“What is it?” Neville leaned a bit closer to Caelan.
“I…
I’m sorry.” Chris clenched his fists, his face turning bright red as the words squeezed out through his teeth.
In all his life, he had never suffered such humiliation.
Yet right in front of Caelan, he didn’t dare explode.
Malfoy, who had been staring boredly at Harry, noticed what was happening and instantly perked up.
“Nott just apologized to Longbottom!” “Good Lord, a Slytherin student apologizing to a Gryffindor?” “Silas Prewett!
He’s the one behind this!” “What a total disgrace to Slytherin!” Seeing this play out, the Slytherin students felt a wave of shame and indignation.
As far as they were concerned, even though it was Nott doing the apologizing, it brought shame on all of Slytherin.
And apologizing to a Gryffindor student of all people!
That infuriated them even more.
“My apologies, Mr.
Longbottom.
I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn to you.” Neville couldn’t wrap his head around it for a moment, staring wide-eyed at a crestfallen Chris Nott in sheer disbelief.
He had been bullied back and forth for years—when had anyone ever apologized to him?
Yet today someone had apologized, and it was a Slytherin student no less.
It made him feel like he was dreaming.
Blinking blankly at Caelan, Neville knew deep down that this was likely thanks to his friend.
“Alright, I forgive you,” Neville said with a nod, accepting the apology.
The surrounding students broke into an uproar.
A Slytherin apologizing to a Gryffindor was huge news.
Many clueless students scrambled to ask those around them what on earth had happened.
How could proud Slytherin students willingly apologize to a Gryffindor?
Let alone apologize to Neville, a poor pushover whom anyone could pick on.
How was that even possible?
“I’m telling you, I saw it with my own eyes!
Last night Silas Prewett in the common room…” A few students who knew the story proudly regaled their peers with what happened the previous evening.
Of course, they couldn’t help exaggerating along the way.
Such as Silas Prewett using powerful Dark magic and nearly killing Chris Nott, or Chris Nott nearly wetting his pants in terror.
“Tch, that’s nothing,” one young wizard lowered his voice.
“I heard even Prefect Rowle was frightened out of his wits.
Prewett was originally planning to kill him too!” “Huh?” gasped the crowd.
“Impossible!
Prefect Rowle is a fifth-year!” “How could a first-year defeat him?” “I told you, he knows Dark magic!” “What Dark magic?
I saw clearly that he just used a simple Severing Charm.” All kinds of chatter blended together as everyone speculated on how strong Caelan really was and whether he knew powerful Dark magic.
The entire classroom grew clamorous, to the point where even Professor McGonagall’s formidable presence couldn’t quite keep a lid on it.
“Why is the desk shaking?” Harry asked, casting a puzzled glance at their table.
“It’s not the desk shaking, it’s me,” Ron replied with a slight tremor in his voice.
“On our way here, we were talking about him behind his back.
He won’t blast my head with Dark magic, will he?” “He doesn’t seem like that kind of person…” Hearing the chatter around them, Hermione looked at Caelan in surprise as well.
Ignoring the wild rumors, however, she asked with a tinge of anxiety, “You aren’t hurt, are you?
What actually happened?” “I’m fine.
We just practiced a few spells yesterday and really hit it off.
Oh, it’s a special Slytherin way of welcoming new students—a bit different from other houses, perhaps.
With everyone’s warm assistance, Mr.
Nott reflected on his actions and wanted to apologize to Mr.
Longbottom.” [Silver Tongue: Proficiency +1] *Even that gives proficiency?
I’m telling the absolute truth!* Hermione gave Chris an odd glance.
*Didn’t expect it, but the guy actually owns up to his mistakes.* Professor McGonagall quietly observed the situation from the podium.
Although the young students exaggerated when discussing last night’s events, Professor McGonagall gathered the general idea.
After taking it in, she decided Caelan had simply stood up for a friend.
Although spells were involved, Chris had only lost some hair, which wasn’t a major issue, right?
Caelan really was a good boy.
How could that muddled Sorting Hat have placed him in Slytherin?!
“Thank you, Caelan.
Truly, thank you.” Neville’s face beamed red as he leaned halfway across his desk to pat Caelan on the shoulder.
In his memory, he had been bullied almost constantly, yet had never received a single apology.
But this apology was far from his greatest gain.
What moved and filled him with pride most was knowing he had a friend like Caelan by his side.
To him, that was infinitely more precious than any apology.
“Caelan, you need to be careful,” Hermione said, looking back at the Slytherin students.
“I feel like a lot of them harbor ill intentions toward you.” “I really don’t know what the Sorting Hat was thinking.
Why put you in Slytherin?
Could Professor Dumbledore have forgotten to clean it, and all the dust is making it muddle-headed?” Hermione looked thoroughly indignant.
She was still deeply bothered by Caelan’s sorting result.
“Don’t worry.
I’ve already hit it off with them.
Everything will be fine.” Caelan didn’t care in the slightest.
Anyone thinking with their big toe knew the Slytherins wouldn’t let this rest.
But that was precisely what made it more interesting.
Even if those pure-blood families had wealth and influence, with Dumbledore around, there was only so much they could do to him.
At worst, they’d just end up hitting it off again.
In that case, let the storm rage even harder.
After all, the bigger the waves, the dearer the fish.
He only hoped these people could afford his price.
Before that, though, Caelan decided to study various spells earnestly and boost his strength.
Relying solely on the spells recorded in *The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1* was nowhere near enough for him.
“Hermione, want to head to the library with me later?” “Of course!
For our first exam, I’m definitely going to beat you.” “Then you’d better work hard.” “You have more confidence than Merlin’s beard.” The two exchanged a glance and chuckled together.
Back in primary school, they had constantly competed, the top spot swapping back and forth between them.
This had been Caelan’s deliberate controlling effort; otherwise, constantly taking second place would have crushed the girl’s confidence.
Letting her win a few times spurred her on even more, while forcing him to push his own boundaries as well.
It was a win-win for Caelan.
Sitting beside them, Ron was dumbfounded to hear the two planning a trip to the library.
“Is there actually anyone who likes a place like the library?
Is sleeping there supposed to be more comfortable or something?” “Why don’t you try it and find out?” “Forget it, I can get the same experience right here.” Ron collapsed onto his desk.
“Wake me up when the professor comes.”