CHAPTER 70 Apologies and Explanations

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CHAPTER 70 Apologies and Explanations

As Harry and his group were searching for a compartment to sit in, he saw Elmi and the others. He turned to Ron, and Hermione said, "Should we join them? All the other private compartments are full. The ones that had empty spots had people who talked a bit too much for my taste. I don't want to listen to Lavender Brown, Dean Thomas, and Parvati Patil chat until my ears fall off."

Ron and Hermione found them a bit chatty, too, so sitting with Elmi and the others seemed more appealing than enduring Dean and Parvati's constant conversation. Although they could have chosen to sit in the seated cars, they needed to discuss some private matters, and since Elmi and the others were aware of these matters, sharing the compartment wouldn't pose a problem.

They knocked on the door and entered. Harry said, "Could we sit here? All the other private compartments are full."

Zabini had a sour face and was about to say something, but Elmi acted before him and said, "Of course, I have some things to talk about with you guys, too. We didn't have any time after what happened and the exams."

Hearing what Elmi said, Zabini looked at him but didn't say anything. All seven of them were sitting inside the private compartment, and there was an eerie silence for several long seconds. Then Elmi broke the silence. "I don't know what you guys were going to talk about, but I want to apologize again to all of you. I shouldn't acted that recklessly and should have created a better plan."

Harry shook his head and said, "No, I should have acted decisive; I said I believe you, but I... I just thought that Quirrell was harmless, and you were misinterpreting things since he was a DADA teacher. I should have just touched his face."

Ron said, "Why are you apologizing, Harry? It was his idea to act recklessly, as he said." Zabini snapped, "Nobody asked your opinion, Weasley." Hermione slammed the book she was reading shut and caused Ron and Zabini to shut up. "Will you guys give it a rest already? It is in the past, and we should stop acting like cats and dogs. I don't want to admit it, but this proves everything Elmi said to us, and we know Voldemort is alive, albeit weak."

Daphne nodded and turned towards Elmi, "Elmi, I don't know if they will believe me, but I have to tell my parents this." 

Elmi vehemently shook his head and said, "We should never voice this to anyone else." He pointed towards Daphne, Zabini, and Tracey, then continued, "Especially us, we should never inform our families." 

Zabini, Daphne, and Tracey looked puzzled. Elmi expected them to get what he meant, but this looked like it was too much for an 11-year-old child to understand right away. He sighed and started explaining, "We all came from pure blood or established families." They felt proud of their heritage and nodded. "But this also means even if most of our families remained neutral in the war, it is also a fact that there were members in every family who joined both sides of the war."

He turned towards Zabini and said, "If you tell this to your mother, who is she going to talk to?"

Zabini thought a bit and said, "She will most likely talk with my aunt." the second he said that a realization struck Zabini. "Ooh, now I get it. If my aunt knows, most of England will know the next day."

"In every family, there are gossips or radical members. If people that supported Voldemort learn he is still alive..." He stopped talking and let them reach their own conclusions. "Now, do you understand why I want none of you to talk about this? None of us wants to start a second death eater attack spree, do we?"

Tracey added, "But shouldn't we inform our parents so they can catch and punish him?" Elmi shook his head again, "Three of the most powerful wizards and witches in England already saw Voldemort is alive. Do you think your parents could do something they couldn't? If something needs to be done, Dumbledore will do it."

Ron smirked and mumbled to himself, "I understand Dumbledore and McGonagall but calling Snape one of the most powerful. That is a bit iffy. If you said cruel and creepy, I would say yes."

Ron thought he said that silently enough for only Harry to hear, but others had caught enough of it. Elmi was sitting right across him; he showed a pitying look at Ron and said, "Ron, I think Zabini is acting a bit too ruthless to you, and I usually do not share his opinions about you, but this time he was right. Nobody asked your opinion. You neither have the knowledge nor the acute intellect to even realize who is strong or who is not. Just shut up and act like a good little side character for Harry."

Elmi wasn't a fan of Snape or anything, but he got angry when there were people who wouldn't give someone the respect they deserved. Snape was no saint, and Elmi was sure he had killed or tortured people for Voldemort. He was a sinner in his eyes, but he was trying everything in his power to redeem himself, and it was a fact he was a really talented wizard who invented many spells. "He is the head of Slytherin, and he isn't someone like you who could badmouth."

Ron got as red as a tomato and pulled his wand in a moment of rage, and he was casting a spell at Elmi,

"Slugulus..."

"Langlock"

But before he could even finish his cast, Elmi acted faster than him, pulled his wand in the blink of an eye, and then cast the jinx that prevented speech. The jinx had caused Ron's tongue to affix to the roof of his mouth. Elmi smiled and put his wand right away. Ron had the potential to be a loyal follower, and he was stupidly brave when it came to his friends, but Elmi had to do something about his impulsive behavior.

"I think it is proper to silence you with a spell invented by the person you were mounting off about. I would have used Levicorpus(Dangling curse), but the setting is not suitable." He looked at Ron with a death glare and said, "Ron, I am not Malfoy, all bark and no bite; if you ever point your wand at me, I will make you regret it. This is not a threat; it is a promise."

At that moment, a cold sweat ran through the back of everyone that was in the compartment. He was so angry about Ron attempting to hit him with a slug-puking curse that he lost control over the winds of magic around them for a second. 

After a few seconds, he realized what was happening and apologized to everyone, dispelling the jinx from Ron's mouth. After that, they continued to talk about Voldemort, and Elmi warned them about what they should and should not do.