Hermione wiped away her tears and said angrily to Ron, "Everyone knows Breeze Order is a Slytherin who loves studying and is friends with lots of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Even your brothers are friendly with Breeze, but you've always judged him unfairly with your theory that 'Slytherins are Dark Wizards'!"
"Sorry, Professor McGonagall. I saw Harry chase Malfoy off, and I panicked too, so I got on my broom to try to stop them. But neither of them paid any attention to me when I shouted."
As she spoke, Hermione glared at Harry, who was still red-faced and dejected, and Malfoy, whose face was deathly pale.
"Then Wood tried to stop them too, but Malfoy changed course and turned around to throw the Remembrall to Breeze, who had his back to him. I'm certain Breeze was moving away from the group of fighting students! Malfoy used Breeze, and then I saw Weasley rush out and grab Breeze's broom. He nearly broke it apart, and Harry's broom went out of control too. Harry fell, but his broom flew straight at Breeze. If Breeze hadn't learned so many spells, he would've been badly hurt."
"I'm worried about Breeze. Can I go check on him first? I'll accept whatever punishment I get." With that, Hermione dropped her broom, wiped her tears, and ran toward the castle.
The professors didn't stop her. What they'd seen matched what Hermione had said.
"Then..." Snape looked over all the students and said to McGonagall, "I think everyone needs to be punished. The professors happen to be very busy at the moment."
Professor McGonagall composed herself, then looked at the few students responsible. "You lot will be treated differently, depending on the severity of what you did!"
"In all my years at Hogwarts, I've never encountered such disobedient students!"
Professor Snape didn't waste any more time. He simply said—
"Fifty points from Slytherin and Gryffindor for fighting!"
"Another fifty points from Weasley for prejudice and injuring a fellow student!"
"Another fifty points from Potter for rushing off without knowing how to control his broom, injuring a fellow student and nearly falling off and breaking his neck!"
"Seventy points from Malfoy for starting trouble and dragging a fellow student into it."
"Twenty points from Granger for flying up there too, even if she was trying to talk them down."
"Wood... He failed to keep the students in line, but that wasn't his fault..."
"Let Wood off, Snape. He never meant to do that, and he did his best to make things right."
Even the sternest Professor McGonagall frowned at such heavy point deductions. She felt helpless, though; she had no reason to object. She could only hope the Little Lions would learn from this.
But that wasn't the end of it. Professor McGonagall continued, "All three of you will serve detention!"
"I need people to handle Potions ingredients, and there'll be more injured students at this time of year because of that brutish game, Quidditch."
McGonagall pressed her lips together, displeased by Snape's remark about Quidditch, but she didn't refuse.
"You three will serve detention in Professor Snape's office for a month!"
Harry didn't dare say a word. He was lucky not to have been expelled. Malfoy accepted the punishment too, but Ron was displeased. He still thought Breeze was at fault as well. If it weren't for him, Ron wouldn't have lost points or gotten detention.
"What about Breeze Order?" Ron demanded indignantly.
Professor McGonagall frowned. Breeze could be considered a victim, but he had also used spells against the students. Even if he was trying to stop them, there had been an element of retaliation.
"W-we won't take points from him, then. I-I happen to need a l-little assistant."
McGonagall nodded, but Snape looked at Quirrell in surprise and gave a cold laugh. "Of course. Mr. Order doesn't like slugs."
After saying that, Quirrell walked toward the castle, looking timid.
Only then did Professor McGonagall release all the students from the Levitation Charm, letting them drift slowly to the ground.
She said sternly, "Now, back to the castle. I hope you'll reflect on what you've done and stop making trouble!"
"Yes, Professor McGonagall."
As the students hurried back toward the castle with their brooms, Snape and McGonagall exchanged a glance. McGonagall said, "Mr. Order's magic is simply... too powerful. I thought it was a magical outburst at first. And Flitwick took the day off today. It seems to have something to do with Mr. Order too."
Snape's expression remained cold, but his eyes were thoughtful. "We all know that an overflow of magic can cause changes in the body, as shown by the faint purple glow in Breeze Order's hair. We've never seen another student like him. Perhaps he's simply exceptionally gifted."
"I think I should ask Dumbledore about it. Perhaps he'll have an answer. Levitate so many people at once—even if they're only students—is astonishing. His magic already surpasses that of most adult wizards, and his use of spells is impressive too."
As she spoke, McGonagall went with Snape to find Dumbledore.
In the Headmaster's Office, Professor McGonagall described what had happened that day to Dumbledore, her expression grave. Snape remained silent beside her.
"Oh, Minerva, this is a good thing. The wizarding world will have another powerful wizard, as long as we guide him properly." Dumbledore sat in the Headmaster's chair and popped a sweet from his desk into his mouth. He spoke lightly, but worry lingered in his eyes. It was clear he didn't really feel that way.
"But the boy is indeed rather unusual. Is he an orphan?"
McGonagall recalled the file she'd handled when Breeze first arrived. "Yes, he came from an Orphanage in London. The Head of the Orphanage had passed away, and her niece happened to be Emmeline Vance. The Head of the Orphanage had asked her for help, so she wrote to me saying she wanted to take the boy to Diagon Alley herself..."
"Oh, I remember. Emmeline Vance, a graceful young woman." Dumbledore smiled, a glimmer of memory in his eyes. "But I seem to remember her saying she wanted to adopt Mr. Order."
"It didn't work out. Order wanted to live on his own."
"I see..." Dumbledore furrowed his brow and ate another sweet. "Let's discuss this again when Flitwick returns. He asked for leave, saying Mr. Order's magic seemed familiar to him, so he went back to his hometown, where his father was born. It's a place where Goblins live."
Surprise flashed in McGonagall's eyes. The power of Goblins?
"Mr. Order can't be descended from Goblins," Snape said. "Otherwise, Flitwick would have noticed. Besides, he has an Eastern appearance, and we know little about the East. Perhaps the power comes from his family's bloodline."
McGonagall heard him and nodded.
Snape continued, "I only hope Hogwarts can keep its students safe, Dumbledore. You should understand that."
"Snape, Order..." Professor McGonagall frowned at Snape's words. "You should trust him. Order is very popular at Hogwarts, even among Gryffindors."
Popular.
"Yes, everyone except the Slytherins likes him. I was overthinking it."
Dumbledore seemed reassured. He took out one of his precious Lemon Sherbets and ate it, then said contentedly, "Severus, you should understand. Children need space of their own. They should be free to grow, and all we need to do is guide them a little. I believe you can manage that, after all, Breeze Order is in Slytherin House."
A glint flashed in Dumbledore's eyes. In the end, he decided to leave Breeze's case to Snape, since he was occupied with something else lately.
"Hmph." Snape snorted without refusing, then strode out of the Headmaster's Office.
McGonagall glanced at Dumbledore, but had nothing more to add. She only hoped Breeze would use his power properly. So far, he'd done quite well, except for losing control a little when he got angry...
"Breeze, are you all right?"
Hermione, her eyes red, looked worriedly at Breeze. He had just drunk a potion and was lying flat on the bed, completely unresponsive.
"I think you should leave. The patient needs to rest. He'll need some time to recover after drinking that potion. I picked the most bitter one. Honestly, I don't know why the school allows such a dangerous class. First there was a sniveling student who came in frightened, and now there's someone in even worse shape!"
Madam Pomfrey quickly ushered Hermione out. Breeze really wasn't up to talking, and Wood left the room too when he saw how he was.
It wasn't until evening that Breeze had fully recovered. By then, Hermione had returned with food.
"Are you feeling better, Breeze?"
"Much better, Hermione."
Breeze slowly sat up and took the fork Hermione handed him. He'd been hungry for a while, but the bitterness in his mouth had kept him from eating. Now that he could smell the food, he could hardly wait.
"Looks like I came at just the right time, Breeze."
Cedric walked in carrying food, his voice warm and teasing. Without even looking up, Breeze said, "No, you came at exactly the right time."
"Hermione doesn't know how much I can eat. With your food as well, I'll be just about full."
"All right, little Badger." Cedric put the food beside Breeze's bed, then asked with concern, "I heard you got hurt in Flying Class, so I came to see you. Are you feeling better?"
"I'm fine now. I'm going to leave once I've eaten, so you can go if you have things to do." Breeze wasn't going back to Slytherin, but he didn't want them to know that, so he tried to send them away.
"All right. I need to go back and write my Potions essay, so I'll leave you to your meal." Cedric smiled and said goodbye.
Hermione looked awkwardly at Breeze, who was wolfing down his food, and shook her head helplessly. It seemed he really was better, but...
"I'm sorry, Breeze. I couldn't stop them, and you ended up getting hurt... Also, you have to serve detention later."
Hermione's face flushed. She hadn't gotten detention, and the three who'd done wrong hadn't come to apologize to Breeze. That made her angry all over again.
"Detention?"
Breeze frowned. What had he done to deserve detention?
Before you continue