Chapter 756: Kyle's Spell
Chapter 756: Kyle's Spell
I'm not sure how Tawny described the situation, but the professors arrived swiftly and appeared extremely agitated.
Even Professor Snape, in his haste, cast a spell from a distance to save time, causing the door Kyle had just repaired to explode into countless wooden splinters, showering the bathroom and clattering against the pipes.
The next moment, Professor Snape burst in, his face turning ashen at the sight of Draco Malfoy entangled in pipes like a cocoon.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Professor Snape roared at Kyle. "Using magic to attack a fellow student, regardless of the reason, is utterly unacceptable behavior..."
As he spoke, Professor McGonagall rushed in as well.
She was also angry, but much calmer than Professor Snape. A quick glance at the bathroom was enough for her to understand the situation.
"Severus..." Professor McGonagall attempted to remind Professor Snape, but he didn't respond.
"This behavior is a severe violation of school rules, and I can expel you right now!" Professor Snape glared at Kyle as if he were the root of all the trouble.
"Professor, you're mistaken," Kyle said.
At that moment, Hermione also realized what was happening.
Despite Professor Snape's intimidating expression, Hermione stepped forward and bravely said, "Harry and Draco were fighting. Kyle and I only came after hearing the commotion... In fact, Kyle was the one who separated them."
Professor Snape seemed taken aback by Hermione's words and hesitated for a moment.
"Wasn't it you?" he asked Kyle, puzzled.
"No, of course not," Kyle shrugged. "Harry and I are friends. Why would I want to harm him?"
Indeed, Professor Snape then noticed that Harry Potter was also entangled in the pipes.
The scene was terrifying—the bathroom was in disarray, Draco was immobilized, and Kyle was holding his wand.
Professor Snape instinctively assumed that Kyle had lost patience and was about to take matters into his own hands with Draco.
Although Professor Dumbledore had assured him that Kyle would not cause trouble for Draco, Professor Snape hadn't entirely believed it and had always feared this day would come.
He was worried that Draco might be killed by Kyle, and in his panic, the previous scene had unfolded.
Now that the truth was revealed, he felt somewhat embarrassed.
However, upon seeing Kyle's enigmatic smile, Professor Snape's expression turned stern once again.
"Why didn't you explain? Do you find it amusing to deceive a professor?"
"I never thought that," Kyle replied with a raised eyebrow. "But Professor, you didn't give me a chance to explain. You blasted the door open, and with such a loud noise, I thought you were here to capture a Death Eater. How could I dare speak?"
Professor Snape's face turned from ashen to red and then back to ashen again. He felt mocked by Kyle.
"Severus, he's right," Professor McGonagall said, stepping between them. "You were a bit hasty."
From the moment she entered, Professor McGonagall knew that Kyle was not involved.
The evidence was overwhelming, with magical traces everywhere.
To be blunt, if Kyle had intended to harm Draco and Harry, he wouldn't have caused such a commotion.
Professor McGonagall's interruption left Professor Snape speechless. He looked around, searching for Tawny.
If it weren't for the ghost shouting about a murder in the bathroom throughout the castle, he wouldn't have rushed like this.
However, Tawny had also realized this and had already hidden in the sewers.
"They need to go to the school hospital," Professor McGonagall said. "As for their punishment, let's leave the decision to Professor Dumbledore when he returns tonight."
Professor Snape didn't object to this decision. He raised his wand to release Draco.
But an awkward moment ensued as he couldn't undo the pipes binding Draco.
The spell seemed to have lost its effect, gently falling onto the pipes like a breeze and then dissipating with a snap.
Draco remained trapped.
Professor Snape tried two other spells, but they had no effect.
The atmosphere became awkward.
"Professor, can't you undo it?" Kyle asked, feigning confusion. "Do you need help?"
"Shut up!" Professor Snape hissed through clenched teeth.
He would stake his entire career on the belief that Kyle was doing this on purpose.
However, he had no choice. It was embarrassing for a professor to be unable to undo a student's spell, regardless of the reason.
Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, who was about to release Harry, faced a similar situation.
But after realizing the spell's ineffectiveness, she quickly tried another approach, waving her wand over Harry's body.
This time, the pipes released Harry swiftly.
Harry fell to the ground and stumbled to his feet, clutching his arm.
"You've done well, it seems you've learned quite a bit," said Professor McGonagall, her voice carrying a hint of delight that Harry couldn't quite understand.
But soon, her expression turned stern again, "Come with me, Potter, we'll discuss your issue later... Hurry up, Severus, what are you waiting for?"
Professor Snape didn't respond, merely furrowing his brow.
Just as he was hesitating about cutting through the sturdy pipes, Professor McGonagall waved her wand again at the doorway.
Malfoy also fell to the ground.
Now there was no need for hesitation.
Professor Snape glared at Kyle fiercely, then supported Malfoy and walked out.
As they passed by Kyle, Malfoy shuddered and couldn't help but quicken his pace.
When he was entangled by those pipes earlier, he genuinely felt terrified, that feeling of life and death hanging by a thread at someone else's whim, almost drove him insane.
Even now, after being released, his legs were still weak, and he could only move with Professor Snape's support.
However, Kyle didn't seem to mind.
Since he had promised Dumbledore, he wouldn't cause trouble for Malfoy at school. This was purely coincidental, and his intention was to prevent them from continuing their fight.
In that situation, if Kyle hadn't intervened, both Harry and Malfoy would have ended up in the hospital wing.
The only thing Kyle couldn't accept was that despite helping so much, he didn't even receive any House points.
Kyle left the bathroom with a hint of disappointment, intending to return to the Common Room.
"You two, come here!" Professor McGonagall's voice called from behind.
Hearing this, Kyle had no choice but to turn around and follow.
...
As a frequent visitor to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was no longer surprised by Harry's arrival.
She skillfully examined both of them.
"How are they?" Professor McGonagall asked, "Are they injured?"
"They're fine, just some superficial wounds," Madam Pomfrey replied.
Most of their injuries were scrapes and bruises. Harry's leg was stiff from the Leg-Locker Curse, and Malfoy had a bruise on his back, which Kyle suspected was from a Repelling Charm, followed by a collision with the wall.
But these were minor issues, and they might have healed by now if they had arrived later.
Madam Pomfrey brought out a jar of Dittany and gestured for them to apply it to their injuries.
During this time, Professor McGonagall also learned the details of the incident from Hermione, including the fact that Harry and Malfoy had been fighting before Kyle arrived.
However, she didn't intend to intervene, just as she had said earlier... She would leave it all to Dumbledore.
"Professor..." Hermione glanced at Professor McGonagall, "Can I stay here and take care of Harry?"
"If Madam Pomfrey doesn't mind, you can," Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and said, "But you'd better keep an eye on Potter and don't let him run off. I think the Headmaster will have many questions for him when he returns."
After saying this, Professor McGonagall left the hospital wing.
Professor Snape glanced at them and then left as well, but not before drawing a curtain around Malfoy's bed, separating the two sides, and looking at Kyle.
"You should return to the castle."
"But Professor, I also want to stay here and take care of Harry," Kyle said, curious about why Harry had fought with Malfoy, and he knew that Harry would tell Hermione.
"There's no need, the hospital wing needs quiet, and Miss Granger alone is sufficient," Professor Snape insisted, making it clear he didn't want Kyle to stay.
"What happened?" she asked.
Harry glanced around to ensure they were alone before whispering, "Malfoy definitely has a secret. I saw him sneaking around on the seventh floor."
"So, you followed him?"
"Of course," Harry replied without hesitation. "I had to find out what he was up to."
Hermione sighed, exasperated, "I've told you, he can't do anything in school."
"But what if he has Professor Snape's help?" Harry argued. "A professor's authority is always greater than a student's, right? And this time, you saw that Snape didn't intend to punish him."
"That's because Professor McGonagall left the decision to Headmaster Dumbledore," Hermione said, giving him a look, too tired to continue the argument.
"So, what did you discover that led to a fight, and you even used the Diffindo Charm? Do you know how serious that is? You could actually get expelled."
"Malfoy made the first move," Harry explained. "I saw him crying in the bathroom, and then he suddenly attacked me without warning. I was just defending myself."
"Wait, you said Malfoy was crying in the bathroom?" Hermione asked, puzzled, thinking she might have misheard.
"Yes, he was crying," Harry confirmed. "I found it unbelievable too, but it's true. I saw it with my own eyes, and Tawny was comforting him."
"What was Malfoy saying at the time? No one could help him... and he mentioned someone wanted to kill him."
"Who wants to kill Malfoy?"
"I don't know," Harry shook his head. "That's all I heard before Malfoy found me through the mirror. You probably don't know this, but at that moment, Malfoy was about to use the Cruciatus Curse on me."
"That's impossible!" Hermione exclaimed. "It's an Unforgivable Curse. If used on another wizard, the consequences are far more severe than breaking school rules."
"I know, but he was doing it," Harry recalled the scene. "If I hadn't used the Stupefy Charm to interrupt his spell, I would have been hit."
"Now that I think about it, I should have let him finish his spell," Harry continued, "as you said, if he used an Unforgivable Curse, not even Snape could have protected him."
In Harry's eyes, enduring the Cruciatus Curse in exchange for Malfoy's expulsion seemed like a worthwhile trade.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Hermione scolded. "It's an Unforgivable Curse. Look at Katie Bell; she was under the Imperius Curse and spent months recovering at St. Mungo's."
"Don't be so tense, Hermione. I was just joking," Harry quickly clarified.
Seeing Hermione's persistent attitude, he changed the subject, "By the way, where did you meet Kyle?"
This tactic proved effective.
"On the sixth floor. He was wandering around the castle," Hermione explained. "You should be grateful that Kyle was nearby and could reach you and Malfoy in time to separate you. Otherwise, neither of you would have walked out of the hospital wing."
"Bombarda and Diffindo Charms, what were you thinking? Were you trying to kill each other?"
Hermione began scolding Harry again, saying he shouldn't have been so impulsive and should have sought a professor immediately.
This time, Harry didn't argue. He secretly felt relieved because he knew that Malfoy's Bombarda Charm had been close.
At this point, Harry couldn't help but recall the moment when Kyle had effortlessly transformed their spells into ravens with a wave of his hand.
The magic was beyond anything Harry had ever heard of.
"Hermione, do you know what spell Kyle used?"
Hermione, who had been chattering non-stop, suddenly fell silent. Harry wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he noticed she seemed slightly embarrassed.
"I... I don't know," Hermione stammered.
In truth, she had closed her eyes instinctively, not wanting to see Harry get hurt, and missed seeing what magic Kyle had used.
But she didn't want Harry to know this, so she forced herself to say, "It must be some magic Kyle found in the library."
"He hasn't attended classes for over a month. He's probably been studying in the library, and learning some unique magic wouldn't be surprising."
"Do you know which book?" Harry asked eagerly.
He was too curious about the magic that could effortlessly counter spells with a wave of the hand, something even more impressive than the Disarming Charm. He had every reason to be intrigued.
He even planned that once he learned this magic, he would playfully taunt Malfoy the next time they faced each other.
"If you want to know, go find it yourself in the library. Don't ask me about everything!" Hermione said, annoyed. "And right now, you should be thinking about facing Headmaster Dumbledore, not some spell. Don't get yourself expelled."
"I've said it was Malfoy who made the first move. I can't just stand there and let him hit me."
Facing Hermione's sudden anger, Harry could only shrug and say, "If Headmaster Dumbledore wants to expel me for defending myself, there's nothing I can do."
...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
