New Team

In early October, the Quidditch season was approaching.

Cedric has been becoming increasingly nervous lately; he now carries a notebook with him wherever he goes, constantly writing and drawing in it.

Moreover, the books he usually read changed from "The Development and Changes of Medieval Spells" to "One Hundred Quidditch Tactics Explained".

In Cedric's words, "The team never lost when Harris was captain, and I have to keep the Quidditch Cup in Hufflepuff."

The second weekend of October.

Kyle had wanted to sleep in, but Cedric came over early in the morning and dragged him to the Great Hall without saying a word.

"Practice, Kyle, you've missed three sessions now!"

As the two ate their beef sandwiches, Cedric said earnestly, "You're not going to get into trouble again this time, are you...?"

"Um... I don't think so." Kyle said somewhat guiltily, seeing Cedric's unfriendly gaze.

The main reason is that recently, the Mandrake he planted in the Room of Requirement started to become active, which is a sign that they are about to mature.

It's a few months later than expected, but it's finally almost ready.

To ensure nothing went wrong in the end, Kyle would go to the Room of Requirement whenever he had time.

He didn't even spare a moment for training, he was incredibly busy during breaks between classes.

The good news is that his efforts paid off... the Mandrake were all mature and healthy, and their calls were quite powerful.

Although Kyle wore earmuffs the entire time, their behavior and expressions suggested that was indeed the case.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Cedric looked at him suspiciously.

"OK!" Kyle nodded.

The Venomous Tentacula will probably take a while longer; they should be ready by the end of this year.

But that's still a long way off.

Furthermore, it's indeed a bit unreasonable that Cedric missed so many training sessions after becoming captain.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he harbored resentment towards Cedric, the captain.

Kyle didn't want to give others that impression.

As captain, I'm responsible for recruiting new players, developing training plans and match tactics—I'm incredibly busy. Let's leave that to Cedric.

That would be best.

Cedric took a sip of Pumpkin Juice. "The competition is coming up soon. No matter how busy you are, you still need to participate in training as much as possible, at least to practice with the new players... We have four new players this time."

With a team of seven players, four of whom were new, essentially replacing more than half, it's no wonder Cedric was genuinely nervous.

"Wait a minute..." Kyle suddenly realized something and looked up to ask, "How many did you just say?"

Four!

"Aren't there three?" Kyle looked at him in confusion. "Two Chaser, one goalie... I think only those three were in the same class."

"So, you don't care about the team at all..." Cedric's eyes turned unfriendly again.

After hesitating for a moment, he explained, "Seventh-year Beater Wright wanted to join the Auror after graduation, but his grades weren't outstanding; he just barely met the minimum requirements."

Quidditch training takes up too much time, and in order to get more certificates after graduation... just yesterday, he submitted his resignation application to me."

"Yesterday?" Kyle frowned. "So much time has passed, will Madam Hooch agree to let us change personnel?"

"She agreed."

Cedric said, "Because graduation is approaching, many people hesitate between Quidditch and their certificates, and Wright's situation is not uncommon."

"They probably didn't want to delay their graduation. As long as they're seventh graders, they can quit whenever they want... even before the final match."

Kyle nodded; he hadn't known that before.

"Have you found someone to replace him?" Kyle asked.

"There are a few candidates," Cedric said in a low voice. "I think your roommate is pretty good, the one named Mikel."

"Mikel?" Kyle somewhat surprised.

"Yes," Cedric said. "Remember in second grade? He carried a Bludger across half the court, which is something not everyone can do; it takes a lot of strength in your arms."

Looking back now, he seems to have a real talent for Beater... Of course, he still needs some training."

Afterwards, the two of them called Mikel, who had just finished breakfast, and two other students, and together they went to the Quidditch Pitch.

But just as they arrived, another group of people dressed in red robes walked onto the field, each carrying Broomstick.

"Cedric?" Oliver Wood strode over. "Isn't your training supposed to be in the afternoon?"

"That was supposed to be the plan," Cedric explained, "But something unexpected happened. Madam Hooch allowed us to book the entire stadium today to select new players."

"A new player? But now that's already... oh..." Oliver Wood suddenly realized halfway through his sentence and tentatively asked, "Your seventh-year Beater?"

"Ah, yes." Cedric didn't mince words. "He withdrew so he could have more time to learn... so we have to hurry and pick a new Beater."

"I'm sorry, you might have made a wasted trip."

Oliver Wood's face lit up with a smile, but he quickly suppressed it.

"It's alright, your things are obviously more important," he said lightly, seemingly unconcerned about having his training time taken up.

I bet Oliver is ecstatic.

On the way back, Fred whispered to Harry, "He always thought Hufflepuff was our biggest rival."

"But they've run into some trouble this year," George said. "Three of their veteran players have graduated, plus Wright, who left."

"So that means..." Harry thought for a moment and said, "That most of the Hufflepuff team we're facing this year are new players with no match experience?"

"You're right!"

At this moment, Oliver Wood turned his head and said, "This is a great opportunity for us... The Hufflepuff era is over, and this time we will definitely be able to take the Quidditch Cup back from them!"

He clenched his fist. "Ever since Harry joined the team, I've always thought winning the Quidditch Cup was a sure thing, but we've never managed to do it. This is our last chance..."

Oliver Wood is in seventh grade this year and will graduate next year. After that, all the team's achievements will be irrelevant to him... He desperately wants to win.

"I bet Gryffindor is smirking right now." On the court, Kyle watched them leave and muttered, "But there's nothing we can do about replacing so many experienced veterans at once."

"But they've got one thing wrong."

Cedric smiled and said, "Being a new player doesn't mean you're bad at the game. You can accumulate experience gradually through matches."

"And..." he glanced at Kyle, "We also have Hogwarts' best Chaser."

"Well, what you said makes sense." Kyle didn't feel embarrassed at all and readily admitted it.

Cedric is definitely suited to be captain... at least he has good judgment.