Holidays and Squaring Off with Snape

Over the next while, the young wizards became familiar with Oren, who hadn't even enrolled yet.

In the blink of an eye, the days before the holiday arrived. One afternoon, in the Headmaster's Office.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, didn't today's ideological education class end this morning?"

"Could it be? You called me here because you've agreed to join the Avada Lightning Chain Research Group?"

Oren looked at Dumbledore, whose face clearly said, Don't even think about it.

"Fine, Headmaster. If you won't join, you won't join. I happen to have something I'd like to ask you about."

Oren pulled out a history of magic book and pointed to an illustration on one page.

It showed a wizard with mismatched eyes elegantly waving his wand. In a small circular plaza, he summoned a ring of blue Fiendfyre. The flames grew ever larger until they ignited the entire building, then several flame dragons flew out.

"Headmaster, I want to learn this. This move suits me perfectly."

Dumbledore's expression of refusal gained a few traces of complication.

"Headmaster, this won't work either? Then surely I can learn the Undetectable Extension Charm. It's so convenient."

Dumbledore set down his teacup and began teaching Oren the Undetectable Extension Charm, endlessly reassuring himself that it was far gentler than the previous two.

Oren cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on his pocket, reached inside, and nodded in satisfaction.

"All right, Oren. I called you here because I'll be visiting an old friend during the holiday."

"Professor McGonagall will be collecting the Muggle-born young wizards."

"Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, and the other professors will all be leaving the school."

"So that only leaves Professor Snape and me!"

Oren felt as if the world had lost all color and turned gray.

"Headmaster, you know Professor Snape and I can't stand each other."

Dumbledore grumbled inwardly, Yes, that's exactly the effect I wanted.

"Don't worry, Oren. Professor Snape will guide you properly during this holiday."

Oren grumbled inwardly, Don't worry? What am I supposed to be reassured by?

"All right, take this broomstick and go have fun."

Standing outside the Headmaster's Office, Oren stared blankly at the broom in his hand.

He trudged out of the castle dejectedly. Now that he had a flying broom, how could he not take it for a test flight?

Oren mounted the flying broom and hovered a meter above the ground. Seeing the astonished looks on the other young wizards' faces, he only wanted to roll his eyes. What was so surprising about a lousy broom? A flying vehicle like this ought to be shaped like a sword.

Oren drifted into the Quidditch pitch and looked up to see the Gryffindor team training.

"Tsk. They're really working hard. They haven't even forgotten training right before the holiday."

"Too bad they haven't won much," Oren muttered quietly.

Oren's low hover caught the attention of the players in training. They stopped what they were doing and flew over to him.

"Am I seeing things, Fred? Could that be... could that be..."

"That's right, George. It has to be a Nimbus 2000."

"Fred, can we sell Ron to Hogwarts as a house-elf, then use the Galleons to buy a Nimbus 2000?"

"Trust me, George, Ron definitely isn't worth that much."

Oren asked, "Ron is?"

"Our little brother."

Oren nodded. "It's his honor to have the two of you as brothers."

Wood said, "Oren, want to come train with us? I believe you'd make an excellent Quidditch player."

Angelina reminded him, "He's at least a year away from being old enough to join the team. Wake up, Wood."

"Senior, please explain it to Senior Wood for me. I'm glad, but it'd be better if you took your hand off my face."

Angelina...

Looking at the twins' faces, which clearly read, Brother, we need a favor, Oren rolled his eyes.

"All right, stop talking. Take it and have fun."

Evening~

Oren carried the broom back to his dormitory, collapsed onto his bed, and said weakly,

"Check in."

Congratulations! You have received one case of chili sauce.

"Tsk, so instead of handing out relief rations, it's giving out the ultimate rice companion now?"

The next day, Oren slept until noon before entering the Great Hall. At that moment, only Snape was there, wearing a dark expression.

Snape grabbed Oren by the collar. "Isn't this Mr. Black? Sleeping until noon is not something a Slytherin should do."

"Esteemed Head of Slytherin, if you washed that greasy hair of yours, you'd surely look more presentable. More Slytherin, too."

"Apparently, Mr. Black has some very insightful views on how to become a Slytherin. Come, then. Let your Head of House guide you in Potions."

Snape dragged Oren toward his office.

Dangling in midair, Oren looked at Snape's gloomy face and could only roll his eyes. You're a professor. It's not like you can Avada Kedavra me. Other than talking trash, what can you do?

Oren's mouth didn't stop along the way either. "Esteemed Head of Slytherin, if you're conscious, you should realize I came from the Gryffindor direction."

"And what of it? You aren't wearing any Gryffindor insignia right now. Besides, if a Slytherin fails Potions, his old Head of House will be very angry."

Bang! Snape kicked open the office door, threw Oren into a chair, opened a cabinet, and dug out a pile of potion ingredients.

"Come, Mr. Black. Start by completing this batch of potions."

Oren glanced at the densely packed list of potion names on the parchment.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! This has to be an assignment the Hospital Wing gave you."

Snape ignored Oren, leaving behind only, "You won't be released until you've finished," before leaving the office. He locked the door behind him.

Helpless, Oren could only obediently complete the task. Of course, he wasn't going to let Snape exploit him so honestly. He had already decided that, in the next few days, he'd treat Snape to some traditional craftsmanship: dragon fire burning through potion cabinets and ghost soldiers borrowing ingredients.

After finishing the batch of potions, Oren slumped in his chair. Then, like a dying man suddenly sitting bolt upright, he sprang to his feet.

"No, I can't let today's matter end like this."

He began rummaging through the cabinets and soon pulled out an old textbook to read.

When Snape returned to his office, he found Oren flipping through his notes.

"Oh? Isn't this my Professor Half-Blood Prince? Have you finished your business and come back?"

"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, how would I have had the chance to admire Professor Half-Blood Prince's youthful brilliance today?"

Snape's face darkened further and further. At its darkest, it returned to normal, and there was even the hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Then I truly must thank Miss Black for her appreciation."

Snape conjured a bow-shaped hair clip and, with the speed of lightning, shoved it into Oren's hair. He even changed Oren's hairstyle while he was at it.

Their eyes met. The urge to stab someone to death was impossible to hide.

The two silently walked into the empty classroom next door. This time, they would settle both superiority and life or death.

Inside the empty classroom, Oren still couldn't defeat Snape, but he had good stamina and could run!

Oren kept darting and weaving, dodging Snape's spells while continuously firing off verbal attacks.

"Professor, is that greasy hair blocking your vision? Where are those spells even going?" After saying that, he returned fire with a Densaugeo.

Snape blocked the spell. "Perhaps Miss Black believes she can keep dodging forever."

Then Snape returned fire at Oren with a Rictusempra.

Oren dodged the attack, only to be bound into a dumpling by chains that seemed to appear from nowhere.

"Apparently, Miss Black's strength does not match his mouth," Snape taunted right in his face.

"Professor, isn't this cheating?! How can you set traps in advance?!"

"If you, little troll, spent a few more minutes in the Library, you'd discover there's a kind of magic called Transfiguration."

"I understand. Professor, my next move is called strength creates miracles."

Snape???

Bang! Oren snapped the chains with brute force and launched into a flurry of punches at Snape.

Snape fired several spells as well, but Oren charged through them and successfully punched him.

"Hmph!" Madam Pomfrey snorted before storming off in anger.

She was leaving school tomorrow to enjoy her holiday, yet these two idiots had suddenly increased her workload.

On the Hospital Wing beds lay two mummies, one large and one small, wrapped in white bandages.

"Oh, my dear Professor Half-Blood Prince, why did we have to do this?"

"Hmph!!!"

For the next while, besides intensely squaring off with Snape, the only thing that gave Oren a breather was going to help Hagrid farm.

"Hagrid, what's wrong today? Why are you unhappy?"

Hagrid squatted in the vegetable patch in a huff, not even eating any melons.

"This is awful. Harry's uncle and aunt are just awful."

"They actually made Harry live in a cupboard under the stairs. He wears nothing but old clothes, and Harry even has to serve their whole family."

"Tsk. Hagrid, you're talking about a house-elf, right?"

Hagrid looked even more miserable.

"It's Harry, Harry Potter! And they never told him anything."

"What did they hide from him? Tell me more, Hagrid."

Oren casually pulled off a watermelon.

"Everything! The wizarding world, his parents, and Hogwarts!"

"Lily and James died fighting Voldemort, yet they told Harry it was a car accident."

Oren nodded. Short videos had mentioned that Harry lived the life of a house-elf.

"All right, Hagrid, don't be sad. Isn't Harry coming to Hogwarts to study?"

"You're right, Oren. At Hogwarts, he'll be far away from that awful family, and he can learn magic. He'll become a Gryffindor like his parents, and the two of you will definitely become good friends."

Oren patted Hagrid's shoulder and handed him a piece of watermelon.

After chatting for a few more moments, Oren got up and headed for the castle. He was preparing for his fourth square-off with Snape that day.

In the Great Hall, Snape and Oren exchanged a glance, then silently headed toward the office. Oren knew the process all too well: first brew a pile of potions, then duel. Although he still couldn't beat Snape, he wasn't completely unable to fight back anymore.

Oren slumped on the sofa while Snape processed potion ingredients across from him.

"Professor, who was that Sirius you mentioned before?"

Snape: "Hmph!"

Oren???

There seemed to be some juicy gossip here. Too bad Snape wouldn't talk, so he probably wouldn't get to hear it.

Oren walked to the door. "Professor, cancel the spell, will you? Otherwise, the door won't open."

Snape: "Hmph!"

Fine, so that's how you want to play it.

Oren pulled out the wand he hadn't used in ages and pointed it at the lock. "Sectumsempra!"

The spell shattered the lock. Oren swaggered out, leaving behind only a Snape whose eye was twitching violently.