Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 393: A Solo Journey Home

Hagridʼs voice boomed through the room, and Kyle noticed Professor McGonagall glance around anxiously, as if she didn’t want the other students overhearing this conversation from over a decade ago—especially here, in this very place. Professor McGonagall paused for what felt like a long time.

Kyle quickly pretended not to notice and focused on eating his meat pie.

“Hagrid, please! Keep your voice down,” Professor McGonagall urged.

But her caution seemed to go unheeded. Hagrid could still hear her, even when she tried to lower her voice.

“And he wanted me to hand Harry over to him, that scum… Lucky for Harry, I refused—Dumbledore had already ordered me to take him to his aunt and uncle’s…”

“Hagrid!” Professor McGonagall shot him another irritated glance.

Just then, Kanna chimed in, “Kyle, let’s go find Cho and Cedric.”

“They’ve probably finished their conversation by now. Plus, I need to stop by Madam Puddifoot’s Teahouse to pick up something.”

“Looks like we’re on the same page,” Kyle said, standing up. He was about to pay for his drink when Kanna slipped two Galleons onto the table first.

“You…”

Kyle began to protest, but Kanna grabbed his arm, gently pulling him away from the bar before he could get another word out.

Once they were back on the street, Kanna smiled and said, “You bought me coffee last time, so I’m treating you this time.”

“No, it’s just…” Kyle hesitated, then added, “You actually gave too much. It only costs one and a half Galleons. Why’d you leave two?”

“Huh?” Kanna looked a bit puzzled. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“You didn’t give me a chance,” Kyle replied with a shrug.

Kanna was about to consider going back, but just then, Cedric and Cho came running toward them from a distance.

“Hey, where’d you two disappear to?” Cho asked as soon as she spotted Kyle and Kanna.

They’d been talking about checking out the Shrieking Shack, but when they’d turned around, all they’d seen were two nearly untouched coffee cups left on the table—their two companions were nowhere to be found.

“I went to almost every shop, but I couldn’t find you,” Cedric said.

“We’re right here—the Three Broomsticks,” Kyle replied. “Guess that’s one place you didn’t check.”

Cedric paused, realizing Kyle was right; he hadn’t been there. “But you just had coffee,” he pointed out.

Kyle shrugged. “Too sweet. Butterbeer’s more our style.”

Cedric pursed his lips, as if conceding. Oddly, he hadn’t noticed just how sweet the coffee had been.

With the conversation disrupted, Kanna felt awkward about asking for her change back, so she sighed and followed along with the others as they continued on.

They soon met up with Fred and George at Zonko’s and decided to head together to the Shrieking Shack, an outing they’d planned long ago. But upon arriving, they found it far less exciting than they’d imagined.

Once they unlocked the large padlock on the door, they discovered an abandoned room. The wallpaper was peeling, dust blanketed the floor, and all the furniture was broken as if it had been smashed long ago.

“So much for spooky legends,” Fred grumbled, kicking a broken stool aside. “The locals probably made up the story to draw tourists with tales of eerie nighttime howls.”

“I’m with you,” George agreed, brushing his hand across a dusty table. “This room’s been empty for ages. Just look at all this dust.”

“Maybe it’s haunted?” Cho suggested.

“Hogwarts has plenty of ghosts, and none of them howl,” Fred said. “Besides, ghosts don’t go around smashing furniture.”

He picked up a broken leg from a stool and tapped it on the ground for emphasis. “Someone probably just wrecked this place to create a bit of spooky ambience.”

After days of anticipation, they were all disappointed by the anticlimactic Shrieking Shack. The dreary room dulled their excitement, and they lost interest in browsing the village shops.

Once they’d left, they headed straight back to the castle. Kyle was the last to leave and re-secured the lock on the door.

It was still early when they returned, and the castle was unusually quiet. Filch stood in the foyer, eyes narrowing as he watched them—though his gaze was fixed on Fred and George, whose pockets were stuffed with Zonko’s prank items.

Filch approached, scowling. “Hold it right there. I want to check—”

Before he could finish, Fred and George bolted, sprinting past him and disappearing down the hallway.

“Stop!” Filch bellowed, “Stop, I say!”

His angry shouts echoed through the quiet castle, quickly bringing it to life.

...

At dinnertime, everyone gathered to discuss their holiday plans.

“What do you mean?!” Cedric exclaimed, staring at Kyle in disbelief. “You’re not spending Christmas at Hogwarts this year?”

For the past three years, Kyle had stayed at school over Christmas, and Cedric had assumed this year would be no different. He’d even gone to the trouble of writing to his father for weeks and, just two days ago, put himself on the list of students staying over the holiday—all to surprise Kyle. He hadn’t expected that Kyle would be heading home this year. It felt like some elaborate trick.

“Yeah,” Kyle replied casually, though he seemed a bit lost in thought. “I can’t spend every Christmas here, after all.”

“I…” Cedric started, but before he could continue, Cho suddenly sidled up beside them.

“What a shame,” she said with a small smile. “I was hoping someone would keep me company.”

“You’re not going home this year?” Kyle asked, surprised.

“No.” Cho nodded. “My dad wrote to me that they’re going on a trip for Christmas, so I’ll be staying at school.”

“I see,” Kyle said, nodding before turning back to Cedric. “What were you going to say?”

“Oh, nothing.” Cedric took a calm sip of pumpkin juice. “I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. I’ve decided to stay at school this year too, so I won’t be able to go home with you.”

“You’re staying at school too?” Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Did Mr. Diggory agree to that, or did you decide on your own?”

“I signed the list for students staying at school a couple of days ago,” Cedric replied.

“Me too,” Kanna chimed in, grinning at Cho. “We can go to the library and work on our homework together during the break.”

Kyle realized that the holiday plans seemed entirely flipped this year. Besides him, it looked like nearly everyone else had chosen to stay at Hogwarts—including Fred and George, who were working on their new Skiving Snackboxes. They knew that if they went home, Mrs. Weasley would likely catch onto their experiments right away.