The Informant

The party at the Hog's Head Inn lasted longer than Kyle had anticipated.

About two hours later, people began to come out one after another.

Leading the group were Fred, George, and their friend Lee Jordan. The three of them seemed to be in a hurry, rushing towards Zonko's Joke Shop after leaving Hog's Head Inn.

Then came Colin from Gryffindor, Angelina, Ryan from Hufflepuff, Mikel, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and three Kyle boys whose names Ravenclaw couldn't recall...

The people around were stunned; they probably never dreamed that the most unpopular Hog's Head Inn would have so many customers.

Only after everyone else had left did Cedric and the others, who were left behind, walk out of the Hog's Head Inn together.

Through the window with the Three Broomsticks, Kyle could clearly see Cedric standing on the main road, looking around angrily, as if searching for someone.

"He's not looking for you, is he?" Kanna asked softly. "Did you tell him you weren't going to the Hog's Head Inn today?"

"Um... I forgot," Kyle said.

In fact, it was when he met the Greengrass sisters at the Gladrags Wizardwear that he realized he should support Fudge and not get too involved in things that went against the Ministry of Magic.

"Are you going to wait for him here?" Kanna asked.

Kyle thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, he's probably pretty angry right now. Let's talk about it when we get back to the castle."

He immediately got up and, before Cedric could notice, he and Kanna walked through the round tables to the other side of the bar, pushed open the door, and slipped out with Three Broomsticks.

The two went to the clothing store again, picked up the thick robes that had been made, and left Hogsmeade.

Cedric didn't return to the castle until evening, his hair disheveled and looking more anxious than usual.

Kyle also took the opportunity to explain to him why he hadn't gone to the Hog's Head Inn that day.

Although Cedric believed Kyle's story, he still seemed somewhat unhappy.

"Do you know how many people showed up that day?" he said irritably in the common room. "Fifty-three. The original patrons all ran away, thinking it was Dumbledore's way of dealing with the Hog's Head Inn!"

"Isn't this perfect?" Kyle said. "You don't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping anymore."

"The problem is, I can't teach that many people."

Cedric said, "Fifty-three people, that's almost the same number as a regular class, but I'm not a real professor, what if I mess it up?"

At this point, he couldn't help but raise his voice slightly, looking at Kyle with a hint of reproach, "I was hoping you could help me share some of the burden, but you didn't even come that day."

"You can find someone else," Kyle said.

"That's the only way." Cedric thought for a moment. "What do you think of Hermione? I remember she's always been first in her grade, and she's also Prefect."

"Hermione is indeed a good choice if you want to improve your test scores," Kyle said. "But since your purpose in learning Defense Against the Dark Arts is to improve your self-defense capabilities, Hermione is not quite suitable."

"To be honest, her Defense Against the Dark Arts score was high, but her spellcasting wasn't particularly outstanding."

"I think you could consider Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Cedric was somewhat surprised.

He wasn't particularly familiar with Harry; aside from knowing that Harry was very talented at Quidditch, he didn't know much else about him.

"That's right," Kyle continued, "Sirius, including Moody, have both said that he has a great talent for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he is very skilled in both Disarming Charm and Shield Charm."

"If that's the case, then it certainly is." Cedric pondered for a moment.

The Shield Charm and Disarming Charm have a wide range of applications and are most effective when facing enemies.

Therefore, if they want to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts on their own, they must learn these two spells.

"Then I'll go see him tomorrow." Cedric was still somewhat anxious. "Fifty-three people... I hope I don't mess this up..."

For the rest of the weekend, the castle was filled with an atmosphere of anticipation, just like when Sirius first arrived at Hogwarts, with everyone eager to experience his classes.

The next morning, Cedric left the Hufflepuff Common Room early to wait for Harry in the Great Hall.

Kyle had wanted to go along too, but before he even reached the Great Hall, someone suddenly appeared and blocked his way.

Kyle remembered this person, Dennis Creevey of Gryffindor, a member of the Harry Potter Admirers Club.

"Kyle ..." he said, panting, as if he had run all the way, "Umbridge wants you to go to her office."

"When?"

"Now."

"Okay, I understand." Kyle nodded.

After Dennis Creevey left, Kyle looked at the Great Hall that was so close by and sighed, saying, "I should have come earlier; maybe I could have had breakfast then."

"Why is Umbridge looking for you at this time?" Kanna asked worriedly. "Should I tell Professor Sprout?"

"No need," Kyle said. "I guess she probably knows about what happened at Hogsmeade yesterday."

"Umbridge found out so quickly?" Kanna immediately realized something. "Someone must have snitched!"

"Last night, Letty told me that Zacharias Smith kept questioning Harry's account of the You-Know-Who's resurrection, and even said that Cedric was too stupid and had been fooled by him."

"Zacharias?" Kyle knew this person, of course. Like him, Zachary was a sixth-year student at Hufflepuff, and in his second year, he had also competed for the Chaser position.

However, Kyle's performance was so perfect that no one else stood a chance, and all the competitors for the Chaser were eliminated during the qualifying rounds.

To be fair, this person's personality is really not good; he's arrogant and haughty, and he always likes to attract attention by arguing with others.

Many people believe that Zacharias shouldn't have been sorted into Hufflepuff; Ravenclaw and Slytherin would have been better fits for him.

So Kyle wasn't surprised that he raised questions. In fact, he had stated many times before that he wanted Harry and Dumbledore to produce evidence of Voldemort's resurrection.

"And Terry Boot of Ravenclaw."

Kanna then mentioned another name, "Letty said he was laughing the whole time, as if he were treating the party like a farcical stage play."

"The informant is very likely one of them."

"That's not surprising. After all, none of us can guarantee that we won't make a mistake or attract any malicious people."

Kyle said, "Furthermore, having over fifty people going to a bar that students would never normally frequent at the same time is bound to attract attention from others."

"I hope she won't make things difficult for you," Kanna, still somewhat worried.

"Don't worry, I have a way to handle this," Kyle said. "Don't go to the other professors; their arrival will only make things more complicated."

He then told Kanna to go to the Great Hall first, while he turned and walked towards the stairs.