Chapter 93: The Last Celebration
Though Quidditch was the most popular sport at Hogwarts, not every student chose to attend the match. In each common room, a handful of students stayed behind. Gryffindor had the fewest—around five or six—while Ravenclaw's common room held over ten. Most were fifth or seventh years, their focus on exams overshadowing any interest in Quidditch. They preferred to spend their time studying in the library or nestled in the common room with their books.
Kyle turned his attention to the Hufflepuff common room on the Marauder's Map. Unlike other areas of Hogwarts, the map displayed the dormitory area in a simpler layout, distinguishing only between the boys' and girls' sections, each separated from the main common room by a thin ink line.
He noted down the names of everyone in the Hufflepuff common room—only six in total. Satisfied, Kyle considered closing the map and rejoining the game, but something urged him to glance at the underground classroom area. There, he spotted Snape's private storage room.
Kyle promised himself that he had no intention of sneaking in to "borrow" (or take) anything—at least, not yet. While Snape's storage room certainly held its share of valuable potions ingredients, Kyle's current interests leaned more toward Charms. Nevertheless, since he was already looking, he took a moment to trace the route to Snape's room, marking the entrances and exits of the nearby secret passages purely out of curiosity.
"Look! Cedric's speeding up!" A deafening cheer erupted from the stands, jolting Kyle back to reality.
He quickly closed the Marauder's Map and tapped it with his wand. "Mischief managed," he murmured as the ink vanished, leaving the parchment blank.
On the Quidditch Pitch, Cedric was diving at an incredible speed.
"It's the Golden Snitch!" the commentator shouted, his voice rising with excitement. "It's by the Slytherin goalpost, less than twenty feet off the ground!"
Higgs, Slytherin's Seeker, had spotted it too and accelerated, hot on Cedric's trail. The crowd held its breath, watching as the two Seekers hurtled toward the Snitch, their competitive energy filling the stands with tension.