After the Duel

Malfoy had long been on guard against Sean's Thorn Curse.

So when Sean cast the spell, he reacted immediately, swiftly backing away and ducking behind a table. At the same time, he fired a Petrifying Charm at Sean with his Wand.

Caught off guard as he counterattacked, Malfoy's Petrifying Charm was poorly aimed. Sean merely took a slight step to the left and avoided it.

The Thorn Curse landed on the table Malfoy was using as cover. Rather than blasting the table apart, it caused a great number of Thorn Vines to sprout across its surface and spread outward. By the time Malfoy realized something was wrong, the Thorn Vines produced by the curse had already wrapped around his arm.

Seeing this, Sean's eyes brightened slightly. He had not expected the Thorn Curse to be usable this way. Even if it did not strike the target, it could produce Thorn Vines wherever it landed, whether on the ground or elsewhere. That gave the spell many more uses.

As a wizard delved deeper into magic, many spells could reveal more effects. Take the Patronus Charm, for instance: at a deeper level, it could be used to converse and transmit messages over long distances. At an even deeper level, as with Dumbledore, it could directly transform into a barrier and drive away targets. Or take the Protego Sean had only recently acquired—wizards who had studied it in depth could deflect many relatively weak spells with a mere gesture. In truth, the Thorn Curse in Sean's possession was a spell unique to the Bulstrode family. Its potential naturally went far beyond what it currently showed; Sean still needed to explore it further.

Malfoy had no time to worry about anything else. He forcibly tore himself free from the Thorn Vines, leaving a massive rip in his clothes from the thorns.

Once free, Malfoy waved his Wand again and cast spell after spell at Sean.

But even LV1 Protego allowed Sean to defend with great ease. A blue-white glow rippled with every sweep of his Wand, each ripple dissipating one of Malfoy's Dark Curses.

At that moment, Sean glanced around the room. In the gap between Malfoy's spells, he sharply swept his Wand in a circle. Tables and chairs spun up into the air and crashed toward Malfoy, while the carpet on the floor rose once more and descended upon him as it had before.

"Sean Bulstrode! Don't you have any new tactics?!"

Malfoy quickly retreated, avoiding the approaching carpet while waving his Wand to blast the carpet, tables, chairs, and stools into pieces.

Watching the fragments of furniture and carpet fall around him, Malfoy wore a mocking smile.

But then, Malfoy suddenly realized that Sean had vanished. Just as he turned to look for him, a hand seized his shoulder. Malfoy reacted quickly, raising his Wand to cast a spell behind him, but before he could utter the incantation, another hand clamped around his throat and squeezed hard, choking the unspoken spell back into his throat.

Sean looked at the Malfoy he had restrained. Keeping hold of his neck and shoulder, he exerted a little force and drove a knee into Malfoy's stomach, drawing a whimper like that of a puppy. Then Sean pressed the advantage, throwing a punch directly into Malfoy's face. For the second time, he completely shattered Malfoy's nose. Snot and tears streamed down his face as blood and teeth sprayed from his mouth.

Letting go, Sean watched Malfoy crumple to the floor, thoroughly unconscious. He lifted a foot and kicked Malfoy's Wand away before finally letting out a breath. What Janson had done during their previous Duel—casting a spell at Sean from behind—had truly taught Sean a lesson. From then on, he had resolved that when dueling someone, he had to ensure his opponent lost the ability to resist. Most importantly, their Wand had to be disarmed.

Duel victory. Randomly drawing one ability from the Duel opponent.

Drawing...

Drawing complete. Obtained: Petrifying Charm LV1

What he drew was neither good nor bad. It just happened to raise Sean's Petrifying Charm to LV2, which counted as a small surprise.

With Malfoy dealt with, Sean did not linger any longer.

He let Goyle and Crabbe take Malfoy to the Hospital Wing. As for the reason, it was still that a magical experiment had failed.

Returning to his room, Sean sat at his desk and continued studying the Potions books he had borrowed from the library. Meanwhile, Slytherin was once again shaken by what Sean had done.

"This Sean really is..."

Samuel and Ilina had learned about it as well. When Sean and Malfoy had been dueling, the two of them had been preparing for their fifth-year O.W.L. exams. Yet the moment they returned to the Slytherin Common Room, they heard this bombshell.

"Ilina, do you think the Malfoy family will intervene in this?"

Ilina looked at Samuel and slowly nodded. "I heard that Old Malfoy dotes on Young Malfoy terribly. Other families might not necessarily stand up for their children, but I think Old Malfoy very well might.

"Besides, Sean beat Malfoy too badly. Those injuries may not be difficult to treat, but Malfoy did suffer quite a bit, so..."

"Then what should we do? We had no idea this Sean was so good at causing trouble."

Ilina understood what Samuel meant. After thinking for a moment, she said, "For now, let's pretend we know nothing and wait to see what happens. Sean is from the Bulstrode family, after all. Though both his parents are Squibs, Bulstrode blood does run through his veins. Let's first see what stance the Bulstrode family takes.

"Taking a step back, neither of our families has much connection with the Malfoy family to begin with. If Hogwarts withstands the pressure, we will carry on as usual. If Hogwarts cannot withstand it, we can decide what to do then."

"All right!"

The disturbance caused by Sean and Malfoy's Duel was not limited to Slytherin, or even Hogwarts.

That very night, Lucius Malfoy learned of the matter. Without the slightest hesitation, he went directly to Hogwarts. After visiting Draco in the Hospital Wing, he arrived at Dumbledore's Headmaster's Office, carrying his fury with him, only to find that his close friend Snape was already waiting there with Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore, I believe you should give me an explanation—an account of what happened. And besides..." Lucius's gaze shifted to Snape, and the anger in his voice eased slightly. "Snape, our family has always been good friends with you. You bear some responsibility for this matter as well."