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 youʼre 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, youʼre 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, heʼs 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, searching for something.

Myrtle.

If she hadn’t been shrieking ”Murder! Murder in the bathroom!” throughout the castle, he wouldn’t have acted so rashly.

But Myrtle had sensed the shift in atmosphere and had long since disappeared into the sewers.

”They need to go to the Hospital Wing,” Professor McGonagall said. ”As for their punishment… Headmaster Dumbledore will be back tonight. He will decide how to handle it then.”

Snape did not object. Without another word, he raised his wand to release Malfoy from the pipes.

Then came an awkward moment.

The spell didn’t work.

”Finite.”

The counter-spell struck the pipes lightly, dispersing like a whisper in the air. Malfoy remained just as bound as before.

Snape frowned and attempted two other charms. Both failed.

Silence fell over the room.

The situation had just become significantly more embarrassing.

”Professor, you canʼt undo it?” Kyle asked, feigning confusion. ”Do you need help?”

”Shut up!” Snape snapped through clenched teeth, his voice seething with restrained fury.

He would stake his decade-long career on the certainty that Kyle had done this on purpose. Yet, there was nothing he could do about it. No matter the reason, it was humiliating for a professor to be unable to undo a studentʼs spell.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, who was working to free Harry, encountered the same problem.

But unlike Snape, she didnʼt linger on her failure. The moment she realized Finite was ineffective, she swiftly adjusted, moving her wand back and forth over Harry while murmuring a different incantation.

This time, the pipes quickly unraveled.

Harry collapsed onto the floor, stumbling as he got back to his feet, one hand clutching his arm.

”Very good, it seems you’ve learned well,” Professor McGonagall remarked, her tone carrying a hint of approval that Harry didn’t quite understand.

But she wasted no time returning to her usual stern demeanor. ”Come with me, Potter. We’ll deal with your situation later… Hurry up, Severus, what are you waiting for?”

Snape didn’t respond. His frown deepened as he debated whether to resort to brute force and cut through the pipes.

Before he could decide, Professor McGonagall, already at the doorway, gave another flick of her wand.

Malfoy tumbled to the ground.

There was no need for hesitation anymore.

Snape shot Kyle a venomous glare before moving to help Malfoy up.

As they passed, Malfoy shuddered and instinctively quickened his pace. The experience of being completely bound, powerless, had left him shaken. The realization that his life had been in someone else’s hands—even for just a moment—had nearly driven him mad.

Even now, free from the pipes, his legs felt like jelly, and he could only walk with Snapeʼs support.

Kyle, however, remained utterly unconcerned.

He had already given Dumbledore his word that he wouldn’t cause Malfoy trouble at school. This incident had been nothing more than a coincidence, a necessary intervention to stop Malfoy and Harry from continuing their fight.

Had he not stepped in when he did, both of them would have ended up in the Hospital Wing—carried there instead of walking.

Still, one thing irritated Kyle.

He had helped so much… yet hadn’t even received a single extra House point.

Feeling somewhat cheated, he walked out of the bathroom, ready to return to the common room.

”You two, come with me!”

Professor McGonagall’s voice rang out behind him.

Kyle had no choice but to turn around and follow.

…

As one of the Hospital Wing’s frequent visitors, Harry was a familiar face to Madam Pomfrey. She barely batted an eye at his arrival, efficiently examining both him and Malfoy with practiced ease.

“What’s the verdict?” Professor McGonagall asked. “Are they hurt?”

“No problem. Just a few minor injuries,” Madam Pomfrey replied.

Their wounds were insignificant—mostly bruises. Harryʼs leg was still a little stiff from the Leg-Locker Curse, while Malfoy had a bruise on his back, which Kyle guessed had been caused by the Knockback Jinx slamming him into the wall.

But these were trivial issues. Given a little more time, they would have healed on their own.

Madam Pomfrey handed them a jar of Essence of Dittany and instructed them to apply it to their injuries.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall had learned the full story from Hermione. It was clear now that Harry and Malfoy had started the fight before Kyle even arrived.

However, she had no intention of intervening further. As she had already stated—this matter was for Dumbledore to handle.

“Professor…” Hermione hesitated, then glanced at McGonagall. “Can I stay here and take care of Harry?”

Professor McGonagall considered for a moment before nodding. “If Madam Pomfrey has no objection, yes. But you’d better keep an eye on Potter and make sure he doesn’t wander off. I suspect the Headmaster will have quite a few questions for him when he returns.”

With that, she turned and left the Hospital Wing.

Snape cast a final look in their direction before following, but not before pulling a curtain around Malfoy’s bed, separating the two sides. Then, his gaze landed on Kyle.

“You should go back to the castle.”

“But Professor, I want to stay here and look after Harry,” Kyle said, more curious than anything about what had led to the fight. He knew Harry would tell Hermione, and he wanted to hear it too.

“There’s no need,” Snape said flatly. “The Hospital Wing needs to remain quiet, and Miss Granger is more than enough.”

It was clear he had no intention of letting Kyle stay.

With no other choice, Kyle left the Hospital Wing. He and Snape walked side by side on their way back to the castle, the silence stretching between them.

Then, Kyle suddenly spoke.

“Professor, you really don’t need to be so nervous.” His tone was casual. “No matter what, I would never do anything to Malfoy in the Hospital Wing.”

Snape didn’t respond. He simply quickened his pace, striding ahead before abruptly turning down the stairs toward the Dungeon and vanishing from sight.

…

Meanwhile, in the Hospital Wing, after the professors had returned to the castle, Malfoy took advantage of Madam Pomfrey’s momentary distraction and walked straight out the door.

“Where do you think you’re going!” Hermione stopped him warily. “Professor McGonagall just said that you have to wait here for Headmaster Dumbledore to return.”

“Shut up, you filthy—”

Before he could finish, Harry, still next to him, reached for his wand again.

Malfoy seemed to realize something mid-sentence and sulkily clamped his mouth shut. He didn’t say the rest. Instead, with clear impatience, he pushed Hermione aside. “No one said I have to stay in this place, too. Get out of the way!”

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.”