Her Little Mouth Was Smothered in Honey

Faced with threats from two second-year students, the weak Kyle had no choice but to verbally sign a series of unequal agreements in order to avoid being bullied at school.

"Remember your words, Kyle."

Fred cautioned, "You'll need to provide technical support for our Weasley jokes product."

"And there's space," George added. "You'll have to provide us with a safe place to store them during the holidays and make sure Mom doesn't find them."

"Of course, I'd be happy to," Kyle smiled. "I'll help you guys research those products. And don't worry about the location... How about my room? If it's there, Mrs. Weasley definitely won't find it."

"Very good."

Fred and George nodded in satisfaction and let Kyle go.

"If you dare to deceive us..." Fred warned menacingly before leaving, "The consequences will be severe!"

After saying that, the two of them simultaneously extended a thumb and gestured across their necks.

After they left, Kyle casually walked to Hufflepuff's table as if nothing had happened.

How was your holiday?

"Not bad." Kyle glanced at Cedric and said, "No need to get up early, no homework, just reading books, planting grass, petting small animals, etc. This is exactly the life I've always dreamed of."

Cedric looked somewhat envious.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone back," he sighed. "My dad said he was going to take me to France this holiday, but he's too busy. He's almost always working overtime and spends less than five hours at home each day. He simply doesn't have the time."

Cedric's words surprised Kyle.

That can't be right. Weren't those smuggled Fantastic Beasts already returned by Chris and Newt? Why is Mr. Diggory still so busy?

And he hasn't heard of anything unusual happening recently; everything is calm and peaceful.

Even a quarrel between Mr. Weasley and Lucius at the Ministry of Magic made the front page of the Daily Prophet.

Normally, it would be quite good if such trivial matters could occupy even a corner of a screen.

It's clear that there's really nothing newsworthy in the Wizarding World lately, giving off a sense of peaceful tranquility.

In this situation, unless there is a special emergency, such as Fantastic Beasts injuring someone, Mr. Diggory would have at least five days of vacation.

But if such a thing were to actually happen, the Daily Prophet wouldn't remain completely silent.

Cedric seemed to notice Kyle's confusion. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before whispering, "It's because of the Swooping Evil... My father has been searching for it."

"The Swooping Evil ..." Kyle frowned, lowering his voice as well, "Didn't that thing already leave this place?"

"No, the Ministry of Magic is lying."

Cedric said, "My dad had a few drinks on Christmas Day and seemed to think I was his colleague, so I took the opportunity to ask him a lot of questions."

He said the Ministry of Magic had not found any trace of the Swooping Evil.

Kyle shook his head and said, "But that's not what Newt said."

He might not believe anyone else, but Newt never lies, especially when it comes to Fantastic Beasts.

Unless it concerns the safety of the Wizarding World, let alone Fudge, even Dumbledore wouldn't... Well, that's not necessarily true.

However, given Dumbledore's personality, he most likely wouldn't ask Newt for something like a Swooping Evil.

Unless Fudge is his biological son.

"I asked about that too," Cedric said. "My dad said Mr. Scamander's exact words were, 'We didn't find the Swooping Evil; it's probably hiding.'"

However, the Ministry of Magic only provided the first half of the sentence in the photo of the Daily Prophet; they removed the second half.

"Huh?" Kyle raised an eyebrow. "To avoid causing panic?"

"Yes, to avoid causing panic," Cedric shrugged. "They even found a reason to send Mr. Chris and Mr. Scamander, who had always opposed it, away."

Kyle stroked his chin, and his previous doubts were now resolved.

No wonder he always felt something was off about Chris's business trip; now he knew the problem.

It's just transporting some Fantastic Beasts, why would Chris and Newt need to go along?

The Nundu and the Australian Opaleye are one thing, but these two old men are too dangerous; ordinary people couldn't handle them.

But what about the other Fantastic Beasts?

What should have been a simple task that could have been accomplished by simply placing them in a remote, secluded forest or by sending two Hit Wizard, ended up falling on Chris and Newt's shoulders.

Just imagine: a deputy director of the Ministry of Magic and a renowned master of Wizarding World Fantastic Beasts. They travel thousands of kilometers together, just to return an ordinary Bowtruckle to its rightful place?

That's just outrageous.

Under normal circumstances, not even an ordinary Bowtruckle would receive this treatment, let alone Bowtruckle kept by Grindelwald.

Kyle thought for a moment and asked, "Did your father find that Swooping Evil?"

"No," Cedric shook his head. "My dad and the others have been searching for over a month, but they haven't found a single clue."

But Minister Fudge kept urging us, and he even lost his temper a couple of days ago. That bastard!

Cedric was very well-mannered; when the key words were mentioned, he only moved his mouth without making a sound, fully demonstrating the qualities that an excellent young wizard should have.

However, his lip movements were very clear, and Kyle could tell that he was praising the other person's family tree in a very sweet tone.

After applying honey to his lips, Cedric's mood inexplicably improved. He glanced towards the High Table and said, "Let's not talk about that now. Have you noticed that Professor Snape seems quite angry today?"

"Is there?"

Kyle picked up a chicken leg without looking up and said, "That's probably just your imagination. He's always angry."

"That's true, but..." Cedric glanced again toward the High Table and said, "I still think he's a little different today."

On the stage, Snape looked as if he had drunk the wrong Potions; his face was as black as the bottom of a pot. His sinister eyes kept scanning back and forth across the four dining tables.

Seemingly sensing that someone was watching him, Snape suddenly looked in Hufflepuff's direction, startling Cedric immediately lowered his head.

Beside him, Kyle continued to eat his chicken leg at a leisurely pace, occasionally exchanging a few words with Mikel was sitting on his other side.