Hogwarts: I'm Really a Model Wizard

After saying goodbye to Cedric, Kyle left the castle and headed toward the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid was standing in his vegetable garden in front of his small wooden hut, watering pumpkins as big as wagon wheels.

"It's Kyle! Come in and sit down."

The two walked into the hut, and Hagrid happily served him rock cakes and tea.

"How's the new school year feeling?"

"Not bad." Kyle said, taking a sip of tea while avoiding the rock cakes, "Just that there are more classes each week than last year."

"Yes, second-year studies are definitely harder than first year." Hagrid said with a smile, "But if it's you, I'm sure you'll be fine. Harry was here yesterday and mentioned you."

"Potter?" Kyle was a bit surprised.

He remembered that he didn't have much interaction with Harry, and they hadn't spent time alone together since their last encounter in the corridor.

He had even given him a map and a pack of pet treats back then, so he figured the kid wouldn't say anything bad about him.

"Harry said thanks to the map you gave him, he hasn't been late these past few days." Hagrid said with a chuckle.

Thinking about Harry sitting in the cabin yesterday, telling him about all the interesting things happening at school, Hagrid couldn't stop smiling.

The only problem was that the little fellow was too curious, always asking about the Philosopher's Stone, which gave him a headache.

The Philosopher's Stone was a secret Dumbledore had repeatedly instructed him to keep confidential. As the most tight-lipped person at Hogwarts, Hagrid certainly couldn't disclose this matter. At the same time, he didn't want to lie to Harry, so he could only make up various excuses to dodge the questions.

It was quite a dilemma, and it required a lot of mental effort.

"I see..." Kyle nodded and didn't ask further.

He guessed that Harry had just mentioned it casually while chatting with Hagrid, like talking about what he had for dinner last night — nothing particularly meaningful.

If he had come a few days later, the half-giant might have forgotten about it altogether.

Seeing that Kyle wasn't saying anything, Hagrid picked up the copper kettle nearby and poured him another cup of tea, thinking to himself: This is what conversation should be like — relaxed, pleasant, and most importantly, not requiring any brain power.

"Try this." Hagrid pushed the plate of rock cakes toward him with a smile, "I just baked them yesterday, they're still crispy. By the way, where are your friends? Why didn't they come along?"

"Sorry, I just had breakfast and really can't eat anything else." Kyle politely declined the tooth-breaking suggestion and said, "They're selecting new Quidditch players these days, so Cedric and the others have gone to the field."

"Ah... Quidditch." Hagrid said with sudden realization, "Time flies, it's already time to replace players again. I remember you like Quidditch too, right?"

"Yes." Kyle nodded, "I've already signed up, but I'll have to wait until next week for the tryouts."

"I believe you'll definitely pass."

"I think so too." Kyle smiled, "And maybe Potter will make it onto the team this year as well."

"Harry? That's impossible." Hagrid shook his head, "First-years aren't allowed to play Quidditch, that's the rule."

"That's true, but Gryffindor desperately needs a Seeker this year." Kyle said, "If Potter has inherited his father's abilities, Professor McGonagall will probably make an exception for him."

"James..." Hagrid thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh, right, James was indeed an excellent Seeker. He led Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup several times back then."

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but laugh. If Harry could join the Quidditch team in his first year, he would surely be very happy. After all, who doesn't like Quidditch?

But soon, Hagrid thought of something and couldn't laugh anymore. If both Kyle and Harry joined their respective teams, then when Hufflepuff played against Gryffindor, who should he cheer for?

Hagrid's face gradually scrunched up as he tugged at his beard in distress.

Kyle called his name three times before the half-giant finally snapped back to reality.

"What were you thinking about just now? You were so deep in thought."

"Nothing, nothing, I just suddenly remembered that I haven't finished watering the pumpkins." Hagrid lied.

He had already decided to cheer for both houses simultaneously, applauding whenever either team scored, though this was certainly not something he could openly admit.

Hagrid went back to watering the pumpkins, and Kyle followed him outside but didn't return to the castle. All his friends, including Michael and Ryan, had gone to the Quidditch field, so there wasn't much point in going back.

Kyle looked around, found a flat spot, and began taking things out of his leather pouch. A portable stove, cauldron, herbs... soon there was a pile on the ground.

"Kyle, what are you going to do?" Hagrid asked curiously.

"Brew some potions, or rather, pet supplements." Kyle lit the stove with his wand and placed the cauldron on top.

When he heard that Kyle was brewing pet supplements, Hagrid was quite interested at first, but after watching for a while, he turned back to the pumpkin patch.

He couldn't understand it at all. He found it hard to comprehend why the kid couldn't add all the powder at once, instead having to divide it into three additions with different time intervals.

He wanted to memorize the whole process, but just keeping track of these time intervals made his head spin. What he had just memorized was forgotten in the blink of an eye.

Hagrid firmly gave up on the idea of secretly learning a trick or two and went back to watering his pumpkins.

Kyle, who was focused on the fire, didn't notice the half-giant's confusion. He held his wand, occasionally stirring the potion in the cauldron. Brewing potions was delicate work; even the simplest mistake could ruin everything, and he didn't want to start over.

Time slowly passed.

By the time Hagrid had finished watering all the pumpkins, Kyle was almost done with his work.

He poured deep green powder into the cauldron, then stirred counterclockwise with his wand. The orange-yellow liquid gradually turned red.

The color was beautiful — crystal clear without a hint of impurity, like melted ruby.

Kyle extinguished the fire in the stove, and after the cauldron cooled down, he carefully poured the potion into a bottle he had prepared in advance.

Not too much, not too little — exactly one bottle.

"Is this the pet supplement?" Hagrid looked curiously at the bottle.

"Yes." Kyle handed the bottle to him with a smile, "But to be precise, it's a specially formulated rat tonic."

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