"Amazing," Madam Pomfrey said, glancing at Hagrid, who had just asked to be discharged from the hospital. She turned to Kyle with a look of astonishment.
She had only intended for Kyle to help lift Hagrid's spirits a bit, but she hadn't expected him to go this far. Hagrid had been so stubbornly resistant, refusing to listen to anyone even when he was on the verge of collapse. Now he was actually begging to be discharged!
This was almost too good to be true...
"Poppy, is that all right?" Hagrid asked again when Madam Pomfrey didn't respond. "Someone has to guard the Forbidden Forest, and I need to get back there quickly."
"You may leave, but I need to check you over one more time," she said with a firm tone.
Although she knew the potion Dumbledore had sent was extremely potent, and Hagrid's resilience meant he'd likely be fine even if he left immediately, she still needed to perform a final examination. It was a necessary procedure for everyone.
Setting down the large wooden bucket she held, she turned to gather her tools for the checkup.
"You may not believe this, but I've always been a little scared of her," Hagrid murmured to Kyle. "More than ten years now. Every time I come here, my legs start shaking."
"I understand..." Kyle replied with a knowing smile.
When he was a child, even the Magical Creatures seemed wary whenever he helped Newt with their potions. Even now, years later, a Crup would still bolt with its tail between its legs at the sight of him.
Madam Pomfrey's inspection didn't take long and was soon completed. By the time they exited the Hospital Wing, it was nearly noon.
Kyle invited Hagrid to join him in the Great Hall for lunch, but Hagrid declined.
"I need to get back and check on Fang," he said. "He must be worried sick after all this time."
They said their goodbyes in the courtyard, and Kyle headed back to the castle.
However, upon returning, he noticed the usual chatter among the students had shifted. The young wizards weren't talking about yesterday's events anymore but rather about Quidditch. Due to what had happened yesterday, Ravenclaw and Slytherin were scheduled for a rematch today.
What Kyle didn't expect was that the game had already ended while he was with Hagrid.
"Damn it, didn't they say the rematch was in the afternoon?!" Kyle muttered in disbelief. If he had known... Well, even if he had known, he would have still gone to see Hagrid first.
"Kyle, have you seen Hagrid?"
Harry suddenly appeared, rushing over with Hermione and Ron close behind.
"We went to his hut to look for him, but Professor Sprout was there instead," Harry explained.
"That was awful..." Ron added, looking glum. "She scolded us for going out there."
"You must know what happened with Hagrid; can you tell us?" Hermione stepped forward, pushing Ron aside and fixing Kyle with a serious look.
"Why would you think that?" Kyle asked.
"Because I noticed you weren't at the Quidditch match," Hermione replied, her gaze sharp. "Harry told me that, as a team member, there's no way you would miss a match unless something really important came up. And since you skipped the match, it must have been something urgent."
"I think... it was probably about yesterday, something to do with Hagrid!"
Kyle pressed his lips together, impressed by Hermione's deductive skills. She had nearly pieced together the entire truth.
Then there were the other two...
Harry was nodding enthusiastically, while Ron simply looked bewildered, as though he hadn't understood a word.
The difference was staggering. How had the three of them ended up as friends?
"He's fine, you're worrying for nothing," Kyle interrupted Hermione. "Actually, I always thought the match was in the afternoon—that's why I didn't go to watch it. Besides, Hagrid and I were in the Hospital Wing all morning... helping Madam Pomfrey with a small task. Professor Sprout was only covering for him in the Forbidden Forest for a short while."
"No... if anyone were helping, it would have been Filch," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "How could a professor find time to go to the Forbidden Forest? And Professor Sprout is the Head of Hufflepuff, so she must be even busier."
"I don't know. Maybe she just happened to be passing by and offered to help."
Kyle shrugged. "Or you could ask Hagrid. He should be back at his hut by now."
Sometimes, being too smart could be annoying. It was easier with Harry and Ron—they simply believed everything he said and saved him a lot of trouble.
"Hagrid's back?" Hermione looked surprised; this wasn't what she'd expected. She had assumed Hagrid was seriously injured and would be stuck in the Hospital Wing, but if that were true, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let him go so soon.
"Yes, he just went back," Kyle confirmed. "By the way, how did the match turn out?"
"Ravenclaw won!" Harry burst out excitedly, his eyes gleaming. "Their Seeker was amazing! She caught the Golden Snitch when Ravenclaw was a hundred points behind!"
"Too bad you missed it," Ron added, grinning. "The looks on the Slytherins' faces were priceless. They actually lost to the weakest team, and Malfoy's face turned green."
"Well, I can picture it," Kyle said with a chuckle.
After a bit more chat, Harry grabbed Ron and they headed out of the castle to find Hagrid.
But Hermione didn't leave. She continued to walk alongside Kyle, her eyes sweeping him up and down with a peculiar look.
"Aren't you worried Hagrid might say something?" Hermione suddenly asked. She had a strong hunch Kyle hadn't been entirely truthful.
"What's there to be worried about... We really were just helping," Kyle replied, keeping his tone casual.
As long as he made sure his own story checked out, whatever Hagrid said was out of his hands. Besides, he couldn't keep Harry from going to see Hagrid forever.
Hermione frowned, continuing to scrutinize him.
"Harry and Ron have been gone for a while now. Aren't you going to join them?" Kyle said, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. Hoping to distract her, he pulled a handful of Chocolate Frog cards from his pocket and handed them over.
"By the way, since Harry was nice enough to tell me the match results, could you give him these too? I remember he was collecting the cards."
Just as Hermione was about to reply, her gaze caught a line of text on the top card:
"...and his partner Nicolas Flamel have achieved great things in the field of alchemy!"
Nicolas Flamel... alchemy...
"I know! I know who Nicolas Flamel is!" Hermione suddenly shouted, leaping to her feet and sprinting upstairs toward the Gryffindor common room.
Kyle watched her dash off, then glanced down at the stack of cards still in his hand and slipped them back into his pocket.
Thank Dumbledore, he thought with relief—Hermione had finally been sent off.