A Successful Retreat

In a corner of the Hufflepuff Common Room, Cedric stared in shock at the enthusiastic first-years nearby.

He couldn't understand what was wrong with this year's first-years. Could they really not tell that Kyle was talking nonsense? And yet they were playing along so eagerly.

This was Hufflepuff, not Ravenclaw.

Cedric didn't know what the others thought, but if he were stuck in the Hospital Wing, he definitely wouldn't want class notes or homework.

Especially homework.

Good grief, giving someone homework as a present... Was that something any normal wizard could come up with? Even Voldemort wouldn't do something that cruel.

Cedric's conscience told him he should expose Kyle and save the innocent Mikel.

But he couldn't do it.

Because, in a way, Kyle's words might make the Hufflepuff badgers pay more attention in class.

That was undoubtedly a good thing.

Cedric agonized over it for a long time.

In the twelve years of his life, he'd never faced such a difficult choice. On one side was his conscience, and on the other was his responsibility as an older student. He didn't want to give up either, so he could only keep wavering between the two.

Not far from Cedric was Kanna, who was just as lost. She was also the only first-year who had managed to stay clearheaded.

Unlike Cedric, Kanna's thinking was much simpler.

No matter what, she had to stay away from Kyle!

Kanna secretly vowed to herself that once she got the special rat tonic, she'd keep as far away from Kyle as possible. Even if she couldn't transfer to another house, she'd do her best to avoid any chance of running into him.

Oh, and in class, she'd have to pick a seat as far away from Kyle as possible.

Meanwhile, the badgers, brimming with a sense of purpose, were still discussing the details of their plan. Having fulfilled his role and made his exit, Kyle quietly slipped out of the crowd.

Everyone was focused on what they were going to do next, so naturally, the human tool that was Kyle wasn't getting as much attention as before.

Kyle found a sofa away from the crowd and sat down, then started reading The Bard in the Wind.

It was a book published fifty years ago, recounting a bard's experiences on the road and the various troubles he encountered.

Its style was very similar to Lockhart's books, but unlike them, it devoted very little space to the bard himself. The focus was mostly on the things he saw.

It recorded many spells with distinctive regional characteristics, all of which gave Kyle a fresh perspective.

He kept reading until noon. When Cedric came to call him for lunch, Kyle finally closed the book, reluctantly.

"What are you reading?" Cedric asked curiously. "I called you several times just now, but you didn't react."

"The Bard in the Wind." Kyle handed Cedric the book. "Professor Dumbledore recommended it. It's a very interesting biography."

"The Headmaster recommended it?"

Cedric's eyes lit up, and he immediately said he wanted to read it too.

"That shouldn't be a problem, but I've only just started it, so you'll have to wait a few days." Kyle thought for a moment. "Or you could ask at the library and see if they have another copy."

"No need." Cedric returned the book to Kyle and shook his head. "Just let me know when you're done, and then I'll borrow it."

From what he knew of the school library, biographies like this rarely had duplicate copies. He'd be making a wasted trip.

Besides, he was only interested in it. He didn't have to read it right away. A few days earlier or later made no difference.

After leaving the Hufflepuff Common Room, the two soon arrived at the Great Hall.

By then, the news that a Hufflepuff first-year had blown up the Charms classroom had spread across all of Hogwarts.

Almost every student in the Great Hall was talking about it excitedly.

"Hey, look who's here!"

Kyle had barely stepped through the Great Hall doors when Fred and George, who had been waiting there, blocked his way.

"I knew Hogwarts wouldn't stay peaceful with you around. Sure enough, I was right." Fred slung an arm around Kyle's shoulders. "Come on, tell us how you blew up the classroom."

George chimed in from the side. "Yeah, we heard even Professor Flitwick left the classroom with a limp."

"Blowing up a professor on the first day of class..." Fred and George exchanged a look, then said in unison, "Kyle, you'll go down in the school history books!"

The twins weren't exactly quiet. Their voices soon attracted the attention of the other students, and more and more of them began edging over.

Kyle was speechless. He said helplessly, "First of all, the Wand-Lighting Charm can't blow up a classroom. That's common knowledge. Professor Flitwick just hurt his leg because he accidentally fell."

"Secondly, the first-year responsible for all this is in the Hospital Wing right now. It had nothing to do with me. If you keep slandering me, I'll write to Mrs. Weasley."

"It wasn't you?"

The twins both froze, clearly surprised that things hadn't gone the way they'd expected.

"Of course it wasn't me. Why would you even think that?" Kyle gestured toward Cedric beside him. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Cedric."

"I can confirm it. It really wasn't Kyle," Cedric said at once, nodding.

"There, you heard him." Kyle pushed the two of them aside. "By the way, where did you get your information? That was wildly inaccurate."

"We heard it from some Ravenclaw first-years," Fred said with a shrug. "They said you sent your classmate to the Hospital Wing."

Kyle was even more speechless after hearing that. "I was helping, all right? Professor Dumbledore even gave me twenty points for it. Anyway, did they say anything else? Or was that the only thing?"

"Don't know." George spread his hands, as if it were obvious. "We only heard that one line as we were walking past."

"I swear..."

Kyle took a deep breath. He didn't want to talk to these two anymore.

He'd thought Ravenclaw had produced some master of taking things out of context. As it turned out, the real masters were Fred and George.

When you were trying to get the details, couldn't you at least listen to the whole conversation? What was the point of only catching the ending—and such an ambiguous ending, at that?

Thankfully, they'd come straight to him instead of spreading the story everywhere. Otherwise, all the good reputation he'd worked so hard to build would have been ruined.

Kyle sighed and patted them both on the shoulders. "You two are wasting your talents at Hogwarts. You should go work for the Daily Prophet. Rita Skeeter would absolutely love you."