[Bonus for Powerstones!♥]
(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)Mom, save me from these guys!! And thanks for the 1k Powerstones!♥
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The only problem was, Wade wasn't familiar with the paths inside the Forbidden Forest. He didn't know what magical ingredients could be found where, nor did he have any clue which areas were home to which magical creatures…
But now, if he were to be sentenced to detention, that would mean being led into the forest by a professional! Hehehe~
That way, he'd have a perfect opportunity to extract as much information as possible from Mr. Ogg about all the crucial details hidden within the Forbidden Forest!
So really—this detention was something he absolutely had to get!
However… he'd just arrived, and technically, he hadn't lifted a finger. There was a chance he wouldn't be punished at all.
In that case…
Wade turned to look at Tom—his face was pale, and his eyes were filled with panic.
After all, Wade understood Tom's background all too well, and with just a little thought, he immediately realized what Tom was afraid of.
While Professor McGonagall was sternly questioning Andrei about what had happened, Wade leaned in and whispered, "I know what you're thinking. Why don't you just pin everything on me? Pretend I was the one who took them all down."
Tom stared at Wade in shock. "I.. I can't do that! I'm the one who cast the spells… And besides, they're not mute. Won't they just tell her everything? The professor's bound to figure out it was me."
"Don't worry," Wade said calmly. "I have my ways. I can make them say exactly what I want them to say."
Tom immediately thought of Wade's strange, seemingly hallucinatory magic.
It seemed… he really could pull it off.
Tom quickly added, more urgently, "If that's the case, then why don't we just blame everything on them? We can say we just got here!"
"They came here specifically to target someone—that much is obvious… Ah, never mind. You don't need to worry about that. Just leave the blame to me."
Wade had started explaining, but halfway through, he lost interest.
Do it man!
Tom was getting too clever—harder and harder to fool. No matter how he spun it, the story felt full of holes. So Wade figured he might as well stop trying.
But this half-explanation hit Tom like a revelation.
He now thought Wade's strange magic might not be fully refined yet.
Perhaps it couldn't alter certain objective facts—like the attackers' original intent. What it could do, however, was shift their target from him to Wade…
Which meant Wade was about to take the fall on purpose.
"You… why are you doing this?" Tom asked in a low voice. "This has nothing to do with you!"
"Why does there always have to be a reason?" Wade replied irritably. "Just say what I told you to say. Otherwise, don't blame me if I decide to mess with you too."
Tom fell silent.
So… his suspicions had been right all along.
Wade—this guy… actually saw him as a friend.
Otherwise, why would he, after sensing what Tom was so anxious about, immediately and without hesitation offer to take the blame for him?
Clearly, all of Tom's previous doubts and assumptions had been nothing more than judging a gentleman with a petty heart.
He thought back to just moments ago—nearly defeating seven or eight opponents, using almost exclusively the techniques and spells Wade had taught him!
Tom's thoughts were a tangled mess.
If Wade had truly been insincere, truly had it out for him, then how could he have learned so much valuable knowledge from him?
Wade suddenly asked, "By the way, you didn't go too hard on them, did you?"
"No," Tom shook his head.
"Good," Wade said. "At least I don't have to worry about being expelled."
Tom: "?!"
Tom's emotions grew even more complicated.
…
While he was still struggling with his thoughts, Andrei had finished giving his statement.
Since they had originally come to ambush Wade and Tom—but ended up only running into Tom—Wade didn't have a hard time tweaking their memories.
All he did was alter their perception slightly: making them believe Wade had been present the entire time, and that he had been the one to take them all down—not Tom.
The Nightmare Magic wasn't as flawed as Tom had feared. Wade had simply chosen not to completely rewrite their memories—because he wanted that month-long detention in the Forbidden Forest.
If he had gone all out, this entire incident would've been remembered as just a scuffle among Andrei and his group.
Professor McGonagall had to try several times before finally getting the levitated Abraxas down from midair. A flicker of surprise passed through her eyes—she'd never seen a spell quite like that before.
She then walked over to Wade and Tom. After glancing at Tom briefly, her gaze settled firmly on Wade.
"I've gotten a general idea of what happened, but regardless of the cause, the two of you still violated school rules. Unauthorized dueling, and casting spells in the corridor… I have no choice but to assign punishment."
She turned to the group of pale, defeated students behind them.
"For the misconduct of you nine students, Slytherin will lose 180 house points! And each of you will serve a month of detention! Once you receive your notice, report to Mr. Ogg at the appointed time."
That punishment was no light matter—not only would they have detention in the Forbidden Forest, but each of them had lost twenty house points!
And it was only the first day of school.
No doubt, once the rest of Slytherin saw the hourglass later, many would feel like the sky was falling…
Tom, standing to the side, quickly realized: 180 points deducted meant—he, as the real instigator of the incident, hadn't been punished at all?
In other words, Wade really had altered their memories, making them believe he was the one who had attacked them, not Tom!
"All right, all of you come with me," Professor McGonagall said. "I need to take you to see your Head of House, Professor Slughorn, and report this matter to him."
Tom took a step forward. "Professor, I…"
"As far as I understand, this matter doesn't concern you, Mr. Riddle," Professor McGonagall said, frowning slightly.
"I… I don't think Wade should be punished," Tom said, taking a deep breath. "You can't expect him to just sit there and take it when he's being attacked for no reason! Strictly speaking, this was bullying—and we were the victims! If you're going to punish the victims as well, then count me in. Just now I… well, if you'd arrived even a minute later, I would have already fought back."
Professor McGonagall fell silent, clearly considering his words.
What the fuck!?
Wade immediately turned and glared at Tom. "Tom, what do you think you're doing?!"
Wade felt completely numb. Everything had been going according to plan, and now—just when he was about to succeed—Tom had to open his mouth and start rambling!
Why now, of all times?!
If Professor McGonagall ended up convinced and decided not to give him detention, what would he do then?
Sure enough, after a moment of quiet contemplation, McGonagall's tone softened considerably.
"Alright. If that's the case, whether or not he serves detention will be left to your Head of House to decide. However…"
Her voice turned stern again.
"He did cast spells, so the point deduction will stand!"
A few minutes later—
The group trailed behind Professor McGonagall, heads low, trudging toward Professor Slughorn's office.
Wade and Tom walked at the back of the line.
"Tom, what the hell were you doing? We agreed! Why did you open your mouth again? Now look—we've got a whole new mess on our hands!" Wade snapped, clearly irritated.
Tom just walked silently beside him.
No way he was going to admit that he simply couldn't stand by and watch this guy take a month of detention on his behalf.
And of course, it absolutely wasn't because he felt guilty or anything as ridiculous as… a friend taking the fall for him.
D-Definitely not!
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Aw~ Tom is maturing.. 🥹
You can support me and read 12 chapters ahead at P^treon: Captain69
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