Life at Hogwarts carried on as usual.
Whenever he had spare time, Kevin would visit Professor Snape to practice spells. Lately, though, classes had been heavy, and he'd only managed a few sessions.
Harry, meanwhile, was busy training with Oliver Wood and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Practices had become even more intense this year, leaving Harry utterly exhausted.
As Gryffindor's greatest rival, Slytherin often crossed paths with them during Quidditch training.
"Hey, Flint, where are you headed?" Wood called when the two teams met on the pitch.
"The Quidditch pitch," Flint replied flatly.
"Gryffindor booked it today. You can't—"
"We have permission," Flint interrupted, holding up a slip of parchment.
The note stated that Head of House Snape had granted Slytherin special use of the pitch to train their new Seeker — Draco Malfoy.
Draco stepped forward with a smirk, eyebrows raised in challenge toward Harry.
Harry sighed. "Draco, why are you here again?"
Kevin, Hermione, and Ron, who had been nearby, wandered over to see what was going on.
"Heh, Scarhead," Draco drawled, "my father's bought the entire Slytherin team Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. You Gryffindors might as well give up now."
"Quidditch isn't about broomsticks," Hermione shot back, clearly annoyed. "At least Gryffindor's skill is better than yours."
Draco's smirk faltered, but before he could reply, Flint stepped in with a sneer.
"Keep your nose out of this, you filthy Mudblood!"
The insult hit like a slap. Draco blinked, startled, then quickly stepped back. "Flint… you do realize you just said that in front of Kevin, right?"
In the next instant, Kevin's fist slammed into Flint's stomach.
BANG!
Flint flew backwards, skidding across the ground before crumpling against a wall, coughing up blood.
The Slytherin team froze in shock.
No one had expected someone to actually attack a fellow student in broad daylight. They backed away, glancing fearfully between Flint and Kevin.
Kevin's voice was calm, but his eyes were like ice. "Apologize to Hermione. Now."
Draco didn't hesitate. He darted forward, blurting, "Sorry!"
The rest of the Slytherins quickly followed, stammering out apologies. Hermione, who had been on the verge of tears, burst into laughter at the sight.
Kevin ruffled her hair. "If I hear anyone disrespect Hermione again, your captain will pay the price. Now get off our pitch."
The Slytherins fled, leaving Flint sprawled and groaning.
Hermione threw her arms around Kevin.
The Gryffindor team gathered around, praising him, though Wood warned, "Be careful. They'll run to Snape."
Before long, Snape appeared, summoned by the commotion. His gaze fell on Kevin, who stood protectively in front of Hermione.
"Mr. Kevin," Snape said coldly, "explain."
"I hit him," Kevin said without hesitation.
"And why?"
"He called Hermione a Mudblood."
Snape froze. His eyes narrowed, a flicker of something unreadable passing across his face. Without another word, he levitated Flint's limp body with a flick of his wand and left.
Kevin watched him go, puzzled by the unusually strong reaction.
He turned to Hermione. "Don't listen to them. You're the brightest witch in Hogwarts, and the whole 'bloodline' thing is rubbish."
Hermione smiled faintly and leaned into him.
They spent the rest of the day together by the Black Lake, only returning to the castle that evening — where they found Harry hurrying down a corridor, Ron trailing behind.
"Harry, what's going on?" Kevin called.
"I heard a voice," Harry said quickly. "It said it wanted to kill someone."
Kevin's expression darkened. "Lead the way."
They followed the sound to a corridor flooded with water. Spiders were scuttling toward a window. Then they saw it — scarlet letters written on the wall:
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir… beware.
Beneath the writing hung Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, stiff as a board.
The corridor quickly filled with students. Filch arrived, took one look, and rounded on Harry. "You killed her!"
Kevin stepped between them, gripping Filch's wrist. "Let go."
"Filch! Kevin!" Dumbledore's voice cut through the tension.
He examined the scene, then said, "She's not dead — merely petrified. All students to your dormitories. Except you four."
In Dumbledore's office, Filch continued to accuse Harry.
Kevin shot back, "Which of your eyes saw him do it?"
"Kevin!" Professor McGonagall snapped, silencing him.
Harry insisted on his innocence. Snape, surprisingly, said, "It seems more likely they happened upon the scene."
Dumbledore agreed. "They are innocent until proven guilty. And Sprout's mandrakes will restore Mrs. Norris in time."
As the group dispersed, Snape caught Kevin's eye and held out his hand. With a reluctant sigh, Kevin produced five small bottles of Mandrake Restorative Draught from his robes.
"That's all you're getting," Kevin said before hurrying away with his friends, leaving Snape to clean up the mess.