Kyle failed to produce a genuine Exploding Tag before the bell rang.
That was within Kyle's expectations.
His greatest gain from this lesson was confirming that his idea had been correct: ancient scripts such as Qin Seal Script could completely replace Runes and serve the same purpose in alchemy.
On the way to the Great Hall for lunch after class, Ron, walking with Harry, loudly complained about Hermione to his roommate.
"No wonder everyone can't stand her," Ron said to Harry. "Honestly, she's practically a nightmare."
Hermione, who was walking not far behind them with Hannah, suddenly quickened her pace and passed the two of them. As she went by, Hermione gave Ron a hard shove.
"I think she heard what you said." Harry looked a little awkward.
He had just noticed that Hermione was crying.
Hannah hurried after her, but as she passed Ron, she suddenly stopped. "What you just said was a bit too much!"
With that, she rushed off after Hermione.
"So what?" Ron said stubbornly, though a hint of unease showed in his voice.
He furtively glanced at Kyle. He knew that Kyle, Hannah, and Hermione were very close friends.
Fortunately, Kyle did not seem inclined to stand up for Hermione, which made Ron breathe a small sigh of relief.
Kyle really had no intention of getting involved. To him, this was just a minor squabble between elementary school kids. It was not as though he was going to hang Ron up and beat him.
In fact, ever since he had met Hermione, he had known that she would eventually face being isolated by the other students.
Compared with Gryffindors, who mistook recklessness for courage, the little beaver, a genius top student, was actually a true Ravenclaw.
Outcasts were hard to welcome anywhere, of course, excluding