A Thousand Parchments

Since joining the Quidditch team, Kyle has become quite busy.

He now has to attend classes and go to the library to read during the day, and at night he has to go out to the Restricted Section to copy books. He spends all the little time he manages to squeeze out on homework.

The second-grade homework is significantly more than last year. It seems the professors had agreed beforehand that, starting last week, the required length for their assignments changed from inches to feet.

In addition, his Quidditch training three nights a week also took up a lot of his time.

Harris is very strict in this regard, with each training session lasting at least three hours, and he can't return until curfew.

However, after several training sessions, Kyle and his teammates became increasingly coordinated.

Just today, he and Harris were already proficient in using Two-Way Attack.

This is a classic Quidditch tactic invented by the Wimbourne Wasps, a modified version of the Hawkshead Attacking Formation.

Two Chaser simultaneously fly towards the central goalpost and frequently pass the ball, then quickly separate to either side once they reach the scoring zone, thus confusing the goalkeeper's judgment.

After the training match ended, Kyle and Harris had scored a total of sixty goals. Hufflepuff's goalkeeper was almost questioning his existence and was carried back to the dormitory by the others with a blank look in his eyes.

"Cheer up, Fello! You're already one of the best goalkeepers in the school. Think about it, if you can't catch the ball, nobody else can!"

Harris, his face flushed, lifted Fello's right leg and said, "Our names will be engraved on the Quidditch Cup again this year, I promise!"

"Haha... Why isn't November here yet? I can't wait for the competition to start!"

The group returned to the castle in a grand procession, with Kyle following behind them, carrying his Broomstick.

As they passed the entrance to the Great Hall, they happened to run into Fred and George coming down from upstairs in the castle.

The two men's pockets were bulging, as if they were full of things.

After Harris and the others had walked away, Cedric raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice, "Curfew is about to start, are you guys going out for a night stroll?"

"No, we just got back from Hogsmeade and were going to the kitchen for a late-night snack." George patted his bulging pockets and laughed, "Zonko's's latest stuff, bought before they closed."

"You know, it's for our lovely little brother." Fred winked and casually handed Kyle a leather bag.

Here's what you wanted.

"Thank you." Kyle reached out and took it.

Fred glanced at him, then asked excitedly, "So, do you have any new money-making ideas lately? Tell us about them!"

"What?" Kyle was a little confused by Fred's meaning.

He's been so busy these past few days that he hasn't even been to the flower nursery, how could he possibly have time to research any new money-making ideas?

"Stop pretending. What's there to keep secret from us?" George said, displeased. "If you didn't have a new idea, why would you buy so much parchment?"

"Don't even mention it was for making maps; the time to sell the maps has been over for almost a month."

Fred put his arm around Kyle's shoulder, giving him a look that said, "I'm smart, you can't fool me," and said, "How could you possibly buy a thousand parchments without some new ideas?"

"A thousand sheets! Scribbulus Writing Implements's stock is almost insufficient."

"Insufficient inventory?"

Kyle opened his Mokeskin Pouch and quickly saw stacks of parchment inside, but he didn't know exactly how many.

"Never mind, I'm not in a hurry to use it, so a little less won't matter."

"It's almost not enough," Fred said with a smile. "There are 1,063 here; the extras are bonuses."

"That's all. We've moved Scribbulus Writing Implements's closing time forward by twenty minutes today."

"Alright, after saying so much, you should tell us what the plan is now."

Fred stroked his chin, guessing to himself, "If it's parchment, could it be a map of the secret passage... or are you planning to offer the answers to this assignment for a fee?"

"None of them!"

Kyle shook his head and said, "This is really just something I bought for myself."

"Don't joke around, this is a thousand sheets of parchment. You wouldn't need so many just for homework."

"Cedric, do you need a thousand sheets of parchment for a semester?"

Cedric immediately shook his head.

To be honest, a thousand sheets of parchment would have been enough for him for almost seven years.

"I know it's hard for you to believe, but it's true."

Kyle thought for a moment and said, "I've been copying some things recently and need a lot of parchment, that's all."

Seeing Kyle's serious expression, Fred and George were no longer as insistent as they had been at the beginning.

Are you sure?

"Of course," Kyle shrugged. "And I can guarantee that if I'm lying, I'll make Cedric start going bald this year."

"Hey, what does this have to do with me!"

Cedric glared at Kyle with displeasure.

"Don't be so stingy," Kyle said nonchalantly. "Don't you trust me?"

"That's not the same thing!" Cedric said helplessly.

His father, Mr. Diggory, had hair problems, and he didn't want to end up like that now.

With Kyle saying so, Fred and George dispelled their last remaining doubts.

Yes, Kyle had no reason to lie to them.

Both of them looked somewhat disappointed, turned around dejectedly, and walked towards the Gryffindor Tower.

All along the way, they were excitedly guessing Kyle's new plans, and were even preparing to go all out.

In the end, it turned out that there was no plan at all; they had just been deluding themselves.

The difference in their expectations was difficult for the two of them to accept.

"You've come to the wrong place," Cedric reminded them. "To get to the kitchen, you should go downstairs."

"Thank you, but we suddenly don't feel so hungry anymore."

"And I don't want to eat anything."

After the twins left, Cedric scratched his head and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with them?"

Kyle shook his head. "Who knows? Maybe it's just puberty."

"What period?"

"It's nothing, curfew is coming soon, let's go back quickly."

"All right."

Late at night, after Kyle and his roommates had fallen asleep, he quietly got up and left the dormitory, heading to the library as usual.

Kyle walked straight to the third shelf in the Restricted Section, opened his leather bag, and expertly took out Quick-Quotes Quill and a stack of parchment, placing them on the nearest table.

"Wand-Lighting Charm!"

Then Kyle lit his wand, picked up a carefully selected book, and sat down to read it.