Snape took the three "corpses" to the Hospital Wing, while Aisling followed behind him, striding off with her head held high.
Only Thorne and Roy remained in the pitch-black corridor. Thorne turned to Roy, who looked utterly relaxed, and spoke in a low voice.
"This isn't the place. Come to my office."
Following Elias back to his Defense Against the Dark Arts office as if he knew the way by heart, Roy relaxed considerably. He casually pulled over a chair, sat opposite Elias, and even propped both feet on Elias's desk.
Roy toyed with the golden pendant Elias had given him earlier, a relaxed expression on his face.
"This thing's designed brilliantly. It gave me quite a few ideas for Alchemy trigger mechanisms."
Elias looked curious as he watched the thoroughly relaxed Roy.
"You know Alchemy too? They say you're Little Dumbledore. Looks like you really are."
Roy slipped the pendant into his pocket and chuckled.
"Did Dumbledore ever put classmates in the Hospital Wing when he was at school?"
At that question, Elias's expression turned far more serious. He had not expected Roy to be so capable in a fight—or to hit so hard. Those two students would probably be spending quite a while in the hospital.
"I helped you out today, but what happens when those two wake up? One of them has a father on the Board of Governors. I can use the Thorne family's influence in Britain to put pressure on them. The problem is, if Dumbledore finds out about this, how are you planning to explain it?"
Roy wore a contemptuous smile as he replied dismissively.
"I altered those two idiots' memories. They'll only remember crashing into things and ending up like that. No one would think a first-year could beat two fifth-years, would they?"
Elias shook his head and said to Roy, "A Memory Charm can be reversed, especially by a wizard like Dumbledore. What we did can't be hidden from the greatest wizard in the entire Wizarding World. I suggest you tell Dumbledore the truth directly. After all, they were the ones who started it."
Roy carefully considered Elias's words and found them reasonable. He lowered his feet from the desk, sat up straight, and nodded seriously.
"I understand. I know what to say to Dumbledore. I know him. He'll handle it properly."
Seeing Roy's attitude, Thorne sighed, feeling somewhat relieved.
"Honestly, I never expected you to be so ruthless. Seeing those two, I was genuinely worried you'd grow up to become a Dark Lord."
Roy smiled, then his expression became unusually grave.
"Help those who should be helped, save those who should be saved, kill those who should be killed. That's my creed. I know perfectly well who my enemies are and who my friends are. Thanks for stepping in to help me. I won't forget it."
After hearing Roy's words, Thorne looked at him with greater approval and offered a warning.
"This time, you've completely intimidated those Slytherin students. They probably won't dare trouble you again anytime soon, but I guarantee they won't be able to swallow this insult. You'll still need to be careful. Try not to go anywhere alone. Next time, it may be sixth- or seventh-years coming after you. Watch yourself."
Roy smiled, entirely confident in his own strength. In his previous life, he had killed more people on the battlefield than Hogwarts had students. How much trouble could a bunch of brats possibly cause him?
"I know you're formidable, but it's easy to dodge an open attack and hard to guard against a hidden one. Interested in learning a few things from me? I can teach you some lessons from an experienced Auror."
Faced with Roy, whose personality and talent both pleased him immensely, Elias intended to teach him more.
"Really? Then of course I want to!"
Hearing Elias's invitation, Roy sprang up from his chair, unable to hide his excitement.
"Then it's settled. Every Friday night, right here. I'll teach you some special knowledge about spells."
Having secured the chance to learn from a senior Auror of the American Ministry of Magic, Roy's face was full of delight. Before leaving, he even asked Elias for a pass to the Restricted Section.
"What do you need to enter the Restricted Section for? I'm warning you, don't secretly study Dark Magic."
It could only be said that the warning came too late. Roy had already learned a great deal of Dark Magic at the orphanage over the summer, though he had never used it.
Roy's true purpose was to borrow the Alchemy books inside. There was no reason to hide that, and Elias was not a bad person, so Roy told him about his Alchemy research.
In the end, after some back-and-forth, Elias gave Roy a pass to the Restricted Section, but only after making him promise not to secretly study Dark Magic.
Roy patted his chest in assurance, then happily left the office after receiving the pass.
After Roy left, Elias sat alone in his office, muttering to himself.
"The Wizard Purist Party... and Little Grindelwald..."
When Roy returned to the dormitory, curfew had not yet begun. His three roommates were all sitting on their beds, chatting about broomsticks and Flying class.
When they saw Roy return, none of them knew what he had just done. Roy did not bring it up either, casually joining their conversation as if nothing had happened.
Before going to sleep, Roy worked some more on the Wizard Auto Chess set he planned to make, adding several more functional sections to the design sketch he had drawn in History of Magic class.
The night passed without incident, but a storm between the Houses was quietly brewing.
The next morning, when Roy and the others went to the Great Hall for breakfast, they could clearly sense that the atmosphere among the four Houses was off.
By now, Roy no longer believed he could reconcile with those Slytherin bastards. When he sat down at the table, he deliberately shot a provocative look toward the Slytherin table.
Seeing the hate-filled stares coming from the Slytherin table, Roy wore a mocking smile.
The Slytherin table was eerily quiet; incessant noisy whispers came from the Ravenclaw table; every Hufflepuff student watched Roy, who sat among them as if nothing had happened, with strange looks; only the Gryffindor students looked smug. As long as Slytherin was embarrassed, they were happy.
Tonks, who usually loved teasing Roy the most, leaned over and asked the question everyone wanted answered.
"Did you really beat up those two Slytherin idiots?"
Faced with the curious stares of all his classmates, Roy provocatively glanced at the Slytherin table before explaining loudly.
"No, no, no. Those two idiots had done too much evil, so Peeves beat them up."
Roy then vividly described, in a loud voice, how Peeves had beaten the two into pathetic wrecks by the roadside. As he spoke, the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables erupted in thunderous laughter.
The looks the Slytherins gave Roy became even more vicious, but Roy ignored those cowards completely. If they had the guts, they could come fight him.
The Slytherin students finally could not take it anymore. As Elliott Blackwood, the seventh-year Slytherin Head Boy, left the Great Hall with several other students, he deliberately passed by the Hufflepuff table and walked over to Roy, intending to spit out a few threats.
Unexpectedly, Bill, Gryffindor's Head Boy, stepped forward and blocked Elliott.
"What, Bill? You want to stand up for this Hufflepuff Mudblood?"
Bill was an outstanding student who had broken historical records, earning twelve O's in his O.W.L.s. Elliott had always been overshadowed by Bill throughout their seven years at school. They had clashed countless times, but Bill had held the upper hand in most of them.
Bill knew best how to get under the skin of these arrogant Slytherins. Smiling, he said to Elliott in a scornful tone.
"You? Looks like all you can do is throw your weight around in front of younger students. Take your little followers and get lost."
"The last time Gryffindor won the House Cup, you hadn't even been born yet, had you?"
Bill had effortlessly enraged Elliott. Elliott's face flushed red as he tried to argue with Bill.
But by then, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students had all gathered around. Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Elliott threw out a few threats before leaving with his followers.
A somewhat mischievous smile appeared on Roy's face as he reached out and high-fived Bill.
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