Chapter 139: Resolution of the Incident
“Senior, there’s really nothing interesting about what we have!” the slight and wiry Avery said with an awkward laugh.
But Laistrange reacted quite differently. He shouted at Roshwin, “Rozier, I’m telling you, don’t meddle so much! Even with the relationship between our families, I’d have to deal with you if you keep this up!”
Hearing Laistrange’s words, Roshwin finally burst out laughing.
“Accio,” he said, waving his wand.
The items in their hands immediately slipped past their grasp and flew straight towards Roshwin. The object in Avery’s hand even caused him to spin spectacularly, resulting in a sharp twinge in his waist.
Roshwin paid no attention to their “impressive” antics and quietly lowered his head to examine the two items in his hands.
One was a somewhat worn secondhand school robe. It should have been clean, but Laistrange had roughly crumpled it into a wrinkled mess.
The other was a black-covered diary, the cover inscribed with beautiful handwriting: “Tom Marvolo Riddle.”
“So these belong to Riddle?” Roshwin asked calmly, looking at the two before him.
“We’re just keeping them for him. He’ll get them back when he returns,” Avery tried to defend, hesitantly explaining to Roshwin.
“Do you think anyone would believe you if you spoke like that?” Roshwin interrupted impatiently. “Taking someone else’s personal belongings without permission—you’re both purebloods with proper family upbringing, so you must know that’s wrong. Why would you do such a thing?”
“Let me guess what you want to do. Hide Riddle’s things away to watch him panic? Or damage his belongings to embarrass him when he uses them?” Roshwin asked coldly.
“Rozier, he’s just a filthy Mudblood, why are you defending him?” Laistrange shouted in disbelief.
“I’ve said it before—Riddle being admitted to Slytherin means he’s not a Muggle-born wizard!” Roshwin raised his voice, reiterating firmly. “He’s now part of our Slytherin house. You should support him, not ostracize him!”
“Sorry, senior. We know we were wrong,” Avery pulled back the argumentative Laistrange, shook his head, then apologized to Roshwin. “We were only trying to play a prank. No real harm intended.”
“Let’s hope that’s true,” Roshwin nodded casually, then warned them, “There’s one thing you need to understand—I’m not just defending Riddle. On one hand, it’s about the harmony and unity of the house; on the other, it’s for your own safety.”
“Are you kidding me? How does this have anything to do with our safety?” Laistrange looked at Roshwin with disbelief.
“Exactly because it’s about your safety,” Roshwin said calmly, ignoring Laistrange’s skepticism. “You’ve already had a conflict with Riddle on the train. Based on that experience, do you really think the two of you can defeat him?”
“As far as I know, if he finds his things missing or damaged, the first thing he’ll do is retaliate against you so-called roommates. You might end up in a sorry state,” Roshwin added, recalling what Dumbledore had told him about Riddle’s past.
Riddle had shown signs of his magical abilities since he was very young—while other purebloods rejoiced over minor magic, he was already wielding his powers roughly. He bullied peers and stole their belongings.
Now, with his own wand and some basic spellcasting skills, Roshwin had no doubt that neither Laistrange nor Avery could hold a candle to him. If a fight broke out, they’d lose badly.
“I was caught off guard and ambushed by him on the train! If it were a fair duel, I wouldn’t be afraid of him,” Laistrange protested.
Roshwin twitched his mouth, giving Laistrange a look of disbelief, wondering what to say to such blind arrogance.
Why are you so ordinary yet so confident?
Just then, the door behind Roshwin opened.
He turned to see the man at the center of this matter—the strikingly handsome young wizard, Riddle, who always commanded attention upon entering.
Looking at Riddle’s noble demeanor and appearance, Roshwin still found it hard to believe someone like him would bully classmates and steal others’ belongings.
Riddle, spotting Roshwin in the dormitory, paused briefly before quickly smiling and greeting, “What a coincidence, Senior Rozier.”
“Not really a coincidence. I was actually looking for you,” Roshwin replied with a smile.
He then handed over the secondhand robe and black diary to Riddle. “I found these after I arrived. Your two roommates said they wanted to keep them safe for you.”
Riddle took the robe and diary, shooting a cold glance at Laistrange and Avery.
His gaze was so chilling that the two in the corner of the room shivered violently, their bodies trembling.
“Still standing there? Aren’t you going to apologize to Riddle?” Roshwin said urgently, fearing Riddle might lash out recklessly.
Avery was thoroughly cowed by now—at least for the moment.
He hurried forward, forcing a stiff smile at Riddle and promptly said, “Sorry, Riddle. We took your things without permission. Please forgive us.”
Riddle nodded slowly, then turned his gaze toward Laistrange.
All eyes fell on Laistrange, who swallowed nervously.
He was torn—should he follow Avery’s lead and apologize sincerely, or stubbornly refuse?
“Hmph, if you don’t want to apologize, fine,” Riddle sneered coldly.
At Riddle’s icy tone, Laistrange finally relented, managing to squeeze out a faint word from his rough throat:
“Sorry.”
“What was that?” Roshwin was surprised a voice so weak could come from such a gruff man. “If you’re a man, apologize properly. What’s with the hesitation?”
Laistrange’s face flushed bright red as he shouted, “Sorry!!”
His loud voice turned every head in the room.
Riddle nodded again, then looked at Roshwin. “Thank you this time, Senior Rozier.”
“No problem,” Roshwin waved dismissively. “But I still need to warn you—not to act so aggressively as you did on the train while at Hogwarts. If you’re reckless again, you might really get expelled!”
Hearing the word “expelled,” Riddle’s body trembled imperceptibly.
“Don’t worry, I won’t break any school rules.”
…
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