I'll Learn from You

"Good evening, Eddie."

In the dormitory, Scott stood in front of Eddie's bed with his arms crossed, leaning against the bedpost as he looked down at him.

Eddie sat on his bed and looked up at Scott. For some reason, he felt guilty and couldn't help clutching his blanket tighter.

Still, he gathered his courage and asked, "What is it, Scott?"

Scott narrowed his eyes at Eddie's guilty expression.

"I wanted to ask you something," he said slowly. "Has anything related to me happened lately that you haven't told me about?"

"What?" Eddie looked confused.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Really."

"Is that so?" Scott bent forward slightly. "Think about it again."

"Really, there's nothing." Eddie spread his hands.

Scott prompted him. "Think harder. For example, any nasty nicknames or anything like that."

Eddie's expression shifted ever so slightly. He glanced away for a moment, then looked back at Scott.

He put on an expression of sudden realization. "Oh, I remember now, Scott. Sorry, I'd forgotten until you brought it up."

Scott stared at him in silence for several seconds, until the guilty look returned to Eddie's face.

"Go on," Scott said, straightening up. "Where did that nasty nickname come from? If you can tell me, I won't hold it against you for keeping this from me."

"Yeah, Eddie, tell us."

Just then, Roger came over and sat right down on Eddie's bed.

He grinned teasingly. "I want to know what this nasty nickname is that's got Scott so worked up."

"Go away, Roger."

Scott snapped at Roger, then gave Eddie a threatening look.

[Say it, and you're dead.]

Eddie quickly gave Scott an earnest look.

"I don't know who came up with the nickname," he said.

"Hmm?" Scott narrowed his eyes again.

"But it first spread among the Ravenclaw first-years," Eddie hastily added.

"Good. That's more or less what I suspected."

Scott nodded in satisfaction.

After a moment, he smiled at Eddie. "Let's leave it at that, Eddie."

Before Eddie could breathe a sigh of relief, Scott added, "Now, I need you to help me spread a message."

"W-what?" Eddie nearly choked.

"Let everyone know that if I hear anyone call me that nasty nickname again, I'll challenge them to a duel," Scott said seriously.

"You're serious?" Eddie stared at him in disbelief. "Isn't that a bit extreme?"

[Is there really any need to go this far?]

He conveyed the thought with his eyes.

"Are you really going to duel everyone who calls you by that nickname?" Roger asked, looking perplexed. "What am I supposed to do? I'm getting more and more curious about how bad it is!"

"Then you'll just have to hold back."

Scott waved a hand, turned around, picked up his basket, and went to the bathroom.

The next day, Professor Flitwick's punishment for Jacob Kent and Lisa Turpin spread throughout Ravenclaw.

After classes that morning, Eddie shared the news with Scott at the table.

Unlike Jacob's two months of community service, Turpin had been sentenced to community service for the entire school year. Her parents also had to pay a large sum of Galleons to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a ransom.

"Apparently, Mr. Dupin and Mrs. Dupin came to Hogwarts last night," Eddie said quietly. "They not only gave Lisa Turpin a furious scolding, but also begged Professor Flitwick and Headmaster Dumbledore to let her off because she's still young."

"Oh? They wanted to keep this from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" Scott asked with amusement.

Eddie nodded. "Exactly."

Scott shook his head. "Didn't they know that everyone in Ravenclaw knows what their daughter did?"

"Exactly. Professor Flitwick said the same thing. So the result was still that the Dupins had to pay a large sum to keep their daughter out of Azkaban."

Eddie spoke animatedly.

"Professor Flitwick also made them pay for Roger's broomstick!"

After lunch, Scott went alone to the Black Lake dock beneath the cliff beside the Great Hall.

"Jacob."

He looked straight at a boulder by the water.

"You came, Scott."

Jacob came around from behind the boulder.

He took a silver spoon from his pocket and waved it, then said to Scott, "I was just wondering if this might be a prank."

"I'm not particularly fond of pranks, Jacob." Scott reached out and took the silver spoon.

It was a spoon like the ones commonly found on the Great Hall's long tables. What made it unusual was the few tiny, inconspicuous words on its handle.

[1:00 pm Black Lake Dock S]

A time, a place, and a set of initials.

It was an unusual invitation.

"I had no idea your Transfiguration could do something like this, Scott!" Jacob said excitedly. "You changed the spoon in my hand without a sound, from all the way across an entire long table!"

Scott smiled. "It's nothing. At least I used my wand."

"No, that's already incredible." Jacob spoke with admiration.

"You're the incredible one, Jacob." Scott's expression turned playful. "I didn't think you could go this far."

He stepped forward and patted Jacob on the shoulder. "But you should know that putting on an act in front of me is ridiculous."

"Just like Jasmine Travers?"

Jacob's expression immediately turned blank.

"You must have thought her disguise was ridiculous, right?"

"Let's not get into that just yet." Scott walked to the edge of the dock. "We still have some time to exchange thoughts before afternoon classes."

He tossed the spoon in his hand forward, then drew his wand.

"Vanishing Spell."

A bolt of magic shot from his wand and struck the falling spoon. It vanished instantly.

Then he took a piece of ebony from the Moke Skin Pouch at his waist and casually tossed it forward.

He cast the spell again, and another bolt of magic flew out. The ebony began to transform rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, a small boat settled onto the water.

Scott stepped aboard and sat down, beckoning to Jacob. "Come on. Let's enjoy a boat ride."

"All right."

Jacob climbed into the boat and sat opposite him.

He looked at Scott with fresh curiosity. "You used a Vanishing Spell to make the spoon disappear and chose to have this conversation out on the open lake. You're very cautious."

Scott took out more materials and transformed them into oars, then began rowing.

"It's necessary, Jacob," he said. "For the sake of the future, I'm forcing myself to develop good habits like this."

Jacob nodded seriously.

"That makes sense. I'll learn from you," he said.

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