Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model

Kyle boarded the train, only to find that most of the first few carriages were already full. He couldn't help it—he had boarded late, and it was hard to find an empty seat by this time. With a sigh, he used the Floating Charm to lift his luggage and made his way toward the back of the train, hoping for better luck. Eventually, he found a relatively spacious compartment near the end.

Inside, there was only one other boy, about his age. Although the boy wasn't quite as handsome as Kyle, he was certainly better-looking than the Weasley twins.

"Knock, knock..." Kyle rapped lightly on the door and asked politely, "Hello, may I sit here? All the other seats are taken."

"Of course, go ahead and sit down," the boy replied quickly.

"Thanks."

After entering the compartment, Kyle placed his luggage on the shelf, then turned to introduce himself, extending his hand. "Hello, I'm Kyle Chopper, a new student this year."

The boy seemed distracted and didn't respond right away. When he finally snapped out of his thoughts, he reached out to shake Kyle's hand. "Oh... sorry, Cedric Diggory, second year at Hogwarts."

Cedric? Kyle was a bit taken aback. He hadn't expected to meet such a well-known figure as soon as he boarded the train. Cedric Diggory—the future Triwizard champion and one of Hogwarts' brightest students. No wonder he looked so handsome.

Kyle recalled that their families both lived near the village of St. Catchpole, but for various reasons, the two had never crossed paths. Not even once. Kyle had tried to meet him a few times in the past, but the Diggory family had always kept their doors closed. Eventually, Kyle had given up. How strange that their first meeting would happen on the Hogwarts Express.

However, it was clear that Cedric had something on his mind, so Kyle didn't push the conversation any further. After their brief exchange, Kyle pulled out The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 that he'd bought from Flourish and Blotts and began reading. Cedric, meanwhile, continued staring off into space.

Outside the train window, a light drizzle began to fall without warning. It was typical of the weather here—rain that came suddenly and without notice. Kyle glanced at the rain but quickly returned to his book, unfazed. He was used to it, and in fact, he rather enjoyed reading in this kind of weather.

Under Kyle's influence, Cedric seemed to snap out of his daze and pulled out a book of his own. Kyle glanced at the title—The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. It was common for Hogwarts students to preview their Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons on the train, especially since no one ever knew how long the professor for that subject would stick around. Better to be prepared in case the teacher quit halfway through the term.

For a while, the only sound in the compartment was the soft rustling of parchment pages turning, a peaceful contrast to the noise and bustle outside in the corridor. But the quiet didn't last long.

Cedric had barely turned two pages when the compartment door slid open again.

"Finally, I've found you, Kyle."

"We saved you a seat, but you stood us up and made us wait like idiots."

"I think you owe us an apology."

Fred and George Weasley stood leaning against the doorframe, interrogating Kyle one after the other. They both looked rather annoyed, as if Kyle had committed some great offense.

"I can apologize," Kyle said, calmly closing his book, "but only if you swear on your Dungbombs that what you just said is true."

Fred's expression instantly shifted from anger to confusion. "Well, can I swear on the headmaster's name?"

George was equally perplexed. "Or Professor McGonagall's name, maybe?"

"No!" Kyle shook his head firmly. "It has to be on your Dungbombs."

...

"Oh, George, I think Kyle was riding the Hogwarts Express for the first time and didn't know his way around. That's why he couldn't find us," Fred said, his tone mockingly sympathetic.

"Yes, Fred, we can't blame him for that. We should've been more aware of what was happening outside," George replied with exaggerated seriousness.

The twins exchanged a quick glance, silently agreeing to drop their previous accusations, and squeezed into the compartment as if nothing had happened. As they settled in, their eyes inevitably landed on Cedric.

Fred flashed a mischievous grin and said, "Well, look who it is... though I can't seem to remember why."

George raised an eyebrow, catching on. "Oh, of course! It's our dear Cedric Diggory, the shining beacon of Hufflepuff—The Brightest Light of Hogwarts."

As soon as the words left their mouths, Cedric's face flushed a deep red. The embarrassing titles made him want to disappear into the floor. But, unfortunately, he couldn't deny them. After all, the nicknames "Good Boy" and "Light of Hogwarts" had been circulating all summer—thanks to his father's endless bragging—and had become notorious within the Ministry of Magic, spreading even to families like the Weasleys.

During the holiday, nearly half of Cedric's letters had been signed off with "Light of Hogwarts," sent as teasing notes by friends and colleagues alike. The other half came from classmates from Muggle families who were blissfully unaware of the nickname.

He had chosen this corner compartment in the hopes of hiding from the ridicule, but fate had other plans—and he had been discovered by the worst people possible.

"Please, just leave me alone!" Cedric pleaded, folding his hands as if in prayer. "I'll even lend you my homework."

As he spoke, he placed a neat stack of parchment on the table.

The twins were tempted to keep teasing him, but Cedric's offer was too good to pass up. This was, after all, the top student's homework—something they couldn't ignore.

George straightened up, adopting a more serious tone as he quickly scooped up the parchment. "Cedric, what are you talking about? We were just kidding. We'd never laugh at you."

Fred nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Don't worry, we wouldn't dream of making fun of you over something like this."

...

With that, Fred and George left the compartment, beaming as if they'd just struck gold.

Once they were gone, Cedric let out a long sigh of relief. He looked at Kyle with a sheepish expression. "I'm sorry, I..."

"I should be the one apologizing," Kyle interrupted. "They came to see me. If it weren't for that, you wouldn't have been discovered."

Cedric shook his head with a rueful smile. "It would've happened sooner or later."

Though he could hide on the train for a while, he knew there was no avoiding it once they reached Hogwarts. Eventually, he'd have to face the teasing head-on. But, in a strange way, the Weasley twins' sudden appearance had given Cedric an idea for how to handle the situation.

Homework.

As the top student in his year, Cedric's summer homework was highly coveted, as the twins' reaction had just proven. If he offered his homework to his classmates, it might be enough to keep both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor quiet. If he could manage to keep those two houses in check, he'd have solved 80% of the problem.

As for Ravenclaw and Slytherin, Cedric reasoned that their more reserved nature meant they were unlikely to get involved in this kind of teasing—at least, not most of them. Even if a few decided to join in, it wouldn't be too difficult to handle.

If his own house didn't stir up trouble, and if he could keep Gryffindor's notorious pranksters at bay, the whole issue would likely blow over in a few days.

Three days, tops, Cedric thought to himself, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. With that plan in mind, he suddenly didn't feel quite so bad.