Side story
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Chapter 256 — Why Is It Him?!!
"Miss Becky Greengrass went to see the scene. She said it was extremely tragic—that Potter was practically lying in a pool of blood, and Flint and the others were just… bodies around him!"
Exaggeration, right?
Lying in blood?
She had only ever read descriptions like that in books.
And Flint?
Were they dead, turned into corpses?
Did Potter do that?
Did he kill someone?
No. Impossible. Only someone whose soul had completely fallen would use a killing curse.
Potter didn't even dare to imagine killing.
"Professor McGonagall sent Potter to St Mungo's. I just contacted my aunt. She said Potter's condition was terrible—if he'd been found any later, he might have died."
Fake, right?
How could it be such a coincidence?
What does 'dying if found later' even mean?
Potter is so strong—what could possibly injure him?
At most, a few minor wounds.
Kassandra thought this with faint irritation.
Then, suddenly, she heard quiet sobbing.
She thought she was the one crying, but when she touched her eyes, they were dry.
Not her.
She had cried so much last night in the dormitory that she couldn't squeeze out tears so quickly now.
"Weren't you going to pretend?"
She looked at Pansy.
Pansy was hiding beside her, quietly wiping tears.
Kassandra almost laughed.
What was there to cry about? The stupid guy wasn't dead.
"I am pretending! Everyone else is crying, so if I shed two tears, that's just… blending in!"
Pansy said, trying to sound humorous.
It almost made Kassandra smile.
The stupid guy remained in St Mungo's for two days.
Then he would be sent straight to trial.
She contacted her father through the two-way mirror—was the stupid guy alright?
Her father told her it was a political game between Dumbledore and Fudge. The stupid guy might be embarrassed, but he'd come out safely.
After all, he held a First Class Order of Merlin.
Sending him to Azkaban? Fudge must have a death wish to even try.
Kassandra was reassured.
But just before noon, a wave of owls flew into the hall.
They carried the Shadow Balls and the Daily Prophet.
She casually opened the Prophet.
Hmm. As expected—it just reported that the stupid guy completed the trial unharmed.
But.
He refused to cooperate during the trial, and took all the charges upon himself.
Was he insane?
Kassandra clenched her fists in anger.
Did he actually want to be sent to Azkaban?
She nearly cursed aloud.
But with so many people around, if she said anything, by tomorrow "Miss Vole despises Darren Porter" would be headline gossip among the pure-blood circles.
She forced herself silent.
So she looked at the Shadow Ball…
It was from her father. He had written only this:
"If you can't watch it, don't force yourself."
Kassandra snorted. As if there was anything she couldn't handle.
She activated the orb.
Then she understood why her father warned her.
She saw everything the stupid guy had gone through.
To protect the others, he knelt painfully before the Death Eaters, begged them, endured curses.
Every time someone died, he looked like he was dying with them.
Watching him inside the orb, she suddenly understood why he behaved like that at the trial.
He was simply exhausted.
Why him?
As she watched the image of him suffering, Kassandra felt a question rise from deep inside:
Why did it have to be him?
Why was Harry Potter's brother him?
If they wanted to hurt Harry Potter, why did they choose him instead?
Kassandra couldn't understand it.
Then she saw the stupid guy walk through the door.
What was she supposed to say?
How could she help him act normal again? Help him live peacefully?
She tried to think of comforting words.
But sadly, every comforting phrase she imagined sounded like mockery. If he heard them now, it would only hurt more.
Besides, the stupid guy clearly didn't want to talk to any of them.
Embarrassment and sorrow were written all over his face.
Anything they said would only cut deeper.
Fortunately, they didn't need to comfort him—Harry Potter arrived with his Miss Jackpot and Weasley.
The stupid guy locked himself in the dormitory and refused to come out until the Head of House stormed in and summoned him. Only then did he reluctantly appear.
Harry Potter half-threatened him with his own life, and somehow the stupid guy seemed to breathe again.
Kassandra stood far away, finally able to relax.
As long as she saw him living, she felt relieved.
But she still hated Harry Potter.
If not for Harry Potter, the stupid guy wouldn't have been hurt at all.
Hmph.
Let them comfort each other—she wasn't going to stand here and watch it.
Kassandra turned to leave.
She thought the matter was finally over.
The result?
The next day, word spread that the stupid guy had been hit with Veritaserum.
Truth serum…
Was he mad?
Along with the Prophet, another memory ball arrived.
She held her forehead but opened it anyway.
She watched the Slytherin group trying to kill the stupid guy—discussing in front of him exactly how to do it.
She watched how the stupid guy begged them…
She watched the Death Eaters laugh.
She watched him collapse at the end with a broken smile.
How could people be so cruel?
These were students, not Death Eaters—yet they were somehow even worse.
And those people at the trial blamed everything on the stupid guy.
Kassandra couldn't imagine what he felt when confessing to those charges.
Maybe it was just his stupid kindness again.
Thankfully, the matter eventually passed.
Even the fact that he got Fudge imprisoned didn't surprise her.
Still, her father wrote again—he found it suspicious.
He believed Dumbledore had a hand in it.
After all, Fudge's arrest was clearly convenient for Dumbledore.
He had even taken over as Acting Minister.
Her father warned her:
Fudge wouldn't be held long. Many did not want Dumbledore as Minister—his influence was too strong.
For political balance, Fudge would be reinstated.
And when he returned…
He might seek revenge.
Her father warned this at the end.
Kassandra thought the warning useless. That stupid guy didn't care about such things.
Even so, she told him.
The stupid guy brushed it off. He thought she was overthinking.
Because in his mind, if a minister could be released after questioning, that meant the minister was a righteous man.
And if he was righteous, he wouldn't retaliate.
Of course. This stupid guy only knew how to speak with his heart, not his head.
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