Mudblood and Three Mice

After returning to school, Hogwarts' first Quidditch match was Ravenclaw versus Slytherin. Ravenclaw's genius and "heartthrob" would face Slytherin, the house that hated Muggles most. The tension surrounding the match was terrifyingly thick.

Before the match, Malfoy deliberately blocked Ye Ting in the corridor. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him; they were also on their way to watch the match and cheer for the Slytherin team.

"Move aside, Ravenclaw's pretty boy," Malfoy screeched provocatively at Ye Ting. "Or are you already eager to be humiliated in front of all your lovers on the pitch? Watch out you don't break a leg!"

After saying that, he laughed as though he had made a witty joke. His two lackeys also burst into exaggerated laughter, their smiles looking as though someone had forced them at knifepoint.

Ye Ting shook his head speechlessly. He found this childish game utterly laughable. A spoiled brat like Malfoy could only talk big in front of him; the moment things got serious, he would immediately lose his nerve.

However, though Ye Ting was not angry, someone naturally was angry on his behalf.

"You're jealous, Malfoy." Beside Ye Ting, Hermione mocked sharply, "No girls like you, and you can't even join the Quidditch team, so all you can do is stand on the sidelines and spit sour remarks."

Her words struck Malfoy right where it hurt. Embarrassed and enraged, his expression turned much uglier.

"No one asked for your opinion, you stinking little Mudblood." He glared viciously at Hermione. "Get lost with your little lover."

Those words immediately provoked an explosive reaction.

Cho Chang glared at him furiously and warned, "How dare you... Shut your mouth."

However, Ye Ting had the strongest reaction. He coldly declared, "You will pay for those words."

In that instant, his icy aura made Malfoy feel as if he were naked in a frozen wasteland, and he could not help but shudder.

Ye Ting drew his wand and pointed it at Malfoy. Malfoy was instantly transformed into a white mouse, scurrying about the floor in panic.

Crabbe and Goyle roared and charged at Ye Ting, but he neither dodged nor retreated. He merely pointed his wand at each of them. Malfoy's two hulking lackeys instantly became mice as well—Crabbe turned into a large, fat brown mouse, while Goyle became a stout black mouse.

Ye Ting casually snapped off a dead branch and transfigured it into a large iron cage. Then, with Wingardium Leviosa, he tossed all three frantic mice inside and hung the cage from the corridor ceiling, leaving the three mice to scramble around inside it.

Finally, Ye Ting gave Feiju an instruction. "Feiju, call all your friends over and have them teach these three little hooligans how to be good students."

Upon hearing him, the nearby young wizards watching the scene could not help but shiver.

Have Feiju's friends teach them a lesson? Who was Feiju? She was the leader of every cat at Hogwarts. What sort of friends could she summon?

Using cats to deal with three young wizards turned into mice—was he trying to scare them into having heart attacks?

Ravenclaw's genius actually had such a terrifying side. They absolutely must not provoke him.

That was what the boys thought.

But the girls reacted completely differently. Not only did they not find Ye Ting cold and ruthless, they admired him even more.

"Ye Ting is so cool."

"He makes me feel so safe."

"He got furious and fought because his female companion was insulted. How romantic."

"Why does that bookworm get to have his favor?"

"I wish I were the one who got called a Mudblood."

After leaving the trio behind, Hermione looked curiously at Ye Ting on the way to the match and asked, "Are you all right now? Why were you so angry just now?"

Before Ye Ting could speak, Cho Chang cut in sourly, "Haven't you figured it out yet? He was standing up for you. Malfoy insulted you."

But Hermione still could not understand. She looked somewhat worried. "I know Malfoy said some rude things, but there was no need to go that far. Using magic in the corridor violates school rules. Was it just because he called me a 'Mud—' what was that word again?"

"Mudblood." Ye Ting took over and sighed, speaking softly. "It's an extremely vicious word, the most insulting thing he could think of. Mudblood is a derogatory term for Muggle-borns. If he had said it to me, I could have let it slide, but he actually said it to you—to a girl..."

"So you couldn't bear to see a girl treated that way, could you?" Cho Chang accused him indignantly. "You used magic on a fellow student in the corridor, and your target was Snape's prized pupil. What reaction do you think that biased old bat will have? He'll put you in detention for a month! He's always disliked you. Couldn't you just endure it, if only for your own sake?"

"So I was supposed to stand there and let him insult her, or trade insults with him?" Ye Ting shook his head. "I'm not going to trade abuse with him. That would make me look just as stupid as he is. The best way to deal with people like that is to act when it's time to act. If you tolerate them, you'll find they become as annoying as flies—because even though they can't do anything to you, they'll keep pestering you. Oh, I forgot, wizards are never troubled by flies. Then replace flies with the garden gnomes in your yard."

At last, he added proudly, "Besides, Snape can't do anything to me. If he gives me detention, he'll have to ask me to leave in less than three days. Just wait and see."

Hearing him compare Malfoy to a garden gnome, Hermione and Cho Chang both laughed so hard they swayed. Once they finally stopped, Cho Chang turned to Hermione and said, "Hearing him put it that way, I suddenly think he has a point. Some wizards, like the Malfoys, always think they're superior to everyone else because they're supposedly pure-bloods. But the rest of us know that means nothing. Look at Neville Longbottom—he's a pure-blood, but he can't even set a cauldron down properly."

Ye Ting proudly chimed in, "Any spell our Hermione can't cast hasn't been invented yet!"

Hermione's face flushed bright red with embarrassment.

Cho Chang frowned and said seriously to Hermione, "Mudblood really is an awful term. It means dirty, inferior blood. But it's all nonsense. Most wizards these days are half-bloods. If we didn't marry Muggles, we would have died out long ago."

Hearing this, Hermione's expression softened. She looked at Ye Ting and said in a voice far gentler than usual, "Thank you."

"Don't thank him," Cho Chang complained angrily again. "He's just making trouble for himself. I heard Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy, is a school governor and was once a Death Eater. If he hears that his son was turned into a mouse and used to amuse cats, he'll definitely come after you. What are you going to do then?"

By this point, she was facing Ye Ting directly, her voice rising several octaves.

Yet Ye Ting did not get angry. He calmly replied, "It's fine. Lucius Malfoy can't do anything to me. At most, he can propose expelling me at a board meeting, but Dumbledore won't agree to it."

Hearing that, Cho Chang sighed helplessly. "As long as you know what you're doing. Anyway, I'm not the one who'll suffer when the time comes, so why am I worrying about it? You'll only say I'm meddling."

"How could I?" Ye Ting gently stroked her smooth black hair. "I know you're only worried about me. But isn't this when a boy should step forward and protect his girl? If you were the one being insulted, I would do the same."

His girl?

If it were you?

Ye Ting did not know that his casual words had struck the softest places in both girls' hearts at once. The scene immediately fell silent, and the girls were overcome with emotion as each unconsciously wrapped herself around one of his arms.

Though he was only a straight man, he could sometimes say things with devastating power.

How delightful.