The Ravenclaw team, having lost their Seeker, was like a lamb to the slaughter.
After Kyle assisted the offense in scoring another fifty points, their opponents' offensive and defensive systems completely collapsed.
Kyle had originally intended to use them to rack up points and solidify Hufflepuff's position at the top of the total score rankings.
However, Cedric, having returned to the pitch, vetoed his proposal.
This was, after all, the team belonging to the girl of his dreams; he couldn't let things get too ugly.
It didn't matter to Kyle, though. During the long stretch Cedric had spent off the pitch keeping Cho Chang company, Hufflepuff had already widened the point gap to over four hundred.
When no one was looking, Cedric secretly took the Golden Snitch from Kyle's hand, ending the torture for the young eagles.
The final score was fixed at 690:120.
Rumor had it that when Ravenclaw's Head of House, Professor Flitwick, left the stands, his face was dark enough to match two Snapes.
The entire Hufflepuff common room seemed to be overflowing with a sea of joy.
This joy reached its peak when Hannah excitedly gave Kyle a big hug.
Hearing the teasing from those around her, little Hannah immediately let go in shyness and burrowed into the crowd.
Seeing how thin-skinned the girl was, the others stopped teasing her and Kyle, turning their attention to getting food from the kitchens instead.
The young badgers asked the house-elves to bring up a massive amount of food from the kitchens.
They even managed to procure several large barrels of Butterbeer, a treat usually only seen at feasts on major holidays.
Such behavior would normally be prohibited at Hogwarts.
However, Professor Sprout seemed particularly happy today, so she didn't put a stop to the young badgers' drinking.
"Let's toast to today's victory!" A group of badgers surrounded Kyle, raising their tankards.
Kyle swept his gaze over the surrounding badgers, the corners of his mouth curving up.
This little bit of alcohol couldn't even get Cedric drunk, and he had the lowest tolerance in their "Father-Worriers Alliance," okay?
After all, they were battle-hardened veterans.
Seeing that Professor Sprout had no intention of stopping them and was actually raising her own glass along with the cheers, Kyle threw his head back and drained his tankard of Butterbeer in an instant.
After celebrating with the badgers for a little while, Professor Sprout left the Hufflepuff common room.
After all, no matter how amiable she usually was, she was still a professor. Staying in the common room would only make the students feel self-conscious.
So, once Professor Sprout left, the atmosphere in the common room became even more heated.
"Come on! Fill 'er up! Keep drinking!" Kyle shouted boisterously.
Naturally, a badger sidled up and poured Kyle another brimming mug of beer.
However, what Kyle hadn't anticipated was that while Butterbeer might not be intoxicating, it was certainly bladder-filling.
In the span of just one short hour, Kyle had to go relieve himself three times.
Fortunately, his hard work paid off.
After several rounds, there were few people left in the Hufflepuff common room who could walk in a straight line.
"Are you saving that for the fish? Get up and drink!" Kyle shook their team captain vigorously.
A wobbling arm clutching a white napkin rose from beneath the table; Captain Jack had raised the white flag to declare his demise.
By the time Professor Sprout returned, the two main culprits, Kyle and Cedric, were nowhere to be found.
All that remained were the "corpses" of young badgers lying in disarray, accompanied by a symphony of rising and falling snores.
Her face instantly darkened, rivaling Professor Flitwick's expression when he had fled the Quidditch pitch two hours earlier.
As for what the two ringleaders, Kyle and Cedric, were doing?
At this moment, they were with George, squatting on their haunches on the solidly frozen surface of the Black Lake.
Fred, meanwhile, was tinkering with something in the distance.
"Say," Cedric reached out and poked Kyle in the ribs, "that Bludger this morning... you were aiming for me, weren't you?"
An awkward smile appeared on Kyle's face. "How is that possible?"
"Are you serious?" Cedric, the honest man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, had gotten smarter this time; he remained skeptical of Kyle's words.
"Unless you say 'Britons don't lie to Britons,' I can't believe you."
"I swear! I really didn't trick you! If I'm speaking a word of a lie, Fred falls into the lake in the next second!"
Splash!
The ice in the distance suddenly cracked, and Fred actually fell into the Black Lake.
The three frantically fished Fred out of the water. After a chaotic scramble, the four of them resumed their previous squatting positions.
Facing Cedric's gaze, which poked at him like a small knife, Kyle didn't feel guilty at all—though he did avoid Cedric's eyes.
That was definitely just a coincidence! It didn't count!
Besides, Cedric was blocking the path between him and Cho Chang at the time. If he hadn't aimed that Bludger at Cedric's head, how could he have accurately hit Cho Chang, right?
After tinkering for a while, Fred trotted over happily and joined the ranks of the squatters.
"Done?" George tilted his head to look at his twin brother.
"Of course, I am the genius physicist of Hogwarts!" Fred bragged without blushing.
What he had just been tinkering with on the distant ice was TNT, synthesized according to a tutorial in a chemistry book.
Today was his first time conducting an experiment combining explosives with the Exploding Charm.
Originally, Fred had planned to use a small amount to test inside the castle, but Kyle had stopped him in time.
Kyle's point was: make the best use of everything. Rather than just hearing a bang for nothing, why not bring it out to the Black Lake to blast some fish?
After blasting the Black Lake, they could scoop up the fish that had been stunned or killed by the explosion.
Add in the Butterbeer Cedric had swiped from the kitchens, and they had themselves a late-night supper.
"Art is an explosion! Hah!"
A dazzling ball of red light shot from the tip of Fred's wand, landing unerringly in the ice hole he had just chiseled.
The next second— BOOM——!!
Accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, bewitching orange-red flames bloomed from the point of impact. A scorching wave spread out in all directions along the ice.
"Holy crap! Run!" Fred screamed in panic.
He had underestimated the combined power of the Exploding Charm and the TNT. If they stayed on the ice, they'd be going for another swim.
However, he had also underestimated the other three's ability to flee. Despite being the first to realize something was wrong, he ended up being the last one running.
Violent explosions rang out incessantly. Fine, spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly in all directions from the center of the blast, and the ice surface collapsed section by section.
Two minutes later, a once-again soaked Fred stood on the shore and sighed with deep emotion, "Now that is art!"
Kyle started a fire by the lakeside and set a pot over it. "Alright, alright, stop being so sentimental. Add water."
Let's have fish soup tonight.
By the window of the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore, whose attention had been drawn by the commotion of the explosion, slowly withdrew his gaze.
He sighed, feeling rather weary at heart.
Today these brats could blow up the Black Lake; tomorrow the four of them might blow up the castle.
When will these days ever end?
————
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