Elias's Lessons

"Do you know what you did wrong? It's only been a few days, and you've already caused such a huge incident at school!"

In Professor McGonagall's office, Roy, Cedric, Fred, and the others stood in a neat row, not daring to make the slightest movement as they obediently listened to Professor McGonagall's lecture.

The older cat lady looked absolutely furious at that moment, slamming her hand against the desk with a resounding bang.

"And you, Cedric. I've always thought you were more mature than your peers. How did even you end up fooling around with these lot?"

In truth, Cedric had been dragged into the competition against his will. Faced with Professor McGonagall's questioning, he did not try to argue and merely lowered his head in shame.

Seeing how sincerely Cedric appeared to admit his mistake, some of Professor McGonagall's anger faded.

But that was not actually the case. From where Roy stood, he could clearly see the smile Cedric could no longer suppress after lowering his head.

Cedric, who seemed so sincere in admitting his mistake, was already secretly delighted. Roy watched Cedric's back and muttered inwardly.

You thick-browed, big-eyed Cedric. And here I thought you were some kind of respectable person.

Among these students, Cedric was the one Professor McGonagall found most satisfactory. Without reprimanding this outstanding student of both good character and academics too much, she turned her full firepower on the others.

"And you, Fred. It has only been one week since term began, yet I have already received countless reports about you and George violating school rules. Look at how outstanding your three older brothers are as students. Why can't the two of you learn from them?"

Facing Professor McGonagall's rebuke, "Fred" looked extremely ashamed. He copied Cedric by lowering his head, not offering a single word of defense.

Professor McGonagall thought Fred had recognized his mistake, and her tone immediately softened considerably.

Keep pretending. Go on, keep pretending.

Roy grumbled inwardly. Fred might have looked like he knew he was wrong, but it was all an act. In reality, the person standing in the office was not Fred at all, but George pretending to be Fred in order to receive the lecture.

Lina, on the other hand, became quite emotional when Professor McGonagall reprimanded her. The petite young witch's eyes had turned red as she sniffled and defended herself.

"It was all those Slytherins' fault. They... they insulted Gryffindor's honor."

Seeing Angelina cry, Professor McGonagall's heart immediately softened. She saw a reflection of her younger self in the upright and principled Angelina, and began comforting her instead.

"All right. I'll speak to Severus about this later. I know your intentions were good, but you are not allowed to do something so dangerous again."

Roy occasionally glanced at Cedric and "Fred," who looked utterly unrepentant, and quietly grumbled to himself.

Just then, Roy, who had been pretending to be invisible all this time, suddenly felt himself locked onto by an incredibly powerful killing intent. It felt like discovering several Hearts of Africa had suddenly spawned on the boarding bridge just as he was about to evacuate.

Roy swallowed and raised his head, meeting Professor McGonagall's furious gaze.

Realizing he might be finished, Roy gave an awkward smile.

"Professor, if I say I know I was wrong, is it too late...?"

Professor McGonagall flew into a rage and listed everything Roy had done over the past week in one breath. Honestly, after teaching for so many years, she had never seen a student cause as much trouble as Roy had right after enrolling.

Roy could only imitate Cedric and George, lowering his head without saying a word and putting on an expression that said, "I know I was wrong."

Professor McGonagall roared for nearly ten minutes before her anger subsided even slightly.

Looking at Angelina, whose eyes were red, and the three "dead pigs" standing there with their heads lowered and not making a sound, Professor McGonagall did not know what to do with them.

"By rights, I should give you all detention. But since Slytherin was involved in this matter as well, your punishment will be postponed for now. However—"

Professor McGonagall's tone turned stern as she swept her gaze across everyone in the office and slowly spoke.

"Right now, I want every one of you to personally promise me that you will not violate school rules again. If anything similar happens again, don't blame me for giving you detention for an entire year."

Professor McGonagall pointed at "Fred" and commanded in a tone that allowed no refusal.

"Now, starting with you!"

Fred solemnly swore to Professor McGonagall.

"I, Fred, know I was wrong. From now on, I will obey school rules and never do anything dangerous again."

"Good! That's the spirit!"

The others followed his example, thumping their chests as they promised Professor McGonagall one after another.

After hearing the four of them make their promises, the tense atmosphere in the office eased considerably. Professor McGonagall lectured them some more, and only after seeing that they truly seemed to know they were wrong did she allow Roy and the others to leave.

After leaving Professor McGonagall's office, Roy, Cedric, and George, who was playing Fred, looked at each other and simultaneously broke into mischievous grins.

"Oh my, it seems our model student Cedric has gone bad too."

George teased the two Hufflepuffs with exaggerated winks.

Roy smiled and nudged George with his elbow.

"Don't think I don't know you aren't Fred. When it comes to being bad, I'm still no match for you two."

Everything went without saying. Lina, whose eyes were still somewhat swollen, watched the grinning boys disappear down the corridor with their arms slung around one another's shoulders and quietly sighed.

"Sigh, boys..."

After dinner, remembering his agreement with Elias, Roy climbed the tower alone and arrived outside Professor Thorne's office.

He knocked softly on the door, and Elias's voice came from inside.

"Is that Roy? Come in."

Professor Thorne sounded to be in a good mood. Roy pushed open the door and saw Elias lounging in his armchair, his legs propped on the desk and a glass of red wine in his hand.

A radio from the wizarding world sat on a stool nearby, playing American pop music.

Roy had been somewhat worried that flying through the professor's office during today's flying competition might have angered Thorne, but Professor Thorne did not seem to care about such a minor matter at all.

"Impressive flying skills, but you still need to pay attention to your safety. I saw you take quite a heavy fall when you landed. I didn't expect you to be completely unharmed."

Thorne stood up and drained the red wine in his hand. He set the empty wineglass on the desk, then pulled out his wand and gave it a light flick. With a pop, the glass vanished.

Seeing Roy's unconcerned expression, Thorne smiled gently.

"Honestly, I still don't know your true level. Before deciding on the teaching content, we need to conduct an assessment."

"Really?" Roy became interested. "Professor, are you going to duel me?"

Elias shook his head, pulled a sheet of parchment from a drawer, and slapped it onto the desk. Then he revealed a malicious grin.

"No. Although I value practical combat more, I think we should start with a written test."