The Joy of a Nighttime Stroll

"You must have thought of this a long time ago, which is why you didn't want us to tell Dumbledore about it."

As Fred spoke, he excitedly patted Cedric on the shoulder beside him, "You're much smarter Percy, even though you're both Prefect... but you could have explained it more clearly next time."

Is that what I think?

Cedric sensed that they had misunderstood something, and he genuinely believed they should gather more evidence before approaching Headmaster Dumbledore.

After all, one of them is a referee and the other is the principal. If they just go and accuse them of cheating, probably no one will believe them.

But seeing how excited they both looked, he ultimately didn't offer any explanation.

Moreover, Cedric also thought they made sense. He had also received inside information about the Third Task, and Kyle was the first to enter the maze, would definitely have an advantage over Krum.

So the three of them exchanged a glance and then blurted out all the news they had just heard.

"Professor Sprout provided Devil's Snare, Venomous Tentacula, and snake vine, all hidden inside the hedges. Be careful when you're in the maze."

"There are quite a few types of Fantastic Beasts, but this shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"The most dangerous animal is the Acromantula, and it's on the wrong route. Once you see it, you must run; there's no need to waste time..."

The three of them talked back and forth, and throughout the whole process, no one asked Kyle for his opinion.

Several times, Kyle was interrupted just as he was about to say something.

He had originally intended to say that even if Krum obtained this information, it wouldn't pose any threat to him, since he could easily find out by asking any Fantastic Beasts once they got to the labyrinth.

But the three of them didn't give him a chance to speak at all...

Fred and George didn't leave the Hufflepuff Common Room until 10:30.

The two of them made no attempt to conceal themselves and walked openly down the empty staircase.

"I think Bagman will definitely go to Karkaroff again..." Fred said as they walked. "I think we need to keep an eye on him to prevent him from revealing any new information to Karkaroff."

"Yes, that's what I think too." George nodded. "If you can't beat them, you resort to cheating... No wonder the adults don't have a good opinion of Durmstrang. I used to think it was because they taught Dark Magic."

"But they won't get away with it now." Fred waved a piece of parchment in his hand. "We'll keep an eye on Bagman; he won't be able to leak the information to Karkaroff again."

The two quickened their pace and soon arrived on the Seventh Floor. They could reach the Gryffindor common room by simply walking along the corridor.

"But I must say Karkaroff did do one good thing," George suddenly said. "The castle seems so much quieter without that cat; it's wonderful."

"And Filch," Fred added with a smile.

"That's right."

George said, "Without them, the night tour isn't as exciting; it's a bit boring."

The two continued walking forward, but just as they were about to reach the portrait of the Fat Lady, a dim yellow light suddenly appeared at the corner of the corridor.

Fortunately, the two reacted quickly, retreating immediately and casting Disillusionment Charm on themselves.

Soon, they saw Filch coming from another corridor, looking quite menacing.

"Who's there? I heard you talking! Come out!" he said gruffly, startling Fred and George so much that they didn't dare breathe.

The corridor wasn't very wide, and if Filch had gotten just a little closer, he could have spotted two people standing in front of the wall.

One step, two steps... Filch is getting closer and closer.

Just then, a clanging sound came from downstairs, which caught his attention.

Filch quickly grabbed an oil lamp and gave chase.

"That's exactly what happened; the oil lamp almost hit my nose."

The next morning, Fred vividly described what had happened the night before.

"Who told you to take the easy way out and not use the Disillusionment Charm?"

Kyle took a piece of roasted corn. "Filch hasn't been fired yet, so his daily inspections are definitely on."

"Who would have thought?" George shrugged. "Everyone knows now that Filch only comes out once during curfew, and we were already late when we did, weren't we?"

"Perhaps he's just picking himself up again," Kanna said.

"If that's the case, then it's not bad either."

Fred poked at the stew on his plate. "We really miss Filch."

"Without such a rival, we've even lost interest in nighttime outings."

The fun of nighttime outings is outsmarting Filch? Only Fred and George could come up with something like that.

"Oh, wait, Bagman's here..." George glanced at the Marauder's Map and suddenly said.

The two quickly finished the food on their plates, then got up and rushed out of the Great Hall.

Cedric had intended to go with them, but he turned back as soon as he reached the Great Hall entrance.

"They used Disillusionment Charm," Cedric said, shrugging. "I can't find them anywhere."

Similar incidents occurred many times afterward.

Bagman seemed to have become a trap for the Weasley brothers. Whenever he appeared outside of class time, Fred and George would immediately run over, sometimes with Cedric in tow.

The day the Third Task began was also the day the Hogwarts exams ended. They should have been using the time to study, but instead they spent a lot of energy keeping an eye on Bagman and Karkaroff.

Although Kyle had said many times that it wasn't necessary, they simply wouldn't listen.

"You don't need to worry about that at all, Kyle."

After returning from Quidditch Pitch, Cedric said, "Sixth grade is easy; we have even less homework than in third grade, and there's plenty of time."

"Yes," Fred nodded in agreement. "And we don't need to worry about exams or anything. As long as we have OWL grades, that's enough. Even if we don't do well on the sixth-grade final exams, Mom won't say anything."

"Are you sure?" Kyle raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm... I think so." Fred looked hesitant, but finally waved his hand.

"You don't need to worry about that. Just focus on preparing for the Third Task."

"We're doing this for Hogwarts," George said, pulling out an ear-shaped object. "If we can catch Bagman and Karkaroff cheating... Mom will definitely understand."

"What if you can't catch them? You'll go back with a terrible report card?"

The two suddenly fell silent.

"If that's the case..." After a moment, Fred said quietly, "Kyle, how about we stay in your attic for two months?"