Chapter 10: Cedric

After Kyle got on the train, the first few carriages were mostly full of people.

There was no way around it; since he had caught the train right on time, finding an empty seat was not going to be easy.

Kyle used a levitation charm to carry his luggage and walked all the way to the end of the train, where he finally found a relatively spacious carriage.

There was only one boy in this carriage, about the same age as him. His appearance... while not as good as Kyle's, was definitely better than the Weasley twins.

"Knock knock..."

Kyle tapped on the carriage door and politely asked, "Hello, can I sit here? All the other seats are taken."

"Of course, please sit down," the boy quickly replied.

"Thank you."

After entering the carriage, Kyle first placed his luggage on the rack and then extended his hand to the other person.

"Hello, I'm Kyle Choba, a new student this year."

The boy seemed to be lost in thought and didn't respond immediately. When he finally reacted, he hurriedly extended his hand and said, "Oh... sorry, I'm Cedric Diggory, a second-year student at Hogwarts."

Cedric?

Kyle was a bit surprised. He didn't expect to run into an "acquaintance" so soon after getting on the train. The future hero of Hogwarts, no wonder he's so handsome.

Kyle remembered that they both lived near St. Mungo's, but due to various reasons, they had never met.

Not even once.

Kyle had tried to find him a few times, but the Diggorys' door was always closed. Eventually, Kyle gave up.

He never imagined that their first meeting would be on the train...

However, seeing that the other person seemed to have something on his mind, Kyle didn't say much more. After a brief greeting, he took out the book he had bought from Flourish and Blotts, "Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)," and started reading.

The other person continued to daydream.

It had started drizzling outside the window at some point. This was always the case; the rain would come without any warning.

Kyle glanced out the window but didn't pay much attention. He was used to it and actually enjoyed reading in such an environment.

Influenced by Kyle, Cedric stopped daydreaming and also took out a book to read. The cover read "Defensive Magical Theory."

Studying Defense Against the Dark Arts on the way to school was quite normal for Hogwarts students.

After all, no one knew how long the professor for this course would last. If they only managed to teach two classes before something happened, it was better to study in advance.

For a while, the only sound in the carriage was the rustling of parchment, in stark contrast to the noise in the corridor outside.

However, this didn't last long.

Cedric hadn't even finished two pages when the carriage door opened again.

"Finally found you, Kyle."

"We specifically saved a seat for you, but you stood us up, making us wait like fools."

"I think you should apologize to us."

Fred and George leaned against the door, taking turns to question Kyle.

Both of their expressions were quite angry, as if Kyle had done something unforgivable.

"I can apologize,"

Kyle calmly closed his book and said, "but you must swear on the name of Dungbomb to prove that what you just said is true."

Instantly, Fred's anger turned to confusion: "Can I swear on the headmaster's name?"

George also chimed in: "Or Professor McGonagall?"

"No!" Kyle shook his head. "It has to be Dungbomb."

...

"Oh, George, I think Kyle is a first-time rider on the Hogwarts Express and isn't familiar with the train, so he couldn't find us."

"Yes, Fred, it's not his fault. We should have been more aware of the surroundings."

The twins exchanged a glance and, in unison, ignored their previous words, squeezing into the carriage as if nothing had happened.

Inevitably, they also noticed Cedric.

Fred flashed a mischievous smile: "Look who it is, I can't seem to remember."

George raised an eyebrow: "Of course, it's our model student, the pride of Hufflepuff, Mr. Cedric Diggory."

As soon as the words left their mouths, Cedric's face turned red. The embarrassing titles made him so embarrassed that he almost dug a hole in the train.

But he couldn't argue.

The titles of "model student" and "pride of Hufflepuff" had been spread by his father, and by the end of the summer, almost everyone in the Ministry of Magic knew about them.

Of course, this included their families.

During the summer, almost half of the letters Cedric received were signed "Pride of Hufflepuff."

The other half came from Muggle-born classmates who didn't know about this.

Because of this, he had deliberately chosen this corner carriage, but he was still discovered, and by the most troublesome people.

"Please, let me off the hook!" Cedric clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture: "I can lend you my homework."

As he spoke, a stack of parchment was placed on the table.

The twins had intended to tease him a bit more, but the price he offered was too high.

It was the top student's homework!

George's expression turned serious as he quickly hugged the parchment and said solemnly, "What are you talking about, Cedric? We know this isn't your fault. We were just joking."

"Right," Fred nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, we won't mock you for this."

...

Fred and George left with big smiles, looking as if they had found a Galleon.

Once they were gone, Cedric let out a sigh of relief and looked at Kyle somewhat embarrassedly: "Sorry, I..."

"I should be the one to apologize," Kyle interrupted. "After all, they came looking for me, and you wouldn't have been discovered otherwise."

Cedric shook his head with a bitter smile: "It was bound to happen eventually."

On the train, he could hide, but once they arrived at Hogwarts, he would have to face it. It was just a matter of time.

Moreover, the sudden appearance of the Weasley brothers wasn't entirely a bad thing. They had shown Cedric a way to solve this issue.

Homework.

As the top student, his summer homework was in high demand, as evidenced by the Weasley brothers' reaction. Using his homework to keep the mouths of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor shut should work.

As long as he could control them, the problem would be 80% solved.

As for Ravenclaw and Slytherin... given their nature, they probably wouldn't join in the commotion, at least not most of them. Even if a few did, it wouldn't be a big deal.

As long as his housemates didn't cause a fuss and the energetic Gryffindors didn't get involved, the whole thing would blow over in three days.

Three days, that's all.

Thinking about it this way, Cedric suddenly felt that things weren't so bad after all.

...