(P.S. According to the students mentioned in the original Harry Potter books, there should only be five boys and five girls in each of the two Houses Harry's year, Gryffindor and Slytherin. But ten students per year seems a little too meager, so I'm assuming there are a few more boys in Slytherin. Otherwise, a 1-vs-5 group brawl wouldn't have much of a crowd~)
Malfoy Deserved to Get His Head Split Open
"Harry..." On the other side of the grounds, Hermione saw what had happened. The corners of her eyes grew damp without her realizing it...
Hermione already knew enough about the Wizarding World to understand what "Mudblood" meant. But right now, she felt neither anger nor sadness. All she felt was touched.
Harry was willing to risk everything to defend her. She had no time to think about her own anger or what might happen afterward!
She would just let him do whatever he wanted...
Whatever Harry wanted to do next, Hermione wasn't going to stop him!
She had already made up her mind to face all the consequences alongside Harry!
Because to each other, they were the most important family in the world!!
"Just... because of them?" Malfoy stared down at the Remembrall on the ground, then looked toward Hermione in the distance with a blank expression. Suddenly, his face twisted into a wild, bitter grin!
"Haha, so it's just because of them? You really think you're some kind of saint, standing up for them like this?! Neville Longbottom was born to be bullied, and he's just like Weasley—a disgrace to the Pure-blood Family!!"
"And the woman behind you... Heh, was Crabbe wrong? Harry Potter, you'd actually hurt the offspring of a pure-blood family in public for some filthy Mudblood?! Don't you think you're ridiculous?! You..."
Malfoy's voice cut off. Harry had raised the bloodied brick in his hand!
"Malfoy, you're wrong." Harry's voice was as cold as ice, cold enough to freeze a person solid. "First, my name is Harry Granger. Second, and more importantly, Hermione is ten thousand times nobler than trash like you! And last, which is just as important, I told you, didn't I... Don't let me hear you use that word again!!!"
"N-no... please!!!"
As Malfoy screamed in despair, Harry brought down his raised hand with all his strength!!
"Stop!!"
"Stupefy!!" "Petrificus Totalus!!" "Expelliarmus!!" "Protego!!"
At the same time, Madam Hooch and the Heads of House, who had learned how serious the situation was, finally arrived. For once, the Heads of all Four Houses—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin—cast their spells at the same time, trying to stop Harry from hurting Malfoy!
Magical energy flew in every direction across the grounds. After a brief struggle, Professor McGonagall's Sleeping Charm and Professor Sprout's Full Body-Bind Curse tore through the Obscurus swirling behind Harry. Meanwhile, Professor Flitwick's Disarming Charm shot straight toward Harry's hand!
But no one had expected Harry to hold back the magical onslaught through sheer force of will. He even deliberately used Ron's wand to meet Professor Flitwick's Disarming Charm, successfully protecting the brick in his other hand!
At the same time, with the last sliver of his conscious mind, he controlled the Obscurus and forced it to tear through the Shield Charm Snape had cast around Malfoy. Then he brought the brick down on Malfoy's head without hesitation!!
In that moment, Harry showed everyone just how determined he was!
He was going to make Malfoy pay in blood. No one could stop him!!
Crack!!
The brick split in two from the force of the impact. Malfoy's face was instantly covered in blood, and he collapsed limply to the ground without even letting out a scream.
"Malfoy... If you ever call Hermione that again, I will never forgive you!!!"
Using the last of his strength, Harry roared his deadly warning at Malfoy!
After that, he could no longer resist the spells. He remained standing, but lost consciousness completely.
The whole grounds descended into chaos. The injured cried out, professors barked orders, and Hermione screamed in worry. But Harry could no longer hear any of it.
"Mm..." When Harry woke again, his head hurt so much he thought it might explode.
Holding out against the spells of three professors hadn't caused him much trouble, actually. Professor McGonagall and the others hadn't used any harmful spells, so they hadn't injured him.
The real danger had been Snape's Shield Charm. Harry had nearly lost control of his Obscurus while trying to break through the protection around Malfoy and crack his head open!
His current mental exhaustion was just a side effect of overusing the Obscurus.
After looking around, Harry realized he was in a private room in the hospital wing. He must have been brought there after he passed out.
The Slytherin students with Malfoy were probably in other rooms.
He tried to get up, but found that his body and feet had been firmly tied to the bed. A disdainful sneer crept onto his face.
As expected, they'd decided he was a dangerous criminal~
"Oh, you're awake?" The matron, Madam Pomfrey, had come through the door. She was a kind, gentle old woman, and when she saw Harry had woken up, relief and delight showed on her face.
"But you really did a number on them, child. I've never had to treat so many students at once before." Madam Pomfrey put her hands on her hips and gently scolded Harry. "Especially Malfoy—you split his head open!"
"May I ask where Hermione is now?"
Harry wasn't concerned about Malfoy's injuries. He had caused them himself, after all, so he knew exactly what had happened.
The broken brick had developed tiny cracks after Harry had used it on Crabbe and Goyle. Given the force of his final blow, Malfoy's skull would have been dented, and he would have suffered a moderate concussion at most. There wouldn't be any serious, irreversible damage.
Harry had spent a previous life studying all kinds of heads. He knew this stuff inside out~
So instead of wasting time on that, he'd rather make sure Hermione was all right.
Oh, right. Ron, too.
"Miss Granger has been confined to her dormitory. Mr. Weasley got off a little better; he's currently confined to the Gryffindor common room," Madam Pomfrey said.
"Confined..." Harry frowned, then asked Madam Pomfrey, "May I speak with Professor Flitwick?"
"I'm afraid not." Madam Pomfrey shook her head apologetically. "Because of what just happened, Headmaster Dumbledore is holding an emergency meeting with the four Heads of House..."
"The meeting has been temporarily adjourned, Madam Pomfrey." Professor Flitwick appeared in the doorway, then hurried straight to Harry's bedside. His wrinkled face was full of concern.
"Thank goodness, Harry, you're finally awake! How are you feeling? Is anything bothering you?"
"I've just got a bit of a headache. Otherwise, I'm fine. There's no need to worry, Professor."
As Professor Flitwick anxiously asked him question after question, Harry felt a warmth in his heart.
He had always been grateful for Professor Flitwick's unconditional kindness.
"Good~" Professor Flitwick smiled with relief, but his expression soon turned worried. "Harry... Headmaster Dumbledore sent me to fetch you. He wants to see you now..."
"I understand. Please take me to him." Harry nodded slightly, without any objection.
He had always been prepared for this. The moment he entered Hogwarts, this day was bound to come...
A face-to-face meeting with Dumbledore!
Everything Had Been Planned
"Harry, although I strongly disapprove of what you did, I have to say that you showed incredible courage and a real sense of justice."
Professor Flitwick said this as he led Harry toward the Headmaster's Office.
"You stood up for Mr. Longbottom and defended Miss Granger's dignity! And most importantly, you truly showed an exceptional talent for magical dueling. I'd call you the very best!"
Harry: ...
Um... Professor, I think you've got the wrong channel~
Apart from using a brick as a secondary weapon, Harry's fight had been practically perfect in Professor Flitwick's eyes!
Especially the enhanced Lumos that had blocked his opponent's vision. Professor Flitwick considered it a stroke of genius.
Professor Flitwick had once been a Duelling Club champion himself. He certainly didn't want his students to grow into stiff old trees who knew only how to cast spells by rote.
Wizards were alive, and spells should be alive, too. Only by learning to adapt could they produce all kinds of unexpected results.
In Harry, Professor Flitwick had seen the kind of change he had always hoped for.
He was already imagining the amazing performances Harry would put on once they could start the Duelling Club in second year~
"Professor, how long has Hermione been confined to her dormitory?" Harry paid little attention to Professor Flitwick's praise. He was still focused on Hermione.
"Headmaster Dumbledore didn't say, but Miss Granger's rule-breaking wasn't too serious. I doubt it will be for long," Professor Flitwick replied after thinking it over.
"After I've seen the Headmaster, could you find a way to get Hermione out of her dormitory?" Harry asked urgently. "And... could you ask Professor McGonagall if Hermione could stay with her for a while?"
"I... All right, I'll ask Professor McGonagall!" Professor Flitwick's expression turned serious. After hesitating, he agreed to Harry's request.
With his experience, it didn't take him long to realize that Harry was worried Hermione might be secretly targeted by the Pure-blood Family.
He had wanted to assure Harry that Hogwarts was safe, but then he thought Harry's arrangement might be the most prudent after all.
The whole incident seemed to be a mere dispute between Harry and Malfoy, but no one could say for sure whether Hermione would be caught up in it.
After all, people's malice sometimes found its way through every crack.
"Harry... I give you my word, on my honor, that you and Miss Granger will both be safe!!"
Flitwick didn't know how a boy so young could understand people's hearts so well, but he knew he admired him even more now.
And so he made his promise solemnly.
Harry arrived at Hogwarts's Headmaster's Office with Professor Flitwick and saw Dumbledore, whom he really didn't want to see at all.
Dumbledore sat peacefully behind his desk, his expression barely changed, as if Harry's arrival came as no surprise.
Professor McGonagall and the other three Heads of House stood on either side of the desk, all scrutinizing Harry with different expressions.
A bird with brilliant gold-and-red plumage, shaped like a flame, was perched on a scroll-shaped stand inside the Headmaster's Office.
It had been resting with its head bowed, but when Harry came in, it suddenly opened its beautiful eyes and looked at him curiously.
A phoenix from Western legend—or, more accurately, an immortal bird. This Fantastic Beast clearly caught Harry's attention more than Dumbledore and the other Heads of House.
Harry heard a call from it that was almost identical to the one from his Holly Wand, and the magical resonance was incredibly strong.
Phoenix Feather...
So the core of the Holly Wand came from this phoenix?
"Very good, Harry Granger. You've once again given everyone a new understanding of you—and shown us just how much trouble you can cause!"
Snape was the first to speak. He drifted toward Harry like a bat, bringing his cold, hooked nose close to Harry's. "You challenged the first-year students of Slytherin by yourself and beat Malfoy and the others badly! Granger... are you trying to show off your ridiculous strength in this childish way?!"
"I don't think it's anything to brag about, especially coming from you, Professor Snape~" Harry shrugged, completely unbothered.
Honestly, if Harry were Snape, he wouldn't have floated over here to put on airs.
Harry had taken down nearly all the first-year boys in Slytherin by himself. For the House Head, that was humiliating. Snape should have gone and hidden in a corner~
"You..." Snape gave an angry snort after Harry cut him off.
Just as expected... That shameless way he acted like making a mistake was something to be proud of—it was exactly like that man!
That detestable Potter!!
"Please don't get so angry, Severus. The matter hasn't been decided yet." Dumbledore waved his hand calmly, signaling for Snape to keep his temper.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, I must remind you that if you decide to protect Granger, you should think first about how you'll deal with the complaints from Malfoy and the other Pure-blood Families!" Snape bowed slightly to Dumbledore, then drifted back as if his feet weren't touching the ground.
Hearing Snape's words, Harry raised his eyebrows without realizing it.
Things were going pretty much as he had planned. The Pure-blood Families behind Slytherin certainly wouldn't let this go, and that was exactly what Harry needed.
To stop Harry from causing trouble and getting himself expelled, Dumbledore had blocked off every possible angle inside the school. So if Harry wanted to stir things up, he had to shift the focus outside!
He had deliberately held back during Flying Class on Wednesday, insisted on crossing the grounds with Hermione, and stepped in to help Neville. The main reason for all of it was to start this fight!
Harry wanted to force Malfoy into a corner, humiliate him in front of both Slytherin and Gryffindor, and beat him until he went crying home to his father. That was the only way to draw in Lucius Malfoy and a whole crowd of Slytherin "helicopter parents"!
Once they united and pressured Dumbledore, he wouldn't be able to "protect" Harry. Then Harry's plan to get expelled would finally succeed!
As for the fact that the Pure-blood Families might retaliate after Harry was expelled... Please, he wasn't worried~
Never mind that, at the end of the day, this was just a dispute between a few children. The Pure-blood Families, who considered themselves above ordinary people, might not want to get involved in the real world... Even if they did act stupidly, Harry still had nothing to worry about.
These days, who in the transmigration business didn't have one or two powerful backers?
Don't forget, Harry had the Royal Family and the British Government backing him in the real world, and Scamander as his protector in the Wizarding World!
If he stayed at Hogwarts, school rules and all the other restrictions might force him to be wary of Malfoy and the other families.
But if those Pure-blood Families dared to follow him into the real world to seek revenge, and even dragged the Grangers into it... then their good days would be over for good!
Before you continue