Leaving the cemetery, Rey headed straight for the campsite. He had finished exploring the small town of Godric's Hollow, and frankly, the gravedigger with the creepy smile had put him on edge.
As he reached the edge of town, Rey ran smack into the bickering duo: Helena Ravenclaw and Terence Barrow.
"Sir Barrow, I've told you before, please stop harassing me. I simply cannot agree with your values."
Helena's voice was loud, carrying clearly to Rey. Both Helena and Terence were startled by Rey's sudden appearance, and the atmosphere instantly turned frosty.
It was awkward. Rey immediately tried to walk past them. He just wanted to go back to his tent; stumbling into their drama wasn't part of the plan.
Terence Barrow shot Rey a cold glare. Seeing Rey sensibly walk away, he huffed and ignored him.
"Helena..."
After Rey passed, Terence whispered to Helena. It was probably some clumsy attempt at romance. In the Middle Ages, especially among nobles, courting lines were painfully cliché. Rey didn't need to listen to know it was something about "stars in the sky" or "moon on the earth"—enough to make your teeth ache.
But standard aristocratic wooing tactics were never going to work on a woman as sharp as Helena. Already annoyed beyond measure, Helena immediately called out to stop Rey.
"Mr. Faest, please wait a moment."
Her voice was laced with laughter and warmth.
Rey, whose back was to them and who thought he had escaped the whirlpool, froze. Then, he pretended not to hear and kept walking.
"Rey Faest. Just because your illness is cured, does that mean you've suddenly gone deaf?"
Helena's sweet tone instantly turned imperious. If Rey kept pretending to be deaf, he knew his life would become miserable very quickly.
"Oh, Miss Ravenclaw. Were you calling me?"
Rey had no choice but to turn around, laughing awkwardly. Anyone with eyes could see how reluctant he was.
But reluctant or not, to Terence Barrow—a man drowning in unrequited love—any man Helena looked at twice was an enemy who deserved to die by his sword.
Seeing Rey hesitate, Helena narrowed her eyes and shot him a threatening look.
Rey still didn't move. Left with no other option, Helena marched up to him, grabbed his arm, and looped hers through it intimately. "I already have someone I like. Do you understand now, Sir Barrow?"
Like a thunderclap on a clear day, Helena's words shocked Rey. And across from them, Terence Barrow's eyes bulged with rage.
---
It's over. It's completely over.
Rey never expected the thirteen-year-old Helena to be so precocious, mastering the ultimate move of 21st-century women: throwing someone else under the bus.
Rey didn't want to be the scapegoat. But just as he opened his mouth to explain, a sharp pain in his arm stopped him cold. Helena was vicious; she pinched him so hard he trembled.
Seeing the woman he loved intimately holding another man's arm, Terence Barrow transformed. He truly became the Bloody Baron.
Of course, only in aura. For a split second, Rey saw the terrifying ghost of the future overlay the boy standing before him.
With a furious snort, Terence released the hilt of his rapier. Then, amidst the sound of gnashing teeth, he turned and stormed off.
He might have wanted to challenge Rey to a duel, but they had already dueled once, and he had lost. In his mind, perhaps he had lost the right to challenge again.
As soon as Terence was gone, Helena released Rey's arm. She showed none of the bashfulness of a young girl; everything seemed perfectly natural to her.
"Was that really necessary?"
After observing her for the past few days, Rey no longer saw Helena as a child. Her maturity rivaled his own. He even wondered if she, too, harbored an adult soul in a child's body.
"What do you know? With things like this, if you don't hurt them completely, they never stop."
Helena dismissed Rey's comment and stated her philosophy plainly.
Such mature words coming from thirteen-year-old Helena Ravenclaw made Rey stare at the Lolita in front of him. He had to re-evaluate her completely.
"Thanks for today. Taking care of you for two days finally paid off. Bye-bye!"
The carefree Helena left Rey standing there as the scapegoat, frozen on the spot. It seemed making him the fall guy was another achievement for this brilliant woman. Meanwhile, Rey had thoroughly offended Terence Barrow. He'd need to watch his back in the coming days to avoid being stabbed by the berserk noble.
Schwing!
Not long after Helena left, Terence returned. He had drawn his rapier. "Rey Faest. I challenge you to a duel."
The first time, Terence had been enraged and forgot the formalities. This time, he knew Rey's name and was dead serious.
Duels were life-and-death matters. He seemed even more determined than last time.
---
Despite being fifteen, Terence Barrow was childish. He couldn't compare to Helena's maturity at all.
Rey shook his head and sighed helplessly, looking at Terence like a disappointed elder watching a misbehaving junior.
This only enraged Terence further. He raised his rapier, determined to fight to the death.
"Stupefy."
Rey drew his wand and cast the spell instantly. Before the duel could even begin, Terence Barrow, the noble Sir Barrow, was blasted off his feet and knocked unconscious.
Rey felt zero guilt about the sudden attack. He walked over to the unconscious boy, tossed Terence's rapier and wand far out of reach, and then sat down beside him to wait for him to wake up.
Knocking someone out was one way to help them calm down.
For someone as prone to rage as Terence, it was the most effective method.
Less than fifteen minutes later, a cooled-down Terence finally stirred. Seeing Rey beside him, he opened his mouth to yell, but Rey's wand was immediately pressed against his throat. He was forced to calm down again.
"Can you listen to me properly now?"
Rey asked calmly. Seeing Terence nod reluctantly under the threat of the wand, Rey didn't withdraw it. Instead, he continued, "If you want to win Helena's heart, I think I can help you."
"Help? Hmph. How? Doesn't she like you?"
Terence Barrow was still angry, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I don't believe you're an idiot. Can't you see what really happened?" Rey narrowed his eyes. If Terence couldn't figure it out even with a hint, Rey wasn't going to waste any more time on him.
Fortunately, Terence Barrow, a student of Salazar Slytherin, wasn't stupid. With Rey's prompt, he thought for a moment and realized the truth.
Maybe he figured it out, or maybe he just wanted to hear what Rey had to say. Either way, as long as he didn't go crazy, it was fine.
Calm now, Terence pushed Rey's wand away from his throat and asked in a low voice, "How can you help me?"
---