"Clank, clank!"
The train sped through the Scottish highlands, a gentle breeze drifting in from outside the window as it bathed Shawn, who was earnestly reading his Potions Class textbook.
He was basically cramming at the last minute now.
The textbook relied on rote memorization and did not require any practical application for the time being. Besides, his memory was exceptionally good right now, which naturally posed no pressure for Shawn, who had survived the gauntlet of the national college entrance examination.
Shawn had no choice, though. He was well aware of Snape's tsundere nature. Given his relationship with Sirius, he figured he would probably receive treatment similar to Harry's during Potions Class.
Therefore, to avoid being chewed out too much, his only option was to speak less and make fewer mistakes.
The sound of a sliding door suddenly echoed from beside his ear, followed immediately by a girl's voice.
"Excuse me, have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost one."
Shawn waved a hand to indicate he had not seen any, remaining focused on his reading, but the next moment he heard the girl let out a startled gasp.
"Ah, you-you're Shawn, aren't you? That genius illusionist."
Then Shawn only felt the light before his eyes darken as a fluffy, golden-haired young girl appeared right in front of him, practically poking him in the face.
The girl continued with an abundance of enthusiasm.
"Shawn, hello, I'm Hermione Granger, your most loyal fan. I've watched every single one of your magic shows in London, and you were just so cool on stage! By the way, since you're appearing here, that means you're also a young wizard, so may I ask if your previous magic performances were actually magic..."
Shawn was stunned, watching with utter fascination as Hermione's small mouth moved up and down, ceaselessly spitting out words.
It was a real shame she didn't do crosstalk with that kind of lung capacity and articulation accuracy.
Shawn quietly shifted his backside to lean closer toward the window. After Hermione finished asking her ten thousand whys, he even thoughtfully handed her a cup of water.
"My beautiful and enthusiastic young lady, thank you for loving my magic performances. Um, please calm down first."
Hermione's face flushed slightly as she took the water cup, sat down on the opposite seat, and said shyly.
"I-I really was impolite just now, but I have too many questions I want to ask you. What on earth are the principles behind those illusions of yours..."
Shawn had a slight headache and quickly waved a hand to cut off Hermione's train of thought.
"Miss Granger, the reason magic-uh, illusions-are fascinating is precisely because of the unknown. Once they are decoded, they lose their fun."
Hermione tilted her head and thought about it, figuring that made sense, but then she immediately pulled out a deck of playing cards.
"All right, I won't probe then, but could you please use this deck of cards of mine to perform a close-up trick? It would be even better if you could sign your name on it."
Facing this enthusiastic fan, and with the other person named Hermione to boot, Shawn really couldn't find a reason to refuse.
He reached out and took the deck of cards, toying with them in his hands for a moment before realizing they were all the custom-made playing cards he used to use for performances. It seemed Hermione truly was his hardcore fan without a doubt.
Hermione watched as the playing cards in Shawn's hands opened and closed like a peacock spreading its tail one second, then cascaded like a long river plunging down a waterfall the next. These cards truly seemed to have taken on a life of their own in his hands.
She felt simply that Shawn was the epitome of cool, her palms stinging from clapping with such excitement.
Just as Shawn was casually performing a few close-up card-guessing games for her, the compartment door was violently thrown open once more.
"Yo, the most noble and ancient Black is doing parlor tricks for a Mudblood. Come take a look, everyone."
Shawn's hand paused, and the playing cards scattered all over the floor as if losing control. Hermione spun around to glare fiercely at the newcomer, then leaned over anxiously to pick up the cards.
Shawn snapped his head around and saw a bucktoothed boy leading a crowd of students wearing Slytherin house robes gathered in the corridor.
Hermione asked in confusion.
"Shawn, what does Mudblood mean?"
Shawn did not explain. He slowly stood up, looked at the bucktoothed boy, and said coldly.
"I advise you to mind your manners and leave immediately before I get angry."
The bucktoothed boy dug at his ear and let out an arrogant, mocking laugh.
"Ha, we just came to see what the heir of the Black family looks like, but who would have thought the most ancient pure-blood would be making friends with a Muggle-born wizard and playing tricks to cozy up to her? The Blacks have really fallen; it's practically a disgrace to pure-bloods."
Shawn blocked Hermione, who was trying to step forward to reason with them. He knew the behavior of these students was actually an extension of their families' wills.
[Ding. Quest issued.]
[Conquer Hogwarts (Stage 1): Become the King of Slytherin (The strong are forged through slaughter!), Progress: 0%.]
[Quest Reward (Stage 1): 1,000 Level-1 Faith Value.]
Shawn was taken aback. He had originally just thought these annoying little brats were a nuisance and that ignoring them would suffice, but the system rarely judged that speaking nicely to these people was useless, even issuing a chained quest to motivate him.
Fine. Then he would just have to make them submit through virtue.
He therefore said with total detachment.
"In the Wizarding World, who the disgrace is is up to wands to decide. Bucktooth, let's duel."
The bucktoothed boy froze, and then he and the crowd of Slytherin students behind him burst into wild laughter.
"Ha, I never expected the heir of the Black family to be an idiot."
"Who does he think he is? Dumbledore reborn? A first-year who hasn't even entered the school yet is actually challenging upperclassmen."
"Tsk, tsk. The Black family really has declined. My father even told me to target him; looking at it now, there's really no need. Who would care about a moron?"
Shawn didn't waste any more breath, drawing his wand to point it at the crowd outside as he said with biting chill.
"Are you all coming up to die one by one, or are you coming up to die together? Or are you just a bunch of trash who can only run your mouths?"
The group of Slytherin students instantly flew into a rage.
"Marcus, step aside and let me teach this little brat a lesson."
"Ha, quite arrogant."
"..."
Hermione tugged anxiously on Shawn's sleeve.
"Shawn, don't be impulsive. We haven't even had a Charms Class yet; there's no way we can be their opponents."
"Just watch."
Shawn pulled Hermione back to her seat. Seeing that those people were still failing to reach a decision through arguing, and having decided to make a move, he wouldn't waste any more breath. He elegantly flicked his wand upward.
"Avis!"
A golden light suddenly burst forth, dazzling everyone to the point of squinting. Someone covered their eyes and shouted.
"He's ambushing us! Marcus, dodge!"
The next moment, a flock of golden birds materialized out of thin air, transformed into spinning playing cards, and lunged fiercely toward the group blocking the doorway, trailing purple-and-gold tail flames. The powerful impact swept the crowd flying backward.
After the playing cards cracked and popped in explosions, practically everyone received a hit. Their hair was singed and curling, their faces were covered in soot, and some were even crying out in pain.
Marcus, in particular, bore the brunt of it; he had long since been blasted unconscious, and his arm was fractured-it went without saying how miserable he looked.
"Ah, it hurts so much!"
"Damn it, how is he this strong?!"
"Everyone stand up! Together!"
Although Shawn's Avis could be cast wandlessly and silently, using a wand bonus made the power even greater.
Yet striking a crowd all at once diluted the power, so these people scrambled back to their feet and drew their wands once again.
Hermione was completely dumbfounded. She had never imagined Shawn would be this powerful-he truly lived up to being her idol. Little stars were currently sparkling in the young girl's eyes.
Shawn calmly stepped out of the compartment just as several curses came shooting in.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Shawn remained unruffled. He flicked his wand, using the "spell-reversal" technique to deflect the two lower-powered charms away, while the brooch on his chest also lit up with a defensive shield, blocking the spells he failed to parry.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Avis!"
Banking on his alchemical items, Shawn attacked instead of defending, quickly knocking down the students below the fifth year.
However, as more sixth and seventh-year students joined in, these people could cast the Shield Charm as well, and the opposing side slowly managed to hold their formation.
It was his first actual combat, and Shawn felt extremely excited. He had a strong urge to roar at the top of his lungs: Avada Kedavra.
Yet to avoid ending up sharing buns with Sirius in Azkaban, he held back after all.
The situation abruptly deadlocked. Both sides exchanged a barrage of spells, though they all exercised a measure of restraint and avoided high-damage curses.
A trace of bizarre amusement flashed through Shawn's mind. He hadn't expected that he could take on a crowd by himself right now. It was easy to imagine just how weak the combat capability of Hogwarts' young wizards was under Dumbledore's "happy education".
Meanwhile, the complexions of those upperclassmen were extremely grim now. Their large group actually couldn't take down Shawn, a little kid who hadn't even entered school yet.
On one hand, they marveled at the other's magical talent and felt a bit of regret as to why they had tagged along to stir up trouble, needlessly offending a genius.
On the other hand, they figured they probably wouldn't be able to hold their heads high at Hogwarts from now on, because both ends of the train corridor were currently crammed with students watching the spectacle.
Draco, in particular, was pointing at Shawn-who was fighting a multitude single-handedly in the middle-and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"That's Shawn, my cousin! Haha, he's so cool!"
Harry, who had just been locked in a dynamic of mutual attraction and hostility with him, stood right beside him.
"He really is amazing."
Draco lifted his chin.
"Harry, I told you already. You have to learn how to pick your friends. If you run around with shady characters, you'll only make yourself look stupid."
The red-headed Ron flew into a rage.
"Blondie, what did you say?!"
Harry helplessly separated the two people about to start a brawl and hastily urged them both.
"Shawn looks like he's about to crack under the pressure. Should we go over and help?"