Snape ignored Draco's pleading, accusatory eyes. With a flick of his wand, he summoned a training dummy from the corner of the room and placed it directly in front of him.
"I trust you have all studied the Levitation Charm? Is there anyone here who has not mastered it?"
Snape paused, holding his breath with ticulous attention. He was actually considering—if any student hadn't mastered it—whether he should take advantage of his current good mood to give them a temporary redial lesson.
However, reality was far kinder than his imagination. Not a single student raised their hand. Good.
"When attacking an enemy, it is not only the offensive spells taught in Defense Against the Dark Arts that are useful.
Transfiguration, ordinary charms, potions, alchemy, or even household magic can be used to defeat an opponent at a critical mont. For example: the Levitation Charm."
Snape stood five ters back from the training dummy. "Today, I will teach you a small trick with the Levitation Charm.
During the final movent of the spell, if you rotate the tip of your wand clockwise or counter-clockwise, the levitated object will inevitably spin. In a magical duel, this is a highly effective control technique."
"In a duel where ti is life, this trick is faster, more accurate, and safer than Petrificus Totalus."
Having said that, Snape initiated the spell with zero fras of wind-up. His wand pointed at the dummy, he recited the incantation, and gave the tip a gentle flick-spin at the end.
The effect was instantaneous. The dummy floated up and began to spin at high speed. If that were a person, let alone casting magic, they'd likely find it difficult even to lock onto their enemy.
Taking advantage of the opening, Snape cast three consecutive Knockback Jinxes, blasting the dummy from one end of the classroom to the other.
Finally, he withdrew his wand, canceling the Levitation Charm. The dummy hit the floor with a loud thud, its wooden arms and legs snapping off and scattering everywhere.
"Now, begin. You do not have training dummies; you have the opponents standing across from you. Ah... Slytherin and Gryffindor. Usually, you are sworn enemies, are you not? Today I give you this opportunity. I hope you do not disappoint ."
"And more importantly, do not let disappoint you!"
Snape stepped aside, leaving the students to it.
Most of the students were fired up by Snape's words, practically reaching a state of euphoria. Almost everyone started casting imdiately, terrified that their opponent would be faster and turn them into a human spinning top.
Only Malfoy forced a rather unconvincing, bitter smile. "Kane... tsk... can we settle this peacefully?"
Kane wasn't conflicted like Malfoy. He loved this matchup. After all, because Malfoy had flaked on their duel earlier in the year, they'd made a pointless trip to the Trophy Room.
He hadn't quite gotten his revenge for that yet... wait? Had he? Doesn't matter; he was doing it anyway.
Thus, Kane offered a shy, polite smile. "At a mont like this, surely you must be joking?"
In the next heartbeat, two spells shot out simultaneously. Unfortunately, Kane's magic was just that little bit stronger; it shattered Malfoy's spell and struck him directly.
Malfoy soared into the air and began to spin like a propeller.
Kane then used the Knockback Jinx—ding ding ding—three hits, before slowly controlling the Levitation Charm to set Malfoy back down.
After all, Snape's demonstration used a dummy, but Kane was hitting a real person. Malfoy might be a bit of a brat, but there was no need to beat him into the hospital wing.
However, due to the spinning, Malfoy had to stay on the ground for quite a while before his head cleared enough to stand up. He looked at Kane and suddenly thought the boy looked quite "elegant." He actually held back! He's a good guy!
Until a figure Malfoy didn't expect appeared behind Kane.
Snape patted Kane's shoulder lightly. "Holding back felt quite good, didn't it? Have you already grown fond of the feeling of your opponent respecting you? An opponent in a classroom might, but once you truly leave Hogwarts and fight dangerous Dark Wizards, they will only think you are a fool!"
"Ten points from Gryffindor. Reason: excessive naivety!"
Snape then billowed off to harass other students.
Kane looked around the classroom helplessly. Emmm...
Indeed, not a single other person was holding back. If they weren't trying to kill their opponent, they were at least aiming to leave them incapacitated for a few days.
Unlike Kane, who was observing the room, Malfoy was only watching Snape's retreating back. Just as he was about to mutter a curse at the Professor—
"Son of a b—wulu-wulu..."
Unfortunately, the curse never left his mouth. He was yanked back into the sky by the Levitation Charm and spun once more, followed by three non-restrained Knockback Jinxes that plastered him against the wall.
He slid down slowly, looking like a toad thrown against a brick wall by Peter Griffin.
Happy tis are always short—and this truly was happy. For students of this age, everyone had an endless supply of "bull-strength" in their bodies.
They were as fierce as could be; whether they were hitting people with spells or being hit and spun into a wall, they were having the ti of their lives.
Oh, except for one unlucky soul who, aside from the very beginning and end of class, didn't let his feet touch the ground once.
Snape's reputation, strangely, underwent a bit of a shift.
"Honestly, if Snape weren't the Potions Professor but the DADA Professor, I'd actually like him. He really teaches things, and it's interesting," Ron said comfortably after walking out of the classroom.
"True. If Snape always taught like that, I could actually tolerate his bias against Gryffindor. Hearing a few insults occasionally isn't the worst trade-off," Harry agreed.
Unlike his "humorous" attempts at Potions, Harry's talent for Defense was far higher. He could see how exceptional Snape's teaching thod and combat level were. More importantly, compared to the true villainy of Quirrell, Snape was just a trash-talking jerk.
Because of this "1 1 > 2" logic, Harry even felt that Snape might be soone worth knowing.
"Do you think Snape will teach DADA next year, too?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"Probably not. He's still the Head of Slytherin and teaches Potions. Though it would be great if he resigned from Potions to focus on this," Ron said with a sigh.
"Who says it wouldn't?" Kane lanted. Perhaps because he had a talent for the Dark Arts, even his gaze toward Snape had softened a bit...
Emmmmm, it would be even better if he apologized to Little Pumpkin.
Soon, another week passed. The students were one day closer to the holidays.
Two-thirds of the residents in this small dormitory were incredibly excited. A loving ho produces a bird that loves its nest; an unloving one produces a bird of freedom.
For Harry, ho was a prison he couldn't escape. Dumbledore had recently inford him that he had to stay at that "ho" for a minimum period every year. While Kane and Ron were packing their bags, Harry was twisting on his bed like there were spiders crawling on his skin.
Hearing that Ron would go back to his loving family and Kane planned to travel the world made him feel even worse.
"How about it, Kane? Why don't you co back to the Dursleys with and we can suffer together? Please? Let's just spend our lives in misery there together," Harry wailed.
"...Heh." Kane gave a cold laugh and unceremoniously raised a middle finger to Harry.
Just as Harry was waiting for a lightning bolt to strike him dead, Ron dropped another bombshell.
"Hey Kane, why don't you co to my house for the holidays? My mum writes to all the ti asking to bring you back."
"...I want to go too," Harry groaned, barely clinging to life on his bed.
"Why don't you ask Dumbledore what the minimum stay is at the Dursleys, and we'll pick you up exactly then?" Ron suggested.
"No..." Harry shook his head. "Ron, you don't get it. The Dursleys don't just dislike ; they hate . They don't just want gone; they want to make sure I'm not comfortable.
They'd rather have there in misery than see leave happily."
Ron's jaw dropped at the intensity of Harry's grievance. Wait, are those people even human?
Kane raised an eyebrow and nodded. "That's exactly why I don't want to stay with the Dursleys. I'd rather go out and wander, and scavenge for so useful things while I'm at it."
Ron snapped his gaze to Kane. "Didn't we agree you're coming to my place?"
Kane shrugged. "That's what you said. I haven't agreed yet. But you can leave your address; I might stop by to play."
Ron nodded—that was fair enough—but a new question arose. "How do you plan on traveling?"
Kane smiled and pulled the Walking Cane he'd received from the Constant at Christmas from under his bed. "I'm going to turn this thing into a broomstick. Since there's still a week of school left, I'm going to go ask Dumbledore for advice on how to craft one."
"You could just use my Nimbus 2000," Harry reminded him hollowly.
"I know, but it's not the sa as having my own. Anyway, I'm heading to Dumbledore's. If you can, save so breakfast."
With that, Kane grabbed his Walking Cane and left the dorm with a stride so brisk that Little Pumpkin almost couldn't keep up.
"Is it just , or did Kane's walking speed get faster?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Mhm. Maybe that's why he's using the cane for a broomstick," Ron hypothesized logically. "That cane must be an alchemical item with a speed boost."
"True," Harry noted.
On the other side... Kane and his walking cane had already arrived at the door to Dumbledore's office.
Knock, knock, knock!
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