Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 755: Stop! Don’t Fight Anymore

I have to say, Snape is quite a man of principle.

It seemed he was unwilling to accept Kyle’s help a second time. This time, after entering the Room of Requirement, he stubbornly stayed inside for a full five days without taking a single step outside.

The rest was easy to manage. After all, this was a real castle, and it had everything it was supposed to have.

The only question was food… Kyle had no idea how Snape had managed to last so many days.

He had probably asked Kanna to bring him meals, or he had relied on magical potions.

For instance, the Invigoration Draught could sustain someone for an entire day without food, but the downside was that it tasted absolutely vile.

Kyle had tried it once—it was like taking all the worst flavors of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, blending them into a thick sludge, then throwing in a handful of dirt for good measure.

If given a choice, Kyle would rather have extra bread and baked potatoes in the morning than drink that awful concoction.

But Snape could probably tolerate it. If he had a bag with an Undetectable Extension Charm and brought along a dozen or twenty Invigoration Draughts, then lasting five days wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Still, Kyle had no idea what Snape actually did.

The two of them hadn’t exchanged a single word after their brief conversation on the first day.

There hadn’t been an opportunity, either. After all, the one place Kyle least wanted to go was the Potions classroom.

He saw Snape again on the sixth day.

Snape looked noticeably thinner than before, but his eyes were sharp and bright.

It was clear that, like the other professors, he had gained something from the experience.

Kyle was curious, but he knew Snape would never tell him, so he wisely chose not to ask and continued on his way to the Charms classroom.

”Donʼt try to control the runes, but treat them as part of the magic,” the old professor instructed, drawing his wand and giving it two light flicks.

His movements were so fluid and effortless that it looked as if he were conducting a grand orchestra, with the flickering runes forming the notes of his music.

It was just a simple Wand-Lighting Charm, yet the light it emitted was dazzling—as bright as the sun.

Kyle mimicked the professor’s movements, waving his wand in the same way... but nothing happened.

The tip of his wand flashed—weakly, reluctantly, perfunctorily.

It was far too brief; he simply hadn’t had enough time to use his magic to draw the runes properly.

”What a fool! How could there be such a stupid student in my classroom!”

The old professor’s roar echoed through the room.

”Magic is the ink, but the wand is not the only quill! The runes you study—they, too, are a form of magic!”

Kyle was scolded mercilessly—something that had never happened in his previous six years at Hogwarts.

But in the past month or so, it had become a routine occurrence.

He had long since grown used to it.

After all, the professor couldn’t exactly beat him with his wand, so he might as well endure the abuse.

As Kyle listened, he slowly adjusted his approach to spellcasting.

…

It was like this until the day before the start of the semester, when Kyle decided to give himself a holiday.

After being scolded for so long, even though he didnʼt particularly mind, it was still a bit stressful. Plus, continuous high-intensity studying was exhausting, so it was necessary to take a break.

It had been raining since early morning that day, and Kyle slept until eleven o’clock, yawning as he stepped out of the dormitory.

The common room was packed, but everyone was busy with homework, so no one paid attention to anyone else—including Kanna, who was also catching up on her assignments.

She had stayed in the Room of Requirement a little too long before, and it wasnʼt until two days ago that she realized something very important.

Kyle didnʼt need to worry about homework since he had taken time off, but Kanna hadn’t...

She had frozen the moment she realized she had two weeks’ worth of homework to complete in just three days—an impossible task.

Kyle had wanted to help her; after all, it wasn’t difficult. All he had to do was tweak an automatic-answer quill a little.

But Kanna refused, insisting on writing everything herself.

All Kyle could do was stay as far away from her as possible. There was nothing else he could do.

After all, he had been the one who invited Kanna to the Room of Requirement in the first place, and he had completely neglected to consider the assignments. Now that he thought about it, he felt a little guilty.

Kyle didn’t disturb anyone as he quietly left the common room and strolled leisurely around the castle.

It felt like it had been a long time since he had done something like this—walking aimlessly, without any sense of urgency.

As he wandered, he took in the dimly lit castle walls, the faded picture frames, and the polished railings lining the corridors.

For a moment, he found himself a little dazed.

He didn’t know if it was just familiarity, but he still found Hogwarts pleasing to the eye.

The version of Hogwarts inside the Room of Requirement was a bit too new for his taste.

As he walked, Kyle suddenly bumped into a group of seventh-year students—presumably Gryffindors—who had just come down the stairs. They were gathered excitedly around someone, talking animatedly.

Because there were so many people and due to the angle, Kyle didn’t immediately see who it was.

But soon, he noticed a familiar face.

“Hermione!” Kyle waved and called out in greeting.

“Kyle?” Hermione, who was walking at the end of the group carrying several books, jogged up to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m just wandering the castle. Had nothing better to do,” Kyle said. “By the way, who was that person just now? They seemed really popular.”

“Ah, that’s Katie Bell,” Hermione said. “She just got back from St. Mungo’s this morning.”

“She recovered?”

“Completely. She said so herself,” Hermione nodded, but then quickly seemed to remember something and added, “But Harry already asked, and she doesn’t remember who cast the Imperius Curse on her—only that it happened at The Three Broomsticks.”

“That’s okay,” Kyle said nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t been planning to ask about it anyway.

In reality, he already knew exactly who had placed the Imperius Curse on Katie Bell.

It had been Madam Rosmerta—something he had found out after the last incident with the Love Potion.

Madam Rosmerta herself had admitted that while she was under the influence of the Imperius Curse, she had also used it on a Hogwarts girl.

But it hadn’t been her doing—she had been controlled.

However, the professors had strictly kept this information under wraps, and very few people knew about it—including Harry.

”Where are you going?” Kyle glanced at the books in her hands, noticing the top one was Wands and Magic.

”You havenʼt finished your homework, have you?”

”No, I finished mine a long time ago. Itʼs Harry and Ron,” said Hermione. ”But now theyʼve finished theirs too, so Iʼm going to return them.”

”Oh, in that case, go ahead,” Kyle said with a smile, waving his hand as he prepared to continue looking upstairs.

”Wait, Kyle,” Hermione suddenly called out from behind him. ”I heard someone say that youʼve been absent. Is that true?”

”Who said that?”

”Cormac McLaggen, a Gryffindor seventh year,” said Hermione. ”He mentioned at dinner that he hadnʼt seen you in class for a long time, and then Professor Slughorn said you had taken a leave of absence.”

”Ah, thatʼs true,” Kyle admitted.

”Can you tell me why?” Seeing Kyle acknowledge it so casually, Hermione was first stunned, then immediately asked.

To her, skipping class was almost unthinkable, especially for someone like Kyle, who had excellent grades.

Besides, wasnʼt the N.E.W.T. exam coming up in the seventh year? Missing classes at this point seemed completely irrational.

”Itʼs nothing, I just have something else to do,” Kyle said casually. ”Although it may sound a bit arrogant to say this, I really donʼt need to go to class anymore.”

”And my leave of absence is temporary. I might continue going to class after Iʼm done with my busy schedule.”

He didn’t mention anything about the “make-up” lessons.

Even though he and Hermione were on good terms, her personality made him decide against telling her.

For one, her proficiency in Runes was actually about the same as Cho’s. Even if she attended, there wouldn’t be much she could learn.

And, more importantly, Hermione was different from Cho.

How should he put it? Hermione was a bit of a stickler in certain areas. She placed too much trust in books—so much so that, even if the truth was right in front of her, if it contradicted established authority, she would hesitate, question, and even resist it.

The teaching methods from a thousand years ago were vastly different from the theories she encountered daily. She would undoubtedly have a lot of questions, and Kyle simply didn’t have the time to explain everything to her.

Even if every one of her concerns was addressed, Hermioneʼs nature might push her to forcefully try to master the material.

If she managed to learn it, that would be fine.

But, as Ravenclaw had mentioned before, the Room of Requirement wouldn’t last forever. If Hermione failed to grasp everything before her memory faded, all that time and effort would have been wasted. Worse, the experience might negatively affect her ability to learn magic in the future. It would be a classic case of losing more than she gained.

Taking all this into account, even though he considered her a friend, Kyle chose to keep the matter secret.

Hermione was a little suspicious, but since Kyle wasn’t offering any further explanation, she had no choice but to let it go.

They chatted a bit longer before parting ways at the stairs.

Hermione headed down to the library, while Kyle continued his tour of the castle.

However, before he had gone far, he faintly heard an explosion.

Strange, why would there be an explosion at Hogwarts?

At first, Kyle thought he must have misheard. But the next second, a much louder noise erupted, followed by a scream.

”Stop it...”

”Stop fighting, you guys, stop fighting!”

…

”Thatʼs Myrtleʼs voice, itʼs coming from upstairs!” Hermione had appeared behind Kyle at some point, clearly having heard the commotion as well.

Myrtle?

Kyle paused for a moment before immediately running down the stairs toward the source of the sound, with Hermione following close behind.

As they got closer, the noises became clearer—he could even hear the distinct sound of spells being cast.

”Itʼs Harry!” Hermione screamed. The voice was so familiar to her that she could never mistake it.

Harry was being attacked at Hogwarts?

Hermione’s mind instantly flashed back to two years ago, when Harry had been abducted from school during the Triwizard Tournament. A wave of anxiety hit her, and she threw the heavy book she was holding aside, letting it crash onto the corridor floor.

”Donʼt panic, this is Hogwarts, nothing will happen,” Kyle reassured her, but he, too, quickened his pace.

They soon arrived at the seventh floor, near a bathroom whose door had been blown apart.

It wasn’t hard to find—the sight of Myrtle floating anxiously outside the entrance made it obvious.

Kyle rushed forward, and inside the bathroom, he saw Harry—wand in hand, chest rising and falling heavily.

Opposite him stood Malfoy, mirroring Harry’s stance, also gripping his wand tightly.

It wasn’t clear what had just transpired, but the scene before them was chaotic. The door had been blasted off its hinges, now hanging crookedly. The pipes inside had ruptured, gushing water into the air, creating a heavy downpour that drenched everything in sight.

Myrtle screamed desperately, begging them to stop—but neither of them was listening.

Their focus was locked solely on each other, ignoring everything else around them.

Without hesitation, both raised their wands again.

”Reducto!”

”Confringo!”

”Stop, Harry!” Hermione screamed, trying to intervene—but it was too late.

The two powerful curses, one red, one blue, shot forward, colliding midair.

Blasting Curse and Reductor Curse...

It was unmistakable. Both of them were aiming for the same thing—to end the other’s life.

Hermione instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear witnessing what was about to unfold.

She braced herself for the deafening explosion—the screams, the chaos.

But none of it came.

Instead, silence.

A second passed. Maybe a minute.

When Hermione hesitantly opened her eyes, an unbelievable sight met her.

The curses were gone, vanished into thin air as if Evanesco had been cast.

And in their place, hovering in the bathroom, were two ravens.

One red. One blue.

Their colors corresponded exactly to the Reductor and Blasting Curses.

They flapped their wings, circling midair for a moment before suddenly shaking—then, without warning, they burst into dazzling fireworks and disappeared.

Everyone stood frozen in shock. Even Myrtle had fallen silent.

Hermione hadn’t seen what happened, but she had witnessed everything clearly.

Just as Harry and Malfoy had cast their spells, Kyle had raised his wand at the same time.

No one knew exactly what he had done—but somehow, the two deadly spells had stopped midair, twisting in an unnatural way before transforming into the shape of ravens.

Perhaps the sight had been too incomprehensible, too surreal—but in an instant, the two duelists, who had been moments away from killing each other, snapped out of their battle-fueled rage.

Both turned to Kyle, standing in the doorway.

“Youʼre here just in time. I…” Harry started to say something, but Kyle didn’t give him the chance.

With another flick of his wand, the water pipes on both sides suddenly extended, slithering like snakes before coiling tightly around the two boys, binding them in place.

The metal pipes were perfect for the job—no matter how much Harry and Malfoy struggled, it was useless.

“Let me go!” Malfoy yelled angrily. “Damn it, you can’t do this—”

Kyle didn’t even bother listening to Harry, so why would he listen to Malfoy? He waved his wand again, and the pipe coiled around Malfoy’s mouth, silencing him instantly.

Harry received the same treatment—without bias, just to be fair.

Now, finally, it was quiet.

“Myrtle,” Kyle said, turning his head, “could you go find a professor? Any professor. Tell them to come here as soon as possible.”

“Ah… yes, yes!” Myrtle, snapping out of her daze, cast a worried glance at the bathroom before flying off in a hurry.

Beside Kyle, Hermione was still reeling from what she had just witnessed. Kyle’s mastery of magic was astonishing—how had he managed to separate two people mid-fight so effortlessly?

Even though Harry and Malfoy were a year below Kyle, there were two of them, and neither was particularly weak in magic. Yet, he had subdued them with such ease.

Even if a professor had intervened, the outcome probably wouldn’t have been much different… No, on second thought, an average professor likely wouldn’t have done any better than Kyle.

Hermione thought back to what Kyle had said earlier… Maybe he really didn’t need to keep attending class after all.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

Shaking her head, Hermione stormed into the bathroom, her expression furious.

“Harry, do you even realize what you’ve done? Using the Reductor Curse on another student? If the professor finds out, you’ll be expelled!”

Kyle raised an eyebrow.

If the professor finds out?

So that’s what she’s concerned about?

Well, she wasn’t wrong.

“What happened?” Hermione pressed, her sharp gaze fixed on Harry. “You were just in the common room, weren’t you? Why did you suddenly run all the way to the seventh floor to start a fight with Malfoy? Have you even thought about the consequences? You could get expelled!”

She crossed her arms. “Say something! Don’t think you can just stay silent and get away with it. Professor McGonagall will be here soon—you’d better start thinking of how you’re going to explain this unless you want to be expelled!”

Harry let out a muffled “mm-hmm” in protest.

He wanted to say something—desperately—but had Hermione not noticed that his mouth was still gagged?

Twisting his head as much as he could, he blinked frantically at Kyle, silently pleading to be released.

Kyle ignored him.

If Harry wanted to be freed, then he shouldn’t have given Kyle a reason to tie him up in the first place.

This was perfect—at the very least, it would give them both time to cool off.

With a casual wave of his hand, the two wands on the floor flew up into his grasp.