"That was after the first Quidditch Match of the previous school year," Roger began telling the story of what had happened between him and Lisa Turpin. "Maybe my performance on the pitch that day was just too dazzling..."
"Ahem!" Professor Flitwick gave him a stern look.
"I played very well on the pitch that day," Roger hastily corrected himself. "Anyway, after the match, Lisa confessed her feelings to me in private."
"And you said yes?" Professor Flitwick asked.
Roger shook his head quickly. "No! I didn't!"
He said, "I turned her down! She was too young, only eleven. I'm not interested in little kids."
"But she wouldn't give up!" Roger said, troubled. "I turned her down many times during that period, but in the end, she said..."
"What did she say?" Professor Flitwick asked again.
"She said..."
Roger's expression grew conflicted, and he turned to look at Eddie.
Eddie was doing his best to hold back his laughter. Seeing Roger's pleading look, he kindly explained for him, "Professor, let me tell it. Lisa said to Roger..."
His voice was tinged with poorly concealed amusement.
"She said she wasn't really in love with him. She was just curious about romance, and Roger was Ravenclaw's most 'easygoing' boy. She thought he could give her a taste of what being in love felt like. But she hadn't expected Roger to be such a wimp."
"Pfft."
Captain Bruce finally couldn't hold it in. He pressed a fist to his mouth, turned to face the wall, and shook with laughter.
Professor Flitwick, however, asked in disbelief, "Is that true?"
Would an eleven-year-old girl really say something like that?
"It's true, Professor! Please believe me!" Roger widened his eyes, hoping his most sincere look would convince Professor Flitwick.
But Professor Flitwick didn't seem to get the message.
"It's true, Professor," Milton spoke up. "Scott and I were both there that day. Turpin was probably furious, so she said that in front of us."
"I see."
Professor Flitwick immediately chose to believe him. He nodded to Milton, then looked back at Roger.
"Davis, go on."
Faced with Professor Flitwick's obvious favoritism, Roger felt a little hurt, but he continued with what happened next. "Later, I told Lisa that if she only wanted to experience what being in love felt like, I could set aside two weeks to play house with her."
He looked up at Professor Flitwick again. "She agreed at the time! She even promised she wouldn't bother me anymore once the two weeks were up."
At this, Professor Flitwick looked toward Scott and Milton. Only after seeing them both nod did he ask Roger, "Then why did Miss Turpin use a cursed magical object on your broomstick?"
"I don't know." Roger was just as confused now. "Anyway, after the two weeks we'd agreed on, I told Lisa the game was over. She didn't object at the time."
Professor Flitwick asked with a troubled expression, "Strictly speaking, that girl's actions already constitute a crime. How do you want to handle this?"
"Well..."
Roger hesitated, seemingly unsure what to say.
Scott knew this was the first time Roger's charms had backfired.
The girls who had actually dated Roger had never done anything outrageous after he dumped them. He hadn't expected that simply playing house with a little girl would lead to consequences like this.
"There's probably more to this, Professor," Scott said, voicing his thoughts.
"Why do you say that?" Professor Flitwick asked.
"The dormitory door, Professor," Scott said. "When we left the dormitory at noon, it was locked."
"I thought Miss Turpin had used Alohomora on your door," Professor Flitwick said. "That little spell uses very little magic, and any traces of it have already faded."
"No, this door wasn't opened with Alohomora."
Scott got up from the bed and walked over to the door, indicating the black lock so they could come take a look.
"There are signs that this lock was forced. Someone picked it using Muggle methods."
"Let me see!"
Eddie hurried over.
"Here!" He pointed to the spot beside the keyhole. "There are a few faint scratches here. Someone must have left them while picking the lock with a piece of wire."
"What does that prove?" Bruce examined the spot Eddie had pointed out, still unconvinced. "Maybe Turpin was the one who picked the lock."
Roger shook his head. "Impossible. Lisa grew up in a wizarding family. She wouldn't know a little Muggle-thief trick like that."
Professor Flitwick asked Scott, "So you think another student helped Miss Turpin?"
"Yes, Professor," Scott said. "And the source of the Dark Arts object Turpin had is suspicious too. I don't think her parents would let an underage witch get her hands on something like that."
He added, "Of course, she might have stolen it from home."
"I'll ask Miss Turpin about all this," Professor Flitwick said with a nod.
"Come along." He led the way out of the dormitory. "I think we need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible and give the students an explanation."
Scott and the others followed him.
When they reached the top of the stairs leading to the Common Room, the students gathered inside immediately looked up, their eyes bright with curiosity.
Scott and the others all spotted Lisa Turpin in the crowd at once.
She was a rather plain-looking little girl, with only her blonde hair to catch the eye. But her hair wasn't very tidy, making her head look a little fluffy.
She seemed to have noticed that Scott and the others were looking at her. In an instant, her face turned deathly pale.
Scott looked away, only to notice that Professor Flitwick seemed hesitant.
After thinking it over, Scott understood what was troubling him. He probably didn't want to question the little girl in front of so many onlookers. He was afraid that the child, who had already done something wrong, might lose the chance to set things right in the future.
"Professor."
At that moment, Roger suddenly said to Professor Flitwick, "Perhaps we should discuss this in your office."
"Miss Turpin should be grateful to you, Roger," Professor Flitwick said warmly. "Honestly, I don't want to see any student ruin their future."
Roger had indeed softened. He managed a faint smile. "It's all right. Lisa's still very young."
Scott stood to the side without commenting on Roger and Professor Flitwick's decision. After all, Roger was the victim.
Besides...
Turpin wasn't the real issue. Scott suspected the little girl had probably just been egged on and used by someone else.
Scott looked once more at Jacob in the corner of the Common Room.
[You can't get away.]
Scott silently mouthed the words to Jacob.
Their eyes met.
This time, Jacob didn't look away.
First, an apology: the narration in the previous chapter had a plot hole, which has now been fixed.
Before you continue