Crushing Victory

Travers's words grew increasingly unpleasant. He deliberately twisted the facts, belittling Regulus's strength as nothing more than obscure tricks and luck.

Regulus lowered his head slightly in silence. He knew Travers was trying to provoke him into losing control and attacking first.

As long as he made the first move, Travers, a fifth-year forced to defend himself, would have the moral high ground no matter the outcome.

And Travers was confident that as long as he was not careless and took things seriously, he would never embarrass himself as he had last time.

The surrounding murmurs gradually faded. Everyone watched Regulus, waiting for his response.

Regulus stood where he was, listening to those malicious words and feeling the cold irritation brought by the letter slowly ferment and heat up in his chest.

He looked at Alger Travers's face, written all over with calculation and malice, and suddenly found it both laughable and tiresome.

Why were there always people who could not tell what was what?

The corner of his mouth slowly lifted into a smile so cold it was nearly sharp.

That smile made everyone familiar with him freeze for a moment.

Avery and Alex exchanged startled looks. Both of them keenly sensed that something was off about Regulus's mood.

Even Hermes, hidden in the Shadows, had his gaze still for an instant.

Snape stood in the Shadows of a corner, watching everything closely. His black eyes narrowed as he studied Regulus, who seemed like a different person.

Regulus did not fly into a rage or snap back at Travers as Travers had expected. He did not even look at the older students waiting for a show.

He merely took two steps forward and spoke in a cold, flat tone. "Save your clumsy little provocation, Travers.

"You want me to attack first so you can claim the moral high ground of being forced to retaliate and salvage your pathetic pride.

"Such a childish trick, and you are putting so much effort into it."

Watching the other boy's face turn ugly in an instant, he continued in that unsettlingly calm voice. "Like a clown."

The three words were light as air, yet they struck Alger Travers's face like three hard slaps.

Then Regulus raised the hand holding his wand.

"So stop wasting time."

"Draw your wand."

The common room fell deathly silent, leaving only the occasional crackle of the Fireplace.

Alger Travers's face alternated between green and white. Humiliation at having his intentions exposed before everyone and fury at being called a clown twisted together inside him.

He had not expected Regulus to disregard convention so completely and expose his calculations in the crudest possible way before everyone's eyes.

"Fine!" Travers abruptly drew his wand, pointing it at Regulus as a vicious expression formed on his face.

"Since you are so arrogant, I will show you the difference between a first-year and a fifth-year. I will also teach you how to respect your seniors!"

The crowd automatically spread apart, clearing the open space in the center again as whispers rose like a tide.

"Tsk, Travers really is an idiot. He actually thought everyone else was an idiot too."

"The Black boy is ruthless. He tore off the mask right away."

"A fifth-year against a first-year... Even if Black beat Travers last time, that was a sneak attack, wasn't it?"

"Not necessarily. Did you see how he blocked that Dark Arts spell..."

"That is different. Mulciber was a first-year too. Travers has had five proper years of training, no matter what."

"This is going to be good."

Avery nervously clenched his fists. Alex had already shut his eyes in fright, while Hermes leaned against a nearby stone pillar, his gloomy gaze fixed tightly on the center of the room.

Lucretius made no move to stop them. In Slytherin, private contests entered into willingly by both sides were often tolerated so long as they did not lead to irreversible consequences.

"Begin!" shouted an older student eager to watch the fun.

Alger Travers attacked almost immediately. Having learned from last time, he already had his wand in hand. "Stupefy!"

A dazzling red bolt shot straight at Regulus's face.

Regulus lightly flicked his wand. A flash of light and shadow passed, and the Stunning Spell was intercepted before him.

"Incendio!" Travers switched spells, and a blazing fire serpent burst from his wand tip with a howl.

Regulus remained where he was, lifting his wand slightly. Extinguishing Charm.

The flames vanished out of thin air, and even the heat radiating from the fire serpent disappeared with them.

Regulus's indifferent voice rang out. "Is that all?"

Without giving Travers another chance to cast, Regulus swung his wand, and the Leg-Locker Curse struck with precision.

Travers's body went limp. Just as he began to tip forward, another Impedimenta shot toward his torso.

Bang.

The two spells hit in succession, sending Travers into a stiff midair flip. Before he could land, a second Impedimenta followed immediately.

Bang!

Travers was knocked through the air like a ragged sack.

The short combo made the older students watching grimace. It looked painful just watching it.

"Hiss!" A sixth-year girl sucked in a breath, hugged her shoulders, and shuddered. "That must hurt terribly."

Another boy agreed. "Compared to the pain, Travers is probably hurting more inside."

A fourth-year cried out in surprise. "Look at Black's spells—silent, fast, and chained together perfectly!"

Several others exchanged looks.

Could you dodge that?

Maybe. What about you?

I doubt it!

"Mud-Sodden Curse."

Travers was hit by three spells in a row and sent flying backward through the air. His mind was blank, and even when he landed, he had not processed what had happened.

But his whole body hurt!

He flew seven or eight meters, but instead of the expected impact, he sank into a muddy bog.

"Shattering Curse!" In his panic, Travers fired a Shattering Curse at the ground beneath him, trying to blast apart the mud.

But the moment the spell left his wand, an empty Armchair beside him suddenly came alive.

Its wooden frame twisted, stretched, and reformed at incredible speed. Within moments, it had become a massive serpent nearly ten meters long!

The serpent slithered soundlessly, instantly coiling around Travers's waist and yanking him violently out of the mud before tightening its body!

"Ah!" Travers screamed in terror, waving his wand wildly. "Diffindo!"

The spell struck the serpent and blasted away several scales, revealing obvious flesh beneath them.

But that was all. The serpent only coiled tighter, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Let go! Let go of me!" Travers struggled futilely, his face turning red.

Regulus approached with unhurried steps. Looking at the disheveled Travers tightly bound by the serpent, there was not the slightest ripple in his eyes.

He leisurely waved his wand.

The serpent began moving slowly, dragging Travers, who struggled desperately to no avail, in circles across the open space at the center of the common room.

One circle, then two... as though displaying a ridiculous trophy.

"Enough! Let him go!" A sixth-year boy close to the Travers family could not stand it any longer and shouted.

Regulus glanced at him, and that look made the rest of the boy's words catch in his throat.

Only when Travers began rolling his White Eyes from lack of oxygen and humiliation did Regulus seem to lose interest. He flicked his wand.

The serpent instantly released him and reverted into an Armchair with its upholstery torn apart, dropping to the floor.

Alger Travers collapsed like a Fish out of water, coughing and gasping violently. His robes were stained with saliva, tears and snot streamed down his face, and his wand was nowhere to be seen.

The common room was silent as a grave.

Everyone looked at the black-haired boy, still as neat as before, as if he had merely returned from a walk.

Using only the most basic spells, combined with one precise and imaginative piece of Transfiguration, he had toyed with a fifth-year in the palm of his hand. Throughout the entire fight, he had not even let his opponent touch a corner of his robes.

Some even wondered whether Black would have killed Travers outright if this had not been such a crowded place as the common room.

The serpent's movements had made it clear to everyone that Travers had been close to suffocating to death.

This was no longer a matter of victory or defeat. It was a display of attitude and skill, carrying a certain cruel undertone.

Regulus did not spare the defeated boy on the ground another glance, nor did he pay any attention to the shocked, awed, and even faintly fearful looks around him.

The irritation in his heart seemed to have been vented somewhat through that one-sided plaything, but the deeper cold urgency still settled at the bottom of his heart.

He put away his wand, turned around, and walked straight toward the Corridor leading to the Dormitory amid the silence.

Avery opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. Alex was already dumbfounded.

Hermes gave Regulus's retreating figure an unreadable look, then glanced at the limp Travers on the floor before silently slipping back into the Shadows.

After tonight, the name Regulus Black might carry a different meaning in Slytherin.