Infirmary Wing

"Is everything okay, Madam Pomfrey?" Katie asked worriedly.

"Yes, everything's just fine, dear." Madam Pomfrey put away her wand as she finished her diagnosis. Aside from the ones who fled the minute the cage got unlocked, all the other students who were in Lockhart's class were in Infirmary Wing to get checked for rat bites, diseases, or any irregularities.

"Is there anyone ill, Poppy?" Professor McGonagall asked Madam Pomfrey. Since the Defense Against Dark Arts class included third years from all four houses, the incident required all house heads to be present. So, aside from Professor McGonagall- Professor Snape, Professor Sprout, and Professor Flitwick were also here. Oh, and Professor Lockhart was there as well sporting a guilty smile.

"There are six students bitten by Plague Rats and one student bitten by the Giant Plague Rat. Other than that many students were injured with bruises from being stampeded." Madam Pomfrey replied with a grim look on her face.

Hiss~

Everyone inhaled a cool breath of air. All the Professors except Snape turned pale though his countenance changed which was rare but justified.

"Can we see them?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Do you need any herbs?" Professor Sprout offered.

"No, all of them need res-" Madam Pomfrey stopped abruptly. She had a strange and contemplative look on her face.

"What's wrong, Poppy?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"You can see one of them but..."

"But what?" the Professor urged.

"His case is a bit strange," Madam Pomfrey stopped and thought for a while before continuing, "He doesn't seem to be showing any symptoms despite being bit by the Giant Plague Rat."

"What?"

"Yes! That's what's strange! He seems to be perfectly healthy except for the bite wound. There's no venom in his blood."

"Can we see him?" Professor Snape asked.

"Yes, let me bring him out. Don't come into the infirmary. It's been quarantined." Madam Pomfrey warned them and went inside the Infirmary after wrapping a white cloth over her mouth and nose.

As they waited, Professor Sprout leaned towards the short Professor Flitwick and said, "I wager it'll be that Balor boy."

"You-" Professor Flitwick felt astonished. You're thinking of wagering now?

Professor Flitwick opened his mouth, trying to rebuke her but closed it. He felt that she was right. In fact, when Professor McGonagall heard the whispers behind her she also thought the same. Unknowingly, Sol's attempts at passing off as being ordinary have failed.

Soon after, the doors of the infirmary opened, and out came Madam Pomfrey followed by a youth with black hair and eyes as blue and unfathomable as the ocean. He had a cloth wrapped around his nose and mouth like Madam Pomfrey and his right arm was bandaged. The other professors peeked behind the two to peer into the state of the infirmary. They saw students with cloth wrapped around their faces, hospital beds with their curtains drawn, and opened bottles of potions on the tables beside them.

When Professor Sprout saw the youth, she smiled smugly. I was right!

The other professors just sighed and Professor McGonagall rushed towards him, looking for injuries.

"Mr. Balor, are you alright?! Are you hurt or ill?" the worried Professor asked.

"Aside from the initial bite, not really." Sol shook his head.

"Can you tell me what happened back there?" she asked. Even though she knew what happened, the Professor felt it was best to ask the boy in front of her who seemed a bit more mature, no, wiser than his peers.

"What happened was..." Sol recounted the events of Lockhart's class to Professor McGonagall. When the students saw the cage opening, the smarter ones made a run for it immediately. And when the Plague Rats came out, it was utter chaos. The students were screaming and running towards the door. But because of the chaos, the students couldn't get out of the door fast enough and many fell under the feet of their peers, getting stampeded. Sol first shouted to calm them down and then used his wand to create a wall of fire to stop the rats from getting to the students. Seeing the wall of fire, the students calmed down enough to slowly leave the room and help the injured up.

But who knew that some of the rats were fast enough not to get trapped and avoided the firewall. These rats dashed around and bit some of the students before being dealt with. Oh, and, what about Lockhart? He immediately dashed inside his room within the classroom and asked the students to deal with the rats saying, "This is also a learning experience for you."

Professor McGonagall nodded, "I see."

"Wait, Mr.Balor, what about the Giant Plague Rat?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Oh, uh...the Giant Plague Rat just jumped right through and bit me. I guess he thought that I was the biggest threat." Sol assumed.

"Is that so?" Professor Flitwick fell into contemplation.

"That bumbling fool, Lockhart, has been causing too much trouble. I might as well have a chat with the Headmaster." Professor Snape declared in his low, nasally voice.

The other professors sighed. Professor McGonagall looked at Sol gratefully, "Thank you, Mr. Balor. I dare not think about what would've happened if you weren't there. 50 points to Gryffindor."

"It's what I should've done," Sol shook his head.

The Professor smiled, "Okay, you should rest now. We'll be going."

"I understand." With that, Sol turned around and went inside.

"What an outstanding young man," Professor Sprout praised. She had a look of admiration as she looked at Sol's retreating figure. She then sighed, "You have it good, Minerva, to get such a good student into Gryffindor."

"I do, don't I?" Professor McGonagall agreed. She then looked at Madam Pomfrey, "Poppy, please take care of them."

"Naturally."

Inside the infirmary, Sol laid down on his bed. He looked at the white bandage on his right arm. His eyes shone coldly reminiscent of the waters of the Arctic. What he didn't tell them was that he didn't really care if the students were in danger or not. He didn't take action just to show them what happens when you hire someone dangerously incompetent. As for the students who got injured and are possibly at risk of dying from diseases, let them be the scapegoat for this wonderful lesson to the Wizarding Educational System. He also let a Giant Plague Rat attack him for two reasons. The first was to see if the venom posed any threat to him. Sadly it was pathetically weak. Second to avert any suspicion from him. If Dumbledore suspects him, Sol can just give the excuse of it being a mistake due to carelessness. That should shut him up.

Sol closed his eyes and used his left arm as a pillow. How boring...

A Few Days Later

"Finally, we're out!" Katie hopped around in excitement.

"It feels good!" Cormac stretched his body.

"Can we not do this again?" Katie asked with a frustrated expression. "I don't want to be cooped up in the infirmary again."

"Depends on whether or not Lockhart fucks up again or not." Sol guessed. The three walked as they left the infirmary behind.

Cormac smirked at Katie, "You understand how bad Lockhart is now, don't you?"

"Well..." Katie paused. Her expression was filled with reluctance and disbelief. It was as though she learned that the idol she admired had faked his achievements.

"Not to worry," Sol patted her shoulder, "We might have an even better Defense Against Dark Arts teacher next year." As soon as he said that, Sol got jabbed in the gut. Katie initially felt that he was trying to console her when she heard the first part but the last half doused a bucket of cold water on her.

"People don't like to hear the truth, is it?" though Sol had bent over as though he was in pain, he had a malevolent expression on his face. As such, no one could see it.

"Hmph!" Katie snorted and turned away from him.

"Come on, now. Enough about Lockhart, we get to go to Hogsmeade next Saturday!" Cormac tried to pacify the situation.

"Right! Right! What do you guys want to do?!" Katie turned around and looked at the other two with sparkling eyes.

Cormac and Sol looked at each other before replying in unison, "Butterbeer!"

"Bunch of alcoholics!"

"Hey! Hey! What do you mean by that?" Sol asked. "At least let us get into crippling addiction then say that!"

This remark was followed by their laughter.

"Anyway, what do you think will happen to Lockhart?" Cormac asked Sol.

"I don't think he's going to get fired right away. I guess Dumbledore will let him teach the entirety of this year before sacking him."

"Ah, jeez! I can't go through another one of Lockhart's classes!"

"He's not that-" Katie spoke weakly but shut up under the glares of both Sol and Cormac.

"How delusional." Sol sighed.

Influence Of Imperius Curse: 30%