Word about what had happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts class spread quickly, but nobody was all that interested.
A first-year accidentally injuring a professor might have caused quite a stir in another class.
Take the first day of Charms, for example. People were still talking about it now.
But when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts... it just wasn't that exciting.
For one thing, their previous professor had been a deeply undercover dark wizard. Somehow, someone had found out, and Aurors had dragged him away right in the middle of class.
The professor before him had been a Potions enthusiast who liked experimenting with strange recipes. One day in class, he showed his students his latest creation, the Omniscience Potion. He claimed it rivaled Felix Felicis and that a single sip could solve all your problems.
And then... there was no more.
To prove the potion worked, he drank a sip right there. He was still lying in St Mungo's.
By comparison, Professor Oren's little incident wasn't even worth talking about.
And so, Hogwarts' first weekend arrived quietly.
Kyle slept until almost nine. In the end, Cedric had to come and knock on his door to wake him up.
"Why are you waking me so early?"
After washing up, Kyle flopped onto the sofa in the common room and stretched contentedly.
"Early? It's almost lunchtime!" Cedric gave Kyle a helpless look and handed him a pie he'd just picked up from the kitchen.
It was filled with beef and potatoes, with onions added too. It tasted pretty good.
While Kyle ate, Cedric continued, "Quidditch tryouts start today. I'm going to give them a go in a bit. What about you? Want to come along? If the two of us play together, we'll definitely win this year's Quidditch Cup."
"I'll pass." Kyle shook his head. "First-years aren't allowed on the Quidditch team. It's the rules."
Ever since Flying Class ended yesterday, Kyle had given up on joining the Quidditch team.
Diana had strictly forbidden him from buying a broom during his first year, so if he joined the team now, he'd have to use one of the school's... ancient relics. Kyle couldn't accept that.
Those brooms were far too old and didn't even have many essential features. For example, the most important one: a Cushioning Charm etched onto the broomstick.
That feature had been standard since 1930, because the Quidditch World Cup final that year lasted seven whole days. Afterward, eleven players from the two teams combined retired for the same reason.
Ever since then, the Cushioning Charm had become an essential feature on brooms.
The brooms at school had obviously been around since before 1930.
Those ancient relics were fine for the occasional ride, but using one for too long could affect a young wizard's physical and mental health.
Kyle couldn't accept that, anyway. As for Cedric...
Kyle patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "If you make the team, I recommend saving up for a new broom."
Cedric nodded. "You're right. The school brooms are too slow. But if I really make the team, my dad will probably get me a Shooting Star."
"Then you'll be fine." Kyle nodded.
The Shooting Star might be a ten-year-old model, but it had all the necessary features. It would be good enough for the team.
"Oh, one more thing." Cedric took out two maps. "I've finished the Gryffindor and Slytherin maps. What should we do next? Advertise them ourselves, or find people to help us again?"
"Let's find people to help," Kyle said after thinking it over. "Promoting them ourselves would take too much time, and it wouldn't be very effective. It's not worth it."
"Yeah, I thought so too." Cedric nodded. "We can ask the Weasley twins about Gryffindor. They'll probably be willing to help. But what about Slytherin? Do you know anyone there?"
Kyle shook his head.
As luck would have it, of the four Hogwarts houses, Slytherin was the one he knew the least about. He simply hadn't had much to do with them.
"That's a problem," Cedric sighed. "I don't know anyone there either."
Having earned the first gold of his life, Cedric was more enthusiastic than ever, and clearly didn't want to give up on Slytherin, their biggest market.
He'd even made a few changes to the Slytherin map, using the finest parchment and adding a gold border.
Its design was perfectly suited to their tastes.
Of course, the price would be a little higher too. You got what you paid for; it was only natural.
The only problem now was how to sell the maps. If the only people selling them were the two of them, both Hufflepuffs, probably few Slytherins would buy one.
And if Snape found out, that would be trouble too. Given his personality, he'd probably confiscate the maps and take twenty points from Hufflepuff.
After thinking it over, they still needed to find a go-between.
They discussed it for a while longer, but still couldn't come up with a good solution.
Cedric wanted to ask the Weasley twins if they knew anyone in Slytherin.
Kyle didn't think it was very likely, but they had no better options, so they could only try.
Close to ten, the two of them left the Hufflepuff common room together.
Cedric was headed to the Quidditch Pitch for team tryouts, while Kyle was going to the library to return a book.
He'd finished The Bard in the Wind the night before and planned to borrow another one.
Since they were headed in different directions, they parted near the Great Hall.
Kyle smiled and said, "Good luck making the Quidditch team."
"Don't worry!" Cedric confidently held up a thumb. "I've got this."
Then they went their separate ways.
In the library, Madam Pince took the book Kyle handed her and checked it over. Once she'd made sure it was in good condition, she gave him the other book he wanted to borrow:
"Same rules as always. You know them."
"Of course. Don't damage the books," Kyle said with a smile. "I know."
"Good."
After getting the book he wanted, Kyle didn't head straight back to the dormitory. Instead, he found a spot in the library and started reading.
Detailed Guide to Asian Magical Plants
It was a book about herbs. Kyle skimmed through the pages until he quickly found what he was actually looking for.
"Chinese Biting Cabbage, an extremely dangerous carnivorous plant, first discovered in..."
Kyle took out the parchment he'd prepared beforehand and used the Gemino Curse to copy all the information onto it, then left the library.
But he didn't return the book right away. He planned to take it back and finish reading it first. Professor Sprout might bring in another new species next time.
It'd be such a hassle to borrow it again.
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