The fact that Flag had been rescued, along with Bassa's half-joking reassurance, calmed the atmosphere that had been gripped by fear.
"Hm? No fighting in class." Mr. Bassa raised his wand, and with a spell, separated Neville and Theodore, who were tearing at each other as they wrestled.
"Why were you fighting?" Mr. Bassa asked gently, his eyes flicking toward Theodore as he spoke in a calm voice.
That made Neville less afraid than he would have been if he were facing Snape. "Mr. Bassa, when Flag was using Apparition, Theodore deliberately coughed loudly to disrupt him! He was the one who made Flag lose focus and get splinched!"
"My throat was just uncomfortable. It itched so badly I couldn't help coughing!" Theodore's words tugged at the injury at the corner of his mouth, and he grimaced in pain. "Longbottom, when you're sick, can you stop yourself from sneezing or coughing?"
"You did it on purpose." Neville clenched his fists in fury, but he could not think how to rebut Theodore.
Theodore was already tall. Though he had in fact done it deliberately just now, he had not intended to take things as far as someone dying. But now that Flag had been treated, his initially guilty posture began to straighten, and he looked completely justified. He even deliberately let his expression reveal his true thoughts—yes, I did it on purpose, but there's nothing you can do about it.
Neville was so angry he was struck speechless. The muscles in his face trembled with rage, and his face flushed red, but he could not get a word out.
"Mr. Longbottom, please calm down..." Mr. Bassa patted Neville's shoulder gently, then looked at the others. "Did anyone see what happened?"
Hannah Abbott, who was watching from the crowd, saw the situation