Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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After entering November, the weather became extremely cold, with frost appearing on the ground every morning.
A thick, hard layer of ice seemed to have formed overnight on the Black Lake, and many people were playing on it.
As soon as they left the warm castle, Kyle and Cedric felt a gust of cold wind hit them.
"Hiss...so cold!" Cedric shivered. "Luckily I put on a thick robe a few days ago, otherwise I would definitely catch a cold in this weather."
Last year, he hadn't changed into a thick robe in time, resulting in steam rising from his head for three days straight.
That's how Madam Pomfrey's potions are, fast-acting, but always with some strange side effects.
"It'll probably be much warmer during training later." Kyle tightened his collar and quickened his pace.
"You're right."
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The two crossed the field and arrived at the Quidditch pitch.
They were relatively early; Harris was carrying boxes of Quidditch balls out of the pitch.
Kyle also saw Hagrid, who was wrapped in a long moke-skin coat, defrosting his flying broomsticks.
Seeing Kyle, Hagrid waved enthusiastically, "Hey, Kyle, is it training today?"
"Yes, Hagrid."
Kyle walked over and took out his wand.
"Scourgify!"
In an instant, all the frost on the flying broomsticks was gone.
"That's so convenient..." Hagrid looked at Kyle's wand with some envy, and subconsciously glanced at the small pink umbrella in his pocket.
His wand was hidden in this umbrella, but for some reason, he couldn't use it in front of outsiders.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Kyle asked.
"No, thank you." Hagrid picked up the broomsticks and said with a smile, "If you ask me, you should train after lunch; the weather will be much warmer then."
"There's no way around it, today is the last weekend before the competition, and all three houses have to train," Kyle said, shaking his head helplessly.
If he could, he would certainly prefer to train when it's warmer, but unfortunately, Harris was too honest; after just a few words of persuasion, he agreed to use the last available pitch.
As a result, Ravenclaw had four hours after 10 PM, leaving Gryffindor with the rest of the time, so they had to come now.
"It seems everyone is taking this year's competition very seriously," Hagrid said. "But I believe you guys can definitely win; after all, Hufflepuff was last year's champion."
"Of course, I think so too."
At this moment, the other team members gradually arrived at the pitch. Kyle said goodbye to Hagrid and quickly joined the others in training.
Since today was just regular training, not tactical study, Harris didn't close off the pitch.
About half an hour later, the stands gradually filled up.
Most of them were young wizards who loved Quidditch, and after discovering that the pitch was open to all, they were happy to come and enjoy their hobby before the official competition.
At ten o'clock sharp, Harris, who had been training for two hours, descended from the air with the rest of the team, handing over the use of the field to the Ravenclaw team, who had been waiting there.
Kyle followed the group back to the castle.
Soon after, the spectators from the stands also came out, and it was clear they weren't in a good mood.
Fortunately, this wasn't the first time this had happened; after muttering a few complaints, they rubbed their shoulders and hurried back to the castle.
Kyle glanced at them thoughtfully.
"What are you thinking about?" Cedric noticed Kyle's unusual expression and couldn't help but ask.
"What do you think about us making a heating device?" Kyle said.
"A heating device?"
"That's right." Kyle pointed to the people shivering from the cold.
"The temperature has dropped rapidly these past few days, and it'll definitely be colder on Quidditch day. If we could release a convenient heating device then, it would be very popular."
"This..." Cedric seemed hesitant. He thought for a moment and said, "What you said makes a lot of sense, but there's something you might not know."
"Last year during the tournament, to avoid being affected by the bad weather, we used the Heat Charm and Warm-up Charm in advance, and both of these charms are required for third-year students."
Kyle wasn't too concerned about Cedric's worries.
His target wasn't the older students; those above third grade didn't need it, and there were still first and second-year students.
That was enough.
After having an idea, the two quickly found Kanna and the twins to discuss it.
Cho couldn't come because of training.
The five of them huddled in an empty classroom and stayed until noon before leaving.
"It's settled then, Kyle!" Fred said excitedly from the doorway.
"Two months of waiting… finally, we can do something big." George waved his hand and said, "You know, I've been looking forward to this since the start of the school year."
"Looks like I've heard something interesting."
At that moment, a sinister voice suddenly came from not far away.
Fred and George were startled and quickly turned around.
Snape and Filch were standing at the corner of the corridor not far away, looking at them with ill intent.
"It's you two again, I caught you this time…" Filch stared at Fred and George, gloating, "Breaking school rules time and time again, and still not repenting."
As he spoke, he looked at Snape beside him.
"To teach them a lesson, how about locking them in the dungeon? I've always maintained those chains, they're always ready to be used."
Snape didn't speak; he had just seen Kanna next to Kyle, and his face suddenly turned very ugly.
"Loud noise in the corridor, H… Gryffindor loses ten points."
Snape limped up to Kyle and said coldly, "Now, tell me what foolish ideas you have this time."
If looks could cast spells, Kyle would probably see hundreds of bullets raining down on him right now.
"I think, Professor, you've misunderstood."
Kyle rubbed his shoulders, somewhat awkwardly saying, "We're just looking forward to next week's Quidditch match."
"That'd better be." Snape narrowed his eyes. "If I find out you're lying, or have broken any rules, I guarantee I'll expel you."
Kyle forced a smile, feeling a sharp pain in his teeth.
He just couldn't understand it.
Shouldn't Snape be seeking validation from Harry? Why was he still fixated on him?
"Why aren't you saying anything!"
Looking at the silent Kyle, Snape frowned and said with disgust, "Disrespecting the professor… Gryffindor loses another ten points!"
[End of the chapter]