Over the next few weeks, Kyle visited the Room of Requirement almost daily to tend to the newly sprouted Devil's Snare and keep a close eye on the Chomping Cabbages.
Once mature, the Chomping Cabbages could temporarily break free from the soil, wandering around on their large outer leaves. Though Kyle wasn't particularly worried about this — they rarely left their comfortable soil unless provoked — he was concerned about their unpredictable seed dispersal.
Mature Chomping Cabbages could shoot their seeds at any moment, the distance varying with their mood — sometimes reaching several hundred meters. In the confined space of the Room of Requirement, these seeds could cause problems if they took root near the Mooncalves or Devil's Snare.
Chomping Cabbages were infamously difficult to transplant, particularly during their early sprouting stage. Even the slightest environmental change could cause them to wither instantly. Only master herbologists like Pomona Sprout possessed the expertise for such a delicate task.
Since Kyle hadn't reached that level of skill yet, he relied on the simplest solution: collecting the seeds before they could sprout and planting them in appropriate locations.
By the time Easter break approached, after a month of diligent work, the Room of Requirement housed five Chomping Cabbages — two mature plants and three new sprouts.
After ensuring he hadn't missed any seeds, Kyle felt relieved that his daily visits to the Room of Requirement could finally end.
Meanwhile, Cedric and the other Hufflepuff Quidditch players found themselves increasingly busy. Harris had become stricter than ever with training, his enthusiasm undimmed even during the rainy days that followed the heavy snow.
Yet no one protested. A victory in their upcoming match against Slytherin would put them ahead of Gryffindor in total points. If they could then win their final match — or at least maintain their lead — they would secure the Quidditch Cup for Hufflepuff.
Driven by the prospect of victory, the team had become training enthusiasts, virtually living on the Quidditch field.
Of course, Gryffindor was much the same.
However, Slytherin seemed to have given up, merely going through their regular training and leaving precisely on time, without lingering.
This wasn't surprising — they would only have a chance at the championship if they beat Hufflepuff by three hundred points in the next match. This was clearly unrealistic, though it might have been possible against Ravenclaw's point-giving team.
During morning Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Kyle divided his attention between anticipating tomorrow's match and taking notes on various treatments for werewolf bites.
"Remember, the mixture of dittany and silver powder only seals the wound — it doesn't prevent transformation into a werewolf." Professor Oren said seriously from the podium, "If you're not absolutely certain of victory, the best strategy when encountering a werewolf is to run — run as fast as you can. Choose spells that create obstacles to buy yourself time to escape, rather than trying to kill them. Sometimes, keeping a broomstick handy is a good habit — it could save your life in crucial moments."
After recording this content, he used a transformation spell to turn the podium into a werewolf, then had the young wizards come forward for practical training.
While queuing, Kanna approached Kyle and whispered, "Do you have any rat medicine?"
"Rat medicine?" Kyle blinked, "What's wrong, has Porgy fallen out of favor? Even if you don't want her anymore, you don't need to kill her — just give her to Percy, Scabbers needs a wife anyway."
"What are you thinking? I'd never give Porgy away!" Kanna pushed him irritably, "I meant medicine to treat rats. Porgy's been sick lately, with no energy at all."
"Sick?" Kyle frowned, "Have you been giving her the rat tonic on schedule?"
Kanna nodded, "Of course, I've fed it to her on time every month, never missed once."
"That shouldn't be happening then." Kyle scratched his head, puzzled, "Did I buy fake ingredients?"
The rat tonic he sold to Kanna wasn't the sugar water sold in Diagon Alley shops, but rather a special tonic researched by Newt for Murtlap rats.
For ordinary field rats, this stuff was practically the "fountain of life" — just one small bottle each month would guarantee a healthy life until natural death.
"Are you sure it's sick?" Kyle asked again.
"Definitely. It was sneezing just last night." Kanna said, "I think it's because of that heavy rain during flying lessons a few days ago — everyone in our dormitory caught a cold then."
"Maybe..."
Kyle glanced at the dwindling line ahead and pulled her toward the back.
"I know a recipe for rat medicine, but I'm missing some potion ingredients." He said, rubbing his fingers thoughtfully, "How about this — give Porgy another bottle of rat tonic tonight and see how it goes. If that doesn't work, I'll send an owl to Hogsmeade for supplies after tomorrow's Quidditch match."
He paused, then suddenly asked.
"By the way, have you lost any Galleons lately... Sickles and Knuts count too."
"Not since you gave me that handbag." Kanna said, puzzled, "Why?"
"Nothing." Kyle smiled, "Just wanted to make sure you could afford it."
"Um... is it expensive?" Kanna asked nervously, taking out her pink handbag, "I only have about a dozen Galleons now."
"That's enough." Kyle said, "They're all common ingredients, just a few Sickles."
Kanna patted her chest, sighing in relief, "Phew... that's good."
As they talked, their turn for combat training approached.
The main challenge was simple: the young wizards knew too few spells. When facing Professor Oren's controlled "werewolf", they had almost no defense and were caught within seconds.
How could they not be quick?
Kanna lasted for a minute before falling to the "wolf's kiss".
Kyle went last. Unlike the others who immediately fled, he quickly drew his wand and pointed it toward the classroom door.
✭ Accio ➜ Summoning Charm: Broomstick ✭
Moments later, an old Comet burst through the classroom door, carrying the zigzagging Kyle into the air.
"Correct answer... though if you had been more observant, you would have noticed I had already placed the broomstick by the door — even without knowing the Summoning Charm, you could have simply opened the door and grabbed it in time." Professor Oren looked somewhat disappointed as he canceled the podium's transformation and announced, "Ten points to Hufflepuff!"
✭✭✭
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