After November arrived, Hogwarts became bitterly cold.
The mountains around the school were gray and overcast, blanketed in ice and snow.
The Black Lake outside the castle had also frozen over in the oncoming cold wave, its surface as cold and hard as quenched steel.
Every morning, Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows.
Wrapped head to toe in a long moleskin coat, rabbit-fur gloves, and enormous beaver-fur boots, he defrosted the flying brooms on the Quidditch Pitch.
As the first match of the Quidditch season drew near, Harry, Gryffindor's newly appointed Seeker, grew increasingly anxious.
Since his Quidditch training had been carried out in secret, very few people had ever seen him play.
For that very reason, Gryffindor's little lions had no idea what Harry's true Quidditch skill level was.
Some told him he would play brilliantly.
Others said they would carry mattresses and run beneath him during the match, just in case he fell.
Harry did not know which was worse.
In any case, the many differing opinions within Gryffindor House put Harry under tremendous pressure.
By comparison, Kyle, another rising Quidditch star, seemed far more relaxed.
The Halloween troll incident quickly died down, causing only a few ripples in peaceful Hogwarts before vanishing without a trace.
It had no effect whatsoever on Kyle, the person responsible for killing the troll.
That morning, while having breakfast in the Great Hall, Kyle received an enormous package delivered jointly by six owls and was now busy unwrapping it.
Some time ago, he had written to old Alfred, asking him to purchase books on subjects such as physics and chemistry.
It seemed that anything related to "nuclear" was not easy to buy, which was why the old butler had taken so long to gather enough books for him.
"Hey! Fred,