The Showdown Between the Lion and the Giant Serpent (V)

The air above the dueling platform froze for several seconds. Lockhart cleared his throat, trying to restore the mood, but before he could speak, Severus Snape cut him off with a cold voice that seemed to have blown out of an ice cellar.

"Continue." Severus Snape leaned back in his chair at the staff table, black robes hanging loose, his face utterly expressionless. "Or does Gryffindor need to request a break and wash its hair first?" His words were like needles, stabbing into Ron's spine and Harry's clenched fist.

Seeing that neither intended to call for a break, he first cast a discreet glance at Madara, who was resting with his eyes closed behind the Slytherin formation, then turned to Draco. "Draco, how long do you two plan to play around?" The chill in his eyes suggested that he was not particularly satisfied with the results of this "harassment campaign."

A gleam flashed in Draco's eyes, and his false smile turned cold and cruel. "As you wish, Professor," he called out. At the same time, his left hand slipped stealthily into the inner pocket of his school robes, his fingers closing around a palm-sized, dull gray dragonhide pouch.

The pouch had no seal. Its opening was casually tied shut with a black leather cord, making it look like an ordinary little bag for loose change.

But if anyone had looked closely, they would have noticed a faint silvery-white glow flowing around its rim—the phenomenon of space itself subtly warping under magic when the Undetectable Extension Charm was pushed to its limit.

At the very instant Harry used the Iron Armor Charm to knock aside another of Malfoy's Disarming Charms!

"Now!" Malfoy roared, flinging his left hand outward while his right-hand wand tapped precisely against the mouth of the pouch, undoing