A Poor Choice of Friends

Kyle looked up in the direction Cedric was pointing and only then noticed Kanna sitting across from him, to his left, cutting into a steak.

But every time she cut off a piece, she looked up at Kyle, as if the plate held not a steak, but Kyle himself.

The sight made his teeth ache.

"Wait, why do I get the feeling she's not looking at you very kindly? She wasn't like this on the train." Cedric asked curiously, "I remember all the first-years were together before the Sorting. Did something happen between you two during that time?"

"This one really is my fault." Kyle shrugged and briefly recounted what had happened in the cabin.

After hearing the story, Cedric was stunned.

Using the Killing Curse to sort people? What kind of normal person would come up with that?

"She believed you?" Cedric asked cautiously.

"What else?" Kyle said with a pained expression. "If she didn't believe me, would she be looking at me like that?"

Uh...

Well, one of them had certainly been bold enough to say it, and the other gullible enough to believe it.

Cedric's mouth twitched. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. He could only look at Kanna, then at Kyle, and silently give him a thumbs-up.

"Seriously, Kyle, you two are made for each other."

"She's only eleven! Are you in such a hurry to end up in Azkaban?" Kyle said crossly. "And I'd advise you not to say things like that again. If Professor Snape hears you, you're done for."

"She knows Professor Snape?" Cedric asked in surprise.

Kyle nodded. "We haven't confirmed it, but I think they know each other."

"..."

Cedric's expression suddenly changed. He stared at Kyle as if he were scum. "You've gone too far. How could you play such a cruel joke on a first-year? If I were a Prefect, I'd take points from you."

Kyle stared at Cedric in disbelief, as if he'd only just met him.

The moment he heard that Kanna knew Snape, he'd switched sides. That was one hell of a quick change of heart.

Was this really the same Cedric he knew?

But Cedric didn't so much as flinch under Kyle's stare. He even shifted farther away, as if he wanted to make a clean break from him.

Kyle could only silently raise his middle finger.

A poor choice of friends. He had no idea who Cedric had learned this from, but how had he become so shameless in the short time they'd been apart?

At this rate, there was no way Kyle could enjoy his meal in peace.

He set down his knife and fork and looked up at Kanna too.

The little witch didn't look away. She met his gaze, her round cheeks puffing in and out. It was hard to tell whether she was chewing her steak or sulking.

Neither of them said a word. They simply stared at each other in the middle of the Welcome Feast, oblivious to everyone around them, as if they were competing to see who would look away first.

Neither Kyle nor Kanna wanted to lose. At first, both of them held their ground, as if they planned to keep the contest going until the end of time.

But Kanna had clearly overestimated herself.

Soon, her gaze began to wander, and a faint blush spread across her fair face.

A few seconds later, her eyes started darting away. Her breathing grew quicker, and her whole face turned bright red.

In the end, Kanna couldn't take it anymore. She ducked her head so quickly that the tip of her nose nearly touched her steak, as if she wanted to bury herself in the plate. Only her two red ears showed.

Kanna's personality hadn't changed. She was still just as shy and socially anxious as before. She'd only acted that way because she was furious and embarrassed after realizing she'd been tricked.

It was like a usually quiet, gentle girl who started cursing at her keyboard after someone screwed her over in a game she loved.

Same idea.

And Kyle had kept avoiding her, leaving her with all that pent-up anger and nowhere to vent it. That was why she'd stayed like that until now.

Once her anger had faded, she naturally turned back into the same shy, socially anxious little witch as before.

By staring back at her, Kyle had given her a way to vent. Staring someone down was still a kind of attack, after all, even if it wasn't very effective.

Kyle just hadn't expected her anger to fade so quickly. She was fine again after only a few minutes. She really was almost too good-natured.

Among the people Kyle knew, Ginny Weasley was already one of the more even-tempered ones. But even when she got mad, she'd argue with him face-to-face for at least half an hour.

By comparison, Kanna was far too timid. That kind of personality wasn't a good thing in the Wizarding World.

At Hogwarts, she'd be fine. Hufflepuff was famous for being honest and friendly, and hardly anyone there would have any ill intentions.

But if she was still like this after graduation, she probably wouldn't even know what had killed her.

Grogan Stump, a famous Minister of Magic, once said that Hogwarts was the fairy tale of the Wizarding World. Once you left the castle, all that lay before you was a devouring abyss.

To the dark wizards who prowled along the edge of death, a shy, introverted witch from one of the Pure-blood families was no different from a walking pile of Galleons. They'd swarm her like hyenas and keep going until not even her bones were left.

Kyle wasn't exaggerating. There were precedents, like the Pure-blood families that had vanished.

After Voldemort fell, the Death Eaters lost their backing and found themselves hunted by Ministry of Magic Aurors. They were soon too busy looking after themselves and hiding everywhere.

The Pure-blood families throughout the British Wizarding World were thrown into chaos.

The hyenas lurking in the shadows seized their chance and, without a word between them, went after the Pure-blood families that had lost their footing.

Some simply robbed them outright. Others used the Cruciatus Curse to force useful information out of them. Either way, any Pure-blood wizard caught alone became prey in their eyes.

They didn't care how prominent your family was, how powerful it was, or whether it might come after them later.

As long as there was something to gain, and the target's family didn't have a monster like Dumbledore or Voldemort protecting them, they'd dare to pounce and tear off a chunk.

During that period, more and more Pure-blood wizards died at their hands each day. Many families began to decline and eventually faded from sight.

It only ended when most of the Death Eaters had been caught and the Aurors and Hit Wizards turned their attention to the others.

Things had been that way back then, and there was no reason they couldn't be again now.

Kyle glanced at Kanna, who was pretending to be an ostrich. After a moment's silence, he calmly picked up the black pepper beside him, sprinkled it over his diced potatoes, and popped them into his mouth.

Forget it. They were only in their first year. Graduation was still a long way off. Why worry about all that now? He'd better focus on filling his stomach first.