Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 756: Kyle’s Spell

I’m not sure how Myrtle would describe it, but the professors arrived quickly, looking particularly anxious.

Even Snape, in his haste, drew his wand from a distance to avoid the delay of opening the door. The very door Kyle had just repaired exploded once again in the blink of an eye.

This time, it was completely obliterated, leaving not even a fragment behind. Splinters of wood flew into the bathroom, clattering against the pipes with a sharp, metallic clang.

The next second, Snape rushed in, his face pale as he took in the sight of Malfoy, wrapped tightly in the plumbing like a silkworm in a cocoon.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?!" Snape roared at Kyle. "Using magic to attack a fellow student at school... No matter the reason, this is utterly unacceptable!"

As he spoke, Professor McGonagall arrived as well.

Though clearly angry, she remained far calmer than Snape. A single glance into the bathroom was enough for her to grasp the situation.

"Severus—" Professor McGonagall attempted to caution him, but he ignored her.

"This behavior is a flagrant violation of school rules! I could expel you on the spot!" Snape snapped, staring at Kyle as though he were the sole culprit behind the chaos.

"Professor, you're mistaken," came a voice.

Hermione had finally processed the situation. Despite Snape’s intimidating fury, she stepped forward, her lips pressed into a firm line.

"Harry and Malfoy were fighting. Kyle and I only arrived when we heard the commotion… In fact, Kyle was the one who separated them."

Snape’s expression stiffened. He clearly hadn’t expected Hermione to say that.

"Not you?" He turned to Kyle, his doubt evident.

"Of course not," Kyle replied with a shrug. "Harry’s my friend—why would I attack him?"

Only then did Snape register Harry’s presence—similarly entangled in the plumbing.

The scene had been so chaotic, with Malfoy incapacitated on the ground and Kyle standing there, wand in hand, that Snape had instinctively assumed the worst.

He had feared this moment for a long time. Even though Dumbledore had assured him that Kyle wouldn’t go after Malfoy, Snape had never fully believed it. He had always worried that one day, Kyle would lose patience and strike.

And in that moment of panic, he had overreacted.

Now that the truth was clear, a flicker of embarrassment crossed his face.

But the second he saw the smirk tugging at Kyle’s lips, Snape immediately hardened his expression again.

"Why didn’t you explain earlier? Do you find it amusing to mock a professor?" he demanded.

"I didn’t think so," Kyle said, raising an eyebrow. "But you didn’t exactly give me a chance to explain, either. You blasted the door off its hinges the moment you arrived—made such a racket, I thought you were here to arrest a Death Eater. I was too scared to say anything."

Snape’s face cycled from green to red, then back to green again. He was certain Kyle was mocking him.

"Severus, he's right. You were a little hasty," Professor McGonagall interjected, stepping between them.

From the moment she entered, she had known Kyle wasn’t responsible.

There were too many traces of magic—too many telltale signs of a duel. If Kyle had truly intended to harm Malfoy and Harry, he wouldn’t have created such an obvious scene.

Snape didn’t argue further. Instead, he cast his gaze around the room,

Without another glance, he left.

Not far away, Madam Pomfrey, who had heard the commotion, made no move to stop him.

Professor McGonagall had only instructed them not to wander too far—she had never explicitly stated they had to remain in the Hospital Wing. Besides, his injuries were far from serious, hardly warranting an overnight stay.

Seeing that Madam Pomfrey didn’t object, Harry immediately jumped off the bed and strode toward the door.

“Harry, you can’t. Professor McGonagall said—”

“Come on, Hermione,” Harry cut her off. “Who knows when Dumbledore will be back? I can’t just sit here all afternoon.”

Hermione, clearly frustrated, had no choice but to follow. She stomped her foot in annoyance and hurried after him.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Malfoy must be up to something,” Harry muttered, looking around to make sure no one was listening before continuing in a whisper. “I saw him sneaking around the seventh floor.”

“So you followed him?”

“Of course,” Harry blurted out. “I had to find out what he was doing.”

“You still haven’t given up?” Hermione was getting a little impatient. “I already told you—he can’t do anything at school.”

“That’s not true. What if Snape is helping him?” Harry countered. “A professor always has more power than a student, doesn’t he? And as you saw this time, Snape didn’t even want to punish him.”

“That’s because Professor McGonagall left the decision to Dumbledore,” Hermione shot back, giving him a look before deciding not to argue further.

Harry, however, wasn’t done.

“So you followed him, found something suspicious, got into a fight, and even used the Reductor Curse? Do you even realize how serious this is? You could’ve been expelled.”

Harry didn’t waver. “Malfoy started it. I saw him crying in the bathroom, and then he attacked me without warning. I was just defending myself.”

Hermione frowned, taken aback. “Wait… what did you just say Malfoy was doing in the bathroom?”

“Crying.” Harry still found it hard to believe himself. “But it’s true. I saw it with my own eyes. Myrtle was there, comforting him. He kept saying that no one could help him… that someone was trying to kill him.”

Hermione’s expression shifted. “Who’s trying to kill Malfoy?”

“I don’t know,” Harry admitted, shaking his head. “That’s all I heard before he spotted me in the mirror. You probably don’t know this, but Malfoy was about to use the Cruciatus Curse on me.”

Hermione stiffened. “That’s impossible!” The Cruciatus Curse was an Unforgivable Curse—using it on another wizard was a far worse offense than breaking school rules.

“I know, but he did,” Harry said, recalling the moment. “If I hadn’t interrupted him in time with the Knockback Jinx, I would have been targeted.”

Then, a thought crossed his mind. “Now that I think about it, I really should’ve let him finish the spell. As you said, if he had actually used an Unforgivable Curse, even Snape wouldn’t have been able to save him.”

To Harry, enduring the Cruciatus Curse once seemed like a small price to pay if it meant getting Malfoy expelled.

Hermione snapped. “What are you talking about! That’s an Unforgivable Curse! Just look at Katie Bell—she was only hit by an Imperius Curse and spent months in St. Mungo’s!”

Harry quickly backtracked. “Don’t be so nervous, Hermione, I was only joking.”

Hermione, however, remained unconvinced.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to let it go, Harry decided to change the subject. “By the way, where did you meet Kyle?”

It worked.

“Sixth floor. He was wandering around the castle,” Hermione replied. “You should be glad he wasn’t far from the seventh floor, so he was able to get there first and separate you from Malfoy. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have walked out of the Hospital Wing.”

She gave him a pointed look. “Blasting Curse and Reductor Curse—were you two trying to kill each other?”

Hermione launched into another lecture, berating him for acting impulsively and insisting that he should have gone to a professor first.

This time, Harry didn’t argue. In truth, he was relieved—because he knew he wouldn’t have been able to avoid Malfoy’s Blasting Curse in time.

His mind drifted back to Kyle. That moment when he had effortlessly turned their spells into a raven—Harry had never seen magic like that before.

“Hermione, do you know what spell Kyle used?”

Hermione, who had been ranting non-stop, suddenly fell silent.

Harry noticed something odd—she looked… embarrassed? Or was he imagining it?

“I—I don’t know,” Hermione stammered.

The truth was, she had closed her eyes in that moment. She hadn’t been able to bear the sight of Harry getting hit, and so she hadn’t seen what Kyle had done. But she didn’t want him to know that.

“It must have been some spell Kyle found in the library,” she said stiffly. “He hasn’t been to class for over a month, so he must have been reading. It’s not surprising that he’s learned some strange magic.”

Harry’s curiosity only grew. “Do you know which book it’s from?”

A spell that could counter another with a mere wave of the hand—it was even more impressive than the Disarming Charm. If he could learn it, he might even have some fun with Malfoy the next time they met.

Hermione, however, had had enough.

“If you want to learn it, go find it in the library yourself. Stop asking me everything!” She was getting irritated again. “And what you should be focusing on right now isn’t some spell—it’s how to face Dumbledore without getting expelled!”

Harry sighed. “I already said, Malfoy started it. I wasn’t just going to stand there and let him hit me.”

Hermione still looked frustrated.

But Harry just shrugged. “If Professor Dumbledore expels me for defending myself, then there’s nothing I can do about it.”