This busy life continued until the eve of Halloween.
Kyle woke up early to the sweet, enticing aroma of roasted pumpkin wafting through the corridor. Better still, Harris announced in the common room that next week's Quidditch training was canceled.
After the somewhat intense previous training session, and seeing how Kyle and another new team member had performed flawlessly, Harris decided to give everyone a break before the official match.
Kyle was naturally delighted with this decision, as it meant he could finally relax a little next week.
In keeping with the Halloween spirit, the classrooms were decorated with more pumpkins than usual.
During morning Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall used pumpkins as props, instructing the young wizards to transform them. Her requirements were simple: turn the pumpkins into anything at all, as long as they no longer resembled pumpkins.
As usual, Kyle was the first to complete the task. He transformed his pumpkin into a miniature stone statue from the castle entrance.
The miniature statue took two slow steps across the table, then swung its giant sword, instantly slicing Kanna's pumpkin in half and sending seeds flying everywhere.
Kanna was furious. She wiped pumpkin seeds from her face and glared at Kyle, her small white teeth grinding audibly as if she might pounce and bite him at any moment.
"Mistake, mistake, it was an accident!" Kyle hurriedly apologized.
He had only intended to cut open the pumpkin but forgot that the sword wasn't real — just a prop he had conjured.
Professor McGonagall's lips rarely curved into a smile as she remarked, "Due to your ungentlemanly behavior, Hufflepuff loses one point. Don't be so careless next time — such actions can be dangerous."
"I understand, Professor." Kyle said quietly.
Minerva nodded, examined the lifelike statue, and added, "Excellent transfiguration. Hufflepuff earns eleven points."
With no fixed transfiguration requirements, the task was simpler than usual, allowing many students to complete it. By the end of class, the Transfiguration classroom resembled a storage room filled with wooden stakes, buckets, pillows, and all manner of objects.
Some students only partially met the requirements; their objects still retained pumpkin characteristics.
Ryan, for instance, had transformed his pumpkin into the shape of a Quaffle, but its yellow surface made it look like a pumpkin skin wrapped around a Quaffle.
Professor McGonagall still considered his work acceptable.
As for those who merely carved holes in their pumpkins and claimed they had transformed them into jack-o'-lanterns, the old witch showed no mercy, immediately tripling their homework from one foot to three feet.
Failing an easy task deserved punishment.
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The afternoon brought Herbology class.
Before the lesson began, Professor Sprout placed a pot containing an unfamiliar plant on the front bench — one never before seen in the greenhouse.
"Armor Pumpkin!" She announced with a smile, "Does anyone know what this is?"
Suspecting the young wizards wouldn't know the answer, Professor Sprout looked directly at Kyle.
"Armor Pumpkin, also called Iron Pumpkin, has an extremely hard texture and is commonly used in alchemy. Its vines can be combined with gillyweed to create a potion that allows people to breathe underwater."
"Very good, ten points to Hufflepuff!" Professor Sprout said happily, "Armor Pumpkin is a very rare magical plant. Because it's so hard, its growth pattern is unusual. Every time it grows another layer, it must shed its shell."
She pointed to the flowerpot in front of her. Only then did everyone notice the yellow pumpkin shell shaped roughly like a bracer inside.
"Does anyone know what this shell is used for?"
Kyle raised his hand and said, "People usually place these shells over precious plants to protect them from gnomes or other creatures. That's how the Armor Pumpkin got its name."
"Completely correct, another ten points to Hufflepuff." Professor Sprout said, "The Armor Pumpkin shell is the best guardian for fragile plants. Even adult dragons have difficulty biting through it."
The greenhouse fell silent as the young wizards looked incredulously at the unassuming pumpkin shell.
In their minds, dragons were among the most terrifying and powerful magical creatures. If even a dragon couldn't bite through it, this truly demonstrated the shell's remarkable hardness. The name "Armor" was indeed fitting.
"Now, let's continue with the lesson." Pomona clapped her hands to recapture everyone's attention, "Also, I've decided to award this pumpkin shell as a prize to the student who performs best in this class."
Everyone instinctively looked at Kyle. Judging from his performance earlier, it seemed almost impossible for anyone to surpass him.
Professor Sprout seemed to guess what everyone was thinking and said with a smile, "I must remind you that the lesson hasn't started yet. What we just discussed was merely an introduction to Armor Pumpkins and doesn't count as part of the class content."
Saying this, she walked around the bench to a row of wooden stakes nearby.
"Last week we learned how to fertilize Leaping Toadstool; today we'll learn how to collect their spores... You haven't forgotten, have you? They are terrified of noise, so you must maintain sufficient silence to approach them."
Everyone nodded silently.
Eager for the prize, they all crouched beside the wooden stakes and carefully extended their brushes toward the Leaping Toadstool, barely daring to breathe.
By the end of class, Professor Sprout was beaming with satisfaction. Never before had she taught such a smooth, trouble-free lesson.
Not a single student poked the plants recklessly or attempted to touch the poisonous tendrils. Everyone paid remarkable attention, and all the common problems she typically encountered in previous classes were noticeably absent.
"This is the best Halloween ever." She sighed contentedly.
The delighted professor awarded two points to each house and, as promised, presented Kyle with the Armor Pumpkin shell.
Kyle had finished collecting spores halfway through the class period by cleverly using a significantly weakened Ventus (Windy Spell).
When Herbology class ended, everyone filed out of the greenhouse in an orderly fashion.
At the door, Kyle glanced back one last time at the Armor Pumpkin in the corner before reluctantly leaving. He thought this plant would make an ideal neighbor for the Chomping Cabbages — it would be nice to take some back to keep them company.
Unfortunately, there was only one pot, and Professor Sprout had kept a watchful eye on it throughout the lesson, leaving him no opportunity to take any samples.
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