"Harry… let's go too…"
Ron tugged at Harry, pulling him quickly through the corridor in the direction Wade and the others had left. The two who had been at the center of the brawl were now largely ignored, and they managed to slip away smoothly.
As they rounded the corner, Harry looked back and saw Pansy and Goyle finally pulling at Malfoy, only for him to swat their hands away forcefully. The usually proud blond boy was now disheveled, fiercely wiping away blood from his nose. The other Slytherins gathered around, grinning as they comforted him.
Harry could discern the hypocrisy and indifference on their faces even from across the corridor.
All this time, Harry had thought that, apart from Snape, Malfoy was the worst person he had ever met, even more annoying than his cousin Dudley. But at this moment, he suddenly realized that Malfoy wasn't as universally admired as he had previously believed; he seemed to have no true friends in Slytherin.
Then, the wall blocked his view.
"—What are you looking at?" Ron asked curiously.
"Nothing—" Harry turned his head and said, "I was just thinking, if I were facing an unbeatable enemy, you and Hermione would definitely stand by me and fight together."
"Of course!" Ron, thinking he was referring to Malfoy bullying Neville, immediately said indignantly, "Slytherins are always so annoying, and we will never give in! We can't let them get too cocky! Neville is just too timid; he needs to be brave."
"He is brave, remember? He punched Malfoy with you, for Hermione—right on that guy's nose!"
"Oh, right!" Ron was still excited recalling the scene. "Neville finally acted like a Gryffindor! Did you see Malfoy's face just now? I think he was about to cry!"
Ron's words made Harry a little uncomfortable—even though Malfoy certainly deserved it, this kind of scene always reminded him of the times Dudley and his gang used to chase and beat him.
As they spoke, they saw the figures of Wade and the others in the distance. Standing together, these otherwise ordinary students seemed to generate a peculiar aura that made it difficult for others to easily join them.
Harry's steps suddenly halted.
"Ron—"
"What?"
"They're the SSC—the extracurricular study group Hermione recommended me to join—" Harry said in a very soft whisper.
Ron suddenly became uncomfortable, and the smile vanished from his face. He stammered, "Y-yeah—"
"I want to join," Harry suddenly decided. "I want to learn some real skills, practice real spells, instead of just reciting lessons with Quirrell in class!"
"That's good—I mean—you really should go—maybe you could join the ranks of the top students later—" Ron didn't look at Harry, and his tone didn't sound quite like himself.
"Aren't you going, Ron?" Harry asked, surprised.
"I wasn't invited—Hermione only recommended you—" Ron forced a smile and said, "You just go; I might… I think I need to go to the Hospital Wing—I guess Crabbe might have broken my rib—"
"—Maybe Hermione just forgot to mention it, let's go ask together!" Harry pulled Ron toward the group.
"Don't—Harry—"
Ron looked quite unwilling, as if being dragged by Harry, which allowed Harry to pull him over with little effort. Ron had a vague hope—perhaps Hermione really just forgot to mention it to him? After all, he and Harry were inseparable, and people always saw them as a unit, so perhaps she thought it wasn't necessary to say more… and just now, they had fought alongside Neville…
As the two walked over, they heard Wade telling the others, "Neville, you need to go see Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing; your arm might be fractured—everyone be careful of Slytherin's retaliation during this time, don't get separated…"
"Wade, what about you?" Theo asked with concern.
"I'm going to Professor Flitwick to take my punishment. Using spells on a fellow student in the corridor, a detention is inevitable no matter what," Wade said.
"You're going to—oh—" Michael was surprised at first, then nodded in agreement. "That's how it should be."
"Why?" Ron, who had approached, asked in confusion. "If the professor didn't see it, it's as if it didn't happen. Why confess?"
Harry and Theo both nodded in agreement, while Ryan looked thoughtful.
"You don't think Malfoy would just let this go without complaining, do you?" Michael reminded them. "Confessing to Professor Flitwick is better than being punished by Professor Snape later."
"That's true. If it were Professor Snape, he might deduct dozens of points and give a month of detention," Neville said, nodding with lingering fear. In Potions class, Professor Snape was always very harsh on Neville, leading Neville to develop a psychological shadow of Professor Snape.
"Then let's go together!" Ryan said. "We can't let the professor think it's all your responsibility."
"You didn't do anything." Wade saw Neville open his mouth to speak and shook his head. "Neville, you were the one being bullied. If you were to be punished for that, it would be too unfair—go to the Hospital Wing soon, and check on Hermione too."
He waved his hand and turned to leave.
Harry opened his mouth. He had intended to ask if Ron could join the SSC but found no opportunity to speak. Seeing that Wade had already left, he just said, "Then let's walk together."
At that moment, he suddenly realized that his whole body was terribly sore, and he was surprised that he hadn't noticed it earlier.
Wade knew that Professor Flitwick should be in the staff room at this time. He went to the first floor of the castle, knocked on the door, and a moment later heard Professor McGonagall's voice: "Come in."
At the same time, the door automatically opened.
Wade saw Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick all in the staff room and paused, somewhat hesitant.
Professor Flitwick was grading papers, looked up, saw Wade, and immediately smiled, "Wade? What, more questions today?"
Wade walked in, a little embarrassed, and said, "Uh… while I do have questions, more importantly—Professor, I'm here to take my punishment for violating school rules."
"Punishment?" Professor Flitwick's face was filled with surprise, and the other two professors also looked over.
Having taught for so many years, they had never seen a student voluntarily confess after making a mistake—unless they had ulterior motives.
"What did you do, Wade?" Professor Flitwick asked gently.
Wade hesitated, glancing at the other two professors—not out of fear of trouble from Professor Snape, but because in doing so, his attempt to avoid trouble now seemed a bit like tattling on children.
Wade suddenly felt as if the words "the villain strikes first" were flickering above his head.
—Even though he wasn't really a villain.
Professor McGonagall sensed there was more to it, and her expression immediately became stern: "Mr. Grey, I believe all professors have the right to be informed about student violations of school rules."
"Alright," Wade could only say. "It's like this, Professor—"