The Holiday Begins

Seemingly unwilling to face the letters from the parents, Lupin insisted on being discharged from the hospital despite Madam Pomfrey's insistence that he was still injured. He went to his office, packed some things, and quietly left the castle alone.

Lupin didn't let anyone see him off; only his dog accompanied him onto the carriage.

The office was emptied again, which disappointed many students... Just as Harry said, Lupin was one of the best Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

They didn't care whether Lupin was Werewolf or not; even if he was, the fact that he had been safe and sound for an entire school year was enough to prove that he wouldn't intentionally harm anyone.

But there's nothing we can do... their word doesn't count.

"I wonder what kind of professor they'll assign us next year!" Cedric said helplessly. These days, it's too difficult to find a good Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Maybe... a vampire?" Fred said dreamily.

"A zombie wouldn't be bad either," George said.

Qiu's requirements were much simpler... as long as it wasn't Dementor, anything else would be fine.

By the afternoon...

Lupin's earlier guess was correct; during the meal, hundreds of owls suddenly flew into the Great Hall, each carrying an envelope.

Most of them were ordinary letters, but quite a few were red, Howler.

They circled a few times, and after realizing their target wasn't there, they turned and flew towards the Headmaster's Office.

However, these owls didn't attract much attention because the exam results were out.

More important than those Howler are the grades on their report cards; they directly determine whether they can have a pleasant holiday.

Cedric achieved the highest score in the OWLs, ranking first in the entire school. From the morning onwards, Professor Sprout could always be seen wandering around the castle, either chatting with Professor McGonagall or inviting Professor Flitwick to drink at the Three Broomsticks.

Fred and George also did well, although not as high as Cedric, they still got some points, enough to shut Mrs. Weasley up.

In their words, the score doesn't need to be too high; we should always leave NEWT with something to look forward to.

"Next year it will be your turn," Fred, patting Kyle on the shoulder with the air of someone who had been there before.

George suppressed a laugh. "Fifth grade is absolutely terrifying. I hope you guys can handle it."

Kyle didn't say anything, but simply opened his report card and showed it to the two of them.

The rows of neat scores made Fred and George's teeth ache, so they promptly shut their mouths.

Seeing their embarrassed expressions, everyone laughed, including the two of them.

By evening, Slytherin's scores still hadn't caught up, meaning the banquet was held in black and yellow decorations, with the Hufflepuff table being the most lively, everyone celebrating... This was their fourth consecutive House Cup victory.

"What a pity..." Mikel sighed, turning to look at Kyle, "You didn't get the Special Award for Services to the School this year. I thought you could get it for seven years in a row."

"You shouldn't think like that," Kyle said with a smile.

The Hogwarts Special Award for Services to the School is not easy to obtain, especially after he received it for three consecutive years.

If the holiday could be postponed for a while, and the truth about Sirius came to light, Dumbledore might award him another trophy in recognition of his suggestion.

But school lets out for break tomorrow, and there's not even enough time to brew Mandrake Restorative Draught.

The celebration of four consecutive championships continued until midnight, and the Hogwarts Express departed the station on time the next morning.

Kyle, Kanna, Cedric occupied a large box, and soon after, Cho, Fred, and George arrived.

George, the last to enter, closed the box door and asked excitedly, "How are your preparations going regarding the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Everything went smoothly with the hat!"

Cedric chuckled and said, "I ran into Professor Babbling in the hallway a few days ago and even asked her for some magic rune formulas to make those decorations move."

"Professor Babbling!" Qiu exclaimed in surprise, "You actually managed to see her outside of class?"

As Hogwarts' most mysterious professor, Professor Babbling rarely appears in the castle except for her weekly Ancient Runes class.

Qiu had tried to visit her several times before, but all her attempts had been unsuccessful.

"It was also a coincidence," Cedric said. "She was on the Seventh Floor at the time, and it seemed like she had something to discuss with the principal."

How are your preparations going, you guys?

"Of course..." George pulled out a handful of fireworks. "We've specially modified them; the patterns they create after exploding can last for ten minutes!"

Kanna and Qiu also brought out the jewelry they had made.

Then their gaze turned to Kyle.

Kyle's main task was making badges, something he was very familiar with and could create with ease.

All preparations are proceeding smoothly, and all that's left is to wait for the Quidditch World Cup to begin.

Thinking about this, Cedric couldn't contain his excitement and exclaimed, "I really can't wait to start!"

"You're right," Fred chuckled, "But we also need time to make more products, so let's not start too soon."

"Just do it at the normal time," George said.

The train was heading towards King's Cross Station. The group had hoped to use this time to make something more, but they just couldn't concentrate.

Moreover, every now and then, the door to their private room would be pushed open, sometimes by Lee Jordan, sometimes by Ginny.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione also came once.

Ever since Lupin let slip at the Hospital Wing, they've been trying to find excuses to talk to Kyle, hoping to get some useful information out of him.

But Kyle isn't Hagrid; he won't give them any chance at all.

The three chatted for a long time, but in the end they got no information and could only leave the private room dejectedly.

They had barely left when Neville returned...

After writing the magic rune incorrectly three times in a row, Fred simply put away the fireworks-making equipment and took out the Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess.

"Stop fooling around in the hallway, go back inside!"

Percy's voice came from outside, along with a series of hurried footsteps.

"After the train arrived at the station, he was no longer the Head Boy." Fred turned over his cards and said with a smile, "He probably wanted to have one more time."

"Percy graduated!" George said, unable to contain his excitement. "I can't even imagine how happy school life would have been without Percy."

"This is the first time," Fred blinked. "We'll be on the train during the holidays, looking forward to the start of school."

Amidst the commotion, the train finally pulled into King's Cross Station.