This busy life continued right up to the eve of Halloween.
Kael woke up early, and immediately caught a whiff of sweet, tempting baked pumpkin drifting down the corridor. Even better, Harris announced in the common room that next week's Quidditch training was cancelled.
He figured the previous practices had been a bit too intense, plus Kael and another new player were performing perfectly, so he decided to give everyone a break before the official match.
Kael was naturally delighted with Harris's decision—it meant he could finally relax a little next week.
And whether it was to fit the Halloween vibe or not, there were even more pumpkins turning up around the classrooms.
During the morning's Transfiguration Class, Professor McGonagall used pumpkins as props, and had the young wizards try transforming them.
Her requirements today were super simple—they could turn them into anything, as long as they weren't still pumpkins by the end.
Kael was, as usual, the first one done; he transformed his pumpkin into a miniature version of a statue at the castle gates.
Of course, it was the scaled-down kind.
The statue walked slowly two steps on the table, then swung its enormous sword and cleanly split Conna's pumpkin prop in half, seeds flying everywhere.
Conna was furious. She wiped pumpkin seeds off her face and glared at Kael, her little white teeth grinding with rage, as if she might leap across and bite him at any moment.
"Sorry, sorry! That was an accident!" Kael hurried to apologize.
He had meant to slice the pumpkin open, but forgot the sword was just a conjured prop.
Professor McGonagall actually cracked a smile and teased, "Because of your ungentlemanly behavior, Hufflepuff loses one point. Don't be so careless next time—and it's dangerous, too."
"Understood, Professor," Kael whispered.
McGonagall nodded, glanced at the lifelike statue, and continued, "Excellent Transfiguration Technique! Hufflepuff gains eleven points."
With no fixed transformation requirement, today's challenge was a lot easier than usual, so a lot of students completed the task.
By the time class ended, the Transfiguration Classroom looked like a messy storeroom—tree stumps, buckets, pillows, you name it.
Some of the remaining students had only half-finished; their creations still retained some pumpkin characteristics.
For example, Ryan—he managed to turn his pumpkin into a Quaffle, but the ball was still yellow, so it ended up looking like a Quaffle wrapped in a pumpkin skin.
Still, Professor McGonagall counted him as having passed.
As for those who just carved a few holes in their pumpkins and insisted they'd made jack-o'-lanterns, McGonagall showed no mercy—she bumped their homework length from one foot to three feet, just like that.
Failing an easy task? Can't complain about being punished.
...
Herbology Class was in the afternoon.
Professor Sprout placed a pot containing a strange, never-before-seen plant on the front bench before class started.
"Armor Pumpkin!"
Professor Sprout said with a smile, "Anyone know what this is?"
Probably knowing the young wizards wouldn't have an answer, Professor Sprout glanced directly at Kael.
"Armor Pumpkin, also called Iron Pumpkin. It's extremely tough, and is often used as Alchemy Materials. The vines can be combined with Gillyweed to make a Magic Potion that lets you breathe underwater."
"Wonderful! Hufflepuff gets ten points!" Professor Sprout said happily.
"Armor Pumpkin is a very rare magical plant. Because it's so tough, the way it grows is quite unique.
Each time it expands, it needs to shed a shell."
She pointed at the pot in front of her.
Everyone finally noticed there was a yellow pumpkin skin shaped like a wrist guard inside.
"Anyone know what use these shells have?"
Kael raised his hand: "People usually slip these shells onto precious plants to protect them from gnomes or other creatures.
That's how Armor Pumpkin got its name."
"Absolutely correct, Hufflepuff gets another ten points."
Professor Sprout said, "The shell of an Armor Pumpkin is the best guardian for fragile plants—even a grown Fire Dragon has a hard time biting through it."
The greenhouse was silent, as the young wizards stared in disbelief at the unremarkable-looking pumpkin shell.
In their minds, Fire Dragons are among the most terrifying and powerful magical creatures out there.
If even Fire Dragons can't chew through it, you know it must be tough.
"'Armor' is definitely the right name!"
"All right, let's continue the lesson."
Professor Sprout clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Also, I've decided to make this pumpkin shell the prize for the student who performs best in today's class."
Everyone instinctively looked at Kael.
With the way Kael had been performing, it seemed impossible for anyone else to beat him.
Professor Sprout seemed to sense their thoughts, and smiled, "Let me remind you—class hasn't started yet. What we've covered so far is just Armor Pumpkin's introduction, not the actual lesson."
With that, she walked past the bench and over to a row of nearby stumps.
"Last week, we learned how to fertilize Jumping Umbrella Mushrooms. This week, you're going to learn how to harvest their spores…"
"You haven't forgotten, have you? Jumping Umbrella Mushrooms are terrified of noise, so you must keep very quiet to approach them."
Everyone nodded silently.
Everybody wanted the prize, so they crouched beside the stumps, carefully extending their brushes to the Jumping Umbrella Mushrooms, hardly daring even to breathe.
By the end of class, Professor Sprout was extremely satisfied. She'd never had such an easy lesson.
No one poked the plants randomly, and no one tried to touch the Poisonous Tentacles; everyone was focused, and all the usual problems simply disappeared this session.
"This is the best Halloween ever."
The happy Professor Sprout awarded two points to each House, and, as promised, gave the Armor Pumpkin shell to Kael.
Kael used a heavily weakened Scourgify to finish his collection work halfway through the lesson.
After Herbology Class ended, everyone began leaving the greenhouse in an orderly fashion.
Kael stopped at the door and took one last look at the Armor Pumpkin in the corner before reluctantly heading out.
He felt this plant would make a good neighbor for Chomping Cabage; if he could, he'd love to get some to keep them company.
But sadly there was only one pot, and Professor Sprout was watching closely. He never found the right moment to try during class.
...