Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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When Kyle emerged from the Headmaster's office, he held not only the magic suppressant potion but also a feather.
A still-warm phoenix tail feather.
Fawkes had plucked it and given it to Kyle when he saw him leaving.
Trading a bluebell for a fresh phoenix tail feather, Kyle not only made a profit, but actually made a profit.
What a kind phoenix!
After leaving the eighth floor, Kyle hurried toward the Quidditch pitch.
However, when he arrived, he was met by a group of badgers carrying Cedric, hurriedly heading toward the hospital wing.
All the while, they were cursing,
"Those shameless Slytherin scum!"
"Rude manners, dirty tactics, they don't deserve to play Quidditch!"
"The Slytherin team should be disqualified!"
Cedric, carried by the badgers, was now clutching his head with one hand and his right leg with the other, his expression agonized.
Seeing this, Kyle hurried after them.
From the Badgers' conversation, it wasn't hard to guess that Cedric was injured, and it was the Slytherin players who had caused it.
Kyle found Ryan and Mikel in the crowd. He walked over quickly, patted one of them on the shoulder, and said, "What happened on the field?"
Ryan was startled and turned back in surprise, "Kyle... where were you just now? Why are you here now?"
"The headmaster wanted to see me, so I went to the headmaster's office," Kyle explained briefly, then asked again.
"Forget me for now. How's Cedric?" At this point, Ryan's face flushed with anger. "It's all because of those shameless Slytherin guys. You don't know, Cedric was almost catching the Snitch, just one step away, and we would have won...
But then that Slytherin captain took advantage of Cedric's concentration on the Snitch and punched him in the head, knocking Cedric off his broom."
"That's right," Mikel said angrily. "Do you know his excuse? That shameless fellow actually told Madam Hooch he mistook Cedric's head for a Quaffle!
That rude fool, a stunted gorilla, has no business playing in this kind of game. He should be sent off!"
"This isn't football, Mikel," Ryan reminded him. "You can't send people off in Quidditch..."
Mikel stiffened his neck and said, "And you can't just give Hufflepuff a free kick. That's so unfair!"
After Ryan and Mikel explained it back and forth, Kyle quickly understood what had happened.
It was just as he'd thought.
When they realize they can't win under normal circumstances, they resort to underhanded tactics. Fine, that's very Slytherin.
Soon, the group arrived at the hospital wing.
"Merlin's beard, what happened?"
Madam Pomfrey looked very angry. "The nose bone is cracked, and the right leg is completely broken. I don't understand why Hogwarts holds such a dangerous competition."
"Every year, people are sent here, every year..."
Madam Pomfrey connected Cedric's broken leg in a second, and then drove everyone out.
But she kept Kyle.
The newly connected bones cannot be moved for the time being, so Cedric needs someone to take care of him now. There are other patients in the school hospital, and Madam Pomfrey is definitely not busy enough.
Among this group of people, Madam Pomfrey only has some impression of Kyle, so this task naturally fell on him.
As she closed the door, she continued to smack her lips, complaining that the sport was too dangerous and the teachers were too incompetent.
Kyle sat down beside the bed and poured Cedric a glass of water. "How are you feeling?"
"My leg still hurts a little," Cedric said, stretching his shoulders. "But it's getting better."
Madam Pomfrey's abilities were undoubtedly impressive. If Cedric had broken his arm instead of his leg, he would have been discharged from the hospital without any problems.
"It's such a shame the game was lost. We were leading by thirty points."
Cedric leaned back against the pillow and sighed dejectedly. "I wish I had paid more attention to what was happening around me."
"It doesn't matter. It's just one game. Winning or losing doesn't matter," Kyle consoled him.
"Besides, fouling is a Slytherin tradition. Even if you manage to avoid it this time, they'll come back for you later. If you keep avoiding them, you'll forget about catching the Snitch."
"That's true." Cedric scratched his head in annoyance. "What about the next games?"
Hufflepuff and Slytherin hadn't played just one match yet. Normally, they'd meet at least three more times.
Cedric didn't want to be hospitalized three more times.
"It's okay," Kyle said after a moment's thought. "Just take care of yourself, and I'll take care of the rest."
"Are you planning on joining the Quidditch team?" Cedric asked in surprise. "What position are you playing? Beater?"
"You're overthinking it," Kyle said with a pout.
"The game's already started, and unless a player voluntarily withdraws, there's no way I'd join the team even if I wanted to."
Hogwarts Quidditch rules clearly state that each house has only one chance to recruit new players, and that only happens during the first two weeks of school.
However, usually, the house captains select their players by the end of the first week and submit their names to Madam Hoch at the designated time in the second week.
This gives the new players three more opportunities for group practice, and the professors won't interfere with such trivial matters.
However, after the second week, Madam Hooch will not approve any new players, unless someone withdraws and the team is understaffed.
This is rarely the case, as withdrawing is not easy.
Only if there were irrefutable excuses, like transferring, dropping out, or physical reasons preventing the team from playing Quidditch, would Madam Hooch allow a mid-match substitution.
Otherwise, no discussion.
On this point, Madam Hooch was resolute.
"And you said you'd leave it to you... Wait, you're not going to cause trouble for the Slytherins, are you?" Cedric seemed to suddenly realize something and said seriously,
"Don't do anything against the school rules. I just broke my leg, it's nothing serious.
Besides, you're only a first year, and the Slytherin players are usually third years or above. They'd be waiting for you to cause trouble for them.
And Professor Snape wouldn't..."
"Well, stop for a moment."
Seeing Cedric's escalating tone, Kyle interrupted him, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean by first and third years? You don't think I'm going to challenge them to a duel, do you?"
"Uh, isn't it?" Cedric froze.
"You wish." Kyle gave him a look of disdain. "I think it's necessary to ask Madam Pomfrey to come over again and help you check your brain."
[End of the chapter]