Chapter 10: Cedric
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.