Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 383: Corrupted by Proximity

“Don’t worry, Filius, he’s not suffering from magical exhaustion this time,” Madam Pomfrey reassured, breathing a sigh of relief after examining Mikel in the Hospital Wing. “Although he’s fallen into a coma, his physical condition is stable. Nothing serious is wrong. He’ll just need to rest for a few days once he wakes up.”

“That’s good, that’s good,” Professor Flitwick murmured, patting his chest with relief. “And what about the other student?”

“I think he was so startled that he miscast the Charm, and he’ll need a few days of rest as well,” Madam Pomfrey replied, frowning. “Filius, may I ask what Charm you were teaching them today? This boy hasn’t had any magical issues in three years, so why now…?”

Professor Flitwick also looked baffled and even a bit frustrated. He couldn’t fathom how this could have happened either. If it had been a complex Charm, it might have made more sense. But the Revealing Charm… it was one of the simplest spells in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4. If it appeared on the exams, it was practically a guaranteed bonus question.

He’d already taught them the more challenging Summoning Charm without issue, yet somehow there’d been trouble with this? Professor Flitwick simply couldn’t understand it. Still, the most important thing was that they were all right.

Professor Flitwick turned to Kyle, who had been the first to respond and had helped bring Mikel and Cho to the Hospital Wing. “Kyle, could you please stay here and look after them for a bit?”

“No problem, Professor,” Kyle nodded without hesitation. “Leave it to me; I’ll make sure they’re all right.”

Professor Flitwick nodded gratefully, and after exchanging a few words with Madam Pomfrey, he hurried back to his class.

...

“What did you say?!”

In the corridor outside the Great Hall, Marcus Flint stared at Cedric, who wore a serious expression, and practically shouted, “Your Beater was taken to the Hospital Wing?”

“Yes,” Cedric replied with a sigh. “We were all set to reschedule the match, but Mikel had the misfortune of getting injured during Charms class. Madam Pomfrey says he’ll need to rest for a few days.”

“So…” Cedric looked over at Professor Snape and added apologetically, “Sorry, Professor. If the match schedule isn’t changed, we’ll be one player short tomorrow.”

Flint scowled in frustration, while Cedric remained calm and said, “If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to visit the Hospital Wing yourself. Or you could speak to Professor Flitwick—he was the one who took both Mikel and Cho Chang there. Cho, as you know, is also Ravenclaw’s Seeker. Her spell was affected by Mikel’s miscast Charm, and she ended up needing treatment as well.”

At this, Flint’s frustration exploded. “This is all just an act! There’s no way both of them were injured at the same time—it’s too much of a coincidence! I’m going to the Hospital Wing to expose this right now!”

Flint stormed off toward the Hospital Wing, and Cedric simply followed at a leisurely pace. When he arrived, he caught sight of Flint being unceremoniously tossed out of the Hospital Wing doors—Madam Pomfrey clearly had no intention of allowing anyone to create a scene in her domain.

“Do you believe me now?” Cedric asked coolly. “Honestly, how could I make up something that half of Charms class witnessed?”

Flint ignored him, shouting toward the closed doors, “They must have used Zonkos’ props! They’re not really injured—they’re faking it!”

Snape, observing the situation, looked just as skeptical. It was hard to believe that both a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw player were injured just as Slytherin was looking to reschedule. Even Longbottom wouldn’t fall for something this contrived.

However, Snape’s hands were tied. The mishap in Charms had naturally centered on Mikel, known to have brewed the original Magic Suppressing Potion. Besides, Snape couldn’t simply barge into the Hospital Wing and accuse the injured students of faking. Professors Flitwick and Sprout wouldn’t stand for it, and the witnesses in this case made the injuries harder to dispute than Malfoy’s flimsy, bandaged arm.

Turning to Cedric with a sneer, Snape said, “Impressive, Mr. Diggory. I thought you’d be the type to look after an injured classmate.”

“I’d be glad to, Professor,” Cedric replied smoothly, “but as you can see, we’re one player short, so there’s really nothing we can do. Unless…” He trailed off, as if hesitating, then nodded. “All right. We’ll play with six. Losing a match isn’t the end of the world, if it means we’re helping Draco.”

Snape narrowed his eyes at Cedric. The boy’s innocent expression was all too familiar to him—it reminded him of someone else with that same irritatingly angelic look, someone he’d always felt deserved a good hex. This was not the same Cedric he’d met in first year.

“No,” Snape said icily. “Tomorrow’s schedule will remain as it is. Let your players rest in peace.”

Marcus Flint turned, his face contorted with desperation. “Professor, they’re faking it! If we just—”

“Silence!” Snape snapped, cutting him off. He turned abruptly and strode away, clearly unwilling to waste another second on the scene.

“Excuse me, I need to go in and visit our Beater.” Cedric calmly walked into the Hospital Wing, entirely unfazed by Flint’s furious glare. But before closing the door, he poked his head back out, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Oh, and good luck in the match tomorrow.”

“You…” Flint was so enraged that he nearly swung at him, his fist clenched tightly enough to crack his knuckles. But Cedric had already disappeared inside, leaving Flint fuming, fists shaking, and unable to do anything but glare at the closed door.

...

And so, the next day arrived, and with it, the day of the much-anticipated Quidditch match.

In the Hospital Wing, Cho and Mikel made an unexpected recovery and stood before Madam Pomfrey, requesting to be discharged. At first, Madam Pomfrey was reluctant, but seeing how lively and alert the two of them looked, she finally agreed to give them a thorough examination. Naturally, the results showed no issues, so she allowed them to leave.

“Remember to be more careful in the future,” Madam Pomfrey advised Mikel, giving him a pointed look. “I thought you’d already mastered your magic?”

“Maybe I was a bit anxious about not being able to perform the Charm,” Mikel replied. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

Seeing Mikel’s respectful response, Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly and didn’t press the matter further. She simply allowed them to go on their way.

“Thank you for all the help,” Cho said politely as they left.

“Apologies for the trouble,” Mikel added, following suit.