Harry stared at the red letters on Malfoy's chest, feeling something cold and dangerous stirring in the depths of his consciousness.
The other Slytherin students, clearly following a pre-arranged plan, began pressing their own badges in synchronized way. Within seconds, the entire corridor was thriving with flashing red letters spelling out "POTTER STINKS".
Pansy Parkinson shrieked with laughter as she held her badge in the most conspicuous position possible, practically waving it in Harry's face. The other Slytherins followed her lead with cruel amusement.
Harry's grip on his wand tightened, though he maintained superficial composure through sheer force of will. Being cornered and publicly humiliated like this would have been difficult for anyone to endure, let alone someone at such a hot-blooded age.
At this moment, Harry's thoughts underwent a subtle change.
'School rules?' his mind whispered with silky persuasion. 'What are those, really?'
'Wave your wand,' the voice in his thoughts continued, growing stronger. 'Show them what you're truly capable of.'
Harry was absolutely certain that even if every Slytherin present attacked him simultaneously, they wouldn't present a challenge. His recent training with Adrian, combined with yesterday's enhanced magical abilities, had made it clear that his capabilities far exceeded those of his peers. Even Professor Westeros frequently praised his natural combat instincts and raw magical potential.
'A single Blasting Curse,' the voice suggested with seductive logic. 'Just one spell, properly placed, and these annoying creatures would be silenced forever. They'd never trouble you again.'
'Just like... just like that dragon yesterday...'
Harry suddenly shuddered as if awakening from a vivid nightmare. Cold sweat beaded across his forehead as his thoughts crashed over him like icy water.
'Wait!' his rational mind screamed in horror. 'What exactly was I thinking?'
He shook his head vigorously, using the physical motion to help dispel the dark fantasies that had been seeping through his consciousness like poison.
Observing Harry's apparent distress, Malfoy naturally assumed it was simple anger and frustration. His face lit up with smug satisfaction as he raised his chin in a gesture of premature victory.
"What's wrong, Potter?" he asked, deliberately raising his voice so that any students in nearby corridors would be sure to hear. "You think the badges are rather nice too, don't you? I must say, this little project took quite a bit of effort to organize properly."
The Slytherins behind him, apparently finding Harry's head-shaking motion amusing, began clumsily mimicking the gesture while erupting in harsh, mocking laughter unpleasantly.
Harry was drawing breath to respond though he wasn't entirely sure what he intended to say when a familiar voice interrupted the confrontation from behind him.
"So here you are, Harry. I've been looking for you."
Everyone present turned to see Cedric Diggory approaching them. Even in this tense situation, he moved with the natural grace that made him such a popular figure throughout the school.
Without hesitation, Cedric positioned himself beside Harry in a gesture that was both protective and tactful. His right hand settled on Harry's shoulder with gentle support as he talked to the group of Slytherins.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Cedric said with polite firmness, "but I need to speak with Harry about some important tournament preparations. Oh, and I would strongly suggest you hide those badges before a professor sees them. They might cause considerable trouble for everyone involved."
His tone was perfectly courteous.
"I don't need anyone's help—" Harry began, his pride stinging at the fact that he required rescue from this situation.
His protest was immediately cut off by Malfoy's sharp interjection.
"Diggory," He said, his smugly confident expression flickering with uncertainty for the first time during the encounter. "What exactly do you mean by this? Since when did you become Potter's personal babysitter?"
"Hmm?" Cedric responded with that same gentle smile that had charmed half the school's girls, though Harry could feel the hand on his shoulder tighten. "I simply think that three days before the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, the Hogwarts champions should be focusing their energy and attention on truly important matters."
He paused meaningfully, his gaze taking in the still-flashing badges with obvious disgust.
"Not on such tasteless and frankly childish games."
Malfoy's face darkened with anger at having his carefully orchestrated humiliation campaign described as mere childishness, and his mouth opened to deliver what was undoubtedly going to be a cutting retort.
Before he could speak, however, Harry made a decision that surprised everyone present, including himself.
Harry raised his wand and performed a complex nonverbal spell that he had learned during his summer training with Adrian.
With a soft but audible "pop," the badge on Malfoy's chest suddenly transformed from its original silver color to a shade of bright pink that would have been more appropriate on a little girl's dress robes.
Simultaneously, the text changed from its insulting message to read: "I STINK" and "I am a stinking dung" changing patterns in glittering letters that throbbed with rainbow colors.
The spell didn't stop with Malfoy. Like a chain reaction of magical mischief, every badge worn by the gathered Slytherins underwent the same humiliating transformation, creating a corridor full of students bright pink declarations of their own personal problems.
"What—how—" Malfoy sputtered in fury and panic, frantically trying to remove the offending badge from his robes. However, Harry's spell had included a sticking charm that made the badges temporarily unmovable, ensuring that the Slytherins would be forced to show their new messages for at least several hours.
"Time to go!" Harry laughed heartily. He grabbed Cedric's arm with infectious enthusiasm and turned to make a strategic retreat before the Slytherins could organize any form of retaliation.
Behind them, the corridor was filled with the sound of Malfoy's furious roars and Pansy Parkinson's hysterical screams.
"When did you manage to cast that spell?" Cedric asked with obvious admiration as they hurried through the castle corridors. "I was watching, and I never saw you move your wand until the very end."
"While you were talking to Malfoy," Harry replied between slightly difficult breaths. "Nonverbal magic—Professor Westeros has been teaching me the techniques all summer. I originally wanted to turn the badges into actual fireworks that would explode, but I couldn't quite manage the complexity... Oh Merlin, I just cast magic in the corridor! If the professors find out about this, I'm going to be in serious trouble."
Despite his concern about potential rule violations, Harry couldn't keep the satisfaction out of his voice.
After weeks of enduring whispers, suspicious looks, and outright hostility from various parts of the school, it felt wonderful to score a clear victory against his tormentors.
"That was impressive work," Cedric said with appreciation. "Most seventh-years can't perform nonverbal spells that complex."
The two made a sharp turn around a corridor corner and finally came to rest on a long stone bench beneath a tall window that offered a view of the Hogwarts grounds. Both were slightly breathless from their rapid escape, but the adrenaline of their successful prank had left them both grinning.
"Thank you, Cedric," Harry said once he had caught his breath sufficiently to speak properly. "For stepping in back there, I mean. Though I have to warn you—Malfoy is definitely more petty and vindictive than you might think. He'll certainly try to get revenge for this humiliation, and now you're probably on his target list as well."
Cedric shrugged with calm confidence.
"Don't mention it. We're friends, aren't we? Besides..." His usually gentle expression took on a slightly harder edge. "Let Malfoy try his worst. Honestly, I've been wanting to teach that arrogant little git a proper lesson for quite some time now."
Harry looked at Cedric with genuine surprise, not having expected this stern demeanor beneath his usual polite face.
'Friends, eh' Harry thought with complicated emotions.
After they had rested for several minutes, allowing their heart rates to return to normal and their breathing to settle, Cedric suddenly straightened as if remembering something important.
"Oh, I almost forgot the main reason I was looking for you," He said with a slight frown of self-criticism. "Professor Westeros asked me to tell you that you should come to his office as soon as you have some free time. Um.. He's probably just concerned about your health, given how unsteady you were on your feet yesterday after the training exercise."
"I'm completely fine now," Harry assured him, unconsciously flexing his hands to demonstrate his restored energy. "I'll go see him right away. And Cedric—seriously, be careful about Malfoy's inevitable revenge schemes. He's creative when it comes to making people's lives miserable."
"Don't worry about me," Cedric replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I can handle whatever childish pranks he comes up with. You just focus on staying healthy for the tournament."
After exchanging farewells, Harry immediately set off toward Adrian's office. The walk gave him time to think about the morning's events. His enhanced magical abilities were clearly more significant than he had initially realized.
More concerning was the recurring pattern of dark thoughts that seemed to accompany moments of anger or stress.
Arriving at the familiar door that marked Adrian's office, Harry raised his hand and knocked politely.
"Come in," came Adrian's voice from within.
Harry pushed the door open and immediately stepped backward in startled surprise at the scene that greeted him.
A massive, incredibly lifelike dragon model occupied almost the entire office space, looking coiled and positioned as if it were sleeping in a cave. The creature was so detailed and realistic that for a heart-stopping moment, Harry's mind flashed back to yesterday's encounter with the transfigured Dragon.
The dragon model was so large that Harry genuinely couldn't figure out how to navigate around it to reach Adrian's desk. Its wings were partially spread, taking up even more space, and its tail curved around to block what would normally have been the most direct path through the office.
"Come on over here, Harry," Adrian called out with obvious amusement at his reaction. "Don't be alarmed—it's definitely not a real dragon. I'm using this model for some advanced Transfiguration research, though I must admit it does make the office rather cramped. Just give me a moment to deal with the space issue."
Adrian raised his wand casually and performed what appeared to be a simple shrinking charm. The enormous dragon model immediately began to reduce in size, compressing smoothly until it had become an exquisite miniature ornament that settled in the corner of his desk.
Only then did Harry notice that Adrian's desk displayed an entire collection of similar magical creature models—a curled unicorn, a soaring hippogriff, and several different species of dragons.
"Impressive work, isn't it?" Adrian said with obvious pride as he noticed Harry's fascination with the collection. "This represents my most recent research project—advanced Transfiguration techniques involving magical creatures."
Harry picked up one of the smaller dragon models, marveling at the incredible craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, Adrian's research has recently encountered some rather substantial theoretical limitations. Due to the fundamental principles in Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, all the creatures he created through these methods have only their outward physical form. They completely lack any genuine magical properties.
Just like yesterday's dragon, for example. Although it looked identical to a living Norwegian Ridgeback and demonstrated appropriate behavioral responses, the magical resistance and fire-breathing capabilities were actually the result of some rather clever supplementary enchantments rather than genuine draconic abilities.
For instance, The magical resistance was achieved by layering multiple protective charms directly onto the transfigured form before awakening it.
As for the dragon fire—well, that was even simpler to fake. He simply enchanted some flame-wood and inserted it into its throat cavity, then added some basic fire magic to create the appropriate visual and thermal effects.
To create a truly living dragon through Transfiguration—one with genuine magical abilities, some consciousness, and authentic draconic instincts would require techniques far beyond ordinary magical transformation.
He would need to enter the field of advanced ritual magic, possibly involving elements of necromancy or life-force manipulation that are both extraordinarily dangerous and technically illegal in most magical jurisdictions.
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