
The weather turned hot. Clear skies appeared above the castle towers, but these signs of summer's arrival didn't bring much cheer to Hogwarts.
Many students have noticed that their recent assignments have become increasingly challenging.
At some point, the professors started including rare and obscure topics in their homework assignments.
Sometimes, they would spend an hour in the Library just to understand the requirements.
"Professor McGonagall must have forgotten that we just took our O.W.L.s last year, and we won't be preparing for the N.E.W.T.s until next year," Ron complained in the Library. "Hermione, could you please tell me what the 'Gamp's Definition' is? I only know about Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. Did they change the name or something?"
"Of course not," Hermione replied, her head buried in a thick book, speaking quickly. "The Gamp's Definition is the theoretical foundation for human transfiguration and also covers all the possible scenarios that might occur during human transfiguration... You can look it up yourself; it's in the book 'The Lion and the Wizard.'"
"Thanks," Ron muttered, finding the brown transfiguration reference book.
Beside him, Harry was practicing wandless spellcasting, which was also part of his Charms homework.
It was hard to fathom what Professor Flitwick was thinking. Starting last week, he had suddenly asked everyone to attempt wandless spellcasting in class, and without incantations, no less.
It was genuinely challenging.
Harry felt like his arms were about to fall off, but the parchment on the table had barely moved, and he even suspected it might have been the wind.
"Come on... Is Professor Flitwick's method even working?" Harry grumbled.
"It definitely works," Hermione said, looking up at him. "I managed to do it in class. First, you need to calm down and silently recite the incantation in your mind, and absolutely do not think about anything else!"
Harry tried several more times, but to no avail. He rubbed his sore arms in frustration.
"No way, the Quidditch match is coming up... This year is Gryffindor's best chance to win the championship. I can't help but think about it."
"Quidditch again," Hermione muttered, clearly not understanding. "Can't you guys think about something other than Quidditch? You could learn from Kyle; he didn't participate in the last Hufflepuff match, but they still won."
"It was a close call," Harry corrected. "If the match had gone on for five more minutes, the outcome would have been different."
"Am I analyzing the match for you?" Hermione raised her voice but quickly closed her mouth.
She instinctively looked around.
Fortunately, due to the increasing difficulty of the assignments, the Library was bustling with students, all flipping through books and muttering complaints under their breath. Even if Madam Pince scolded them, they would still flip through the books vigorously to vent their frustrations.
So her voice didn't stand out too much.
"Listen, if you want to fulfill Professor Flitwick's requirements in the next class, you need to focus and forget about the match," Hermione said. "Maybe you can learn from Kyle and put yourself in the position of a substitute player."
"That's impossible," Ron interrupted before Harry could speak. "Don't forget that Harry is the best Seeker and the most crucial player. If he doesn't participate, we're doomed."
"Are you saying Professor Flitwick's homework isn't important?" Hermione countered without yielding. "There have been questions about wandless spellcasting in the N.E.W.T.s for the past five years, including last year. Don't you want your certificate?"
"It's just a small part of the entire exam, it's not that serious," Ron said nonchalantly. "Besides, the N.E.W.T.s are still a long way off."
Although Harry didn't speak, he silently agreed with Ron.
Giving up Quidditch? It was impossible; he knew he couldn't do it.
But Hermione probably guessed as much, shooting them a displeased look and snatching her homework back.
"Then you two will have to figure it out on your own, Mr. Quidditch," she said, standing up and leaving the Library with two books in her arms without looking back.
"Why is she angry again?" Ron muttered.
"You really shouldn't have argued with her," Harry sighed, regretting that he hadn't stopped Ron earlier.
After all, Hermione held the key to their homework, and arguing with her would bring no benefits. That was why he hadn't said a word.
Why couldn't Ron learn from past experiences?
The current assignments were much more challenging than before. Without Hermione's help, could they really finish on time? Harry sighed again at the thought.
Ron was a bit regretful too, but for the sake of his pride, he stubbornly said, "So what? We'll just do it ourselves."
"Hey, Harry, did you get Professor Slughorn's real memory?"
"Not yet," Harry said, feeling even worse. "He seems to be on guard against me. Whenever we're alone, he quickly finds an excuse to leave, and this has happened several times."
"You're just a bit unlucky," a voice said from the side.
It was Hermione, who had returned. She sorted through the books on the table and picked out three more, preparing to take them to Madam Pince.
"Or you can try again," Hermione continued after a pause. "Tomorrow is the Easter holiday, which is a good opportunity. I think you should give it another shot."
"I've tried many times," Harry said. "He's been avoiding me, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Then try again. You'll succeed eventually." Hermione said and went to borrow a book from Madam Pince, completely ignoring Ron as if he wasn't there, as if Harry was the only one present."
...
In the evening, a grand Easter Feast was held in the Great Hall.
Although the Easter break was as long as the Christmas holidays, two weeks, no one chose to leave school to go home. Not a single person. Everyone decided to stay at Hogwarts.
The Death Eaters' activities outside became more frequent. According to the Prophet Daily's descriptions, the Death Eaters were no longer content with hiding. They took to the streets, spreading fear everywhere.
The battles between Death Eaters and Aurors were almost incessant. People went missing daily, and the Dark Mark, which had disappeared for over a decade, now appeared in the sky above a house every few days.
Even if someone wanted to go home for the holidays, they would be strictly stopped by their family, who would instruct them to stay at Hogwarts.
At the dining table, Kyle was enjoying the chocolate eggs specially prepared by the house-elves. He turned his head to look towards the staff table.
As expected, Dumbledore was still absent, but this time, Professor Snape remained. When Kyle looked over, Snape happened to glance his way as well.
Their gazes met in mid-air and then, in tacit understanding, turned away to focus on other things.
It's worth mentioning that Professor Snape already knew about the Room of Requirement, as Professor McGonagall had informed him.
During this time, Professor McGonagall visited the Room of Requirement twice, and on her second visit, she brought Professor Snape along.
However, since Kyle held the key, even though Professor Snape was very interested, he didn't say a word, seemingly waiting for Kyle to take the initiative.
Would Kyle indulge him?
Of course not! He acted as if he didn't see Professor Snape at all and, with Professor McGonagall, entered the Room of Requirement and slammed the door shut.
This made Professor Snape feel very uncomfortable. After that incident, Professor McGonagall had no intention of returning to the Room of Requirement anytime soon, so if Professor Snape wanted to go, he would have to find Kyle himself.
He regretted more than once why he had left school over a trivial matter. If he had stayed with the other professors, he wouldn't need to find excuses now.
...
As for Dumbledore, he also learned about the events at the school from Professor McGonagall's letter and hurried back that very evening.
However, coincidentally, that night, Kyle had stayed up all night in the Room of Requirement because he couldn't understand a particular concept.
When Kyle came out for lunch the next day, Dumbledore had also left the school ten minutes earlier for other matters.
This situation occurred more than once. Every time Dumbledore returned, Kyle had just spent the night in the Room of Requirement.
This made Dumbledore feel very uneasy and even suspect that Kyle was doing it on purpose.
But Dumbledore was overthinking.
Kyle had no idea that a centenarian had waited for him at the door for several nights. He was simply following his own pace.
"How do you plan to spend your holiday?" Cona asked, picking a piece of pudding. "Are you going to the Room of Requirement again?"
"Of course," Kyle replied. "Why don't you come along? I think the Rune Class there is quite suitable for you. Although it's not exactly easy to understand, it's not too difficult either, and it's very comprehensive.
"After you study there for a while, you should be able to understand other classes as well."
"Okay," Cona agreed after a moment's hesitation. She didn't have much else to do, so learning Runes was a good idea.
"But, Kyle..." She hesitated, "Can we bring Professor Snape along this time?"
"Why?" Kyle asked.
"He's asked me several times, and he keeps getting distracted. I think he's also curious about the Room of Requirement."
"Then why doesn't he come to me directly?" Kyle cleared his throat and said, "He's a professor. If he asked me to take him there, I definitely wouldn't refuse... But he didn't say anything, so he must not be interested."
Cona rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on when it came to the relationship between Professor Snape and Kyle...
How long had they been competing with each other like this, yet they still seemed to enjoy it so much? Did they never get tired of it?
"How about this," Cona turned to look at Professor Snape, who was subtly glancing their way. She sighed, "I can speak on behalf of Professor Snape."
"Hmm... I'll consider it," Kyle said, stroking his chin.
But then, he felt a warm sensation on his cheek, along with the sweet scent of pudding.
"What about this, then?" Cona asked.
"Cough, sure..." Kyle said without thinking, "No problem, I'll take care of it."
He subconsciously glanced at the staff table.
Professor Snape must have seen Cona kiss Kyle's cheek just now, and he immediately exploded with anger, his whole body exuding a thick, gloomy aura as if he was about to rush over and cast a series of deadly curses on Kyle.
But was Kyle afraid?
Not at all. He even smirked at Professor Snape.
Professor Snape was so angry that he crushed the potato in his hand into a mash and kept kneading it.
"Do you have to provoke him?" Cona shook her head helplessly, observing their subtle interactions.
"Sorry, it's a reflex," Kyle quickly composed himself, turning away from Professor Snape.
(End of Chapter)
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