Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 726: The Opal Necklace, Kyle’s Decision

“Malfoy, you bastard!”

Harry and Ron had no idea what had just happened, nor did they see anything wrong with the package. After seeing Hermione nearly knocked over, they marched straight toward Malfoy, ready to give him a lesson.

With Malfoy’s two large bodyguards absent, they had a real chance in a two-on-one fight.

But before they could take two steps, a tremendous force pushed them back.

“Stay where you are!” Tonks shouted from a short distance away, still clutching her wand.

But Harry quickly realized that he didn’t need to do anything.

Drenched in rain, the brown paper bag tore apart the moment it hit the ground, spilling its contents directly onto Katie’s shoes.

In an instant, Katie was lifted uncontrollably into the air, her posture strange—arms outstretched, hair whipping wildly in the wind, eyes closed, and her face devoid of expression.

Then, her eyes snapped open as though she had endured unbearable pain, and she began to scream in agony.

“I’ll go get the professor!” Hermione immediately turned to rush toward the school.

But just then...

“Finite Incantatem!”

At the shout, Harry instinctively turned his head. He saw Kyle’s wand glowing orange, and then Kyle slammed it down onto the stone path.

The once-solid stones crumbled under the wand’s light, breaking apart as easily as freshly fried potato chips.

Faintly, it seemed as though a golden flame began to spread outward. When it touched Katie mid-air, a layer of black smoke appeared around her, quickly consumed by the golden flames.

The scream cut off abruptly.

Katie, now unconscious, fell from the air and was caught by Tonks.

By now, a small crowd had gathered, curious onlookers standing around and whispering about the unconscious Katie.

“What on earth is going on here?” Tonks demanded sharply, her gaze fixed on the girl who had been with Katie.

She could see clearly that everything stemmed from that package. Had it not been for the rude young boy who had suddenly appeared, it would have been Kyle lying on the ground.

“I... I don’t know,” the girl accompanying Katie stammered, still shaken from the shock. She pointed to the torn brown paper package on the ground. “We were just about to go to Madam Puddifoot’s teahouse when she picked up this package. She said it was for Kyle, that she had to deliver it...”

“Oh, yes! When she spoke, her expression was so strange—just like Professor Snape described someone under the Imperius Curse... Oh no, why didn’t I realize it then!”

The girl slapped her forehead in frustration, tears welling up again as she began to cry. If only she had noticed something was wrong, Katie might not have suffered.

Kanna walked over and gently patted her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault... I remember you. Lina, right? Seventh year?”

The girl nodded.

“So do you know who gave her the package?”

“No,” Lina sobbed. “I had left something at Honeydukes and was away from her for a while. When I came back, the package was there.”

“Is that so?” Kanna glanced over at Kyle.

“It’s fine,” Kyle replied, staring at the Opal Necklace on the ground. “Let’s just deal with the problem at hand.”

“You’re right,” Tonks agreed, looking at the growing crowd around them. She quickly turned and ran toward the school with the unconscious Katie in her arms.

At the same time, she called out, “Fred, George, please gather that thing up and make sure no one else touches it.”

“Leave it to us,” Fred said. With a quick wave of his wand, the stone on the ground transformed into a box that rewrapped the Opal Necklace, and the box floated forward, kept at a distance by the spell.

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance and hurriedly followed.

“By the way, what spell did Kyle just use?” Ron asked curiously. “It solved the problem instantly.”

“Finite Incantatem,” Hermione replied. “It’s a high-level Charm, essentially an enhanced version of Finite. It removes all traces of magic within a certain radius.”

“Even the effects of dark magic objects?” Harry asked.

“Of course,” Hermione said, sounding a little impatient. “If you had paid attention in Professor Snapeʼs lessons, youʼd know that so-called dark magic objects are just things with a Curse on them.”

“And a Curse is still a form of magic.”

“Pay attention in Snape’s class?” Harry opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. That was easier said than done. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but Snape always managed to make him angry within minutes, leaving Harry unable to focus on what Snape was saying.

The group walked across the school grounds. Ron glanced at Kyle beside him, as if something had just occurred to him.

“Do you think Malfoy saved Kyle’s life once?”

“Huh?” Harry was momentarily confused, then it hit him. “Yeah, if Malfoy hadn’t pushed Hermione and knocked over the brown paper bag, Kyle might’ve run into it.”

“Haha, I didn’t realize Malfoy had done something good,” Ron said, “but he probably won’t be too happy about it... Hey, where is Malfoy?”

He looked around, but there was no sign of Malfoy, which struck him as odd. Given Malfoy’s personality, he would have been sure to parade around Kyle, loudly emphasizing his own contribution, or run to the professor to claim credit for extra points, or something. So why hadn’t he followed?

Kyle glanced behind him, but said nothing. In fact, when Tonks had rushed over earlier, Malfoy had already slipped quietly into the crowd and disappeared.

The group quickly returned to the school grounds.

“Do you think he was behind this?” Ron asked.

Though there was no concrete evidence, it had become a habit for him to blame Malfoy for anything bad that happened, and he didn’t need proof.

“I don’t know,” Harry said thoughtfully. “But I think I’ve seen that Opal Necklace before.”

“You have?” Ron looked at him, surprised. Hermione also turned her gaze to Harry.

“Hmm,” Harry nodded. “It was in a box at the Borgin and Burkes’s shop four years ago. Remember? I was using Floo powder for the first time, went the wrong way, and ended up there by mistake.”

“Because the box said it had claimed the lives of more than a dozen Muggles, I paid special attention to it. I remember it very clearly.”

“So someone bought it from the shop?”

“That’s what I think happened.”

“Borgin and Burkes’s Necklace…” Kanna looked at Kyle. “Who do you think it was?”

“Who knows,” Kyle narrowed his eyes. “Maybe someone planned to use that Opal Necklace against me but changed their mind at the last minute.”

“Changed their mind... Malfoy?” Kanna blurted out.

She knew Kyle wouldn’t say something like that without a reason—he must have found something out. The only person who fit the description was Malfoy, who had suddenly appeared halfway down the path.

Although there were several of them, they weren’t occupying the whole path; they were even on the side of the road. Malfoy could have simply walked back to school, but instead, he took a detour to push Hermione out of his way. Coincidentally, Hermione tripped over Katie, causing the package to fall to the ground. If all of this wasn’t intentional, it was one hell of a coincidence.

Kanna stared at Kyle, waiting for an answer.

“Ah, who knows,” Kyle shrugged with a smile. “But as things stand, I should be thanking Malfoy. After all, he saved me.”

“Don’t you dare,” Kanna said. “Don’t think I didn’t see it—you used the Shield Charm before you reached out.”

“Well, I had already noticed traces of the Imperius Curse,” Kyle said. “I wasn’t stupid enough to touch the package, especially since it came from an unknown source.” He gave a small smile. “And as it turned out, I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Professor McGonagall is here,” Hermione’s voice came from ahead.

Kyle looked up and saw Professor McGonagall hurrying down the stone stairs in the increasing rain and snow to meet them.

“Tonks said that you all saw Katie Bell being attacked. Please come to my office upstairs immediately.”

“It wasn’t an attack!” Ron exclaimed. “She was trying to give Kyle a deadly dark magic object.”

“We’ll talk about that later,” Professor McGonagall said, her eyes flicking to Fred and the box floating beside him. “Mr. Weasley, what is this?”

“It’s the thing Katie touched,” Fred replied. “I brought it back so no one else touches it.”

“Very good. Very good. You’ve thought of everything,” Professor McGonagall said, though she looked a little nervous.

“It’s the least I could do,” Fred said seriously.

At that moment, Filch appeared, holding a Probity Probe, about to walk over to Fred with an air of triumph.

“No, Filch, they’re with me. They don’t need to be inspected,” Professor McGonagall said hastily.

Filch’s face darkened immediately.

“Oh, Mr. Filch,” Fred said, raising an eyebrow, “perhaps youʼre not aware, but I work for the Ministry of Magic, and I specialize in dangerous dark magic items. You really shouldn’t be stopping me.”

Filch gasped for breath. For a moment, he wondered if the people at the Ministry of Magic were insane for letting a Niffler guard the Vault.

“Oh, and, Mr. Filch…”

George, who was standing nearby, lowered his gaze to the Probity Probe in his hands. “I suspect this object isn’t from a reputable source and may contain some form of hidden dark magic. If you can’t provide the place of purchase and its details, I’ll have to confiscate it.”

“You know, it’s our job.”

“Without any personal feelings,” Fred added.

Filch’s face drained of color as he clutched the Probity Probe tightly in his arms. This thing had been at Hogwarts for who knows how long, and there was no way to track down where it had been purchased.

Even if there was, after so many years, the place would have long since changed hands.

Meanwhile, Fred and George were grinning. They’d been interrogated by Filch countless times when they were students, and now, to their surprise, the tables had turned after their graduation.

It was a fantastic feeling—one they were more than happy to enjoy.

“Come on, Filch, bring it over here,” Fred urged. “We need to check it. It’s a requirement of the Ministry of Magic.”

“Okay, quiet down,” Professor McGonagall snapped, glaring at them. “I promise that the Probity Probe is absolutely fine, all right?”

“Since Professor McGonagall says so, we naturally believe you,” George said with a smile.

“Then shut up,” Professor McGonagall muttered. “Now, please take this to Professor Snape.”

She glanced at Kyle and Harry again. “You two, come with me…”

Professor McGonagall led Kyle and Harry into the castle, up the stairs to her office. The rain and snow made a rhythmic clattering sound on the windows, but the fire in the fireplace was roaring, making the room feel much warmer.

“Tell me,” Professor McGonagall said, striding quickly around the desk and sitting down behind it. “What happened?”

Lina stammered and struggled to speak, still shaken. Her words were disjointed, but Professor McGonagall could gather the gist.

Lina didn’t know much more, only that Katie had received the package while she had been away at The Three Broomsticks, near Honeydukes. She didn’t know who had given it to her or who had cast the Imperius Curse on her.

Afterward, Professor McGonagall had sent Lina to the Hospital Wing, as she was in a bad state and needed a calming potion to settle her nerves.

“So, what happened next?” she asked, glancing at the others once more.

Hermione immediately began recounting the incident in great detail, describing how Katie had been thrown into the air and subsequently rescued. This allowed Professor McGonagall to quickly grasp the situation.

“Very good, five points to Gryffindor,” Professor McGonagall nodded. “You may leave now, but remember to keep this a secret. Don’t tell anyone else, even if they ask.”

With that, Harry, Ron, and Hermione exited the office, leaving only Kyle and Kanna behind. At this point, Professor McGonagall’s expression had relaxed, no longer as tense as before.

“Because you remained calm in a crisis…” she said, looking at Kyle with a soft gaze. “I’ll award Hufflepuff fifty points. Well done.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Kyle replied.

“You deserve it.” Professor McGonagall rubbed her forehead, clearly reflecting on the situation. She couldn’t imagine how much worse things could have been if Kyle hadn’t been there. At the very least, Katie Bell would have suffered far more. Even if Auror Tonks had been present, she likely wouldn’t have handled it better than Kyle had.

“Do you know anything else?” Professor McGonagall continued. “Who do you think would go so far as to target you and even use the Imperius Curse to control a Hogwarts student?”

“I’m not sure,” Kyle said calmly. “Some crazy Death Eater, maybe. After all, I did disrupt a lot of their plans during the holidays, so it makes sense they’d want to get back at me.”

“A Death Eater?” Professor McGonagall exclaimed, shocked. She didn’t truly believe a Death Eater would dare target a Hogwarts student, but given the circumstances, it seemed the only possible explanation.

“If that’s the case,” she said, pacing back and forth, “Kyle, I must insist that for your own safety, you shouldn’t leave the castle for the time being, and you shouldn’t go to Hogsmeade anymore.”

“Okay, I understand,” Kyle nodded. He had already anticipated this advice. After all, he had only gone to Hogsmeade to have a Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. And given the scale of the incident, it was likely that the school wouldn’t organize another Hogsmeade trip for students, regardless of whether he agreed or not.

“You can go home for now,” Professor McGonagall said, her tone tired as she waved them off. “The school will investigate this matter as soon as possible.”

“There’s one more small matter, Professor,” Kyle said, not in a hurry to leave.

“Go on.”

“It’s about Malfoy.” Kyle paused for a moment before continuing. “Anyway, he indirectly saved me, so I was wondering if I could split the 25 points with him?”

Professor McGonagall appeared taken aback by his request. She looked up at him. “But it was because of Mr. Malfoy that the package was dropped and broken.”

“One thing doesn’t cancel out another,” Kyle replied calmly. “I can’t just pretend that nothing happened. That’s why I said I’d give him half of the points I earned, not extra points.”

“All right, if you insist…” Professor McGonagall said after a brief hesitation. She studied Kyle for a moment before nodding. “Hufflepuff loses twenty points, and Slytherin gains twenty points.”