Chapter 62: The Tense Atmosphere in the Infirmary

In the infirmary, Cedric and Kyle stared at each other with wide eyes, creating a somewhat awkward scene.

To be more precise, Cedric felt embarrassed. If he weren't lying on the bed, he might have already started building a second Hogwarts castle from the ground.

"Forget it if it's not." Cedric turned his head away, pretending to be calm.

Kyle coughed dryly and said with a serious tone, "Cedric, why would you want to duel them? Don't forget that we are Hufflepuffs, known for being honest and exemplary students at Hogwarts. Such ideas are very dangerous.

Think about Professor Sprout. She would be very disappointed if she knew you had become impulsive and reckless."

"I haven't thought about it that way," Cedric replied, annoyed.

Mainly because when he was sent here, he kept hearing people talking about challenging Slytherins to one-on-one duels, and quite a few were interested.

At that time, his legs and head hurt too much, and his consciousness was blurry. He wanted to advise them against being impulsive, but he couldn't speak.

Now, the thought just crossed his mind again, and he assumed Kyle had the same intentions.

"No need to explain, I understand," Kyle said, not even looking at Cedric, and continued, "Especially after such a serious injury, it's normal to say something rash out of frustration. Here, have a Chocolate Frog."

Earlier, the badgers left some snacks before leaving the infirmary, probably meant for enjoying during the match.

Kyle picked a Chocolate Frog, unwrapped it, and handed it to Cedric.

"I've already said I haven't thought about it that way. You... wait a moment."

As Cedric was about to explain, he noticed the Chocolate Frog card in Kyle's hand.

"What are you holding there..."

Kyle put his hand in his pocket, casually saying, "Just a regular card. Nicholas, I happened to not have him."

"No," Cedric sat up, "I saw it, it wasn't Nicholas, it was Agrippa."

Although he only glanced unintentionally, Cedric still saw that the card in Kyle's hand was golden.

It was a special alchemical process added by the Chocolate Frog company to prevent card forgery.

This protection made spells like the Duplication Charm (Geminio) useless, and it was more effective than the one engraved on the gold Galleons.

There was only one chocolate frog card in the entire set that used this process—the rare and coveted Cornelius Agrippa.

Thinking about this, Cedric immediately reached out, "Give it back to me, that's the Chocolate Frog given to me, so the card inside is rightfully mine as well!"

Seeing he couldn't deceive Cedric, Kyle admitted, "But I unwrapped it. If it were yours, it would probably be just a Dumbledore at best."

"It doesn't matter who unwrapped it. It's Agrippa! Give it back, I only need this one to complete the whole set!"

"No." Kyle tightly held the pocket, "I only need this one too!"

Just like on the train, the two stared at each other, and the air was filled with tension.

This time, however, Kyle clearly had the upper hand. He glanced at Cedric provocatively, then walked to the infirmary door, opened it, and walked out.

Then he came back...

Went out, and came back in.

Cedric was bewildered. He didn't expect Kyle to be so shameless, to lie and mock an injured patient.

"Alright, no more joking."

Seeing Cedric having difficulty breathing, Kyle walked back to the bedside. He took out the Agrippa card from his pocket.

"I really can't give you this. I have plans for it," Kyle said solemnly. "I must say, Slytherin is really lucky. I was a little worried about what to do, but this card came at the right time."

"Slytherin?"

Cedric calmly put down the shoes in his hand, puzzled. "Is your plan related to this card?"

Kyle nodded.

"This is Agrippa." Cedric sighed with a face full of pity, whispering, "If I could get an Agrippa, I wouldn't mind falling a few more times."

"Isn't it just a card? Look at you, being so sentimental." Kyle gave him a look of disdain, "At worst, this is just to vent your anger. At best, it's about whether Hufflepuff can win the Quidditch Cup. Is Agrippa more important than the Quidditch Cup?"

"Well, not exactly..." Cedric muttered quietly.

"Exactly."

"But…" Cedric looked at Kyle thoughtfully.

He felt that something didn't seem right. Kyle's expression was too serious, which was abnormal in itself

Cedric strongly suspected that Kyle was deceiving him, or in Kyle's original plan, that Agrippa card wasn't necessary at all.

But he had no evidence.

"How about you give me Agrippa." Cedric thought for a moment and said, "Even if it's just for one night, it can be considered as owning it. After being discharged tomorrow, I'll give it back, or we can execute the plan together."

"No need, just leave this dirty work to me." Kyle patted his chest and said righteously, "Your task now is to recover properly."

"..."

It's confirmed. Kyle was indeed deceiving him.

Cedric narrowed his eyes and reached out to pick up the shoes on the ground.

When he raised his head again, Kyle had already rushed out of the infirmary. At the same time, Madam Pomfrey approached with a tray.

"What are you doing with the shoes?" Madam Pomfrey frowned. "It takes time to heal the bones. Yyou need to stay overnight here."

"Sorry, Madam, I understand." Cedric forced a smile and put the shoes back.

"Really, young wizards these days are not reassuring at all." Madam Pomfrey finished bandaging his right leg and placed a Chocolate Frog card on the bed.

"I found this by your bedside. Remember not to throw things away in the future."

Cedric's heart suddenly pounded twice as he looked at the card with delight.

On the card, an elderly man with a gray beard kindly looked at him.

Cedric's originally fervent heart instantly cooled after seeing the old man.

"Nicholas Flamel, acknowledged as the most famous alchemist of our time, widely known for contributions..."

"Kyle!!"

Cedric glared in the direction of the infirmary door, teeth clenched, wishing to rush out and give someone a good beating. However, seeing Madam Pomfrey nearby, the thought quickly extinguished.

Not willing to settle, he opened the remaining two Chocolate Frogs, attempting to find another Agrippa card.

A minute later… Cedric sighed quietly and stuffed the two Dumbledores under his pillow.

(End of chapter)