After sitting down at the Hufflepuff table, Kyle inexplicably felt a wave of relaxation. Before the Sorting, there had always been a sense of unease inside him, but now that everything was settled, he truly felt like a part of Hogwarts. The feeling was amazing.
Kyle leaned on the table, resting his chin on his left hand. He leisurely watched the ongoing Sorting ceremony while waiting for the feast to begin. Due to the lengthy Sorting just now, many students in the hall were curiously eyeing Kyle. Several young witches, glancing between Kyle and Cedric, who were laughing and talking together, and their own classmates, were almost grinding their teeth in frustration.
Damn it, why is it that all the handsome ones are going to Hufflepuff? It's just not fair!
...
At the Gryffindor table, Fred and George were also nearly grinding their teeth.
"Why did Kyle go to Hufflepuff!" Fred lamented, pounding his thigh. "Now our perfectly planned welcome ceremony is useless!"
"Don't even talk about it, Fred, give me a moment to recover," George scratched his head, visibly stunned. "Honestly, I could've accepted it if Kyle had been placed in Slytherin, but Hufflepuff... how is that even possible?"
"Exactly!" Fred nodded. "Kyle's loyal? Kind? Has the Sorting Hat gone senile?"
Just as Fred and George fell into a rare silence, a newly Sorted Gryffindor freshman happened to sit next to them.
The next moment...
"Yaaa!"
A shrill scream rang through the hall, instantly attracting everyone's attention. The Gryffindor freshman leapt up nearly three feet in the air, just like a frightened tree frog, clutching his rear end while running around in circles. He howled as he ran.
It wasn't long before the crowd noticed a round, bulging object attached to his backside. It looked about the size of a Quidditch Bludger, with a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth, biting down firmly on the freshman's bottom.
"Wait a minute, that ball looks familiar," Fred seemed to have an epiphany and turned to George. "George, didn't you put the biting ball away?"
George froze for a moment. "No, I thought you took care of it."
The two of them exchanged a look and then turned to their left, where the freshman had just been seated. Of course, the seat was now empty.
"Oh, damn," Fred sighed in regret, tugging at his hair. "That was all our savings..."
The biting ball had been a pricey new prop Fred and George had bought from Zonko's Joke Shop. It could disguise itself as an ordinary cushion, easily placed anywhere. It had cost them three Galleons—a significant sum for the twins. However, when they learned that Kyle would be Sorted today, they splurged all their savings, thinking it would be the perfect prank for their little brother.
To avoid suspicion, they had set everything up before Kyle even wore the Sorting Hat. They placed the cushion on the seat beside him. This way, if Kyle was placed in Gryffindor, they could easily guide him into the trap. Even if he was placed into another house, no worries—just grab the cushion back. It was a flawless plan.
But things had not gone as expected. To their shock, Kyle was Sorted into Hufflepuff, a house they had never imagined. In their surprise, they had forgotten to retrieve the "cushion" in time.
And now, they were witnessing the result.
"Fred, do you think we can get the biting ball back?" George stared at the freshman running off, his heart bleeding. Three Galleons... they could've bought an entire box of dungbombs for that much. How could they not feel the pain?
Fred glanced at Professor McGonagall, who was now heading toward the frightened freshman, and sighed, clearly resigned. "I think... it's gone for good."
After removing the biting ball from the freshman's bottom and checking for any injuries or damage—none, of course, it was just a prank—Professor McGonagall immediately knew who the pranksters were. Without a word, she glared at Fred and George. However, since the Sorting ceremony hadn't ended yet, she refrained from making a scene. She simply muttered, "Gryffindor loses twenty points," before returning to the stage.
The frightened freshman, now carefully escorted back by Percy, was examined three times to make sure nothing was wrong before sitting back down.
Nearby, Kyle watched Fred and George sulking, and didn't bother hiding his amusement. Slowly, he raised his middle finger at them.
Kyle could swear on Ron's honor that the biting ball was 100% a prank from the Weasley twins. Now that Professor McGonagall had caught them, it was just karma at work.
"That's it, George. Kyle's too cocky," Fred said, his face flushed with anger. He knew exactly what that gesture meant. After all, for the past eleven years, whenever Kyle had mocked them, he always used that same gesture. Now that it was returned to him, Fred was absolutely sure of its meaning.
"Don't worry, Fred. As long as Kyle is at Hogwarts, we'll get our chance," George said, equally frustrated, his ears red with indignation.
But the problem was, they couldn't really do anything to Kyle right now, and with Professor McGonagall's death glare on them, they knew better than to try anything. So, in a retaliatory gesture, they both flipped Kyle the bird.
Out of sight, out of mind.
For now, they suppressed their urge for revenge and turned away, trying to keep their eyes off Kyle's infuriatingly smug face.
As for Kyle, he didn't care. It was just a last-ditch effort from two red-headed losers, and he wasn't about to let it get to him. Besides, he knew that Fred and George wouldn't let it go. They were probably already huddling together, scheming to get back at him. But so what?
Over the past eleven years, his little "war" with the Weasley twins had almost never ended in defeat. The few times he'd lost had been because he was too young, and because Charlie, that shameless older brother, used his size to pick on him. But now Charlie was too busy with his graduation exams and Quidditch to bother with them, leaving the twins with no backup.
Ron? If it came down to it, dealing with the twins would be even easier.
So, with his glorious track record, Kyle wasn't worried in the least.
...
(End of Chapter)
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