After Scott raised his question, Roger chimed in, "I'm confused too. I don't remember us having any dealings with Miss Travers."
Jacob glanced up at them, then lowered his head again and fell silent.
Lisa Turpin, sitting beside him, stole a glance at Professor Flitwick, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to.
"It seems you might know the answer, Miss Turpin." Scott turned his gaze to her.
Professor Flitwick added, "If you know anything, you'd better tell us, Miss Turpin."
His expression was very stern.
"And you too, Mr. Kent. I can only decide on your punishment once I know the whole truth."
Lisa shrank back a little and began to speak uneasily. "She... Miss Travers said you shouldn't meddle in Jacob's business, and she looked at her with that condescending expression."
"So that's what happened." Scott nodded, understanding.
Facing Professor Flitwick's questioning gaze, he stood and gave a slight bow. "Please wait a moment, Professor. I'd like to ask Jacob a few questions."
Professor Flitwick nodded and gestured for him to go ahead.
Scott gave Professor Flitwick a grateful smile, then sat back down.
"Jacob, I hope you'll answer me honestly," he said. "What really happened on the night of the opening feast? And why did you later start hanging around with Travers and Rowle?"
"This... It all started with a trip to Diagon Alley before the start of term..."
Jacob kept his head lowered, but began to recount his experiences obediently.
He spoke haltingly, breaking off now and then to sob, but his account was clear enough.
He had met Jasmine Travers in Diagon Alley during the summer holidays.
At the time, Jacob had bought a box of ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, then spilled it on Travers amid the crowd.
"I apologized to her right away, and she smiled and said it was all right," Jacob said. "Oh, Professor McGonagall, who was leading us around Diagon Alley, was there too. She used magic to clean Travers's clothes."
For Jacob, it had been nothing more than a minor incident, and he hadn't thought about it again afterward.
He just hadn't expected to run into Travers again on the Hogwarts Express before the start of term.
This time, however, Travers was no longer friendly and kind toward him, as she had been during the summer.
"I wanted to be friends with her, but she looked at me as if I were a cockroach," Jacob said.
Scott listened to his account in silence.
He thought that, up to this point, Jacob was telling the truth.
This must have been the first time the boy, who had been full of wonder about the Wizarding World, had experienced the hostility pure-blood wizards felt toward Muggle-born wizards.
After all, reality wasn't a fairy tale.
"Then Caitlin Rowle came into the compartment, and Travers immediately started crying," Jacob continued. "She told Rowle I was bullying her. Rowle wouldn't listen to my explanation and kicked me out of the compartment."
At that, Scott said to him, "So on the night of the opening feast, Rowle was tricked by Travers into taking her side, then fell down the spiral staircase in the tower herself to frame you?"
"That's exactly what happened!" Jacob lifted his head and looked at him intently. "But no matter how I explained it, no one believed me! They even kicked me out of the dormitory!"
Professor Flitwick sighed with regret. "Oh, several Prefects reported this to me. Miss Clearwater said it might have been an accident."
"What happened after that?" Scott asked. "Why did you start hanging around with them?"
Roger added, "We've seen you walking with them more than once. Scott called your name several times, but you never took the chance to come over to us."
"I was afraid!" Jacob's voice had a distinct catch in it. "Travers said... she said that if I didn't do what she wanted, she could easily find my family in the Muggle World!"
"This is absurd!"
Professor Flitwick couldn't help slapping the table. He had clearly never heard anything like this before, and said furiously, "She's threatening you! You shouldn't believe her. You should have told a professor!"
"No!"
Jacob shook his head rapidly.
"Travers said that if I told a professor, her House-elf could get to my home as fast as possible!"
He said in terror, "She even has a photo of me that I keep in my bedroom!"
Roger asked in surprise, "How did she find out where you live?"
"Her House-elf followed us home when we went to Diagon Alley!" Jacob curled up in fear. "She told me that herself!"
Professor Flitwick began shouting furiously, "This is absurd! Utterly absurd! I've never, never seen such a lawless student! I'll have Professor Snape expel that girl himself!"
He then reassured Jacob, "Don't worry, don't worry, Mr. Kent! Now that I know about this, I'll make sure your family is safe!"
"Lulu!" He snapped his fingers.
With a loud pop, a House-elf appeared in the office. A clean, neat tea towel was draped over its body, and it bowed to Professor Flitwick, its green eyes as large as tennis balls.
"Honored wizard, Lulu is at your service!"
It spoke with great excitement, as if being summoned by a wizard were a tremendous honor.
"I need you to protect a family, Lulu," Professor Flitwick told it. "If any other House-elves show up near their home, drive them all away."
Lulu immediately shrieked its agreement. "Protect a family? No problem! Lulu will do it! Lulu will drive away all the bad House-elves!"
"Now, write your home address on this piece of parchment, Mr. Kent." Professor Flitwick tapped the parchment on the desk and spoke to Jacob.
Jacob immediately stood, picked up the quill on the desk, and began writing. He spoke excitedly through his tears. "Thank you! Thank you so much, Professor!"
Professor Flitwick handed the note to Lulu, then said to Jacob, "Don't worry. Only Lulu and I will see this note."
Jacob said anxiously, "No, I'm not worried. You don't have to do this."
"Enough. It's settled." Professor Flitwick waved his hand, then gestured for Lulu to leave.
Lulu bowed again and quickly vanished from their sight.
After watching Lulu leave, Jacob let out a long sigh of relief. He seemed much more at ease.
"Now, let's get back to the matter at hand," Professor Flitwick said to him. "What exactly has Miss Travers been doing at school? And how was she planning to get revenge on Trollope and Davis?"
Before you continue