I Thank You

"Did you do that on purpose...?" Kanna asked quietly after Kyle returned to his seat.

Kyle shrugged.

Need I say more? It was definitely intentional. He must be crazy to go and act in a stage play with Lockhart... and in a supporting role at that.

However, judging from the little wizard on the stage who was jumping around excitedly because he was chosen to play the vampire... he must be quite happy.

That's fine too.

The bell rang, and Lockhart stood up.

Homework: Write a hymn praising my act of redeeming a vampire! The best hymns will win several copies of "Me, the Magical Me," personally signed by me!

"I'd rather write a three-foot-long paper," Kyle muttered to himself, as he packed his things and left the classroom.

Kanna nodded as well.

Ever since meeting Cedric, her impression of Professor Lockhart had become less than favorable.

Add to that the test paper from the first thirty minutes of class, and Lockhart's clumsy handling of the photos...

It's easy to imagine that their upcoming Defence Against the Dark Arts won't offer any surprises.

"I kind of miss Professor Oren..." Kanna whispered on the way to the Great Hall.

"Oren?" Kyle somewhat surprised.

"Why don't you go to the Hospital Wing to get checked out?" He touched Kanna's forehead. "You were almost killed by him in the Forbidden Forest, and you're still thinking about him?"

"I've already figured it out."

Kanna slapped Kyle's hand away and said with a smile, "Oren was looking for you back then. I was just unlucky and happened to be there."

If he comes again, I just need to stay far away from you.

"You're really smart!" Kyle said irritably. "But have you thought about what I'll do when Oren comes back?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way," Kanna said matter-of-factly. "After all, you're the smartest person I've ever met."

"Thank you so much," Kyle said, pursing his lips. "But never mind, I've suddenly realized Lockhart is pretty good too, at least his stage plays are quite entertaining."

The two chatted and laughed all the way to the Great Hall.

A little while later, Cedric arrived, having changed into a new robe and washed the dirt off his hair.

"How's Lockhart?" Cedric asked. "We're having Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow morning."

"You need to be mentally prepared," Kanna shook her head. "It'll be similar to last year."

Once she said that, Cedric understood.

Okay, it's reading class again.

But Cedric didn't understand. If that was the case, why not let the Fat Friar be the professor... that way they could save money on buying books.

Or even Nearly Headless Nick... Under the influence of the Defence Against the Dark Arts Curse, his head might be completely severed off.

This can be considered as fulfilling his long-cherished wish.

"Oh, right, this is for you." Kyle handed Cedric a piece of parchment.

"What's this."

Cedric stared blankly at the contents of the parchment...

What is Lockhart's favorite color?

Why would he need to know this?

"This is a class quiz."

Kyle explained, "I reckon every grade will have this on the first day of class. Take a look beforehand; if you get them all right, it will give you extra points in the college."

"How many..."

"Very good," Kyle said, "But I'll be called out."

"The score is reasonable and acceptable..."

"He might also pull her into performing in a stage play."

"... But we Hufflepuff don't lack those points!"

Perhaps because of Kyle's performance in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he didn't see Professor Lockhart even once in the following days.

Moreover, he was not called on again when he returned to class.

Lockhart seemed to be deliberately avoiding him, but it felt alright.

But Harry's treatment was completely different from Kyle's.

Lockhart seemed to have all his attention focused on him; they had already bumped into each other several times in the hallway over the past few days.

Harry had to be constantly aware of his surroundings, and whenever he saw Lockhart walking towards him from the other end of the corridor, he would quickly move away.

And it wasn't just Lockhart; Harry also had to avoid that freshman, Colin Creevey. This little witch seemed to have memorized his entire schedule, and he always seemed to run into him, whether in class or at the Great Hall.

He hears it at least six or seven times a day, "How are you, Harry?"

... and then reply the same number of times, "Hello, Colin."

And so it went until the weekend.

While having breakfast that day, Kyle suddenly asked, "Does the Quidditch team need to recruit new players this year?"

"No, but we need to find a few substitutes to prepare for next year," Cedric said. "Including Harris, there are three people who are in seventh grade this year."

"You're part of the team too, right? How come you don't seem to care at all?"

"If I didn't care, I wouldn't have asked that question."

Kyle took a sip of milk. "But I have twelve classes, and all that homework... I simply don't have time to think about anything else."

"That's true." Cedric shrugged.

He had already seen Kyle's packed schedule.

Although Kyle didn't need to attend classes that conflicted with his schedule, self-study still took time, and his assignments were significantly more demanding than others.

"But now that you mention it..." Kyle frowned, "Does our team already have three seventh-graders?"

"Yes, the two Chaser and the goalkeeper, they're all in the same year, graduating next year."

Cedric said, "But there's good news. It seems Harris has received an offer from the Vratsa Vultures, giving him the opportunity to become a professional Quidditch player."

"Really?" Kyle was taken aback. "Did Harris tell you? I haven't heard anything about it."

"It wasn't him." Cedric shook his head. "Remember the Quidditch Match I went to during the holidays?"

"The Vratsa Vultures and the Chudley Cannons?"

"That's right," Cedric laughed. "My dad is good friends with one of the Eagles players, and they mentioned it casually during a conversation."

After they found out I was also a Hufflepuff, they even asked me if I knew Harris.

"This is truly wonderful news," Kyle exclaimed. "Harris didn't reveal a single thing."

"I think he's probably worried about not passing the final test."

"Perhaps we can win another Quidditch Cup this year."

Kyle said, "A three-time champion captain should be a pretty good resume."

"That's what I think too, but Harris himself doesn't seem to care about it at all."

Cedric chuckled helplessly, "The Gryffindor started training early this morning, but he went off to play at Hogsmeade with the others."

"Okay... that's definitely Harris."

Kyle chuckled, "But with his ability, getting into a professional team shouldn't be too difficult for him."