Battle Begins

It was Blaise finally got the details. Just yesterday evening, Callis caught a young Hufflepuff student in the castle corridor. She was a little badger girl with light blonde braids, carrying a full bag of Honeydukes toffee, and her chubby cheeks made her look exceptionally endearing.

Callis simply thought this face was pretty, like a soft little kitten, and on a whim decided to tease it. Relying on her agility and skill in using Silent Spell, she quietly circled behind her junior, lightly tapped the other's backpack with her fingertips, and a bag of snacks appeared in her hand.

Faced with her junior's tearful pleas, Callis simply squatted down, gently poked the girl's flushed cheek with her fingertip, her eyes full of mischievous amusement, but she showed no intention of returning the snacks, which amused the little badger so much that it squatted in the corner and cried until dark.

Callis's malice was completely different from Malfoy's when he first started school. Malfoy's bullying was arrogant trampling with discrimination based on bloodline, wantonly humiliating the other person by seizing their weaknesses, and engraving malice into his bones. But Callis's teasing was just a prank on a whim of a teenager. There was no malicious belittling or prolonged harassment. She just thought it was fun. She even secretly put a bag of the same toffee in the junior's locker afterward, but the junior didn't find out.

Finally, as evening fell and the group returned to Hogwarts Castle from Hogsmeade Village, Blaise, carrying a large bag full of specially selected apology snacks—toffee, Chocolate Frog, mint balls, and Licorice Wand —accompanied Callis to find the Hufflepuff junior who had been tricked.

Blaise apologized on her behalf, making amends for Callis's prank of stealing snacks and making her cry the other day. The junior accepted a whole bag of sweets and generously forgave the joke. Far from being resentful, she looked at the bold and free-spirited Callis with a hint of admiration.

In Hogsmeade Village, students were scattered in twos and threes on the streets. Some were queuing in front of Honeydukes, some were drinking Butterbeer at Three Broomsticks, and some were trying out new prank gadgets at Zonko's Joke Shop.

When Malfoy emerged from the Three Broomsticks, it was almost dark. Crabbe was holding a grilled sausage, Goyle was carrying two large bags of candy, and Pansy walked beside Malfoy, her scarf pulled up to cover half her face, revealing only her eyes.

"Where's Blaise?" Pansy asked.

"And his... um... that 'girlfriend' is at the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop." Malfoy wasn't sure how to describe their relationship. "Callis said she wanted to pick out a quill pen."

They walked along the street towards the village entrance. There weren't many students left on the street; some had already returned to the castle.

The streetlights weren't on yet, and it got dark quickly. Shops on both sides started closing, and the sound of roller shutters being pulled down echoed in the empty street. As Malfoy walked past Honeydukes, he saw the lights in the shop window go out, and the clerk came out, locked the door, wrapped his coat tighter, and hurried away.

"They closed quite early today," Pansy said.

Goyle was still eating candy, and Crabbe finished his grilled sausage and threw the skewer into the trash can by the roadside. Neither of them paid any attention to what was happening around them.

Malfoy, however, stopped.

He heard footsteps, many people, heavy and hurried, coming from the narrow alley behind Honeydukes. He didn't turn around, but reached into his pocket and gripped his wand.

"Crabbe," Malfoy whispered.

Crabbe looked up, the sausage still in his mouth.

There's someone behind you.

Crabbe turned his head. He couldn't see anything in the alley because it was too dark, but he heard—the sound of metal scraping together, like someone drawing a sword.

Goyle stopped chewing, and the three of them stopped at the same time. Pansy also put her hand into her pocket.

A person slowly emerged from the shadows in the alley.

"Another Goblin..."

The Goblin was dressed in dark leather armor, holding a short sword whose blade gleamed coldly in the twilight. He had a thin face, narrow eyes, and a downturned mouth. Behind him followed several wizards, dressed in long black robes with their hoods pulled low, obscuring their faces.

Malfoy counted: five Goblin and seven wizards.

Without a word, he pulled his hand directly from his pocket, the wand already in his grasp. A beam of silvery-white light shot from the tip of the wand, shooting into the Sky Void like an arrow, exploding in the twilight and transforming into a silver, serpentine firework.

A light flashed in the night sky over Hogsmeade.

Malfoy's wand didn't stop; the second spell followed immediately. He waved his hand, and invisible, sharp wind Wind Blade shot out from his wand. The wind Wind Blade Silencio, razor-sharp as they sliced through the air, cutting through the leather armor of the two Goblin at the front. They screamed and flew backward, crashing into the roller shutter door.

Crabbe charged forward, his fists blazing with dark red flames. He slammed one of the Goblin in the chest, shattering its leather armor and sending it flying, Goblin up blood. Goyle stood behind Crabbe, his skin gleaming with a greyish-white stone-like sheen. His Petrifying Skin deflected a dark wizard's spell, and Goyle retaliated by punching him, breaking his nose.

Pansy stood behind Malfoy, her wand pointed at the enemies flanking from the side. Her eyes gleamed slightly, and fear was spreading among the Goblin. She amplified their fear while suppressing her own and her teammates' emotions to a minimum. Two Goblin, halfway through their charge, suddenly went weak in the knees, their eyes filled with terror. They turned to run, but were caught and knocked down by Malfoy's Wind Blade.

But there were too many enemies.

People continued to pour out of the narrow alleyways, Goblin and dark wizards emerging in Earth Flow, like ants crawling out of a hole. The back door of Honeydukes was kicked open, and several Goblin rushed out, daggers and short swords in hand. Malfoy heard the screams of the Hogsmeade Village. Everywhere there were shouts of "Run!" and "What's happening?"

Shop windows were smashed everywhere, and the sound of shattered glass filled the air.

"Where are the others?" Malfoy called out.

"They're all with Joko!" Pansy replied.

Malfoy gritted his teeth and unleashed another Ancient Magic. Blue runes exploded in the air, transforming into three bolts of lightning that struck the three Goblin. The Goblin twitched and collapsed to the ground, motionless, but more surged forward from behind.

Just then, he heard the whistling of the Slytherin students coming from the direction of Zonko's Joke Shop.

The responses came from the Gladrags Wizardwear, from the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, and from the Dervish and Banges.

The Slytherin students are gathering.

Theodore was the first to arrive. As he ran over, a dark wizard was raising his wand and pointing it at Malfoy's back. Theodore raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and the Magic Severing Touch.

An invisible force field shot out from his fingertips, striking the dark wizard's wand. The light of the spell at the tip of the wand instantly went out, and the flow of magic was abruptly cut off. The dark wizard was stunned, and Malfoy retaliated with a Wind Blade that sent him flying.

Blaise Zabini and Callis also ran from the direction of the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. A Goblin raised a short sword and thrust it at Blaise's chest. Blaise didn't even raise his wand; he just glanced at the Goblin — Mental Intimidation. The Goblin's mind went blank, its body stiffened, its pupils dilated, and its hand holding the short sword froze in mid-air. Blaise slapped the short sword away, and the Goblin fell straight down.

Callis's hair was a little disheveled, and her expression was no longer as gentle as usual. With a wave of her wand, a blue light pattern formed in the air, like a net cast out, ensnaring the two Goblin charging at the front. Goblin Goblin struggled, and blue arcs of electricity exploded from the net, electrocuting them until they convulsed and collapsed.

Crabbe and Goyle retreated to Malfoy's side. Crabbe's robe was ripped open, but he was unharmed. Goyle's face was splattered with blood, not his, but that of Goblin. He also had a short sword in his hand—probably stolen—and he was holding it incorrectly.

Pansy stood guard behind Malfoy to prevent any sneak attacks.

The enemy was gathering in ever-growing numbers; people were still pouring out of the narrow alley, and even the back door of Honeydukes was overflowing. The windows of the post office were smashed open, and several dark wizards crawled out. Malfoy counted—at least twenty Goblin and fifteen dark wizards; they had clearly come prepared.

At this moment, Ka-jie appeared on the roof of the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, arms crossed, her trench coat fluttering in the wind. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she scanned the battlefield, quickly calculating the enemy's distribution, weak points, and optimal attack routes. At the same time, a silent mental link was established in the minds of all her Slytherin team — the Team Mind Link.

"Three Goblin on the left, Malfoy, take care of them." "Theodore, the dark wizard on the right rear, interrupt his spell." "Crabbe, aim straight ahead, your fists can break his armor." "Daphne, prepare to deflect, someone's going to use the Cruciatus Curse on Goyle." "Goyle, don't move, leave him to Daphne."

Without any unnecessary words, the instructions were concise and precise, and the Slytherin students operated like a sophisticated machine.