After gaining her new abilities, Arsesi's situation in Slytherin began to change drastically. She successfully gathered a small group of like-minded girls, forming a faction to stand against the house's bullies.
Meanwhile, on the Gryffindor side, Oliver Wood was having a terrible week. He had been trying to drill his team on a set of new, secret tactics, but a little first-year with a camera was constantly sneaking around, taking pictures. Today, he'd finally caught the little tail.
"Alright, speak up!" Wood demanded, grabbing Colin Creevey by the collar. "Are you a spy sent by Slytherin?"
"W-what? How could I be?" Colin stammered, terrified. "I'm a Gryffindor! And I'm Harry's friend! I would never betray him!"
"Oh," Wood said, immediately letting go of the boy. "A Gryffindor student." He suddenly wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. This little interlude, however, caused the Gryffindor team to be late for their practice on the Quidditch pitch. When they arrived, they found the Slytherin team already there.
"Where do you think you're going, Flint?" Wood called out, seeing his old rival, Marcus Flint.
"To practice, of course," Flint said with a lazy shrug.
"I booked the pitch for today," Wood said, his voice tight with anger.
"Oh, don't get excited," Flint sneered. "We just saw that the pitch was empty and no one was using it, so we went and got an application." He tossed a piece of parchment signed by Snape to Wood.
As the two teams began to face off, a crowd of students started to gather, including a certain wizard with heterochromatic eyes who was enjoying the show from a distance.
"You've got a new Seeker?" Wood asked, noticing the new face.
Draco Malfoy stepped out from the team, a smug look on his face.
"Is that a Nimbus 2001?" Ron asked in astonishment. "The whole team has them!"
"A gift from Draco's father," Flint answered, a wicked smile spreading across his face.
"You see, Weasley," Draco said proudly, "unlike your family, this amount of money is just pocket change for my father."
"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," Hermione retorted sharply. "They got on through pure talent."
Malfoy's face twisted in fury. He strode forward until he was right in front of her. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood."
"How dare you..." Ron's voice was a low growl. He moved to stand in front of Hermione, his hand closing over the ring Aiden had given him. A brilliant beam of white light erupted from the ring, slamming into Draco and sending him flying.
"You actually used magic!" Flint roared, shocked, raising his wand at Ron. The other Slytherin players immediately did the same. The twins and the rest of the Gryffindor team rushed to Ron's side, their own wands raised in defiance.
The next moment, Draco scrambled up from the ground, his wand in his hand. "Weasley, you'll pay for that!" he shrieked, firing a spell that became the opening shot of the war.
"Draco, don't!" Flint tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Seeing the Slytherins attack, the Gryffindors retaliated instantly. The air filled with jets of colored light as spells flew in every direction. In a brief lull, Draco turned to a burly senior Slytherin. "Help me teach that Weasley a lesson," he hissed. "I'll give you a pile of Galleons. And you'll have the friendship of the Malfoy family."
The older student, dazzled by the offer, raised his wand. "Diffindo!" he yelled, sending a cutting curse straight at Ron's arm.
Ron, who was caught up in recklessly firing beams of light from his ring, didn't notice the danger. Just as the spell was about to hit him, a figure appeared behind him. A barrier composed of multiple hexagonal crystals materialized, and the curse shattered against it.
Aiden glanced at Ron, his expression unreadable. Ron's hair immediately stood on end.
"Go back and practice more," Aiden said quietly. "No objections, right?"
"No," Ron muttered, lowering his head.
Aiden's sudden appearance brought the battle to a halt.
"Aiden Prewett," Flint challenged, "this is between Gryffindor and Slytherin. What's a Ravenclaw doing interfering?"
"Oh, my dear Flint, long time no see," Aiden replied, his voice dangerously calm. "But I hope you understand. This is a personal grudge now."
He snapped his fingers. The very grass on the pitch twisted and grew, forming thick vines that shot up and wrapped around the student who had attacked Ron, hoisting him into the air. More vines grew, thick and broad, and began to whip the suspended student relentlessly. The field fell completely silent, the only sound the pained screams of the boy.
"What is going on here?" Professor Snape's voice cut through the air as he strode onto the pitch. With a precise flick of his wand, he cast a severing charm that cut the vines, and the Slytherin student fell to the ground in a heap.
"Aiden Prewett," Snape hissed, walking toward him. "It's you again." He reached out to grab Aiden by the collar.
But the hand he extended was caught in an iron grip. Aiden's clear, heterochromatic eyes met Snape's, his vertical pupils glowing with a sharp, piercing light. It was like staring into the eyes of a predator. Faced with such an intense gaze, Snape instinctively looked away.
"Professor," Aiden said, his voice low and steady, "we all have our bottom lines, do we not? Like a dragon, there are always some scales that cannot be touched." He looked around at the gathered students, and all who met his eyes quickly lowered their heads. Magic mixed with a draconic aura, creating an almost physical deterrent that seemed to subtly distort the air around him.
"Professor, I consider myself an easygoing person," Aiden continued, his voice resonating with a huge pulse of mental energy that made several of the younger students faint. "But why do people insist on seeing the side of me that is not?"
The atmosphere between them grew increasingly tense.
"Alright, that's enough. Calm down, you two," an old, powerful voice appeared. Gentle magic washed over the field, smoothing the distorted space and blowing away the immense mental pressure like a soft breeze. It was Dumbledore, with a panting, breathless Harry at his side.
"Alright, you two," Dumbledore said, his eyes grave. "Let's talk in my office. Mr. Flint, please take that young man to the hospital wing. Remember to inform Madam Pomfrey to prescribe plenty of Calming Draughts. He has suffered a severe mental shock." With that, Dumbledore took Aiden and Snape by the arm and disappeared from sight.
"Cool!" Ron said excitedly. "Did you see Aiden's magic just now?"
"If it wasn't for someone showing off in a brawl, none of this would have happened," Hermione sniffed, rolling her eyes.
"But Malfoy insulted you first!" Ron cried, feeling wronged.
"Come on," Harry suggested, catching his breath. "Let's go to Hagrid's."
Inside Hagrid's hut, Hermione finally asked the question that had been bothering her. "What exactly did Malfoy call me?"
"It's a foul word," Hagrid explained gently. "A real nasty insult for someone who's Muggle-born."
"Oh," she whispered, her eyes welling up with tears. "How could he?"
"Oh, there, there," Hagrid said, taking her small hand in his massive one and comforting her. "It's all nonsense, that is. Nowadays, nearly every wizard has some Muggle blood. And there hasn't been a single spell invented that Hermione Granger can't learn. Don't you ever forget that."
Hagrid's simple, honest words comforted her, and through her tears, she gradually began to smile.
***********
✨ 300 gems = 1 bonus chapter
✨ 500 gems = another bonus chapter
Get access to advanced chapters at my P@treon.
p@treon.com/meowthtl