In the Slytherin common room, the snake students who had gathered on the stairs to watch the excitement stared wide-eyed at the collapsed Maccall Dolohov. They stared at Ryan, who had sheathed his wand, as if he were a dragon or a manticore transformed into a human form.
"Maccall... what kind of spell was that!?"
Granted, they had heard rumors about Ryan during this time—the most brilliant talent among the freshmen, far surpassing the Boy-Who-Lived. But Ryan's performance tonight undoubtedly surpassed their expectations. Without even a wand, he reached out and crushed Malfoy's spell, a performance like that of a giant or a dragon.
And if that wasn't enough, then look at the prefect lying on the ground.
Maccall Dolohov's rise to prefecture wasn't just due to his family, but because he was a truly exceptional wizard. His grades were good enough to earn him a straight A on most of his OWL exams, making him one of the best students in Slytherin's fifth year. Yet, a wizard who exemplified the pure-blood family collapsed before them... before a first-year wand, unable to even cast a single spell.
Even the senior students suffered the same fate, not to mention the young Slytherin wizards still on the battlefield.
Their faces paled.
They didn't know what spell Ryan had used to knock Maccall down, but they all knew that if he turned and cast that spell on them, they, too, would fall to the ground, their lives unknown.
"You...you..." Draco Malfoy's lips trembled. He seemed to be struggling to speak, but his legs felt weak, and his lips were unable to control him. He was unable to utter a single word, and a silence descended upon the common room.
But that silence was soon broken.
"How surprising," Ryan heard the rustle of wizard robes and the sound of the common room door opening. He turned and saw Severus Snape, clad in a black robe, entering. He looked down at Ryan, his pale face cast in shadow by the candlelight in the common room.
Ryan could smell a pungent odor from him.
But at this moment, Ryan also noticed the witch beside Snape—Pansy Parkinson. Only then did Ryan realize that he had indeed not seen the little witch since he and the Slytherin freshmen began their duel. Apparently, she had taken advantage of the chaos to leave the common room and go to fetch the Slytherin Headmaster.
Now, after seeing the miserable state of the young Slytherin wizards in the common room, Pansy Parkinson covered her mouth in astonishment, staring at Ryan with wide eyes in disbelief. Meanwhile, Snape continued to speak.
"Having a fifth-year prefect lying on the ground to decorate the tiles... Mr. Elias, perhaps I should applaud you?" He deliberately stretched out each syllable. "Or perhaps you should explain to me why the Slytherin common room has become a circus tent?"
"I'm afraid Miss Parkinson has already told you, Professor." But in the face of his question, Ryan met his gaze without flinching. "Malfoy... Oh, and several other gentlemen called me a mudblood, which is a malicious insult, so I followed the ancient tradition of the wizarding world—a fair duel to teach them a lesson."
"Fair?" Snape said carefully. His expression seemed to change for a moment—as if he heard Ryan say the word mudblood. Then he looked at Crabbe, who had fallen and was bruised, the Serpentine freshman with a look of fear on his face, and McCall Dolohov, who was lying on the ground, sleeping soundly.
"I'm afraid not," He sneered, his drawn-out tone suddenly tightening. "Mr. Elias. Dumbledore gave you the opportunity to join four houses simultaneously, and you've clearly misused it. The Sorting Hat's judgment seems correct—reckless, arrogant, cunning, stubborn... you truly embody the worst of all four houses."
He finished, but Ryan grinned. "Thank you for the compliment, Professor."
"..."
Snape's expression froze for a moment. He had rarely encountered a student like this before. Most students, regardless of house, would reveal anger, fear, or other emotions under his attitude and pressure after violating school rules. But Ryan was eerily calm, as if the man lying there, Maccall Dolohov, hadn't been struck down by his spell, but had simply fallen asleep.
"He's simply asleep, Professor." What infuriated Snape even more was that Ryan's words actually followed through on his own thoughts. "My spell isn't very powerful. He'll wake up tomorrow morning." Ryan winked at Snape. "Perhaps we should set off now. Headmaster Dumbledore is very old. It's not good to disturb his rest."
Snape's annoyance increased. He realized that Ryan had an accurate understanding of the current situation. A first-year student duelled with an entire house of freshmen and even knocked out a fifth-year prefect. This was clearly a major event. However, as the most unique student in the entire school, Snape couldn't arbitrarily decide what to do with Ryan.
He had to take Ryan to see Dumbledore, and the headmaster would personally decide the outcome. "You think you're so clever, Elias?" Snape frowned and said coldly. "Did you know that the Malfoys and Dolohovs are both members of the Board of Governors? You..."
"Oh, I just heard that from Senior Maccall," said Ryan, smiling, pointing at McCall lying on the ground.
"..."
Snape fell silent again, briefly checking McCall's condition. Then, with a sullen face, he said, "Follow me."
He turned and headed for the gate.
"As for you—" But as he turned, he didn't forget to glance at the Slytherin students. Both new and old students were now utterly silent. "Foolish." Snape's gaze swept over the students of his own house, his voice suddenly taking on a venomous edge. "Using... vile words to provoke a wizard far superior to you?"
"If you continue to tarnish Slytherin's honor in such foolish ways, I wouldn't mind boiling your brains in the cauldron next class... that would at least be more effective than the way you've been using it." With that, he drifted out of the common room like a ghost.
Ryan followed him, but before leaving, he glanced at Pansy Parkinson. "Ms. Parkinson, thank you." He nodded to the young witch, his voice softly thankful. He could clearly see that Pansy Parkinson hadn't gone to Snape to pick on him. On the contrary... no one, except Ryan, could have foreseen the outcome of this duel.
So, with a little deduction, it was easy to conclude that the young witch had gone to Snape to rescue Ryan. Perhaps it was because Ryan had saved her life at the Black Lake. This brought some comfort to Ryan. Because at least this proved that the little witch wasn't completely hopeless.
But in the face of Ryan's gratitude, Pansy simply lowered her head. "I don't understand what you're talking about," she replied.
Ryan, unconcerned with her attitude, simply smiled and followed Snape out of the common room. He knew that the girl didn't want to alienate herself with the one who just humiliated the entire house in a single session. That would be too dangerous for her, and Ryan wouldn't be able to protect her in the snake's nest. No, this was the best move that she could make, and Ryan appreciated her quick thinking for that.
Behind him, though, the young Slytherin wizards watched him leave. There was no insult or anger, only silence. One thing for sure, though, they all knew that they were going to be recorded in the snake's history as the worst generation possible, getting embarrassed by the mudblood first year in their own houses.
This… Was going to drive them insane compared to the humiliation itself.
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Author's note
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