Chapter 22: Choosing Friends Wisely

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Kyle raised his head and followed Cedric's pointing finger, only to discover that Connap was sitting in the seat directly across from him, on his left, and was currently tackling a piece of steak.

However, with every cut she made, she would glance up at Kyle, as if the plate held not a steak but him instead.

This scene made his teeth ache.

"Wait a minute, why do I feel like her gaze isn't very friendly? She wasn't like this on the train," Cedric asked curiously. "I remember the new students were together before the sorting. Did something happen between you two during that time?"

"This is indeed my fault," Kyle shrugged and briefly recounted the incident in the cabin.

After hearing this, Cedric was left speechless.

Using the Killing Curse for sorting? Who on earth thinks of that?

"Did she actually believe it?" Cedric asked cautiously.

"Why else would she be looking at me like that?" Kyle replied with a pained expression. "If she didn't believe me, would she be staring?"

Uh…

This was indeed a case of someone daring to say something outrageous and another daring to believe it.

Cedric twitched his lips, momentarily at a loss for words. He could only look at Connap with a blank expression, then glance back at Kyle, silently giving him a thumbs-up. "Honestly, Kyle, you two are like a match made in heaven."

"She's only eleven years old! Are you that eager to send her off to Azkaban?" Kyle retorted, annoyed. "And I advise you not to say such things in the future. If Professor Snape hears you, you'll be in big trouble."

"She knows Professor Snape?" Cedric exclaimed in surprise.

Kyle nodded. "Although it's not confirmed, I believe they must know each other."

"…"

Cedric's expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Kyle with the same disdain one might reserve for scum. "You've gone too far! How could you make such a cruel joke with a new student? If I were the head boy, I would definitely deduct points from you."

Kyle stared at Cedric in disbelief, as if he had just met him.

The moment he learned that Connap knew Snape, he immediately turned on him. The speed of this change was astonishing!

Was this really the Cedric he knew?

However, facing Kyle's gaze, Cedric remained unfazed, even shifting slightly away as if to distance himself from Kyle.

Kyle could only silently raise his middle finger.

Choosing friends wisely, indeed. He really didn't know where Cedric had learned to be so shameless in such a short time!

Given the current situation, it was impossible for Kyle to enjoy his meal.

He decided to put down his knife and fork and looked up at Connap.

The young witch did not look away and met his gaze head-on. Her round face was slightly flushed, and it was hard to tell if she was chewing her steak or getting angry.

Neither of them spoke as they stared at each other in the feast hall, seemingly engaged in a contest of who would blink first.

Naturally, neither Kyle nor Connap wanted to concede. At first, they were both determined, as if they were prepared to continue this competition until the end of time.

However, Connap clearly overestimated herself.

Soon enough, her gaze began to wander, and her previously pale face took on a hint of color.

A few seconds later… her eyes started to dart away, her breathing quickened, and her entire face turned a deep shade of red.

In the end, Connap could no longer hold out and quickly lowered her head, pressing her nose against the steak as if she wanted to bury herself in the plate, leaving only her bright red ears visible.

…

Connap's personality hadn't changed; she was still as shy and socially anxious as before. Her earlier demeanor was merely a reaction to feeling cheated, and she was somewhat embarrassed and angry.

It was like a usually calm girl who, after being tricked in her favorite game, would start cursing at her keyboard.

It was the same principle.

Moreover, Kyle had been avoiding her, which meant she had no outlet for the pent-up frustration she was feeling. Once that frustration faded, she naturally returned to being the shy and socially anxious young witch she was before.

For Kyle, making eye contact with her was like giving her a way to vent. After all, expressing one's emotions through eye contact was still a form of expression, albeit a less efficient one.

However, Kyle didn't expect her to calm down so quickly; it took only a few minutes for her to return to normal. Her temperament was genuinely too forgiving.

Among the people Kyle knew, Ginny Weasley had a relatively strong character. Even when she was angry, she would at least argue with Kyle face-to-face for half an hour.

In contrast, Connap seemed a bit too fragile. Such a personality in the wizarding world wasn't exactly advantageous.

While at Hogwarts, it was fine; Hufflepuff was known for being honest and friendly, so there was little chance anyone would harbor ill intentions.

But if she remained this way after graduation, she would likely be in danger without even knowing it.

A famous Minister of Magic, Groganstump, once said that Hogwarts is a fairy tale for the wizarding world, and once you leave the castle, all that remains is a devouring abyss.

In the eyes of dark wizards who lurked on the edge of death, a shy and introverted pure-blood witch was no different from a walking pile of Galleons. They would swarm like hyenas until they devoured her down to the last bone.

This wasn't mere alarmism on Kyle's part; there were precedents, such as the pure-blood families that had vanished.

After Voldemort's downfall, Death Eaters, having lost their backing and facing the pursuit of the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic, began to look out for themselves, hiding everywhere.

The pure-blood families in the British wizarding world were thrown into chaos.

Those lurking hyenas saw this opportunity and simultaneously targeted these disorganized pure-blood families.

They either directly robbed them or used the Cruciatus Curse to extract useful information. In short, any isolated pure-blood wizard became prey in their eyes.

Moreover, they didn't care about the size of your family, the strength of your power, or whether there would be retaliation in the future.

As long as there was a profit to be made, as long as the target family didn't have monsters like Dumbledore or Voldemort, they would dare to pounce and take a chunk of flesh.

It could be said that during that time, the number of pure-blood wizards who died at their hands increased daily, and many families began to decline, eventually fading into obscurity.

This situation continued until most Death Eaters were captured, and the Aurors and Hit Wizards turned their attention to them.

It was the same back then, and it certainly was no different now.

Kyle glanced at Connap, who was acting like an ostrich, and after a moment of silence, calmly took the black pepper from the side, sprinkling it over the cut potato pieces before sending them to his mouth.

Never mind; they were only in their first year, and graduation was still far off. What was the point of worrying about such things? It was more important to fill his stomach first.

(End of Chapter)