Chapter 382: No Way, Again?
At the end of October, Ratton finally returned from Romania after being away for more than a month. Kyle placed him back in his dormitory, filled his food bowl with dragon liver and tonic, and then untied the small bag tied to his paws.
Inside were dragon scale badges and a letter from Charlie. The letter explained that the shop had been low on stock, so they had rushed to produce a new batch, which was why it had taken so long. Kyle sighed, thinking Old John's shop could use a bit more professionalism. If he'd known it would take this long, he would've ordered fewer badges.
By now, everyone had realized that the Dementors couldn't enter the castle, so the demand for the badges had faded. Kyle hadn't been asked about them in quite some time.
Now, everyone's attention had shifted to something else entirely. With the first Quidditch match of the season approaching, the castle buzzed with excitement. Students could hardly wait for the game, and amidst all this energy, concerns about the Dementors—or even Black's break-in—seemed like distant worries.
...
The day before the match, the wind howled, and the rain poured down harder than ever. The corridors and classrooms were so dim that extra torches and lanterns had to be lit. No one was keen on playing in such weather.
"Luckily, the first match is between Gryffindor and Slytherin," Mikel remarked gratefully in the common room, glancing at the window being battered by wind. "This kind of weather really messes with performance." As it was his first match, he was taking things very seriously. The other team members around him nodded in agreement.
But when they arrived in the Great Hall, Cedric delivered some unfortunate news.
"Our match has been moved up," he said with a grim expression. "Flint just came to see me—apparently, we're playing Gryffindor tomorrow instead."