Chapter 34: The Well-Behaved Hufflepuffs
"Rita Skeeter? The reporter from The Daily Prophet?" Fred asked with a puzzled expression. "What does she have to do with this?"
George added with a grin, "And we're not interested in her anyway. She's doomed to unrequited love."
"That's a real shame," Kyle replied, not wanting to continue the conversation. After a quick, half-hearted exchange of words, he walked between the two of them.
Lunch was already underway, and all Kyle wanted was to sit down and enjoy his tender steak and pumpkin juice instead of standing awkwardly in the doorway of the Great Hall. However, Fred and George had other plans. They followed him all the way to the Hufflepuff table.
"Even though there's no solid proof," Fred said as he sat down next to Kyle, pushing Cedric aside, "I can't shake the feeling that the Charm classroom exploded because you were there."
He took a large gulp of pumpkin juice before continuing, "Why else would everything be fine before, and then boom—the moment you show up, the classroom blows up? You must've influenced it."
Kyle nearly choked on his own pumpkin juice, feeling the weight of Fred's insinuation. What did I do? He'd been helping the whole time! Did he really have to take the blame for this?
Without saying a word, Kyle turned and gave Fred the finger.
But Fred, pretending not to notice, carried on. "It's a pity you're not in Gryffindor."