"I'm afraid of dying, Idol." Anton smiled calmly, wiping the water droplets from his wand. "My life has always been so difficult. I could be killed by a single jinx at any moment."
"Then I realized that if you really want to live well, you have to forget about life and death."
Anton shrugged helplessly. "Contradictory, isn't it?"
"So..." Anton raised his wand. "I started doing only what I wanted, without fear of life or death!"
"Snape! Let's duel!"
"Today, either you die or I do!"
This was the second time Snape had heard those words from Anton. The emotions behind them were different, but they carried the same carefree abandon and wildness.
So he gave his wand a light flick and performed the customary greeting for a wizard's duel.
"I admired your talent in Potions and looked forward to the day you'd enter Hogwarts and become my student. What a shame."
"Sectumsempra!"
"Protego!" Anton quickly conjured a shield around himself, then flicked his wrist with incredible speed. "Soul-Reversing Charm!"
Whoosh!
The spell's light tore across the sky, pierced Snape's sleeve, and shot into the distance.
"Arghhhhh!"
A shrill scream.
The wand fell from Anton's hand. He clawed at his head with both hands. Successfully casting the Displacement Soul Curse made it feel as though his skull were splitting apart.
He had already been in agony from casting too many Shield Charms. Now, after pushing himself to cast the Displacement Soul Curse, he felt worse than he would have after the Old Wizard hit him with a Cruciatus Curse.
It was as if his entire being had been hollowed out.
Pain spread from the depths of his soul. He wanted to grab at it, but had no idea where to claw.
"A remarkably advanced..." Snape raised his sleeve in disbelief. "Dark Magic!"
He stared in astonishment at the child who didn't look even ten years old. He had never seen such extraordinary talent.
Ten!
Even many children from the Pure-blood Families hadn't yet experienced their magical awakening.
He would even dare say that most young Wizards who had graduated from Hogwarts couldn't cast a spell of this caliber!
And it was...
Dark Magic!
The corner of Snape's mouth lifted slightly. "Then I'll give you one more chance."
He took flight again, instantly circling around Anton. He pointed his wand at the Werewolf. "Sectumsempra!"
"Protego!"
His spell was deflected once more.
A voice, weak to the point of fading away, came from beside him.
Snape turned his head in shock.
Anton was lying over his Flying Broomstick, a wand clutched in his hand. He panted weakly, smiling.
Blood trickled from both his ears.
Blood trickled from both his eyes.
Blood trickled from his nostrils.
Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
But he only smiled, his grin especially radiant.
"Ha! Snape, Idol, didn't see that coming, did you? I had another wand!" Anton's face was so pale he looked dead, but he wore a smug smile and even gave a playful eyebrow wiggle.
Snape frowned. "Was it really necessary to go this far just to protect a Werewolf?"
Anton managed a weak smile. "He's a person, not a beast. Just one person. Your Chinese is terrible, Idol."
Snape smiled. It was the first time Anton had seen the greasy-haired man smile. "You've earned my respect."
"You bet." Anton cackled. "Someone called me charming!"
"Is that so..."
"Stupefy!"
The charming Young Wizard rolled his eyes back and fell off his Flying Broomstick without a shred of dignity. A rope caught him around the waist, leaving him dangling in midair from the broom. He looked especially ridiculous.
"Wand Summoning Charm." The wand that had fallen partway down and the one floating on the sea flew into Snape's hand.
"Heh, you really did hide another one. Clever."
Snape gave a derisive chuckle, casually tucked both wands into Anton's hair, then took a potion from inside his Wizarding Robes and poured it down Anton's throat.
He pressed his lips together and looked at Anton, then at the Werewolf howling on the tiny Island...
His sleeve swept out.
With a bang, he vanished from where he stood.
The sun shone brightly, and a sea breeze stirred.
A chill touched his face, while an anxious voice called from beside his ear. "Little brat? Little brat?"
"Stop it." Anton waved his arm as though shooing away a Fly, then scratched his belly.
"Little brat?" the voice continued.
"Shut up!" Anton mumbled irritably.
Then the voice suddenly grew much louder, shouting right beside his ear. "Why are you sleeping? You'll have plenty of time to sleep after you're dead!"
Anton jolted awake and opened his eyes. "Teacher, I'm sorry. I'll never do it again..."
"Cackle, cackle." The Old Wizard pointed at Anton with his left hand, while the head resting in his right hand let out a strange cackle. "That's quite an interesting habit you have."
"MMP!" Anton grumbled as he looked around. The sea was calm, and everything seemed peaceful.
The only problem was the rope around his belly, attached to the Flying Broomstick floating in midair. It hurt like hell.
He struggled to climb onto the Flying Broomstick, untied the rope, then pulled a wand from his hair. He paused, then suddenly cried out, "Lupin!"
The Flying Broomstick turned around and swooped downward.
Lupin leaned against a heap of machine parts, his face pale as he looked at Anton gently. "You've saved me again."
Anton's expression turned strange. "I was actually planning to ask you to be my bodyguard and teacher."
Lupin smiled. "Once I'm better, I'll be your bodyguard."
Seeing that Lupin was all right, Anton quickly lifted the broom again and looked at the Old Wizard. "Where are Anna and Pedro?"
"Floating out at sea." The Old Wizard shrugged his headless shoulders. "What a pity. My foolish teacher didn't die."
"..."
A huge Wooden Plank bobbed on the Sea. Pedro lay on it with his eyes closed, while Anna sat beside him, clutching the Suitcase tightly. She saw Anton swoop down on his Flying Broomstick, cutting through the White Clouds.
"Anton!" Anna cried joyfully, dropping the Suitcase and rushing toward him.
She threw her arms around him. "Thank goodness, you're all right!"
"I saw everything. You stood in front of us. You're a hero!"
As she spoke, she couldn't help giving Anton a kiss on the cheek.
Then she realized what she'd done and shyly hurried back. She picked up the Suitcase and held it in front of her face, peeking at him with just one big eye.
Anton was stunned. He touched his slightly damp cheek, then met the Old Wizard's odd, teasing grin.
He gazed at Anna's delicate features and let out a deep breath, silently warning himself: he absolutely mustn't be attracted to kids.
That was shameful.
So he smiled brightly at Anna. "I think we could be good friends."
Anna blinked her big eyes. "Good friends?"
She smiled sweetly and nodded hard. "All right. You're my best friend now."
Only then did Anton relax. See? He'd just been overthinking it.
So he smiled too.
Their laughter rang out over the Sea. The two survivors laughed loudly, their voices carrying far.
But Anton soon stopped laughing.
When he pulled the huge Wooden Plank back to the tiny Island on his Flying Broomstick and saw the desolate ruins, his stomach growling with hunger...
"Anna, looks like no one can live here anymore. How about we go to your Home and rest for a while? Pedro is your father's good friend, after all."
Anna shook her head. "We could, but I don't know how to get there. The few family manors I know are hidden behind powerful magic. You can only get in by teleporting with a special spell, and my father's away again."
Anton blinked. "How long until he gets back?"
"About half a year?"
"That long?" Anton sucked in a breath. "He just left you here by yourself?"
Anna looked a little dejected, gently nudging a small Stone with her toe. "Anna has a very strange illness. My father's always trying to find a way to cure me. He travels everywhere, and I often don't see him more than a few times a year."
Blood-Cursed Werewolf!
Anton immediately thought of it and sighed.
After a moment of silence, he looked blankly at the sky and sea, not knowing where to go next.
This really sucked. Why was he always plagued by this problem?
Before you continue