Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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The next day, Kyle had to go to the second floor of the castle with the Gryffindor first-years to study History of Magic.
The class was unremarkable, the most boring at Hogwarts, and Kyle dozed off the entire time.
He had never imagined a class could be so boring.
Professor Cuthbert Binns, the ghost, didn't give the usual lecture, a warning, or engage in classroom interaction.
His milky-white body entered the classroom through the wall and began reading from a book, his voice always monotonous.
After only ten minutes, Kyle couldn't take it anymore.
He felt as if countless bees were buzzing around his head, making it impossible to hear what Professor Binns was saying.
He looked around.
The Gryffindor lions had completely given up. They lay hunched over the tables, drooling, grinding their teeth, and talking in their sleep...sleeping soundly.
Hufflepuffs fared better, especially the little badgers tasked with taking notes on History of Magic. Thanks to Mikel, their intense sense of duty bolstered their perseverance and endurance to unprecedented heights.
Even facing Professor Binns' hypnotic device, they managed to stay awake and diligently write down every name and date.
It was all for naught, though.
Professor Binns was simply reading from the textbook, word for word.
Upon realizing this, the little badgers couldn't hold out any longer, folding their parchments and falling asleep!
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If there was any class at Hogwarts more tedious for young wizards than the tedious History of Magic, it was probably the afternoon Potions class.
History of Magic might be a bit boring, but at least they could catch up on some sleep, and as long as they didn't snore too loudly, Professor Binns wouldn't complain.
But Potions was different; it was pure torture.
And because of a certain professor's undisguised favoritism, no other house, save Slytherin, enjoyed Potions.
Of all the houses, Gryffindor suffered the most.
The other houses simply didn't receive bonus points, but they were constantly penalized for various reasons.
These included, but were not limited to, slow note-taking, not reading during class, or only looking at the books instead of the professor...
It's undeniable that Snape played a crucial role in Gryffindor's perennial ranking last among the houses.
This was also why Fred and George were so eager to send him to the hospital wing.
They truly hated him!
That afternoon, Hufflepuff finally had their first Potions class, alongside Slytherin.
Following the prefects' repeated instructions, the young wizards left the common room early and arrived in the dungeon over ten minutes early.
Except for Kyle... who had been summoned to the hospital wing by Dumbledore.
"Kyle, you're finally here!"
Mikel saw Kyle and said anxiously, as if he had seen the light. "You're here to pick me up from the hospital, right? You must be here to pick me up from the hospital!
Oh my God, you have no idea what I've been through. This place is not a place for human beings.
That nurse tied me to the bed and wouldn't let me move, not even let me eat snacks.
Then a man with greasy hair came in and made me drink a bottle of strange potion. I didn't want to drink the potion, so he used his wand to force it into me. Ugh... It tasted worse than shit!"
Uh...
Kyle looked at Madam Pomfrey, whose chest was heaving violently, and then at Snape, who was standing at the door and on the verge of exploding.
He realized that he had underestimated Mikel. He said in front of Madam Pomfrey that the school hospital was not a place for human beings, and called Snape a greasy-haired monster... The Sorting Hat must have drunk fake wine. Shouldn't such a person go to Gryffindor?
Without the slightest hesitation, Kyle acted completely instinctively. He shut up, lowered his head, and quickly came to Dumbledore's side, trying to reduce his presence.
He didn't know who Mikel was. He was just an ordinary passerby.
The atmosphere in the school hospital instantly dropped to freezing point.
But Mikel didn't notice anything was wrong. He continued to chatter about his experiences in the past two days. It was not until he felt thirsty and turned to get some water that he saw Madam Pomfrey smiling.
"Ah~~"
Mikel screamed, immediately covered his head with the quilt, and began to play dead.
"Ahem... This horrible weather, why is it so cold in September?" Dumbledore rubbed his arms and took the lead in breaking the strange atmosphere around him.
He looked at Kyle and said, "As you can see, Mr. Drake has already drunk the potion and will be discharged soon. After that, I will also let Professor Sn... SProut help him learn to control his own magic.
But Kyle, the professor's time is short. For Mr. Drake, the help of his friends is more important."
"I understand, Professor Dumbledore." Kyle said seriously, "I promise that what happened in the Charms class will not happen again."
In fact, even if Dumbledore didn't say anything, Kyle would not sit idly by.
No matter what, Mikel was his roommate, he was a brother. How could he watch him become a Squib because of frequent magic exhaustion?
Hogwarts didn't need a second caretaker.
"Don't be so serious, Kyle." Dumbledore winked. "Our Potions professor is quite trustworthy. As long as Mr. Drake takes his potion on time, he won't run out of magic again.
You might want to give him some extra candy, though. I recommend a cockroach cluster."
Kyle remained silent, noticing that Snape's face had grown even worse.
"Alright, take Mr. Drake back," Dumbledore said. "You should be in class by now. Don't be late."
"Wait a moment, Headmaster,"
Madam Pomfrey suddenly said. "The young wizard's treatment isn't over yet. We'll have to wait a little longer."
Dumbledore hesitated, "But..."
"I said, it's not over yet!" Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Don't worry, it'll be quick. It's just a quick checkup. It won't delay their classes."
"I'll leave it to you, Poppy,"
Dumbledore nodded quickly, then strode out of the hospital wing.
Snape, standing at the door, snorted and followed suit.
Kyle actually wanted to leave, but he still had to take Mikel back, so he could only retreat to the corridor and wait.
After a while, a desperate wail suddenly came from the school hospital.
"I don't want to drink this... Ugh... It's worse than that blue potion... Ugh... Help... Ugh..."
In the corridor, Kyle listened to Mikel's desperate cries for help, and his heart was so uncomfortable.
He wanted to help, but he couldn't. Even Dumbledore ran away, what could he, a weak first-year wizard, do?
So Kyle silently closed the door of the school hospital.
As soon as the door was closed, the corridor became quiet in an instant.
Very good, it won't be uncomfortable now.
[End of the chapter]