There Is More to the Incident Than Meets the Eye

"That was after the first Quidditch match of the last school year," Roger began to recount the story between himself and Lisa Turpin, "perhaps because my performance on the pitch that day was too charming..."

"Ahem!" Professor Flitwick looked at him sternly.

"I performed exceptionally well on the pitch that day." Roger changed his wording immediately, "Anyway, after the match, Lisa confessed to me in private."

"And you agreed?" Professor Flitwick asked.

Roger shook his head rapidly, "No! I did not!"

He said, "I rejected her! She was too young, only 11 years old, and I have no interest in little kids."

"But she refused to give up!" Roger said distressfully, "I rejected her many times during that period, but in the end, she said..."

"Said what?" Professor Flitwick asked again.

"She said..."

Roger's expression became very conflicted, and he turned to look at Eddie.

Eddie was currently suppressing his laughter. Seeing Roger's pleading gaze, he kindly helped him explain: "Professor, let me say it for him. Lisa said to Roger..."

His tone was laced with leaking laughter.

"She said she wasn't actually in love with him. She was just curious about romance, and since Roger is the most 'casual' boy in Ravenclaw, she thought he could let her experience the feeling of being in love. But she didn't expect Roger to be such a wimp."

"Pfft."

Captain Bruce finally couldn't hold it in. He pressed his fist against his mouth, turned to face the wall, and his shoulders shook.

Professor Flitwick, however, asked in disbelief: "Is this true?"

Is this something an 11-year-old girl would say?

"It's true! Professor! Please believe me!" Roger opened his eyes wide, trying to use his most sincere gaze to make Professor Flitwick believe him.

But Professor Flitwick didn't seem to receive his signal.

"It's true, Professor." At this moment, Milton spoke up, "Scott and I were both there that day. Turpin must have been furious; she said that right in front of us."

"So that's how it is."

Professor Flitwick chose to believe it immediately. He nodded at Milton and then looked back at Roger.

"Davis, continue."

Facing Professor Flitwick's differential treatment, Roger felt a bit bitter, but he still spoke about the aftermath, "Later, I told Lisa that if she just wanted to experience the feeling of romance, I could spare two weeks to play house with her."

He looked up at Professor Flitwick again, "She agreed at the time! She even promised that after two weeks, she wouldn't pester me anymore."

Hearing this, Professor Flitwick shifted his gaze to Scott and Milton. Only after seeing them both nod did he say to Roger: "Then, why would Miss Turpin use a magical object to curse your Flying Broomstick?"

"I don't know." Roger was very confused at this point, "Anyway, after the agreed two weeks, I told Lisa the game was over, and she didn't object at the time."

Professor Flitwick asked with a headache: "Strictly speaking, that child's behavior already constitutes a crime. How do you want to handle this?"

"This..."

Roger hesitated, seemingly unsure of what to say for a moment.

Scott knew this was the first time Roger had crashed and burned.

The girls who had actually dated Roger in the past hadn't done anything extreme after being dumped by him. He hadn't expected that just playing house with a little girl would lead to such consequences.

"There must be more to this, Professor," Scott voiced his thoughts.

"Why do you say that?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"The dormitory door, Professor," Scott said, "We locked it when we left the dormitory at noon."

"I assumed Miss Turpin used an Unlocking Charm on your dormitory door," Professor Flitwick said, "The magic used for such minor charms is quite weak, and the residual magic has already dissipated."

"No, this door wasn't opened by an Unlocking Charm."

Scott stood up from his bed, walked to the door, and signaled for them to come look at the black lock on it.

"This lock has signs of being tampered with; it was opened using Muggle methods."

"Let me see!"

Eddie hurried over.

"Here!" He pointed his finger next to the keyhole of the lock, "There are a few slight scratches here; someone must have left them while picking the lock with a wire."

"What does this prove?" Bruce looked at the spot Eddie pointed to, still not understanding, "Maybe it was just Turpin who picked the lock."

Roger shook his head to deny his words, "Impossible. Lisa grew up in a wizarding family; she couldn't possibly know this kind of trick that belongs to Muggle thieves."

Professor Flitwick asked Scott: "So you mean, there is another student providing help to Miss Turpin?"

"Yes, Professor," Scott said, "And the source of the Dark Arts object in Turpin's possession is also very suspicious. I don't think her parents would let an underage young witch come into contact with such things."

He added, "Of course, it's also possible she stole it from home."

"I will ask Miss Turpin about this clearly," Professor Flitwick nodded.

"Let's go." He walked out of the dormitory first, "I think this matter needs to be cleared up as soon as possible to give the students an explanation."

Scott and the others followed behind him.

As they arrived at the staircase leading to the common room, the students gathered there immediately looked up, their eyes flashing with curiosity.

Scott and the others found Lisa Turpin standing in the crowd at the very first moment.

She was a rather plain-looking little girl, with her blonde hair being her only striking feature. However, her hair was not very smooth, making her head look quite fuzzy.

She seemed to have noticed that the gazes of Scott and his friends were fixed on her. In an instant, her face turned deathly pale.

Scott withdrew his gaze, only to find Professor Flitwick hesitating.

Scott thought for a moment and understood the source of his hesitation. He likely did not want to question the little girl in front of so many onlookers. He feared that the child who had already made a mistake might lose the chance to correct herself in the future because of it.

"Professor."

At this moment, Roger suddenly spoke to Professor Flitwick, "Perhaps we should go to your office to discuss this matter."

"Miss Turpin should thank you, Roger." Professor Flitwick said emotionally, "Truly, I do not wish to see any student ruin their own future."

Roger was indeed soft-hearted; he forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, Lisa is just still too young."

Scott stood to the side, offering no opinion on the decision made by Roger and Professor Flitwick. After all, Roger was the victim.

Besides...

Turpin didn't amount to much; Scott guessed that the little girl was likely just being instigated and used by someone else.

Scott's gaze shifted once more to Jacob in the corner of the common room.

[You can't run away.]

Scott silently mouthed the words to Jacob.

Their eyes met.

This time, Jacob did not look away.

Apologies first, there was a loophole in the narrative of the previous chapter, which has already been corrected.