Chapter 77: Group and Individual

Wade recounted everything, neither exaggerating nor trying to cover up.

Even so, Professor McGonagall was furious, her nostrils flaring as if she could breathe fire at any moment. She declared angrily, "Bullying a classmate… and using such insulting titles… We absolutely will not tolerate such behavior—Severus, I'm giving Mr. Malfoy at least a month of detention!"

Professor Snape, lost in thought, his face pale and vacant. Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, he was absent for a while before slowly saying, "Of course… you are right… Minerva… do that…"

"Good!" Professor McGonagall exhaled a breath. When she turned to Wade, her severe expression finally softened a little.

"Mr. Gray—"

"Yes, Professor." Wade lowered his head. "I know I shouldn't use spells on classmates in the corridor…"

"Cough, cough." Professor Flitwick suddenly coughed twice. "Yes, too impulsive, what if someone got hurt? For your rashness and recklessness, I'm deducting… uh…"

Professor Flitwick secretly glanced at his two colleagues beside him.

"—Five points!"

He steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and quietly winked at Wade, indicating—don't worry, we'll add them back later.

Professor McGonagall smiled imperceptibly and said, "Hmm, of course—at the same time, for bravely defending your classmate and successfully casting the Disarming Charm, I'm awarding you ten points, Mr. Gray. It's clear that you… hmm… are exceptionally proficient in Charm work!"

"Ten points added?" In the Umbrella House, Michael was also very surprised by this outcome.

"Actually, only five points were added, because before that, Professor Flitwick deducted five points first," Wade emphasized.

"I know… but… that was Professor McGonagall!" Michael said, quite incredulously. "She doesn't even show favoritism to Gryffindors!"

"It's precisely because Professor McGonagall is so fair that she added ten points to Ravenclaw!" Padma seemed unsurprised. "Just think about what Malfoy did… A month of detention, that's letting him off easy!"

"Not only that, they didn't get any sympathy from Professor Snape either," Theo shared news that everyone else didn't know. "Someone saw the Slytherins go together to complain to Professor Snape, but they were kicked out in less than two minutes."

Ryan nodded knowingly, "Even if Professor Snape is usually very—strict, he wouldn't unreasonably favor Slytherin, right?"

Neville probably didn't quite agree. He felt that if they could see how Snape nitpicked them in Potions class, which Gryffindor and Slytherin shared, they probably wouldn't have such a far-fetched view.

As everyone chatted, the door to the Umbrella House suddenly opened—at this time, only one person would come. Padma happily waved and called out, "Hermione!"

The brown-haired girl walked in from outside with cheerful steps, smiling brightly, "Good afternoon, guys!"

"Huh?" Padma looked at her with some confusion. "Hermione, why do I feel like you're a little different today?"

"N-no, I'm not—" Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to cover up. "Maybe it's just hearing that Malfoy got what he deserved—I'm a bit too happy—"

"Hmm…" Padma was skeptical—was that really the reason?

Michael, however, saw it at a glance—Hermione used to have a very noticeable pair of large buck teeth, which, combined with her bushy brown hair, made her look a lot like a beaver. But today, when Hermione smiled, her teeth were perfectly even and of normal size, looking much cuter than usual.

"Wow, Hermione!" Michael didn't voice his discovery but complimented, "You look absolutely radiant today."

Hermione smiled shyly. To deflect attention, she turned and called out to the person behind her, "Come in, Harry!"

Harry Potter, who had been hesitating outside the door, finally walked in. Everyone looked at him, and the boy awkwardly ruffled his hair.

This wasn't their first meeting, of course. But seeing classmates in the classroom was normal. Seeing a new member, Harry Potter, in their "territory" or "circle" was, however, a strange and unique feeling.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Harry felt a bit awkward. He nervously mumbled a greeting, "Uh—hello, everyone? I'm Harry Potter…"

Then he despaired, realizing how silly that sounded. They had been attending school together for over half a year; surely everyone knew each other by now?

Hermione had kept telling him to make a good impression, but his stupidity seemed to have ruined the first step…

They must think he sounds strange, right? He must look so silly…

"Should we reintroduce ourselves?" Wade was the first to stand up, extending his hand with a smile. "Hello, Harry, I'm Wade Gray."

If you're the only one doing something foolish, it's incredibly awkward. But if someone else is doing the same thing, the awkwardness seems to vanish.

Harry gratefully shook Wade's hand.

Then Michael Corner also extended his hand: "Welcome, I'm Michael Corner—actually, I've been meaning to say, your move to catch the Golden Snitch on the field last time was really cool! I look forward to your next performance."

"Thanks," Harry said with a shy smile.

"Welcome to the group, Harry, I'm Theo Mancini." Theo smiled. "Next, you'll be playing against Hufflepuff. I can only wish you enjoy the game and hope Hufflepuff wins."

Harry wished he could say something witty in response, but being bad with words, his mind was suddenly filled only with Wood's passionate speech in the rain—

"Hufflepuff is nothing to worry about!"

No… I can't say that…

"Beat Hufflepuff! Win the House Cup!"

Enough! He didn't want to offend everyone…

"You must give it your all! The first time in seven years! Make Professor McGonagall proud!" Wood yelled, pumping his fist!

Harry: …

"I'll definitely give it my all!" Harry blurted out before his mind could catch up.

Theo smiled, "That's the spirit."

"Ryan Carroll." Ryan shook his hand, his smile faint but sincere. "Even though I've never joined any other clubs, I have to say, the SSC is definitely the best."

"Of course," Harry said quickly.

"Padma Patil." Padma shook his hand with a grin. "My only request is that you don't mistake me for my sister."

"I won't make that mistake," Harry stated confidently.

Unlike the Weasley twins, who seemed like copy-pasted versions of each other, the Patil sisters' differences were actually quite noticeable. Even though they had very similar appearances, their personalities, temperaments, and expressions varied greatly, so you'd never confuse them.

"And then—lastly, it's me." Hermione also offered her hand formally, smiling. "Your friend—and a partner in the SSC."

"Oh—Hermione—" Harry couldn't help but chuckle.

At this moment, Harry had completely forgotten all his initial anxieties upon entering. In this playful welcoming ceremony, he truly felt that he was being accepted by a group—this was distinctly different from his friendship with Ron, or the worship and curiosity some classmates held for him because of his "Savior" reputation.

Harry couldn't quite articulate what this difference was at the moment; he only knew that he felt wonderful, as if he had landed on a soft cloud.