Completely Falling Out

Snape took the three "corpses" to the Hospital Wing, while Aisling strode away behind him with her head held high.

Only Thorne and Roy remained in the dark corridor. Thorne turned to Roy, who looked utterly relaxed, and said quietly,

"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 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 alchemical trigger mechanisms."

Elias looked curious as he watched the remarkably relaxed Roy.

"You know alchemy too? They say you're a little Dumbledore. Turns out you really are."

Roy slipped the pendant into his pocket and gave a soft laugh.

"Did Dumbledore ever send his classmates to the Hospital Wing when he was in school?"

At that, Elias's expression turned much 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 staying in the Hospital Wing for quite a while.

"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 Thorn family's influence in Britain to put pressure on them. The problem is, if Dumbledore finds out about this, how do you plan to explain it?"

Roy wore a scornful smile as he replied dismissively,

"I altered those two idiots' memories. They'll only remember that they ran into something and ended up like that. No one would believe a first-year could beat two fifth-years, would they?"

Elias shook his head and said to Roy, "Memory Charms can be reversed, especially by a wizard like Dumbledore. We can't hide what we did 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 considered Elias's words carefully and found them reasonable. He lowered his feet from the desk, sat up straight, and nodded seriously.

"I understand. I know how to talk to Dumbledore. I know him. He'll handle it properly."

Seeing Roy's attitude, Thorne sighed, somewhat relieved.

"Honestly, I never expected you to be so ruthless. Seeing what those two looked like, I was genuinely worried you'd grow up to become a Dark Lord."

Roy smiled, then his expression turned unusually serious.

"Help those who deserve help, save those who deserve saving, and kill those who deserve killing. That's my creed. I know very clearly who my enemies are and who my friends are. Thank you for stepping in to help me. I won't forget it."

Hearing Roy's words, Thorne looked at him with greater satisfaction and offered him a warning.

"This time, you've completely intimidated those Slytherin students. They probably won't dare trouble you for a while, but I guarantee they won't swallow this insult. You still need to be careful from now on. Try not to go anywhere alone. Next time, it may be sixth- or seventh-years coming after you. Watch yourself."

Roy smiled, utterly confident in his own abilities. In his previous life, he had killed more people on the battlefield than there were students in all of Hogwarts combined. 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 one from the shadows. Interested in learning a few tricks from me? I can teach you some of a veteran Auror's experience."

Elias was willing to teach Roy more, since Roy's personality and talent both pleased him greatly.

"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 gained the chance to learn from a veteran Auror of the American Ministry of Magic, Roy was overjoyed. Before leaving, he also asked Elias for a permit to enter the Restricted Section.

"What do you need to enter the Restricted Section for? I'm warning you, don't secretly study Dark Magic."

The warning came a little 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 real 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 he wanted to research Alchemy.

After some back-and-forth, Elias finally gave Roy a permit for 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 permit.

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 sitting on their beds, chatting about broomsticks and flying lessons.

When they saw Roy return, none of them knew what he had just done, and Roy did not bring it up himself. He simply joined their conversation as though nothing had happened.

Before going to sleep, Roy studied the Wizard Auto Chess game he planned to make and added several more feature 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 between the four Houses was far from normal.

By now, Roy no longer believed he could reconcile with those Slytherin bastards. As he sat down at the table, he deliberately shot a provocative look toward the Slytherin table.

Seeing the hatred in the looks sent his way from the Slytherin table, Roy wore a mocking smile.

The Slytherin table was eerily quiet; incessant noisy whispers came from the Ravenclaw table; all the Hufflepuff students watched Roy, sitting unconcernedly among the crowd, with strange looks; only the Gryffindor students looked smug. As long as Slytherin suffered, they were happy.

Tonks, who usually loved teasing Roy, leaned over and asked the question everyone wanted answered.

"Did you really beat up those two Slytherin idiots?"

Facing the curious gazes of all his classmates, Roy looked provocatively toward the Slytherin table before loudly explaining,

"No, no, no. Those two idiots had committed too many evil deeds, so Peeves beat them up."

Roy then vividly and loudly described how Peeves had beaten the pair into roadside trash. As Roy spoke, thunderous laughter erupted from both the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables.

The looks from the Slytherin side grew even fiercer, but Roy paid those cowards no attention. If they had the guts, they could come and fight him.

The Slytherin students finally could not take it anymore. When Elliott Blackwood, the seventh-year Slytherin Head Boy, left the Great Hall with several students, he deliberately passed by the Hufflepuff table and walked up to Roy, clearly intending to spit out a few threats.

Unexpectedly, Bill, the Gryffindor Head Boy, stepped forward and blocked Elliott's path.

"What, Bill? You want to stand up for this Hufflepuff Mudblood?"

Bill was an outstanding student who had broken historical records, earning twelve Outstanding grades in his O.W.L.s. Elliott had been overshadowed by Bill throughout all seven years, and the two had clashed countless times, though 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 contemptuous tone,

"You? I think you can only throw your weight around in front of younger students. Hurry up and get lost with your little lackeys."

"The last time Gryffindor won the House Cup, you probably weren't even born yet, were you?"

Bill had effortlessly enraged Elliott. Elliott's face turned bright red as he tried to argue with Bill.

However, 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 lackeys.

A somewhat mischievous smile appeared on Roy's face as he reached out and high-fived Bill.