The Approaching Doom of Malfoy

Thursday, Charms Class.

The professor teaching Charms was Professor Flitwick, a former dueling champion. Due to his partial goblin ancestry, he was very short, barely over a meter tall. Dressed in an old gray wizard's robe, he looked like a miniature white-haired old man.

Because of his height, he had to stand on a stack of books during class just to reach the lectern.

When he took out the roster to call attendance, he suddenly let out an excited squeak upon reading Harry's name, then toppled backward off the books and disappeared from sight, drawing laughter from the young witches and wizards.

Hermione and Damon were the exceptions.

Charms was Damon's strong suit, and with that in mind, Hermione had already sharpened her focus to the utmost.

As for Damon, his attention came purely from respect and fondness for Professor Flitwick—a highly skilled professor who was nonetheless very easygoing. He treated all students nearly equally, showing neither favoritism nor prejudice. Students could move freely in class and even joke around with him.

As for learning spells? Faced with expert-level Charms Mastery, to be honest, he didn't think he could learn much from the lessons at this point.

Unless Professor Flitwick was willing to give him some extra instruction.

In fact, making that happen wouldn't be too difficult.

"Charms are not merely complex, profound spells. They are an art, a manifestation of the mind and will."

"Today, we will learn our first spell—Lumos. It is one of the most basic yet practical spells. You can use it to light your surroundings in darkness, as a signal light, for decoration, or even as a distress signal in an emergency."

As Professor Flitwick began teaching, the young witches and wizards focused on their wand tips and waved them.

"Lumos!"

With the incantation, the classroom was instantly filled with lights of various colors. Some students' lights were as faint as tiny stars, while others blazed like burning flames.

Damon, however, was in no hurry to cast. Instead, he helped Neville, who had only produced a small ball of light, until the boy's spellcasting reached an average level. Only then, amid Neville's puzzled "Why aren't you casting?" did he calmly intone:

"Lumos."

And then, every student in the classroom saw a warm sun. It rose into the air as Damon lifted his wand, hanging overhead—gentle yet not harsh, like the strength of a powerful heart.

"Oh! Goodness! Five points to Gryffindor for your unparalleled Lumos!"

Professor Flitwick leaped off his stack of books and practically bounded over to Damon, his face beaming with sheer delight.

Malfoy stared at the warm orb of light in Damon's hand, jealousy and wariness flickering across his face—was this Lumos? Even the enhanced Lumos Solem couldn't achieve such an effect, could it? Damon was an orphan, so why was his magic this powerful?

But soon, he had no time to dwell on it.

The Slytherin students, who had always shown him respect because of his father, were now glaring at him with anger and frustration.

A rumor had been circulating in Slytherin lately: Damon White hadn't joined Slytherin because Malfoy had insulted him as a Mudblood on the train. Damon White mistakenly believed that Mudbloods weren't worthy of Slytherin, so he chose Gryffindor instead.

In other words, such an outstanding young wizard should have belonged to Slytherin, but because of Malfoy, this genius had joined their most hated rival, Gryffindor, becoming their greatest opponent!

How could they not be furious?

If not for Malfoy's father being a school governor, their behind-the-back grumbling would have already turned into outright disgust.

Even so, Damon White's stellar performance in Charms and Transfiguration today would surely reach the ears of Slytherin students in other years, and Malfoy—the culprit who caused Damon White not to be sorted into Slytherin—would be forever nailed to the pillar of shame by these first-years!

Realizing this, Malfoy's expression grew even darker—though that also meant he hadn't yet grasped the full severity of the situation. When Damon White continued to display more and more brilliance in the eyes of all students, growing so strong that they couldn't even hope to catch up, Malfoy's true disaster would only then arrive.

Damon's performance in Charms drew gasps of amazement, and his achievement of earning five points in one go stirred a strong sense of crisis in Hermione. Now, Damon was only one point behind her!

After Damon's dazzling display, Professor Flitwick didn't skimp on encouraging the other students, but to keep things balanced, he naturally refrained from adding more points to Gryffindor. Hermione couldn't widen the gap, which left her a bit disheartened.

Ron and Seamus had become fervent Damon fanboys, their faces brimming with excitement as they kept winking and making faces at the Slytherin students.

Later, when Seamus cast his spell, the light he produced inexplicably carried faint sparks of electricity, but they were too small to be noticed, hidden by the glow.

No one noticed either that Harry, looking at the light orb in his own hand, wore a slightly forlorn expression. He had long known Damon's skill in Charms was superb; he should have been fully aware of the gap between them. But this was just Lumos—the simplest spell. Could two people casting it really produce such a vast difference?

Hearing some young witches and wizards quietly murmur things like "Even the Chosen One's light is far inferior to Damon's," Harry felt his face burn with shame. He had never liked being called the Chosen One, and now he felt utterly mortified.

Somewhere deep down, he also felt that his performance should have been better.

But thinking back over the past few days, he had spent all his time goofing off with Ron. He hadn't even finished Monday's homework, let alone previewed the textbook like Hermione had.

Harry exchanged a glance with Hermione, and it seemed they both saw the unwillingness in each other's eyes, drawing them a little closer together.

After class, Professor Flitwick called out to Damon, but since Damon had to rush to Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration lesson, they couldn't talk long.

Professor Flitwick asked about Damon's background and offered restrained praise for his magical talent, urging him not to waste it. He also assigned Damon a special task—to use Lumos to produce light in seven different colors.

"No need to rush. Whenever you're ready, feel free to come find me in my office on the eighth floor."

"Alright, Professor."

They made their pact and parted hastily.