A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 214 Cedric Diggory

On the last Saturday of September, the Magic Word Club's recruitment assessment began.

Hermione woke Harry and Ron up early, and after the three of them had breakfast, they hurried to the Ancient Runes classroom.

Harry looked tired, and Ron rubbed his eyes hard, complaining, "Hermione, we went too early. Besides, Harry and I only need to hand in our papers; Professor Hyp won't grade them on the spot."

Hermione looked at them seriously. "Of course I'm going to help. Your papers..." She pursed her lips, not saying anything harsh, but her meaning was clear.

Harry blushed a little; he and Ron had spent two weeks barely managing to reach seven feet, which had been incredibly difficult for them.

The longest essay Harry ever wrote was only three feet long, which was an essay on "The Complete Book of Wizardry in Medieval Europe" assigned by Professor Binns last year. If he remembered correctly, Hermione's assignment was four feet seven inches long, and her handwriting was very small.

The ancient magic script classroom was locked, with a note on the door: the magic script club's assessment location has been changed to classroom number seven on the same floor.

Below the text is a simple line drawing: an abstract stick figure waving to signal them to move forward.

"The location changed?" Harry looked at Hermione, puzzled. Hermione shook her head. "I don't know either. It was probably changed at the last minute."

A voice came from behind, a clean and clear voice, "Hello?"

The three turned around, and a tall, thin boy stood behind them. He looked exceptionally handsome, with jet-black hair and a straight nose. Apart from his slightly pale complexion, there were almost no flaws.

He extended his hand and introduced himself, saying, "I am Cedric, Cedric Diggory."

Harry extended his hand as well. "I know you, Hufflepuff's Seeker and new captain. Wood mentioned you, and you did a great job in Duel Class. Oh, by the way, I'm Harry Potter."

Cedric chuckled. "They can't compare to you. Everyone at school knows you, right? Are these two your friends?"

"Yes, this is Ron Weasley, and this is Hermione Granger. They're both in their third year," Harry introduced Ron and Hermione.

The two looked at Cedric with curiosity.

They walked together toward classroom number seven. Ron and Hermione were quieter because of the strangers. Harry wasn't a talkative person either, but he could chat with Cedric about Quidditch.

Harry tried to start a conversation: "Cedric, are you a new member of the team this year? I remember Hufflepuff's previous Seeker was an older girl."

Cedric laughed. "I joined the team in third grade, and this is my third year."

Harry was a little embarrassed; he had absolutely no recollection of such a person on the Hufflepuff team.

Fortunately, Cedric explained his confusion: "I used to be a chaser, but last year several seniors left at once, and it was difficult to find suitable seekers, so I stepped in to become the captain and build a new team..."

Harry began to understand. Wood had mentioned in their previous conversation that Hufflepuff's new captain was not to be underestimated and could not possibly be a newcomer.

Regardless of his opponent, he is confident of victory and lifting his second Quidditch Cup.

The two then began discussing Quidditch tactics, which seemed very strange to Ron and Hermione. The Hufflepuff captain and the Gryffindor Seeker were discussing Quidditch, knowing that they might become rivals in just over a month.

Cedric said, "To be honest, I'm under a lot of pressure, being suddenly called upon... I've spent the whole summer looking at all sorts of tactical manuals, something I didn't have to think about when I was a player."

Harry also recalled the scene last year when Wood desperately explained various tactics to the team members. In the days leading up to the finals, the twins thought Wood was a bit hysterical and might "need to stay in the school hospital for a couple of days."

Now he suddenly understood Wood.

Harry casually mentioned a few Quidditch books he'd picked up last year for leisure, which he found quite useful. Cedric happily jotted down the names. "There's one I haven't heard of before. Thanks, Harry."

“Speaking of which,” Harry asked, “can a Seeker be a captain? I’ve always been flying alone, so I might not be able to keep track of what’s happening on the field.”

Cedric had just read about this: "These are two different strategies. Some teams will do everything they can to ensure the Seeker's freedom of flight, not to participate in team operations, and let him do as he pleases. They believe that this will allow them to find the Golden Snitch faster."

"Some teams, on the other hand, need their players to participate in the team's offense and defense from time to time."

Harry pondered for a moment, "It sounds like the latter is more demanding." Wood had never asked him to organize a defense; his only requirement for himself was to catch the Golden Snitch as quickly as possible.

"That's not quite right," Cedric explained. "For a genius Seeker like you, Harry, you can finish a game in half an hour. If I had someone like you on my team, I would definitely give you absolute freedom, because it's hard to create a 150-point gap in such a short time."

Hearing this, Harry roughly understood the similarities and differences between the two strategies.

Ron suddenly said from the side, "Harry's fastest time was only five minutes to catch the Golden Snitch! He broke the school record."

Harry awkwardly recalled that it was his record against Hufflepuff last year. He glanced at Cedric, the new captain of Hufflepuff, who was indeed a little unhappy.

He quickly changed the subject, saying, "Cedric, are you also writing a paper? To be honest, a full seven feet, Professor Heap's requirements are too high."

Cedric continued, "I have met the first requirement: a rough grasp of thirty practical runes."

Turning down a dark corridor, Harry was delighted to find that they had finally found the well-hidden Room 7. He breathed a sigh of relief, finally no longer having to make small talk.

The classroom door was ajar, and they glanced inside. It was pitch black, with not a single ray of light.

"Have we come to the wrong place?" Harry asked. He had a bad feeling. The last time he could think of a similar situation was back in their first year when they had accidentally entered the trapdoor entrance where the Philosopher's Stone was hidden while trying to avoid Filch.

They saw a huge dog with three heads; when it stood up, the middle head's forehead could touch the ceiling. Later, he learned that this three-headed dog belonged to Hagrid and that it was named "Louwei."

"I don't think so," Hermione said, pointing to a note on the wall that read, "Recruitment Assessment Site for the Spellbook Club."

The group exchanged glances and walked in with trepidation.

Surprisingly, the room was a meadow filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, as if they had traveled through space and arrived deep in a forbidden forest.

After walking a few steps, they saw Professor Hep's figure—

He sat on the grass, a small table in front of him. The professor seemed to have brought over his tea set and was enjoying his tea. In front of him were a dozen or so magical puppets, men and women, young and old.

These magical puppets stood not far ahead, rehearsing a play.

"Look, that's the East, and you are the sun."

As they approached, they happened to overhear one of the lines of dialogue.

(End of this chapter)