"This is unbelievable."
While eating in the Great Hall, Cedric had already heard from Kanna about the events that unfolded in Potions class.
He smacked his lips, then asked with a curious gleam in his eye, "I thought the Draught of Living Death was only taught in sixth year. How did you manage to... Wait, don't tell me you've already finished all the Potions textbooks!"
Kyle, who was slicing a sausage, looked up and chuckled. "What if I did?"
Cedric froze for a moment, then half-joked, "Then I'd have to quit Quidditch and spend more time studying... Being friends with a future Potions Master is a lot of pressure."
"Seems like I just saved my life from Harris," Kyle patted his chest dramatically. "If you quit the team because of me, he'd definitely come after me!"
"Alright, alright, I was only joking."
Under the curious stares of others nearby, Kyle continued, "Let's just call it luck. The other day, I picked up Advanced Potion-Making to pass the time and happened to see the process for brewing the Draught of Living Death."
It really was luck. If he hadn't learned Occlumency over the summer, he wouldn't have dared to pull a stunt like that in front of Snape. Though that kind of behavior was a bit reckless, it was definitely thrilling.
Especially when he saw Snape's expression—clearly itching to deduct points, his face contorted in disbelief. Kyle had nearly burst out laughing right then.
If only he'd managed to snap a picture of Snape's face at that moment. Kyle would have used the finest Developing Solution to turn it into a ghastly moving portrait and plaster it in every corner of Hogwarts.
If he ever got the chance to capture such a moment again, maybe he could enlist Peeves to help...
"Still, that was pretty incredible."
Mikel, who was seated on the other side of Kyle, sighed, "Professor Snape clearly wrote down the process, but I just couldn't get it."
Mikel had been the unfortunate soul who'd blown up his cauldron. After stirring, the potion had started evaporating rapidly, and in the end, the cauldron exploded, sending out a pool of black, gelatinous substance.
In a way, it might have had an even better sleep-inducing effect than the actual Draught of Living Death—except no one would ever dare test it.
After dinner, the group returned to the common room and found seats near the fireplace. The blazing fire quickly chased away the chill from outside, and they all leaned back on the sofas, closing their eyes with contentment.
With Christmas vacation around the corner, the young wizards in the common room were buzzing with excitement, and almost everyone was chatting about their holiday plans.
Cedric, listening to their conversation, turned his head and asked, "By the way, Kyle, are you really not going home for Christmas this year?"
"Mm," Kyle nodded. Diana hadn't been home recently, and Chris had gone to Albania with Newt, so he'd be home alone for Christmas.
The previous week, Professor Sprout had come by to register students staying over the holidays, and Kyle had immediately signed up, as had Kanna.
According to Kanna, Snape seemed interested in giving her extra lessons over the Christmas holidays, so she'd have to stay at school.
This made Kyle a bit envious; he'd have liked to sit in on those lessons himself. But he knew all too well that Snape would never allow it.
Fred and George were also staying at Hogwarts this year since the Weasleys were off to Romania to visit Charlie and hadn't planned to take them along.
"Why is everyone staying at school this Christmas..." Cedric said helplessly, scratching his head. "It's no fun being the only one going home."
In fact, he'd wanted to stay at school too and had written to his family about it, but Mr. Diggory had firmly refused. Cedric didn't want to defy him, so he gave up on the idea.
At least Cho was also going home, so he wouldn't be the only one leaving.
The group lingered in front of the fireplace until late in the afternoon, before finally getting up to leave the common room.
Cedric had to head to his last Charms lesson before the holidays, while Kyle and Kanna were off to Herbology.
After the Fortified Pumpkin from Halloween, Professor Sprout had prepared another festive magical plant for their final lesson before the Christmas break: Snow-Capped Toadstools.
It was a fungus over half a meter tall, with a ring of white streaks on the cap, looking just like a snow-dusted Christmas tree.
Unsurprisingly, Kyle earned Hufflepuff another 20 points. Whether to spare others' feelings or in the spirit of Christmas, Professor Sprout ended the class by giving each student a pot of Snow-Capped Toadstools as a gift.
However, Kyle wasn't too enthusiastic. Snow-Capped Toadstools were a type of non-toxic ornamental plant that only grew on snow-covered mountaintops, and most young wizards had never seen one.
In fact, you could buy a pot of Snow-Capped Toadstools in Diagon Alley for three Sickles, or even cheaper if you bought the seeds—a small spoonful cost twenty Knuts.
Planting it in a garden would only make for a more exciting meal for the Mooncalves.
As Kyle, Kanna, and the others emerged from the greenhouse after their last Herbology class, excitement rippled through the crowd. Tomorrow marked the start of the long-awaited holiday, and if not for the evening banquet tonight, many of them would have boarded the train home without hesitation.
At the back of the group, Kanna leaned in and whispered, "Kyle, what are you planning to do over the holiday?"
Kyle thought for a moment before replying, "Probably just nothing much." He grinned. "I've been so busy lately, so I'm going to take advantage of the vacation to relax. I'll explore Hogwarts a bit, maybe even try out that secret passage the Weasley twins recommended."
Hearing this, Kanna couldn't help but look a little envious. For her, this holiday would look quite different.
She had only three days to get through all her homework for each of her subjects; the rest of her time would be dedicated to intense studying. According to Professor Snape, "Your foundation is so poor, you're wasting a perfectly good talent. Tutoring, you must be tutored!"
Initially, she'd had a week set aside to finish her homework, and if she worked efficiently, she might have been able to spare a few days for herself. But for some reason, just this morning on the way to class, she had received an unexpected note from Professor Snape. It announced that her extra lessons had been moved up by four days, and she was instructed to complete her homework as soon as possible.
Now, she had no choice. With only three days left, she could barely manage to finish her assignments, let alone carve out any time for herself.