Chapter 577: The Champion
Madam Pomfrey had been waiting near the Quidditch Pitch when the news of Harry and Kyle's return reached her. She rushed back to the castle immediately, heading straight for the Hospital Wing.
The moment she entered, her attention was drawn to Harry.
His appearance was dreadful—his entire body covered in dust, his once fine robes reduced to ragged tatters, and blood seeping steadily from his injured leg. In contrast, Kyle looked remarkably unscathed. His clothes were cleaner than those of many professors, such as Sirius or Moody, who both bore signs of the day's chaos.
For a fleeting moment, Madam Pomfrey thought Harry must have been the Champion battling his way through the maze while Kyle had merely been a spectator.
Still, in her meticulous manner, she insisted on examining Kyle after tending to Harry, just to be certain. Finding nothing wrong with him, she handed him a potion to restore his energy.
As Kyle sipped it, his grimace confirmed that the potion's flavor hadn't improved over the years.
Ten minutes later, the Hospital Wing.
Harry lay in the bed, his leg healed and freshly bandaged. A new pair of glasses, provided by Professor McGonagall, now rested on his face.
Madam Pomfrey had just stepped out when Sirius, too impatient to wait, leaned forward.
"What really happened?" he asked urgently.
Harry set his cup of hot cocoa on the bedside table and recounted everything that had transpired after he was taken away.