Chapter 63: Why Am I A Little bittersweet?

"Don't worry, Cedric is fine. Madam Pomfrey said he'll be discharged tomorrow morning," Kyle announced this good news as soon as they returned to the Hufflepuff common room.

The little badgers, who had not gone anywhere after leaving the infirmary, were waiting here. The Quidditch players also gathered, but their expressions were far from pleasant.

The loss of the Seeker, Cedric, had dealt a severe blow to the team's morale. Despite a substitute filling in for the Seeker position, they ended up losing by a significant margin of 60 to 220, trailing by a whopping 160 points.

Fortunately, Cedric's condition turned out not to be severe, which was indeed good news.

The Beater, Xavier, exclaimed thankfully, "In that case, we can still make it to the afternoon training."

Xavier was a seventh-year student. His biggest wish was to bring the Quidditch Cup to Hufflepuff before graduation.

"Damn it," Captain Harris angrily pounded the wall. "We can't just let this matter go."

"Yes, there must be an explanation for this," someone spoke indignantly. "The Slytherin blatantly attacked our Seeker. It's a clear sign of disrespect towards you, Captain. I can't tolerate this!"

"Captain," someone lowered their voice, saying, "I've inquired. Slytherin's team will be going to Hogsmeade village tomorrow. What if we..."

"Shut up, Henry," Harris turned to glare at him. "Remember, don't lay a hand on Slytherin's players. I'll handle this matter."

...

Not far away, Kyle glanced at Harris upon hearing his words.

This captain was quite clear-headed.

Now was definitely not the time to openly confront Slytherin.

Hufflepuff's house points were only about ten points lower than Slytherin's at the moment. The gap was very small, and if Professor Snape found an opportunity, he wouldn't hesitate to deduct a hundred points from Hufflepuff.

Of course, if losing a hundred points could vent their frustration, Hufflepuff wouldn't mind. But if they failed to retaliate and lost the points, it would be unpleasant.

And this possibility was not small.

Kyle speculated that a certain professor was probably closely monitoring them, and perhaps even the news about Slytherin players going to Hogsmeade village was intentionally leaked by him.

Kyle shook his head and didn't continue listening. He called Mikel and Ryan, and the three of them returned to the dormitory together.

"Kyle, why can't we talk outside?" Mikel, who had been discussing Quidditch with others, was somewhat reluctant when Kyle suddenly called him back to the dormitory.

He looked at the poster of the Wimbourne Wasps by Kyle's bed and said, with some reluctance, "I just discovered how interesting Quidditch is. Unfortunately, first-years are not allowed to join the team. I must sign up next year, what about you guys? Do you want to join together?"

After saying this, Mikel closed his eyes, enjoying himself flying on a broomstick in the Quidditch field. Catching the Golden Snitch, surrounded by deafening cheers, and everyone screaming his name.

That feeling was fantastic...

"Wake up first, sleep later!"

At this moment, a cold voice ruthlessly pulled him out of his dream.

"Quidditch can wait until next year. You have more important matters now."

After Mikel opened his eyes, Kyle handed him a bottle of blue potion. "Big guy, it's time to take your medicine."

Seeing the potion, Mikel's mouth, which had been wide open, closed abruptly.

"No way, I just drank it a few days ago!" Mikel said confidently.

"What about the last sixty days?" Kyle said, "This is supposed to be drunk once every two months, you should know that."

"It's already been two months? So fast!" Mikel still found it hard to believe.

The disgusting taste was memorable as if it happened just yesterday.

"Uhh, did you forget?" Ryan reminded quietly on the side. "Halloween was just a couple of days ago."

Prompted by his words, Mikel quickly recognized the reality.

Right, Halloween had passed. It had been two months already.

"Okay, you're right," Mikel said with a wandering gaze. "But I have something to do later, so you can just leave it on the table and I will drink it when I come back in the evening."

"Sure, don't forget," Kyle placed the potion on the table.

Mikel was obviously relieved after seeing it, "Don't worry, I will definitely not forget it. I'll go to the library to do my homework now. See you in the evening."

After saying this, Mikel was about to leave.

Behind him, Kyle quietly took out his wand.

"Incarcerous."

A thick rope shot out from the wand's tip, firmly binding Mikel.

"What are you doing, what are you doing!"

Mikel struggled desperately, but everything was in vain. He could only watch as Kyle walked over step by step with the Magic Suppressing potion in hand.

"Don't come over, don't come over!"

"Don't blame me, I'm also very sad about this." Kyle reached his side and said sincerely, "But I have no choice. This was the task Headmaster Dumbledore gave me, and I must complete it."

"I'm fine, really."

Mikel felt he could still salvage the situation and quickly said, "Professor Sprout even said I've made rapid progress, and the accident like before won't happen again."

"That was a Lumos spell. Now we've learned the Levitation Charm."

"Then I can do it without a wand!" Mikel continued to struggle. "I can do it without a wand, right?"

Kyle shook his head.

Charms class without a wand was no different from playing Quidditch without a broom.

Kyle exchanged glances with Ryan, who understood instantly and came over, rolling up his sleeves.

With the cooperation of the two of them, the Magic Suppressing potion was poured down Mikel's throat smoothly without wasting a drop.

Holding the empty bottle, Ryan asked curiously, "What is this anyway?"

"Magic Suppression potion, a very precious potion."

"Precious?"

"Yes." Kyle thought for a moment. "Let me put it this way: If you weren't at Hogwarts, buying this potion would cost at least fifty Galleons, and that's for the lowest quality."

"Fifty Galleons!!"

Ryan swallowed hard. His wand cost only seven Galleons. With just this bottle of potion, he could actually buy seven wands?

"However, the bottle just now was brewed personally by Professor Snape himself."

"Snape?!"

"Yes." Kyle continued, "If a potion master's work like his were placed in Diagon Alley, the price would be at least double, which is one hundred Galleons."

This time, even Mikel, lying on the ground and pretending to be a salted fish, sat up upon hearing this number.

Did he just drink something worth a hundred Galleons?

Mikel smacked his lips and felt a little bittersweet about it.

(End of chapter)