Malfoy Really Brought This on Himself This Time (2/10) / Adults Are Arrogant Toward Children (3/10)

Hagrid had never kept a Kneazle, and he hadn't even been at Hogwarts on the day Slytherin had Flying Class!

Harry had said all that just to pique my interest, and to give himself a good excuse to cross the grounds while Slytherin was having Flying Class!!

So... he'd deliberately gone to the grounds, deliberately stood up for Neville, deliberately picked a fight... and deliberately put Malfoy and the others in the hospital!!

And his real motive...

Thinking back to the snippets of conversation she'd overheard between Harry and Filch in the kitchen that night, how could clever Hermione not figure it out?

Harry had never wanted to come to Hogwarts in the first place. Everything he'd done had served another purpose!

Setting the Sorting Hat on fire, beating Peeves to a pulp, taking on all of Slytherin's first-years by himself, mouthing off to everyone from professors to the Headmaster...

All his "heroic deeds" since arriving at school hadn't simply been about standing up for himself.

He'd been raising hell because he wanted to be expelled!

And worse... he wanted to drag her down with him!!

Why was this happening...

The next day, during Charms Class, anyone could tell Hermione was in a bad mood.

Hermione, who usually raced to sit in the front row, had chosen a seat by herself in the corner this time. She seemed to want nothing to do with anyone.

"Hermione... what's wrong?" Harry was worried about her, but she didn't want to talk to him at all.

"None of your business! Stay away from me!!" He'd only been trying to show some concern, but she'd given him an earful instead. Harry was left completely bewildered.

By then, however, Professor Flitwick had arrived, so Harry had no choice but to focus on class for the moment.

"Something's really wrong with Hermione... Did I do something to upset her in the last couple of days?"

Throughout class, Harry kept worrying about Hermione and wondering what he'd done to make her angry.

They'd been fine when they parted yesterday at lunch, but now she was suddenly sulking... She wasn't even volunteering to answer questions anymore. It was downright bizarre!

Could it be that time of the month... But she was so young. Surely it couldn't happen this early~

How strange~

"Miss Granger doesn't seem to be feeling well. What a shame—I'd hoped she could demonstrate the Levitation Charm for everyone." Professor Flitwick's voice drifted over from the lectern. Noticing Hermione's poor spirits, the old professor turned to Harry instead. "I wonder how Mr. Granger is feeling. Would you be able to demonstrate for us?"

"Um..." Seeing the hopeful look in Flitwick's eyes, Harry hesitated, then turned to Hermione with an awkward smile. "Hermione, could I borrow your wand..."

"No!!" To everyone's surprise, Hermione suddenly blew up at Harry in front of the whole class!

"You used Ron Weasley's wand perfectly well before, didn't you? I think you can use anyone's wand just fine! And you never cared about losing House Points anyway, did you? If you don't want to pay attention in class, just say so. There's no need to use a wand as an excuse!!"

"Hermione, what did I do to upset you?" After being scolded and blamed by Hermione again and again, Harry's expression finally darkened.

She was definitely acting crazy today. How could she still be this angry?

"You know perfectly well!!" Hermione shot to her feet and pointed at Harry, her voice sharp with accusation.

Harry even saw a glimmer of tears in the corner of her eye!

### What Was Malfoy Thinking? He Had It Coming This Time (2/10)

What was wrong with Hermione?

After seeing Hermione's tears, Harry's mind was full of questions. He couldn't spare a thought for anything else.

And yet someone just had to pick that moment to provoke him.

"Heh-heh! Harry, looks like your sweetheart's dumped you. Here, if you don't have a wand, why not try mine?"

After a piercing cackle, a battered wand, snapped in half and stuck back together, spun through the air and landed in front of Harry.

"Malfoy..."

Harry glared at him, his face darkening. The boy who was always at odds with him was grinning from ear to ear.

That little bastard Malfoy seemed to be getting cocky again lately~

No matter how well brought up an eleven- or twelve-year-old child was, there were limits to how calculating he could be.

The other students might not have noticed Malfoy's recent changes in mood, but Harry hadn't missed them.

After his father came to Hogwarts and failed to cause trouble, Malfoy had kept his head down for a while. Recently, though, he'd started acting up again, becoming his old, obnoxious self.

Looks like something good had happened to him...

"What's wrong, Harry? Afraid you'll fail? Ha! Aren't you the legendary first-year champion, the one who supposedly beat an entire year group with a broken wand?!"

See? He even had time to taunt Harry now~

"Harry..."

Still fuming, Hermione hesitated. She knew that with Harry and Malfoy on the verge of clashing again, this wasn't the time to act on her temper.

But when she tried to hand Harry her wand, he had already picked up Malfoy's faulty one.

"I'll use this, then." Harry gave the hawthorn wand he'd broken underfoot a cursory glance, then casually tossed away its broken tip.

A broken wand couldn't be used again just by gluing it back together. A break disrupted the wand's magic pathways, causing spells to backfire and rebound onto the wizard.

Malfoy was clearly trying to use that to frame Harry, but Harry wasn't about to fall for it.

As for the drawback of using a half-wand—the spells would be much weaker—that was no problem at all for Harry.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

With a flick and a twist of his wrist, Harry managed to cast the Levitation Charm with Malfoy's broken wand, sending the feather in front of him all the way up to the ceiling.

"Oh, that's simply wonderful! Mr. Granger's performance deserves ten points for Ravenclaw!"

Professor Flitwick looked at Harry with admiration. Harry always managed to surprise him in a new way!

"Thank you for the praise, Professor."

Harry dipped his head to thank Flitwick. But when he looked at Malfoy, his polite expression turned to a sneer.

"Rotten wand. A rotten person like you should keep it."

Harry tossed the broken wand back to Malfoy.

"Damn it! Harry, you'll pay for this! Just you wait!!" Malfoy scrambled to block the half-wand flying toward him. His normally pale face had flushed slightly with anger.

He'd failed again!

Malfoy slammed his fist against the desk in frustration. He'd never imagined Harry could cast the Levitation Charm perfectly with a broken wand!

Could this busted thing... really still be usable?

Puzzled, he waved the half-wand in his hand. A ball of red light abruptly burst from the broken shaft!

Bang!!

A deafening explosion rang out in the classroom, followed by a chorus of pained groans!

Everyone in the class stared toward the sound in shock. Malfoy's desk had somehow been blasted open, leaving a gaping hole, and he lay among the splintered wreckage, clutching his bloodied arm and wailing.

"What just happened? Hurry! Get Malfoy to Madam Pomfrey!"

Professor Flitwick was horrified. He quickly told two Slytherin students to help Malfoy to his feet.

"It was Harry... it was him!" Malfoy's face twisted in pain as he glared at Harry with his grayish-white eyes. "That bastard tampered with my wand... Argh!"

As he was carried out of the classroom, Malfoy kept cursing Harry at the top of his lungs. Bright red blood dripped steadily from his right hand, leaving a winding trail on the floor.

"Mr. Granger, you'd better explain what happened..."

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" As Professor Flitwick turned to Harry, looking troubled, Hermione glared at him and coldly demanded an answer.

"Hermione, listen... I can't say I had nothing to do with it, but Malfoy really did bring this on himself. I wasn't trying to hurt him."

Harry frowned as he explained. He truly hadn't meant to set Malfoy up this time; the unlucky kid had simply walked right into it.

"You're still saying you didn't?" Hermione's furious shriek filled the classroom. She didn't believe a word Harry said!

"You're telling me you didn't plan this in advance? Tamper with the wand, injure Malfoy, then use it as a chance to break the rules and get expelled... just like you did during Flying Class?! Harry... how much longer are you going to keep lying to me!!"

"You're angry because you figured out what I was up to?" Harry's heart sank.

Hermione had figured out his intentions?

And... lying to her?

When had he ever lied to her?

"Harry, I'm so disappointed in you!!!"

Hermione trembled with anger. Her hand at her side lifted several times, but in the end she only shoved Harry aside and fled through the door, covering her face.

As they passed each other, a tear that had been flung from her eye landed softly on Harry's face...

It was cold, chilling him to the heart.

"Hermione!!" Harry immediately tried to chase after her, but Professor Flitwick raised a hand to stop him.

"Harry, you'd better not go." Professor Flitwick shook his head, his expression turning grave. "I trust you, but you must first give me a reasonable explanation for what happened here. I understand that there may be a misunderstanding between you and Miss Granger, but instead of going after her while she's so upset, you should first find a way to prove your innocence. The misunderstanding will clear up on its own after that."

"Besides, I'm shocked by Miss Granger's claim that you intend to get expelled, and I very much hope you can give me an answer that... won't disappoint me!"

"Professor... I think you should take me to see Headmaster Dumbledore. He should be able to explain why I don't have a wand of my own, as well as what caused what just happened."

Hmph. Harry didn't believe for a second that Dumbledore hadn't heard anything from Ollivander...

But he'd kept all of this to himself!!

### Adults Look Down on Children (3/10)

"This was an accident, Filius. I'm certain Harry didn't mean to hurt Draco."

Just as expected, when Flitwick brought Harry to the Headmaster's Office once again, Dumbledore immediately proved his "innocence."

"My old friend Garrick Ollivander wrote to me earlier and mentioned something amusing that happened when Harry visited his wand shop. In any case, aside from Hermione's Holly Wand, we should try to keep Harry from using other people's wands."

Dumbledore rubbed his temples. Anything involving Harry often took an unexpected turn, which left him feeling quite weary.

Ollivander had written that Harry's convictions were strong enough to influence a wand's choice through his emotions. But as far as Dumbledore was concerned, Ollivander hadn't yet understood the whole picture.

Harry seemed to have an unparalleled affinity for magic. That affinity allowed him to form a more perfect bond with magical objects, which was why he could hear the Sorting Hat's indecisive muttering as it sorted difficult cases, and stop Hermione just before she was sorted into Gryffindor.

The same trait also made it easier for Harry to win a wand's recognition. He could easily pick up and use most wands, even those belonging to other wizards.

Ollivander was far too fixated on the idea that "the wand chooses the wizard." He'd never dared imagine that Harry was a wizard who broke with convention and could choose his own wand!

In any case, being able to use any wand was certainly convenient for Harry. But for other wizards, it might not be such a good thing.

Once Harry used their wands, the wands might be affected by his emotions and rebel violently against their owners!

Just like Malfoy's broken Hawthorn Wand. It would rather destroy the last piece of itself than allow its former owner, Malfoy, to use it again!

"But Albus, I don't understand..." Professor Flitwick asked, puzzled. "Harry used Mr. Weasley's wand before. Why didn't it betray Mr. Weasley?"

"Filius, I think that may have been because you disarmed him with Expelliarmus." Dumbledore thought it over before answering. "Ron's wand had been disarmed from Harry, so it wasn't affected much by Harry's emotions. And that wand had served the Weasley family for a long time, so it was naturally deeply attached to Ron."

"I see. Then Miss Granger and I were both wrong to blame Harry..." Now that he knew Harry was innocent, Flitwick was relieved, but he also felt deeply guilty. "In the end, this was all my fault. If I hadn't asked Harry to demonstrate the Levitation Charm at the wrong time, or if I'd stopped Malfoy from provoking him in time, none of this might have happened..."

"Professor, this wasn't your fault!" Harry frowned as he tried to reassure him. "You didn't know any of this was going to happen, just like I didn't!"

"Harry's right, Filius. This wasn't your fault." Dumbledore spoke up calmly. "Though I'm sorry for Draco, no one needs to be held responsible for this. It was simply an unfortunate accident..."

What?!

Had Albus just said... no one needed to be held responsible?

Harry carefully studied Dumbledore's face, not missing even the slightest wrinkle, as if that could help him determine... whether the man still had any shame.

Wasn't this all because of you?

You'd already received a letter from Ollivander and knew about my unusual nature, yet you'd kept it all to yourself?!

Harry himself had known nothing about his ability to make other people's wands rebel, but Dumbledore had known all along.

And yet, even then, he hadn't warned a single professor in advance. He hadn't told anyone—not even Harry himself...

what might happen if Harry used any wand other than a Holly Wand!