"Kyle, come build a snowman with us!" Fred and George called out enthusiastically.
Kyle refused without hesitation. Their art was too avant-garde — their snowmen always featured abstract sculptural styles and free-flowing lines that exuded mystery.
Being just an ordinary person with average abilities, how could he dare participate in such a magnificent project? He wasn't worthy.
Not far ahead, several young Hufflepuff wizards gathered around the Black Lake. Winter's heavy snow had formed a thick layer of ice, and they debated whether to break through it to catch fish for an upside-down pie.
Nearby, other students were having a snowball fight. Kyle spotted a senior Gryffindor secretly stuffing a stone into a snowball, aiming it at a Slytherin student.
His aim was off — the weaponized snowball arced through the air and nearly struck Professor Oren as he passed by.
"Young man, please be more careful during snowball fights, and don't put stones in them anymore." Oren said, flicking the snowball aside with his wand, "Since this may have been unintentional, I won't deduct points this time, but don't let it happen again."
The Gryffindor student nodded repeatedly.
Everyone was having fun except Filch, who was thoroughly irritated.
The young wizards never wiped their shoes, leaving trails of dirty footprints throughout the castle after their snowball fights. This significantly increased his workload.
Eventually, he placed a chair at the castle entrance and refused to let students enter until they properly cleaned their shoes.
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
In History of Magic class, Kyle fell asleep within thirty seconds, sleeping even more soundly than in his dormitory.
If Kanna hadn't nudged him when class ended, he might have slept until noon.
"Students from both houses are sleeping..." Kanna rubbed her slightly reddened eyes, clearly just woken up herself, "Why can't the school get a different History of Magic professor?"
"Probably because Professor Binns doesn't need a salary." Kyle shrugged.
That alone made him irreplaceable. He worked year-round without breaks, unlike other professors with their personal matters. His attendance record remained perfect — completely reliable.
Moreover, the History of Magic exam questions were simple — reviewing the textbook once before the exam was enough to earn an "E" (Exceeds Expectations). Neither the school governors nor Headmaster Dumbledore would replace such a heaven-sent worker.
"That stingy old bee." Kyle pursed his lips, contemptuous of Dumbledore's exploitation of the elderly professor.
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
As December arrived, the weather grew colder, yet the young wizards' spirits soared above November's lethargy. Their excitement mounted daily.
The reason? Christmas vacation approached — a full two weeks of holiday freedom.
In this festive atmosphere, students struggled to focus during lessons, their minds wandering freely.
The professors initially tried deducting house points to maintain order, but this proved futile. Students might snap to attention for a few minutes before drifting back into their daydreams.
Eventually, most professors surrendered to the inevitable.
This happened every year, after all. Since no new material would be covered before the break anyway, they tacitly agreed to overlook the distraction — provided things didn't get too chaotic.
Only two professors stood apart from this lenient approach.
Professor Binns, utterly indifferent to Christmas, continued his monotonous lectures in History of Magic, droning on about the invention of self-stirring cauldrons.
"A self-stirring cauldron is a cauldron enchanted to stir potions automatically, invented by Gaspard Shingleton in the late 20th century, and he..."
The other exception was Professor Snape.
He showed no tolerance for distracted students — unless they wore Slytherin colors. Getting caught meant an immediate loss of three points for everyone else.
His strict enforcement paid off. By Christmas Eve, Slytherin had surged ahead in house points, leading even second-place Ravenclaw by nearly a hundred.
Snape was thoroughly pleased with this outcome.
Slytherin's sixth consecutive House Cup victory seemed assured!
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
The night before departure, Kyle encountered a flustered Hagrid in the Great Hall.
It was his first glimpse of the half-giant since their nighttime adventure in the Forbidden Forest. Guilt had kept the five of them avoiding him for the past month. But now, face-to-face, Kyle couldn't pretend not to see him.
Kyle walked up and waved, "How have you been, Hagrid?"
"Oh, it's Kyle." Hagrid lowered his head, "Sorry, I don't have time to chat right now, there's still so much to prepare. Merlin's beard, I forgot Hogwarts breaks for holiday tomorrow — I thought Halloween was just a few days ago!"
As he spoke, he strode quickly toward the castle grounds.
Kyle had to jog to keep pace with him.
"Need any help?"
"If you're not busy..." Hagrid paused thoughtfully, "Could you help me carry some decorative mistletoe? The feast is about to start, and I'm worried we won't have enough time."
"Of course, no problem."
Kyle followed him to his cabin near the Forbidden Forest.
Near the cabin stood two massive fir trees, each about sixty to seventy centimeters in diameter, alongside a small pile of holly and mistletoe.
"You take those decorative plants — leave the rest to me." Hagrid bent down and struggled to lift both fir trees.
His face turned red from the effort — even for someone of his size, lifting two trees at once proved quite challenging.
Just then, Hagrid heard a voice behind him.
✭ Wingardium Leviosa ➜ Levitation Charm ✭
In an instant, the weight vanished as the two fir trees lifted into the air.
Hagrid turned to look at Kyle in surprise.
"A Levitation Charm... impressive!"
"You're exaggerating, Hagrid." Kyle shook his head, "Anyone can do this."
"Is... is that so?" Hagrid blinked in confusion — he remembered things being quite different when he was a student.
Had it really been just a few years? How had Hogwarts' first-years become so accomplished?
✭✭✭
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