On Monday morning, news that Colin had been attacked and was now lying near death in the Hospital Wing spread throughout the school.
The air suddenly grew heavy with rumors and suspicion. First-year students were now being moved through the castle in groups, apparently to prevent them from being attacked while alone. No younger students could be seen walking the corridors by themselves anymore. They always clustered together in groups of three or five, their eyes darting everywhere as though something might crawl out of the walls at any moment.
At the same time, without the teachers' knowledge, a booming trade in amulets, protective charms, and other protective items was underway throughout the school. Neville bought a large, strange-smelling green onion, a purple convex crystal, and the decayed tail of a water lizard. Before this, the Gryffindor boys had all said he would not be in danger, because Neville was pure-blood and therefore unlikely to be attacked.
"They'll go after Filch first," Neville said, his round face full of terror. "Everyone knows he's a Squib!"
In the second week of December, Professor McGonagall collected the list of students staying at school over Christmas as usual. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all signed their names, and they heard that Malfoy was staying too, which made them strongly suspect that he was the heir of Slytherin. Of course, Hermione was unlike Harry and Ron—she was worried that Malfoy would take Su Yu's top spot.
"If Malfoy dares touch Su Yu's position," Hermione said to Harry and Ron in the library, keeping her voice low, "I'll show him what regret means."
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, neither daring to say anything.
Thursday afternoon's Potions class with Professor Snape was the same as usual. Twenty cauldrons stood in a row on the wooden tables, with brass scales and jars of ingredients beside them.
Professor Snape paced through the fumes, viciously mocking the Gryffindor students, while the Slytherins stood by waiting to laugh at them as they brewed their potions. Malfoy—Professor Snape's favorite student—kept winking at Ron and Harry. He knew that if they dared bare their teeth, Snape would punish them before they had time to cry, "Unfair!"
Su Yu, meanwhile, lay sprawled over his desk, watching Professor Snape humiliate Neville over his dreadful potion with bored eyes.
Suddenly, Su Yu saw Hermione give Harry a look, and Harry immediately nodded.
Harry swiftly ducked behind his cauldron, pulled one of Fred's firecrackers from his pocket, and quickly lit it with his wand. The firecracker began hissing and crackling.
Harry knew he had only one second. He stood up and threw it at his target, landing it right in Malfoy's cauldron.
Malfoy's potion exploded, splattering the entire classroom. People screamed as though the Swelling Solution had landed on them, but the cauldron had not exploded in front of Malfoy. The moment Malfoy sensed something was wrong, he flicked his wand and sent the cauldron flying at Harry. Su Yu hurriedly used sand to block the flying liquid so it would not splash Daphne.
Malfoy's face had turned green, while Harry's nose began swelling like a balloon. Ron stumbled about wildly, covering his eyes with his hands. Just as Professor Snape was struggling to restore order and see what had happened, Harry crashed headfirst into a shelf. Amid the chaos, Harry saw Hermione sneak out the door.
That counted as a success, right?
"Silence! Silence!" Professor Snape roared, his voice echoing through the dungeon and making the glass bottles on the walls tremble faintly. "Anyone splashed, come here for treatment. If I find out who did this..."
When Malfoy saw Harry hurrying forward with his head lowered and a nose swollen as large as a melon, he laughed so hard he bent over backward. More than half the class crowded around Professor Snape's desk. Some had arms swollen like clubs that they could not lift, while others had lips so swollen they could barely speak. Then Harry saw Hermione slip back in.
After everyone had drunk the antidote and taken the swelling-reduction medicine, Professor Snape walked over to Malfoy's cauldron and picked up a blackened lump left behind by the exploded firecracker.
Suddenly, the room fell silent.
"If I find out who threw this," Professor Snape said darkly, "I will expel that person."
And so Professor Snape stared at Harry for a full ten minutes, until the bell rang.
"What are they trying to do?" Daphne asked Su Yu as they walked after class.
"They're making Polyjuice Potion, baby." Su Yu held Daphne's little hand. "Don't learn bad things from them. I don't want to come back one day and find two Fa-jies. I'd really collapse."
Daphne smiled and squeezed Su Yu's fingers.
A week later, as Su Yu led the little Slytherin snakes through the entrance hall, they saw a crowd gathered around the notice board, looking at a freshly posted announcement. The trio were looking at it too.
"The Duelling Club is starting!" Harry's roommate Thomas said excitedly. "The first meeting is tonight! I wouldn't mind duelling lessons—they could come in handy anytime..."
"What? You think those Slytherin monsters can duel?" Ron asked, also looking at the notice with interest.
"Of course we can't duel, you Weasley idiot." Malfoy suddenly whispered ominously into Ron's ear. "We Slytherins only know how to kill..."
Ron nearly jumped out of his skin, jerking sideways and almost crashing into Harry beside him.
Ron's ugly reaction sent the Slytherins into another fit of laughter.
At eight that evening, when the little Slytherin snakes hurried back to the Great Hall,
the long dining tables were gone. In their place stood a glittering golden stage against the wall, lit by thousands of candles. The ceiling above was deep purple, as though everyone in the training class had been wrapped beneath it. They all looked excited, wands in hand.
"I wonder who'll teach us?" As they approached the chattering crowd, they heard Hermione say, "Someone told me Professor Flitwick was a duelling champion when he was young. Maybe it'll be him."
"Stop guessing..." Harry suddenly cried out in pain.
He saw Professor Lockhart step onto the stage in his finest robes, with an unfamiliar old man standing beside him.
The old man wore a deep charcoal suit, tailored so sharply it seemed almost cutting. The fabric hung smoothly and crisply, without a single unnecessary crease. Only a patch of pristine white shirt showed at his collar, and his bow tie was neat and restrained. It was not ostentatious, yet it carried the refinement and arrogance of someone long accustomed to power. His shoulders were straight and his posture upright. Though he was dressed in modern, impeccable clothing, he still carried the cold aura of a dark wizard.
When he turned his head slightly, several strands of silver hair fell over his forehead, highlighting the clear, hard lines of his profile. There was no flamboyant wand-waving, no billowing robes. He merely stood there quietly, both hands casually tucked into his trouser pockets, yet exuded the oppressive air of someone in total control—as though the entire world was nothing more than a button beneath his suit collar, one he could turn at will.
Many of the young wizards were intimidated by the mysterious man's presence. They kept pointing at him and whispering among themselves.
Lockhart waved for silence and called out, "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Excellent!"
"Now, Headmaster Dumbledore has agreed to let me start a Duelling Club to train you, in case you ever need to defend yourselves, just as I have countless times—details of which can be found in my books."
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Adrian Graves." Lockhart gave a broad smile. "He will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in your later years. Though he tells me he does not know much about duelling himself,"
"he has still agreed to offer some temporary assistance before we begin. Now, I don't want you young people to worry—your future Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in the higher years—when I pierce through him—don't be afraid!"
Professor Snape had also arrived below the stage by then. Even while boasting, Lockhart did not forget to drag Snape into it. He said that, comparatively speaking, he would rather duel Professor Snape, because he was afraid of hurting Professor Graves, and that would not be good for an old man. At the very least, Professor Snape could withstand a few moves.
"Wouldn't it be better if they finished each other off?" Ron muttered to Harry, his voice low, though his face was full of anticipation.
Professor Snape's upper lip was pressed tightly together. He already looked furious.
Harry really wanted to know how Lockhart could still be smiling. If Professor Snape were looking at him like that, he would have fled in terror long ago.
Professor Graves said nothing. He simply bowed to Lockhart, and Lockhart bowed back.
The students below all felt that Professor Graves's movements were elegant and steady.
Then they each raised their wands in front of them like swords. "As you can see, we hold our wands in this fighting stance," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will begin with our first spell. Of course, our purpose is not to kill one another."
I don't really believe that, Harry muttered.
The two men swung their wands over their shoulders at the same time. Professor Graves murmured, "Pestis Incendium."
In an instant, blue Fiendfyre filled the entire duelling platform.
The young wizards were startled by the sight. Professor Snape stared fixedly at Professor Graves from the side, gripping his wand so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Su Yu's eyes suddenly widened as well. His grip on Fa-jie's hand and Daphne's little hand loosened involuntarily. Kurama had already returned to Su Yu's body. Fa-jie glanced at Su Yu in surprise. Though the move was indeed spectacular, Su Yu did not need to react like that, did he?
The blue Fiendfyre transformed into a small phoenix. Its wings spread wide, its entire body burning with icy blue flames, and it slammed one wing down at Lockhart.
Lockhart screamed and flew out of the duelling area, crashing headfirst into the wall. A large section of the wall collapsed, rubble and dust raining down in a rush. Lockhart slid down from the wall and smashed onto the floor.
Apart from the Slytherin students, who burst into cheers, everyone else stood silently with their jaws dropped.
The Slytherin students felt that this was what a real duel should be like. They loved such dazzling violence, and Malfoy was the first to applaud.
Professor Snape lowered his wand as well. His fingers relaxed around it, and the expression on his face eased.
But Su Yu continued staring intently at Professor Graves.
Professor Graves turned toward Su Yu at that moment and gave him a meaningful smile, studying him.
That made Kurama's fur stand on end inside him. She sensed deep malice, but that malice was not directed at Su Yu.
Lockhart unsteadily climbed up from the floor. His hat had been burned away, and his curly hair had curled up even more and was smoking.
"Oh, you won!" he said, staggering toward the front of the stage. "That was—ah—Professor Graves—you should have used—Expelliarmus—just as you saw, I lost my wand—ah, thank you, yes, demonstrating it is a good idea, Professor Graves, but if you don't mind, I'd like to say that I actually knew what you intended to do. If I had wanted to stop you, it would have been child's play. But I thought letting them see it would be very instructive..."
Lockhart seemed to notice Professor Graves's displeased expression as well, and quickly said, "All right! I'll divide you into pairs now. Professor Snape, if you would be willing to help me—"
Lockhart did not dare trouble Professor Graves at this point.
As they moved through the crowd assigning pairs, Lockhart put Neville and Theodore together.
Professor Snape, meanwhile, went first to Harry and Ron.
"It's time to separate this dream team, I think," he said mockingly. "Weasley, you will partner Zabini—Theodore. Potter—"
Harry automatically started moving toward Hermione.
"I do not agree," Professor Snape said with a cold smile. "Mr. Malfoy, come here. Let us see what you and the famous Potter can make of one another. You, Miss Granger—you will pair with Miss Daphne Greengrass."
Malfoy swaggered over, grinning smugly.
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