Potter! Why is your lion clinging to my snake?!

"Potter! Why is your lion clinging to my snake?!"

In the Empty Classroom, Draco held up her wand, staring at the tangled shadows on the blackboard.

The golden lion was running forward, but the silver-green snake had coiled beside its mane.

Each time the lion ran a lap, the snake wound around with it. No matter how they looked at it, this was nothing like the routes they had originally drawn.

Harry stood on the other side of the lamp, watching for a while as he held back his laughter.

"Miss Malfoy, I think your snake latched onto the lion first."

"Nonsense!" The girl immediately turned toward him. "My snake was supposed to go around the side! You idiot, Potter!"

After several days, they had finally built the lamp from their plans.

Malfoy had assembled the lampshade using the materials the professor provided, then used spells to control the movement of the cutout sheets, while Harry handled the light source.

Only after they started making it did he discover that having enough light was merely the first step.

If it spread too much, the shadows blurred; one wobble, and both animals shook wildly along with it.

They had revised both the plans and their spellcasting records more than once.

"Merlin above, George, I think we've arrived at just the right moment~"

A voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Harry looked up. Two identical faces were poking in, one on either side.

Fred held a pair of scissors, while George stared at the blackboard with a brilliant grin.

"Fred, are you saying Gryffindor and Slytherin are finally planning a marriage alliance?"

Malfoy's wrist jerked sharply. The snake on the blackboard wobbled with it, winding around the lion's neck once again.

Harry finally failed to hold back and laughed aloud.

"What are you two talking about?!"

"We came to return the scissors." Fred raised his hand innocently. "But this lamp really is interesting."

"Especially this snake." George nodded. "Very forward."

The smile on Malfoy's face instantly froze.

Forward?

What did those two bastards mean?!

Wait...

Boom!

The girl's fair cheeks flushed crimson, a scarlet blush spreading right to the roots of her ears.

"Y-you two!!!"

She trembled all over with anger, her grip on her wand tightening.

"Who's being forward?!"

"I didn't mean anything like that!!!"

Yet Fred and George grinned even more brightly in the doorway.

Malfoy was instantly so furious that smoke might have poured from all seven openings of her head.

Damn it! Those two damned Weasleys!

"Shut your mouths!!!"

The girl abruptly raised her wand, pointing its tip straight at the doorway.

"Tarantallegra-!"

She had actually begun chanting an attack spell!

The two boys reacted even faster than she had expected. The scissors had barely touched the table before they had already retreated outside.

"See you at the demonstration, Harry!"

Their footsteps receded, leaving two thoroughly cheerful laughs lingering in the corridor.

Malfoy turned her head and discovered that the corners of Harry's mouth still hadn't dropped.

"Potter! No laughing!"

"All right, let's finish the lamp first." Harry restrained his smile and dimmed the light a little. "Now we can see inside."

The girl gave a soft huff and bent down to inspect the lenses.

The enlarged shadows from earlier had all overlapped in the middle of the blackboard.

She studied the plans for a moment and finally discovered that the angles of the two sets of lenses were too close. Once the sheets moved, the shadows would collide.

"This one needs to go a little farther out."

She adjusted the lens, then used her pen to revise two positions.

The silver-green snake slid back toward the side, finally winding completely out of the lion's mane.

Harry looked at the blackboard and nodded.

"That's right."

"Of course." The girl's confidence immediately returned. "I told you ages ago that they had to follow the routes on the plans."

She raised her wand again, making the two cutout sheets move slowly.

This time, the snake wound around below while the lion chased toward the other side. The two shadows finally had their own separate routes.

But once the images were enlarged, their edges were still a little blurry.

"Can you make it a little brighter?"

Harry glanced at his wand.

"I'll try."

He recited the incantation again, adjusting his magical output according to the method he had practiced over the past few days.

Once the light source stabilized, the mane and snake's tail on the blackboard gradually became clearer.

[Effective spellcasting, proficiency +1.]

[Lumos: mastery (0/5000).]

[Unlocked: Nonverbal Spellcasting.]

Harry's movements suddenly paused.

Mastery!

Finally.

By now, even he hadn't carefully counted how many times he had practiced. Now, those words on the Status Panel had finally changed.

Draco waited a while. When he said nothing, she couldn't help looking over.

"Potter?"

"I'll try something else." Harry raised his wand, the corners of his mouth already lifting. "Don't look at the tip yet."

Boom!

A ball of dazzling white light suddenly erupted from the tip of his wand!

In an instant, the entire classroom was completely engulfed in blinding radiance!

The previously dim corridor instantly became as bright as day! Even the grass outside the window and the distant trees were illuminated with perfect clarity!

The light was so dazzling that it even gave the illusion-

As though someone had plucked the sun from the sky and forcibly stuffed it into this tiny classroom!

"Ah!!!"

Malfoy cried out in alarm, hurriedly raising her arm to shield her eyes.

"Potter! What are you doing?!"

But Harry could no longer spare the attention to answer.

Because he discovered that as he kept pouring in magic, the light at the tip of his wand was actually growing stronger!

And that wasn't all.

When he tried concentrating the light on a single point, the white radiance that had been spreading in every direction gradually narrowed into a blinding beam.

Sss-!

An inexplicable sound suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterward, the surface of the wooden table began blackening at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Harry: "..."

Wait.

What was going on?

Seeing the black smoke grow thicker, Harry hurriedly cut off his magic.

The dazzling white light abruptly vanished, and the classroom returned to its original dimness.

Only a charred mark remained on the wooden table, along with a wisp of smoke slowly drifting away.

Malfoy stood rooted to the spot in a daze.

She looked at Harry, then at the smoking table.

Her gray-green eyes had already gone perfectly round.

No, wait...

Was this really Lumos?! That illumination spell every first-year learned?!

The girl opened her mouth, but couldn't manage a complete sentence for a long time.

Harry, however, had already lowered his head to look at his wand, the corners of his mouth suddenly rising beyond his control.

Good grief, it was already this outrageous at mastery.

Then if he practiced it to perfection...

Wouldn't he be able to casually whip up a little sun?!

Forget Lumos.

From now on, he might as well rename it-

Great Sun Tathagata Palm!

The girl's fingers slowly tightened a little.

But how long had Potter even been at school? It hadn't been that long since she had given him that book, either, had it?

Yet now...

What terrifying magical talent was this?

It even... far surpassed her own.

At that thought, an inexplicable discomfort suddenly welled up in Malfoy's heart.

Ever since she was little, she had always been a genius in other people's eyes, with an excellent family background, outstanding magical talent, and the elite education she had received from childhood.

She had always firmly believed that she would never lose to anyone.

Yet she had just had to meet Harry Potter...

If this continued... would the gap between them grow wider and wider?

Would there come a day when she wasn't even qualified to compete with him anymore?

At that thought, an inexplicable heaviness settled in the girl's heart.

She had clearly always wanted to beat this irritating fellow.

But if one day, he truly became unreachable...

What would she do?

Meanwhile, Harry hadn't noticed anything unusual about her.

He raised his wand again, moving the light toward the lenses inside the Magic Lamp. Using only a small fraction of his earlier power, he made the shadows projected onto the blackboard much clearer.

"That should be enough now."

Harry nodded in satisfaction, but even after waiting a long while, he heard no response from beside him.

"Malfoy?"

The girl still had her head lowered, thinking about who knew what.

Harry was a little puzzled. Why had this young lady suddenly gone so quiet?

He moved a little closer, extended his index finger, and gently poked the girl's little head.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"Ah!"

Malfoy abruptly came back to her senses. The girl instinctively covered her forehead, then glared fiercely at Harry.

"Potter!"

"Who gave you permission to touch my head whenever you please?!"

"And another thing! It's only Lumos! What have you got to be so pleased about?!"

Smiling, Harry pointed at the charred wooden table beside them.

"Oh? Ordinary Lumos can't burn a table."

"You!"

The girl was immediately left choking on her words.

Damn it! This irritating fellow!

She had clearly still been feeling miserable just now. Yet the moment this bastard opened his mouth, he made her want to stamp hard on his foot!

Still... Malfoy suddenly glanced at the clear shadow on the blackboard.

Hmph!

Forget it!

So what if Potter's magic was powerful?

Didn't it still have to go inside the Magic Lamp she had designed?!

Without her design, this fellow was nothing more than an oversized light bulb that could glow!

At that thought, much of the inexplicable disappointment in the girl's heart finally dissipated.

She lifted her chin again, returning to her proud demeanor.

"Hmph! Stop looking so pleased with yourself, Potter!"

With that, she picked up the plans, walked over beside Harry, and began carefully adjusting the last mirror.

This time, her movements were especially meticulous.

After all... she didn't want to be left too far behind by that idiot Potter.

I haven't admitted defeat yet!

"Here, aim it a little higher."

"Like this?"

"Yes. Wait until I turn it, then slowly dim the light."

Facing the blackboard, the two of them tried again.

This time, the silver-green snake and golden lion wound past in succession. Finally, as the mirror slowly turned, the complete image scattered into tiny points of light.

The girl raised her head and watched the flickering lights, finally unable to keep the corners of her lips from lifting.

This time, she would see whether anyone else's lamp could measure up to this one.

That evening, the Great Hall was bustling.

Jack-o'-lanterns floated in midair, and the students' creations filled the spaces beside the long tables.

To display the light projections, Professor Flitwick had even hung several layers of thin white gauze overhead in the Great Hall.

Harry looked around. There were indeed quite a few interesting things.

Pumpkins that shook their heads, bats whose wings flapped constantly, and even a lamp that turned everyone nearby purple when it lit up.

Ron had just walked past that one, and a little of the strange color still lingered on his face.

"Your lamp doesn't do that, does it?"

"No." Harry glanced at him. "Don't worry."

Malfoy had already set the lamp in place and was looking up to check the mirrors suspended above it.

She hadn't had time to pay Weasley any attention. Once she had confirmed their positions, she looked at Harry.

"Potter, it's ready."

Harry nodded and raised his wand. Steady white light fell into the lamp, passed through the mirrors, and shone onto the white gauze hanging in the Great Hall.

A silver-green snake swam out of the light first.

Its slender body turned gently. Then a golden lion began to stride forward, following it along another route.

The nearby conversations grew a little quieter.

Malfoy moved her wand gently.

The snake wound past the lion, and the lion turned the other way. The two bright projections passed through the white gauze at different positions, one after another.

Harry adjusted the light source to the rhythm they had practiced.

Finally, the girl turned the mirror, and Harry slowly reduced his magic.

The outlines of the lion and snake gradually scattered, becoming a field of flickering points of light above the Great Hall.

Applause rose around them.

Goyle and Crabbe stood a short distance away, clapping especially hard.

Fred and George were applauding too. Fortunately, they didn't say anything ridiculous this time.

Professor Flitwick walked over, looked up at the last of the fading light, then lowered his head to examine the structure inside the lamp.

"Absolutely beautiful!"

He looked at Draco, smiling delightedly.

"The positions of the mirrors and the paths the images follow are all very well arranged, Miss Malfoy."

The girl's chin immediately rose a little higher.

The professor then looked at Harry.

"The light source was very steady, too. You controlled it very well, Potter."

Harry smiled and thanked him.

Their creation was ultimately selected as an outstanding collaborative work in the exhibition.

Ten points went to Gryffindor, and ten to Slytherin as well.

Professor Flitwick even personally placed a display card in front of the lamp.

Malfoy glanced at the card several times. Their two names were written side by side.

After the exhibition ended, the students returned to their respective long tables one after another.

The professor kept the lion-and-snake lamp in the Great Hall as a decoration for the evening.

Malfoy handed the plans to Crabbe, then rummaged through the materials box and discovered two unused spare mirrors that needed returning.

Hermione was holding the register, helping the professor sort out the borrowed materials.

Hearing her ask where the materials should go, she stopped and checked the number on the box.

"These two need to go back into the cabinet in the exhibition room. I'm heading there myself."

Draco nodded and picked up the small box. Harry reached out to help, but she had already fastened the lid.

"It's only two mirrors. I can carry them myself."

"All right, I'll put my books away first."

The girl murmured an acknowledgment and followed Hermione toward the side door of the Great Hall. When they reached the doorway, Hermione glanced back at the lamp left on the table.

"Those points of light at the end, after the mirror turned..."

"Of course." Malfoy's tone immediately grew a little smugger. "But you have to get the angle right. You can't just turn it any old way."

They talked as they walked, and their figures soon disappeared through the door.

The jack-o'-lanterns in the Great Hall lit up one after another.

The Halloween Feast was about to begin.

--

In chapter 19, I saw a reader's comment, so I explored Lucius's thoughts in more depth.

Thank you to that reader, and to everyone who has read this far!

Actually, this book didn't pass the quality assessment, so it couldn't get a contract... I don't know what's going on with Fanqie...

It's now undergoing a second assessment. I don't know what the result will be. If it fails again, I'm going to shut myself away /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~

Finally, if you think this book is decent, please leave a good review~

Thank you again!