Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This busy life continued until Halloween Eve.
Kyle woke up early to the sweet, enticing aroma of roasted pumpkin wafting through the hallway. Even better, Harris announced in the common room that next week's Quidditch practice was canceled.
He felt the previous training had been too strenuous, and given the excellent performances of Kyle and another new team member, he decided to give everyone a break before the official match.
Kyle was naturally delighted with Harris' decision, as it meant he could finally relax a bit next week.
And, perhaps to celebrate Halloween, even the classrooms were filled with pumpkins.
In the morning's Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall used pumpkins as props, having the young wizards try to transform them.
Her requirements today were very simple: they could transform into anything, as long as it wasn't a pumpkin in the end.
Kyle was once again the first to finish, transforming the pumpkin into a miniature statue at the castle gate.
The statue slowly walked two steps on the table, then swung its greatsword, smashing the prop pumpkin on Kanna's table in two, scattering pumpkin seeds everywhere.
Kanna was furious. She wiped the seeds from her face, glaring at Kyle with her small white teeth grinding together, as if she might pounce on him at any moment.
"Oops, oops, it was an accident!" Kyle quickly apologized.
He had meant to cut the pumpkin, but forgot that the sword was just a prop he had conjured.
Professor McGonagall rarely smiled, teasingly saying, "For your ungentlemanly behavior, Hufflepuff loses one point. Don't be so reckless next time, and it's dangerous too."
"I understand, Professor," Kyle whispered.
Professor McGonagall nodded, glanced at the lifelike stone statue, and continued, "Excellent Transfiguration, eleven points for Hufflepuff."
Because there were no fixed requirements for Transfiguration, it was much simpler than usual, so many people completed the task.
By the end of class, the Transfiguration classroom resembled a storage room, filled with stakes, buckets, pillows… everything imaginable.
Among the remaining students, some only completed half the task; their creations still retained pumpkin characteristics.
For example, Ryan, although he transformed the pumpkin into the shape of a Quaffle, the surface remained yellow, looking like he had given the Quaffle a pumpkin skin.
However, Professor McGonagall still counted him as having passed.
As for those who simply cut a few holes in a pumpkin but insisted they had transformed into a jack-o'-lantern, Professor McGonagall was ruthless, increasing the length of their work from one foot to three feet.
Submitting a blank paper for an easy question was no small punishment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The afternoon was Herbalism class.
Before class, Professor Sprout placed a novel plant, one she had never seen in the greenhouse, on the front bench.
"Armored Pumpkin!"
Professor Sprout said with a smile. "Does anyone know what it is?"
Knowing the young wizards wouldn't know, Professor Sprout glanced directly at Kyle.
"Armored Pumpkin, also called Iron Pumpkin, is incredibly hard and often used in alchemy. Its vines can also be combined with Gillyweed to create a potion that allows one to breathe underwater."
"Excellent! Hufflepuff, ten points!" Professor Sprout exclaimed happily.
"Armored Pumpkins are very rare and magical plants. Because they are so hard, their growth is also quite unique.
Every time they grow a full size, they must molt."
She pointed to the pot in front of her.
Everyone then noticed a yellow pumpkin shell inside, shaped similarly to a wristband.
"Does anyone know what this shell is used for?"
Kyle raised his hand. "People usually put these shells on precious plants to protect them from gnomes or other creatures.
That's where the name 'Armor Pumpkin' comes from."
"Absolutely right, Hufflepuff, another ten points!"
Professor Sprout said. "The Armor Pumpkin's shell is the best protection for those fragile plants; even a fully grown dragon would have a hard time biting it."
The greenhouse fell silent as the young wizards looked at the unassuming pumpkin shell with disbelief.
In their minds, dragons were among the most terrifying and powerful magical creatures.
That even a dragon couldn't bite it was enough to demonstrate its hardness.
The word "armor" was truly fitting.
"Now, let's continue the lesson,"
Professor Sprout clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Also, I've decided to give this pumpkin shell as a prize to the student who performed best in this lesson."
Everyone instinctively looked at Kyle.
Judging from Kyle's performance, it was almost impossible for anyone to surpass him.
Professor Sprout seemed to have guessed what everyone was thinking. She smiled and said, "I must remind you, this lesson hasn't even started yet. What I just said was just an introduction to the armored pumpkin, not part of the lesson content."
With that, she walked around the bench to a row of wooden stakes nearby.
"Last week we learned how to fertilize the jumping agaric fungus. Today we'll learn how to collect their mycelium...
You haven't forgotten, have you? Jumping agaric fungus is very afraid of noise. You must be quiet enough to approach them."
Everyone nodded silently.
Everyone wanted a prize. They squatted by the stakes, carefully extending their brushes to the jumping agaric fungus, barely daring to breathe.
When class ended, Professor Sprout was extremely satisfied. She had never taught such an easy class.
No one poked the plants recklessly, and no one tried to touch the venomous tentacula. Everyone was very attentive, and all the problems she had encountered before had disappeared in this lesson.
"Today is the best Halloween ever!"
A delighted Professor Sprout added two points to each house's score and, as agreed before class, rewarded Kyle with the shell of the armored pumpkin.
Kyle used a much weaker version of Ventus to finish collecting it halfway through the class.
After Herbology Class, everyone began to leave the greenhouse in an orderly fashion.
Kyle, reaching the door, turned back for one last look at the armored pumpkin in the corner before reluctantly leaving.
He felt this plant would be a good neighbor to the chomping cabbage; if possible, taking some back for them to keep them company would be nice.
Unfortunately, there was only one, and Professor Sprout was watching very closely; he hadn't found a suitable opportunity to take it during the entire class.
[End of the chapter]