Although the flying dress robe's flight performance had already been tested, Leonard had not yet had the chance to test its load-bearing capacity.
According to his original plan, he would have used stones as weights, testing them one by one from light to heavy to determine the robe's maximum load.
But obviously, things had moved too quickly. Leonard had not had time to test the carrying capacity of this prototype flying device before it was suddenly thrown into real combat use.
And one Harris Raymons weighed a lot more than Leonard.
When Leonard first tried to haul Harris Raymons out of the water, it had not seemed too bad. With the buoyancy of the lake, Harris Raymons's weight had not been all that noticeable.
But the moment Leonard tried to lift him clear of the surface, the problem appeared...
Leonard's altitude dropped sharply, and Harris Raymons, who had just been dragged partly out of the water, splashed right back into the Black Lake, soaking Leonard as well.
"Can you even do this?" Harris Raymons nearly fell back into the water entirely, his face white with fright.
He was genuinely terrified that Leonard might casually dump him back into the Black Lake. It would not kill him, of course. He was quite certain the giant squid would never allow a Hogwarts student or teacher to die in the lake.
But that did not make it any less horrifying.
"What do you mean, can I do this? I can't even fly on my own. I'm relying on this outfit, and it's still a child. Today's the first day it's ever been tested." Leonard felt it necessary to correct Harris Raymons's wording. What was that supposed to mean, asking whether he could do it?
"Even if it's just being tested, it shouldn't be this bad, should it? It can't even handle this little weight?" Harris Raymons shouted in dissatisfaction, half his body still floating in the water.
"Oh, shut up. How was I supposed to know I'd have to carry you?" Leonard rolled his eyes and dragged Harris Raymons toward the shore.
"Hey! Pull me up!" Harris Raymons had completely lost his usual elegance and composure. Just looking at the water of the Black Lake was enough to turn his face pale.
"It can't fly properly, so just bear with it. We'll be fine once we reach shore," Leonard said cheerfully.
Looking at Harris Raymons's reaction, Leonard could not help realizing that this high-ranking member of the Raven Organization, this Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, was actually a complete landlubber.
No, that was not quite right. A landlubber was merely someone who did not dare swim. This professor had reached the point of outright fearing water.
That looked more like psychological trauma.
Could it have been caused by the giant squid?
If the other party had not been a professor, and if doing something to him would not have risked making Dumbledore unhappy, Leonard would already have been preparing to interrogate Harris Raymons properly using the Black Lake as leverage.
But that would not have been appropriate. He was still a student, after all. Acting like that would have been far too disrespectful to Dumbledore.
Leonard smacked his lips regretfully and hurried toward the cliffside shore with Harris Raymons as quickly as he could.
By now, George and Fred, who had been lying at the edge of the cliff, had already jumped down impatiently. Using Cushioning Charms cast on each other, they landed by the lake and waited anxiously to receive Leonard and Harris Raymons.
Leonard flew to the shore and casually dropped Harris Raymons onto a nearby rock, where he was immediately met with George and Fred's concern.
"Leonard, are you all right?" George asked, though in truth his eyes were fixed on the flying dress robe.
Clearly, his mouth was asking how Leonard was doing, but what he really cared about was how the robe was doing.
That thing was the result of months of their hard work.
"Yeah, yeah. You're not hurt, are you?" Fred was also staring at the clothes on Leonard, searching for any tears or damage.
Harris Raymons lay on the rocks by the cliff, staring blankly at the sky like a salted fish.
These two. They were the ones who had begged him to save Leonard, and yet they were showing absolutely no concern for him, the professor who had stepped forward so bravely.
Despicable.
True, in the end he had not saved Leonard. On the contrary, Leonard had saved him. After all, the giant squid in the Black Lake had always held a grudge against him, and if Leonard had not stepped in, who knew how long that thing would have kept tormenting him?
So after going out of his way to save someone, he had actually ended up owing that person a favor?
But even so, should they not at least spare a little concern for him, the professor who so obviously looked miserable? Leonard had floated in midair the whole time. How could he possibly have had it worse than Harris Raymons? Did he really need their sympathy more than Harris Raymons did?
Thinking of that, the thoroughly frustrated Harris Raymons spat gloomily.
Damn it. What a massive loss.
At that moment, Sta the raven let out a caw and woke up from unconsciousness. It hopped onto Harris Raymons and started cawing loudly in complaint.
"Sta, stop making noise," Harris Raymons said gloomily, rolling his eyes.
"Caw! [You got me beaten up twice, you bastard!]"
"Don't start, Sta. It was just an accident."
"Caw! [I don't care, I don't believe you!]"
"Sigh..." Harris Raymons let out a long, mournful sigh, then turned his head toward Leonard, who was receiving everyone's concern, and spat again.
Was no one going to care about him, the actual injured party?
Unlike Harris Raymons, Leonard understood at a glance what George and Fred were really thinking. These two were not worried about him at all. They were worried about their product.
These two had rotten consciences.
Rolling his eyes, Leonard landed in front of them, took off the flying dress robe, and tossed it over.
"I'm fine," Leonard said irritably. "But this flying device of yours... does have a bit of a problem."
"Huh? What problem?" George asked nervously. "I thought you were flying pretty well."
"Yeah, what problem could there be?" Fred asked right after him.
"What problem... we'll talk about that later." Leonard sighed helplessly. "Let's get Professor Raymons to the Hospital Wing first."
"Professor Raymons?"
George and Fred finally snapped out of it and turned to look at the pitiful, helpless Harris Raymons, who was lying there rolling his eyes while the raven kept cawing in his ear.
Thank God.
You finally noticed me.
Harris Raymons was so moved he nearly cried. Trembling, he raised a hand and called out weakly, "I think... I can still be saved. Hurry and take me to the Hospital Wing to see Madam Pomfrey..."
As soon as he finished speaking, his head lolled to one side, and he actually fainted.
"Waaah! Professor Raymons, you can't die!" George and Fred shouted as they rushed over.
So these two brats actually do care about me after all.
Hearing their panicked cries, the half-conscious Harris Raymons felt a little comforted.
And then, in the very next second, he heard Fred's voice.
"We finally got a somewhat normal Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He's not going to get sent off again, is he?"
"Will you shut up," George said.