A Solo Return Journey

Hagrid's voice was loud, Kyle noticed that Professor McGonagall glanced around nervously, seemingly not wanting the other students to hear about things that happened more than a decade ago.

Professor McGonagall paused for the longest time, especially in the place where they were.

Kyle immediately pretended to be nonchalant and ate his bacon pie.

"Hagrid, please! Keep your voice down," Professor McGonagall said.

But her reminder didn't have much effect.

Even when Hagrid deliberately lowered his voice, it was still very clear.

"He even asked me to hand Harry over to him, that scumbag... Luckily I refused, because I had Dumbledore's orders to take Harry to his aunt and uncle's house..."

"Hagrid!"

Professor McGonagall glanced in their direction again, her voice tinged with annoyance.

"Kyle, let's go find Cho and Cedric."

Just then, Kanna suddenly said, "They should be done talking by now, and I also need to go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop to buy something."

"Looks like we're on the same page." Kyle stood up, and just as he was about to take out his money, Kanna had already placed two Galleon on the table.

"You..."

Kyle was about to say something, but Kanna pulled him away from the bar without warning.

Once they were on the road, Kanna smiled and said, "You treated me to coffee before, now it's my turn to treat you."

"No..."

Kyle considered for a moment and said, "Actually, what I meant was that you gave too much money. Those things cost one Galleon and five Sickle, why did you give two Galleon?"

"Huh?" Kanna was a little stunned. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"You have to give me a chance too," Kyle said, shrugging.

Just as Kanna was hesitating about whether to go back again, Cedric and Cho happened to run over from not far away.

"Hey, where did you guys run off to?!"

Upon seeing Kyle and Kanna, Cho immediately asked with displeasure.

They were discussing whether to explore the Shrieking Shack when they turned around and found only two half-empty cups of coffee left on the table, but the two people who had come with them were nowhere to be seen.

"I've been to almost every shop, but I haven't been able to find you," Cedric said.

"We're right here, with Three Broomsticks," Kyle said. "I bet you've never been here before."

Cedric was taken aback; he had never been here before.

"But didn't you just have coffee?"

"Too sweet." Kyle shrugged. "Butterbeer suits our tastes much better."

Cedric pursed his lips; it did seem to be true... Strange, how come he hadn't noticed how sweet the coffee was earlier?

Interrupted like that, Kanna felt too embarrassed to ask for the remaining change, and followed them forward with a pained expression.

The group then found Fred and George in Zonko's and went to the Shrieking Shack together.

Going there to explore was a plan that had been in the works for a long time.

But when they actually arrived, they found that it wasn't as interesting as they had heard.

After they unlocked the heavy lock on the door, they discovered that it was just a room that hadn't been lived in for a long time.

The wallpaper was peeling off, a thick layer of dust covered the floor, and all the furniture was broken, as if it had been smashed.

"Legends are indeed unreliable."

Fred kicked away a broken stool in disappointment. "Those residents must have made up the legend of howling at night to attract more tourists."

"In my opinion, this is just an empty room that hasn't been lived in for a long time."

George reached out and touched the table. "Look at all this dust. It's obvious no one's been here for years."

"Could it be a ghost?" Qiu asked.

"Hogwarts is the place with the most ghosts, when have you ever seen them howl?" Fred said. "Besides, ghosts can't damage this furniture."

He picked up a broken stool leg from the ground and tapped it twice.

"I suspect someone deliberately caused this disturbance, which is why those strange noises were made."

After looking forward to it for several days, they were unexpectedly disappointed. The unremarkable Shrieking Shack made them lose all interest in continuing to explore.

After leaving there, they went straight back to the castle.

Kyle walked at the very back and hung the lock back on the gate.

It was still early, and the castle was quiet.

Filch stood in the Entrance Hall, his gaze fixed on them... or more accurately, on Fred and George.

When they came out of Zonko's, their pockets were bulging, clearly carrying a lot of good stuff.

Filch walked over.

"Wait a moment, I need to check..."

Before he could finish speaking, Fred and George suddenly sped up, darting past him and disappearing into the Entrance Hall.

"Stop!" Filch shouted angrily, "You all stop right there!"

At Filch's roar, the quiet castle immediately came alive.

When it was time for dinner, everyone gathered together to discuss their holiday plans.

"What did you say?!" Cedric stared at Kyle in disbelief. "You're not spending Christmas at Hogwarts this year?"

For the previous three years, Kyle had always stayed on campus for Christmas, and Cedric had assumed it would be the same this year.

To this end, he pleaded with his father for a month, and just two days ago, he put his name on the list of students allowed to stay at school.

He originally wanted to surprise Kyle, but unexpectedly, the guy actually came home this year!

It was intentional!

"Yeah," Kyle said calmly, unaware of what he was thinking. "I can't spend Christmas here forever."

"I..."

Cedric was about to speak when Qiu, who had sneaked over from the side, suddenly said...

"What a pity, I thought I'd have someone to keep me company."

"Aren't you going back this year?" Kyle asked.

"Yes," Qiu nodded. "My dad wrote to me a couple of days ago saying that they'll be going away for a while during Christmas, so I'll have to stay at school."

"I see." Kyle nodded, then looked at Cedric. "What were you trying to say?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Cedric calmly took a sip of Pumpkin Juice. "I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. Also, I've chosen to stay at the university this year, so I can't go back with you."

"You're staying on campus too?" Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Diggory agreed? Or was it your own decision?"

"I signed the list of students allowed to stay on campus a couple of days ago," Cedric said.

"Me too," Kanna chuckled and said to Qiu, "We can go to the library together to do our homework during the holidays."

Kyle suddenly realized that the situation seemed to be completely reversed this holiday; it seemed that everyone except him had chosen to stay on campus, including Fred and George.

They're researching a new Skiving Snackboxes, but if they go home, Mrs. Weasley will likely find out.