Cedric had done very well in the Quidditch tryouts.
It had taken him only five minutes to catch the Golden Snitch, and he'd smoothly secured the new Seeker position on the Hufflepuff team.
He had his first team practice afterward, so he'd be at the Quidditch Pitch all afternoon.
Kyle only got to see him briefly over lunch.
"Fred and George don't know anyone in Slytherin either, but they said they'd help us think of something."
With a piece of steak stuffed in his mouth, Cedric said indistinctly, "We're going to talk it over properly this afternoon. Do you want to join us?"
"I..."
Kyle hadn't even had time to speak when a booming voice called from the other end of the table.
"Come on, Cedric, practice is about to start."
"Coming, Captain!"
Cedric struggled to swallow the steak in his mouth, then gulped down a large glass of pumpkin juice. Turning to Kyle, he said, "I'd better get to practice. The Quidditch Cup is definitely going to Hufflepuff this year."
With that, he hurried off toward the Quidditch Pitch.
"Pfft..."
Kyle curled his lip. He wasn't jealous at all.
What was so great about being on the team? They had to practice on weekends, and they couldn't even enjoy a proper meal. He, on the other hand, had plenty of time to savor his tender, juicy steak.
Kyle tapped the table and ordered himself a glass of lemonade to cut the grease.
That afternoon, Kyle took the piece of parchment and headed out of the castle.
Growing Biting Cabbage was even more troublesome than he'd imagined. The plant was extremely particular about its environment and climate, and only a handful of Herbology masters could transplant it somewhere other than its native habitat.
Fortunately, the Room of Requirement could solve this biggest problem perfectly. All Kyle had to do was sort out the fertilizer.
According to the Detailed Guide to Asian Magical Plants, Biting Cabbage took fifty days to sprout in the wild, and another two or three years to mature. Its growth cycle was absurdly slow.
Kyle couldn't wait that long. He planned to speed up the seeds.
After leaving the castle, Kyle crossed the lawn and came to a small wooden hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
The hut looked old. The wood on its roof and walls varied in color, suggesting it had been repaired many times. A crossbow and a pair of rubber boots hung by the front door.
Kyle walked up and knocked.
"Who is it... Oh, Fang, back up. You'll scare them."
Amid a low growl, the door opened a crack, revealing Hagrid's bearded face.
"A young wizard? What are you doing here?" Hagrid said, frowning at Kyle. "First-years aren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest. Back to the castle."
As he spoke, he started to shut the door.
"Hagrid, it's me," Kyle said quickly. "Remember? We've met before."
Huh?
Hagrid studied Kyle carefully. The more he looked, the more familiar the boy seemed.
"I remember!" Hagrid suddenly clapped his hands. "You're that troublemaker from Chopper's family. Because of you, Saiban doesn't even recognize his own name anymore."
"He just doesn't like that name, Hagrid," Kyle said earnestly. "You should ask owls what they think before naming them."
"I... All right, I can't argue with you." Hagrid seemed a little nervous as he asked hurriedly, "So what exactly are you doing here?"
Kyle didn't answer directly. Instead, he glanced from side to side. "Can we talk inside?"
"No!" Hagrid grew even more anxious and pressed himself firmly against the door. "...Er, I mean, my place is a bit of a mess. Let's talk out here. Besides, Fang doesn't like strangers, and I'm afraid he might scare you.
"Oh, Fang's my hunting dog. He's even taller than you."
"Is that so... In that case, never mind." Kyle put on a surprised expression and readily backed down. "I came to ask if there are any Mooncalves in the Forbidden Forest."
As everyone knew, the two best fertilizers in the Wizarding World came from dragon dung and Mooncalf dung.
There definitely weren't any dragons in the Forbidden Forest, and he'd have to wait until next term for that. So he'd set his sights on Mooncalves instead.
"What are you planning to do!"
At the mention of the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid forgot all about being nervous and said sternly, "First-years are absolutely forbidden from entering the forest. It's dangerous there. Get back to the castle, or I'll have to go find Professor Sprout."
"No need to get so worked up, Hagrid," Kyle said. "I'm not planning to go into the forest. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to ask you."
"Really?"
"Of course." Kyle explained, "I've planted two little darlings and just want to find them some fertilizer."
"I see. No wonder you asked me about Mooncalves."
Hagrid squeezed carefully out of the hut, then quickly turned around and shut the door.
He led Kyle to the pumpkin patch beside the hut and brought out a metal bucket from a corner. "Help yourself. Take as much as you like."
The bucket was full of silvery balls about the size of ping-pong balls. They were Mooncalf droppings, and there had to be two or three hundred of them.
But Kyle frowned.
No good. The color was too dark. From the looks of it, they'd been sitting around for at least a month.
"Do you have any fresh ones?" Kyle asked.
"I'm not sure..." Hagrid hesitated, then thought it over. "But we can go take a look. Come with me."
They followed the edge of the Forbidden Forest for a while. Then Hagrid told Kyle to wait outside while he went into the forest alone.
Kyle agreed and silently memorized the route they'd taken and the surrounding area, just in case.
Since Mooncalves were only XX-class Fantastic Beasts and didn't live deep in the forest, Hagrid came back out after about ten minutes.
"Here, take these."
He handed Kyle a bag. "Mooncalves usually trample their droppings into the soil at sunrise, so this is all I could find. If you need more next time, you'd better send me a letter by owl beforehand. I can collect some extra for you."
Kyle took the bag and weighed it in his hand. Judging by the weight, there were probably seven or eight inside.
It wasn't much, but it would do.
Kyle put the bag away and smiled. "Thank you, Hagrid."
"It's nothing." Hagrid scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "Just don't go renaming the school owls again next time."
"That was just an accident."
When they returned to the hut, Kyle once again asked if he could have a look inside.
As expected, Hagrid refused.
"There's really nothing to see, Kyle." He stood in front of the door, his eyes darting from side to side. "You should get back to the castle."
Kyle looked at him and almost laughed.
Hagrid was terrible at lying. Anyone could tell from his behavior that there was something wrong inside the hut.
"All right, I'll head back to the castle."
Kyle turned around and said casually, "Oh, by the way, there's something I should warn you about. You can't keep a Three-headed Dog in a room."
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