When the three of them returned to the common room after a busy morning, finally able to rest, the atmosphere inside was unexpectedly tense. The moment they walked in, they received the attention of nearly everyone in the academy.
"What happened?" Barry asked cautiously.
"Oh, you're back." That was all Kane said. After glancing at them, he ignored them again and gathered with several older students to discuss something.
Little Bruce nudged Barry, signaling for him to join the conversation, but Barry hesitated. Little Bruce rolled his eyes helplessly.
After a while, Kane knocked on the table and called everyone over. He cleared his throat and said,
"I must emphasize this once again: under no circumstances are you allowed to go to the end of the Third Floor Corridor in the main castle. If you break other school rules, you may only receive punishment such as labor, but if you break this one, you'll bear the consequences yourselves!"
Only after everyone had dispersed did Barry move closer. Kane leaned against the door to his dormitory and shook his head helplessly. "I heard someone from Zatara Academy wandered into that corridor by mistake and got hurt. They've already been sent to the hospital."
"You know that academy has the most students, so they're not easy to manage. Maybe someone forgot the professors' and prefects' repeated warnings and accidentally triggered some kind of countermeasure magic. Prefects from every grade have been punished. I don't want to be punished, so Barry, please keep an eye on the students in your grade. Don't let them really land themselves in the hospital!"
As Kane spoke, he raised his eyes toward Little Bruce in the distance. Barry looked back at him too, then let out a deep sigh.
At ten that night, Barry stopped Little Bruce