Bab 76: Chapter 76: The Guilty Complain First??
"Harry... let's go too..."
Ron tugged at Harry, pulling him along as they quickly followed in the direction Wade and the others had left, hurrying through the corridor.
The two who had been at the center of the chaos moments earlier were no longer the focus of attention, allowing them to slip away unnoticed.
As they rounded the corner, Harry glanced back and saw Pansy and Goyle finally moving to help Malfoy, only for him to angrily swat them away.
The once-proud blond boy now looked disheveled and defeated, wiping blood from his nose with an angry expression. The other Slytherins gathered around him, smiling and offering false reassurances.
Even from across the corridor, Harry could see the insincerity and casual indifference on their faces.
Harry had always believed that aside from Snape, Malfoy was the worst person he'd ever met, even worse than his cousin Dudley.
But at that moment, he suddenly realized that Malfoy wasn't as universally adored among the Slytherins as he had thought. It seemed like Malfoy didn't have any real friends in Slytherin.
Then, the wall blocked his view.
"—What are you looking at?" Ron asked curiously.
"Nothing—" Harry turned his head and said, "I was just thinking... if I ever have to face an enemy I can't defeat, you and Hermione will definitely stand by my side and fight with me."
"Of course!" Ron, thinking Harry was referring to Malfoy and his gang bullying Neville, immediately grew indignant.
"Slytherins have always been like that, we'll never give in to them! We can't let them get too full of themselves! Neville just needs to be braver."
"He was brave, remember? He punched Malfoy for Hermione with you—he landed a solid punch right on that guy's nose!"
"Oh, right!" Ron recalled the scene with excitement. "Neville finally acted like a true Gryffindor! Did you see Malfoy's face? I thought he was going to cry!"
Ron's words made Harry feel a bit uneasy—though Malfoy certainly deserved what happened, the situation reminded Harry of when Dudley used to gang up on him with his friends.
As they continued talking, they spotted Wade and the others from a distance. They were standing together, and though they were just ordinary classmates, there seemed to be a unique atmosphere around them that made it hard for anyone else to approach.
Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Ron—"
"What?"
"They're the SSC—the Study Group Hermione recommended I join," Harry said quietly.
Ron suddenly became a bit uncomfortable, and the smile faded from his face. He mumbled, "Y-yeah..."
"I want to join them." Harry suddenly made up his mind. "I want to learn something real, practice real spells, not just recite textbook passages with Quirrell in class!"
"That's good—I mean—you really should—maybe you'll even become a top student one day," Ron said, avoiding Harry's eyes. His tone didn't sound like his usual self.
"You're not going, Ron?" Harry asked in surprise.
"I didn't get an invitation—Hermione only recommended you," Ron forced a smile.
"You go ahead. I might… I think I need to visit the hospital wing—I'm pretty sure Crabbe might've broken one of my ribs with that kick—"
"—Maybe Hermione just forgot to mention it! Let's go ask together!" Harry tugged at Ron, leading him toward Wade and the others.
"Don't—Harry—"
Ron looked reluctant, being half-dragged along by Harry without much resistance. He held onto a sliver of hope—maybe Hermione really did just forget to tell me.
After all, he and Harry were always together, and people often saw them as a pair, so maybe she thought there was no need to say anything… Plus, they had just fought Malfoy together with Neville...
As they approached, they overheard Wade saying to the others, "Neville, you need to visit Madam Pomfrey at the hospital wing. Your arm might have a fracture. And everyone, be careful of Slytherin's revenge over the next few days, don't be caught alone."
"What about you, Wade?" Theo asked with concern.
"I'm going to see Professor Flitwick to take my punishment. Using spells on fellow students in the corridor—there's no way I'm getting out of detention," Wade replied.
"You're going to—oh—" Michael first looked surprised but then nodded in agreement. "That's probably the right thing to do."
"Why?" Ron, who had just walked up, asked in confusion. "If the professor didn't see it, it's like it never happened. Why turn yourself in?"
Harry and Theo both nodded in agreement, while Ryan seemed to be pondering it.
"Do you really think Malfoy would just take such a loss and not report it?" Michael reminded them. "It's better to confess to Professor Flitwick than to face punishment from Professor Snape later."
"That's true. If it were Professor Snape, he might deduct a bunch of points and give a month's detention," Neville nodded, still shaken. In Potions class, Snape had always been particularly harsh on Neville, leaving him with a psychological shadow.
"Let's go together!" Ryan suggested. "We can't let the professor think it was all your fault."
"You guys didn't even cast any spells." Wade noticed Neville about to speak and shook his head.
"Neville, you were the one being bullied. If you get punished on top of that, it'd be too unfair. Head to the hospital wing early—check on Hermione while you're there too."
Waving them off, Wade turned and left.
Harry opened his mouth, intending to ask if Ron could join the SSC, but realized he didn't have the chance to speak. Wade was already leaving, so he simply said, "Let's head out together then."
At that moment, Harry finally noticed how much his entire body hurt. He was surprised that he hadn't realized it earlier.
…
Wade knew that at this hour, Professor Flitwick was likely in the staff lounge. He made his way to the first floor of the castle and knocked on the door. After a moment, Professor McGonagall's voice called out, "Come in."
At the same time, the door opened automatically.
Wade hesitated for a moment when he saw that not only Professor Flitwick but also Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were in the lounge.
Professor Flitwick, who was marking papers, looked up and smiled when he saw Wade. "Wade? What brings you here today? Do you have more questions?"
Wade stepped inside, a bit sheepish. "Well... I do have questions, but more importantly—Professor, I'm here to accept punishment for breaking school rules."
"Punishment?" Professor Flitwick looked surprised, and the other two professors also glanced over.
In all their years of teaching, none of them had ever seen a student voluntarily confess to breaking a rule—unless they had an ulterior motive.
"What exactly did you do, Wade?" Professor Flitwick asked kindly.
Wade hesitated, glancing at the other two professors—not out of fear of Snape causing trouble, but because his attempt to avoid a problem was now beginning to feel like he was tattling like a child.
For a moment, Wade could almost imagine the words "the guilty complain first" flashing above his head.
—Though I am not exactly guilty of anything.
Sensing there was more to the story, Professor McGonagall's expression became stern. "Mr. Grey, I believe all the professors have the right to be informed about student rule-breaking."
"Alright." Wade had no choice but to explain, "Here's what happened, Professor—"
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