Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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"Kyle, let's build a snowman!"
Fred and George greeted him warmly, inviting him to join in.
But Kyle refused without hesitation.
Their art was too avant-garde; the abstract style, coupled with free and flexible lines, exuded a mysterious and intriguing aura.
Kyle was just an ordinary person, with average abilities and limited skills. How could he presume to participate in such a grand project?
He wasn't worthy.
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Not far ahead, several Hufflepuff wizards were gathered around the Black Lake.
The heavy snow had caused a thick layer of ice to form on the lake, and they were discussing whether to make a hole in the ice, catch some fish, and make a delicious Stargazing Pie.
Nearby, several students were having a snowball fight. Kyle witnessed a senior Gryffindor student secretly stuffing a stone into a snowball and throwing it at a Slytherin.
His aim was a bit off; the specially made snowball arced through the air and nearly hit Professor Oren, who was passing by.
"Sir, you need to be more careful when you have a snowball fight. Don't mix stones in again,"Professor Oren said, flicking the snowball aside with his wand. "Since it was probably accidental, I won't deduct points this time, but don't let it happen again."
The Gryffindor nodded repeatedly.
Everyone had a great time, except for Filch, who was extremely annoyed.
Because the young wizards didn't have the habit of cleaning their shoes, they left a trail of dirty footprints on the ground when they returned to the castle after their snowball fights.
This undoubtedly increased Filch's workload considerably.
Later, he simply moved a chair to the castle gate and only allowed the young wizards to enter after they had cleaned their shoes.
In History of Magic class, Kyle fell asleep in just thirty seconds, and his sleep quality was even better than in the dormitory.
If Kanna hadn't nudged him when class ended, Kyle estimated he could have slept until noon.
"Both houses are sleeping…"
Kanna rubbed her slightly red eyes, looking like she had just woken up. "Why can't the school change the professor of History of Magic?"
"Professor Binns probably doesn't need a salary," Kyle shrugged.
Forget everything else, that alone makes Professor Binns irreplaceable.
Not to mention he works year-round, doesn't have the various personal matters of other professors, and his attendance is consistently 100%.
Furthermore, the History of Magic exams are very simple; as long as you carefully review the textbook before the exam, getting an "E" is no problem.
So, let alone the school board, even Headmaster Dumbledore wouldn't agree to replace this chosen worker.
"That stingy old bee,"
Kyle scoffed, expressing his disdain for Dumbledore's ruthless exploitation of older professors.
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As December arrived, the weather grew colder, but the young wizards, unlike their listless state the previous month, were incredibly excited every day.
The Christmas holidays were approaching…
which meant they would soon have a full two weeks of vacation.
In this atmosphere, students found it difficult to concentrate in class, often daydreaming during lectures.
Professors initially tried deducting a few points to try and make them a little more alert, but it didn't have much effect.
It might only work for a few minutes before they reverted to their previous absent-minded and unfortunate state.
After realizing this, the professors simply stopped interfering.
It's the same every year; they're used to it. They don't teach anything new before the holidays anyway, so as long as it's not too outrageous, they turn a blind eye.
Of course, there are two exceptions.
Professor Binns doesn't care about Christmas. In his History of Magic class, he still uses that requiem-like tone to recount the invention of the self-stirring cauldron.
"The self-stirring cauldron is a cauldron enchanted to automatically stir potions. It was invented at the end of the 20th century by Guspard Singleton, and he thus…"
The other is Professor Snape.
He doesn't care why students are daydreaming, and he doesn't show the same leniency as other professors. If a student isn't from Slytherin, they get three points for each lapse.
Thanks to his relentless efforts, by Christmas Eve, Slytherin's house points were far ahead, even nearly a hundred points higher than second-place Ravenclaw.
Professor Snape was very satisfied with this result.
Slytherin's sixth consecutive house win this year was a sure thing!
On the eve of leaving school, Kyle bumped into a somewhat flustered Hagrid in the Great Hall.
This was the first time he'd seen Hagrid since their nighttime excursion to the Forbidden Forest.
Mainly out of guilt, the five of them had been avoiding Hagrid for the past month.
But now that they'd run into each other, it wasn't easy to pretend not to see him.
Kyle walked up and waved, saying, "Hagrid, how have you been?"
"Oh, it's Kyle," Hagrid said, bowing his head. "Sorry, I don't have time to chat right now. I still have a lot of things to prepare.
Merlin's beard... I completely forgot Hogwarts was closed for the holidays tomorrow! I thought Halloween had only just passed a few days ago."
As he spoke, Hagrid didn't stop walking, striding towards the castle gate.
Kyle had to jog to barely keep up.
"Need any help?" Kyle asked.
"If you're not too busy…" Hagrid thought for a moment and said, "Could you get me some mistletoe for decoration? The banquet is about to start, and I'm worried we might not have enough time."
"Of course, no problem."
Kyle and Hagrid walked to the cabin near the Forbidden Forest.
Not far away were two fir trees, each about 60 or 70 centimeters in diameter, along with a small pile of holly and mistletoe.
"You take those decorative plants, and I'll take the rest."
With that, Hagrid bent down and laboriously lifted the two fir trees.
When Hagrid stood up, his face was red from the effort; clearly, lifting two trees at once was quite a strain for him.
Just then, Hagrid suddenly heard a voice behind him.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The next second, he felt a sudden lightness on his body, as if the two fir trees had vanished.
Hagrid turned around in surprise to look at Kyle.
"A levitation charm… amazing!"
"You're exaggerating, Hagrid." Kyle shook his head. "Anyone can do that."
"Is…is that so?"
Hagrid blinked, confused. He remembered it wasn't like this when he was in school.
Only a few years have passed, and the new students at Hogwarts have become so outstanding?
[End of the chapter]