"Because the administration is a bunch of cowards and incompetents," I replied, my own voice laced with disgust as I spotted two different faculty members just standing idly nearby and watching, not even trying to do anything. "Anyways, I think I've seen enough, come on, Sam, help me break this up."
Sam and I only managed to take two steps forwards before Dudley opened his stupid mouth once more.
"You should have died along with your parents! No one wants you!"
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Not even someone like Harry could let something like that slide, and he looked up with fury in his eyes at his cousin.
"Holy shit!" I swore aloud as Harry let out a pulse of wild, emotion fueled magic at those words. The sidewalk under his feet cracked, his hair began to rise as if struck by static, a blast of wind sent fallen leaves spinning and flying through the air and pushed the bullies backwards a few steps, and despite the mostly clear sky, a bolt of lightning crackled down from the heavens, hitting a nearby tree and setting it alight.
People nearby screamed in shock as the tree exploded into flames, and pretty much everyone's attention was on that pyrotechnical display.
I took the opportunity it provided and rushed forward towards Harry, shoving Dudley and the rest of his goons harshly aside before grabbing Harry's hand and dragging him off down the street before something else happened.
I didn't bother to look back, and ignored the yelp of surprise that Dudley let out when he fell on his fat ass – sorry, arse – and kept power walking away with Harry. Sam was trailing behind, following me and Harry, and I could feel the confusion in his gaze he was giving me.
Harry had been surprised by my appearance, that much was clear from his wide-eyed expression, and for the moment he was willing to let me drag him around away from his awful cousin.
"What the heck just happened back there?!" Sam finally shouted at me once we were several blocks away from the school.
"Nothing," I replied hastily, refusing to look at him or Harry.
"Nothing?! You and I have very different definitions of that word, Edward Rose!" Sam snapped, and I winced.
'Uh-oh, full name,' I thought as I blanched with worry. 'He never uses it unless I've really pissed him off!'
"Wind and the ground cracking beneath his feet? Hair acting like he'd been shocked? A god-damned lightning bolt?! Alone, they'd a weird happenstance. Altogether, and it's downright suspicious!" Sam declared. "What just happened, Ed? You know something!"
"What makes you say that?" I uttered.
"Because you clearly acted like you did!" Sam said in exasperation. "You reacted way too quickly for someone who'd have been surprised by it all!"
"He's kinda right," Harry said, giving me an apologetic frown when I shot him a betrayed look. "You did seem like you knew what was going on."
I slowed my pace, and glanced between the two of them. After being stared at by my friend and mentee, I caved in, and decided to do something I hadn't planned on doing for at least another year.
"I'll explain back at home," I replied with a heavy sigh. "It's not safe to talk about this outside in the open."
That caused Harry to blink in surprise, and Sam narrowed his eyes at me, but they both nodded after a moment.
I led them back to my apartment, and led them inside, though I did check to make sure Inky wasn't inside. He was pretty good at knowing when non-magical visitors were coming over thanks to the wards he and mom had set up around the place, but I was still relieved he'd taken the time to pop away for the moment.
"It's been a while since I've been over here," Sam said, looking around the rather bare living room area. "Always felt your place was pretty depressing from how empty it is."
"It's fine, I prefer it this way," I said, waving his concerns off.
"So, what's going on? What's wrong with Harry?" Sam demanded, hands on his hips as he faced me.
"Tea? Coffee?" I inquired, trying to be a good host. And if it kept me from having to speak about what had happened, all the better.
"Stop stalling," Sam ordered, and I sighed.
"Alright, alright," I grunted. "And for the record, Harry is perfectly fine. He's just… look, neither of you can tell anyone anything about what I'm about to reveal to you."
Harry nodded slowly, and Sam waved at me to continue.
"Harry Potter is a wizard," I said, deciding to rip the band-aid off right away. "What he did was a burst of accidental magic, which can happen when a young magic user's emotions run high."
The two of them stared at me as if I was an escaped mental patient. I rolled my eyes at their disbelief. "Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a wild and crazy claim, but it's true."
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