Snape returned to the dueling stage and looked toward the students beneath it. His wand twirled smoothly between his fingers.
The foremost matter before him was to continue tonight's Dueling Club activity, he could not disappoint so many young wizards who had been eagerly waiting.
"It seems our Professor Malfoy has more important matters to attend to," Snape said, feeling the weight of hundreds of gazes upon him. "Why don't I continue teaching you all the art of dueling? Does anyone object?"
A low murmur spread across the crowd; the students seemed somewhat confused about how the evening had unfolded.
"The outside world is no longer peaceful." Snape abruptly raised his voice, cutting through the whispers. "Death Eaters are ravaging everywhere, and the walls of Hogwarts will not protect you forever."
"When the time comes that you must defend yourselves, what spell will you use? The Levitation Charm? The Color-Changing Charm? Or-"
His gaze swept across every face before sharply turning his wand toward a training dummy in the corner. ", something like this?"
A red flash burst forth.
The dummy exploded into fragments that scattered across the floor.
"Ah-!" Several first-years cried out in fright.
Snape's expression did not change. He waved his wand. "Reparo."
The shards reassembled instantly; the dummy stood whole once again.
"A dummy can be repaired," Snape said softly, "but if you're struck by a curse, you may not be so easily mended. In the face of misfortune, even spending the rest of your life at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is a luxury. If you don't yet know what St. Mungo's is, ask your classmates."
Once the murmuring subsided, Snape continued, "You must value practice, so that when you truly need to defend yourselves, you can do so effectively. For instance, an essential defensive spell, the Shield Charm. Its incantation is Protego. Everyone ought to master it."
"Miss Mary Macdonald," Snape suddenly called out. Mary looked up in surprise.
"Would you be so kind as to come up and demonstrate the Shield Charm for everyone?"
Mary hesitantly walked onto the stage.
"Raise your wrist a bit higher," Snape instructed briefly, adjusting her posture lightly with the tip of his wand. "Like this. Remember, the power of a spell comes from the strength of your will."
"Now, let's try. No Silent Spell this time." He stepped back. "Careful, Rictusempra!"
"Protego!" Mary cried.
A wave of heat burst from the tip of her wand, forming a translucent barrier in front of her.
Snape's spell struck the shield and dissipated like raindrops into a lake.
The hall erupted in applause.
"Excellent," Snape said, clapping once himself. "As you saw, Mary effectively blocked my Tickling Charm."
"Next, I'll demonstrate the Disarming Charm." He pointed his wand at the dummy. "Accio dummy!"
The wooden figure floated up onto the stage.
"For those who might not know, the incantation for the Disarming Charm is Expelliarmus," Snape said, flicking his wand. The dummy's stick flew out of its hand and into the air, which Snape caught effortlessly.
"Alright," he said, "you may now form groups to practice the Disarming Charm, or other spells, if you like, but do not cause any lasting injury to your classmates. If you have questions, come ask me."
For the next hour, the Great Hall turned into a vast practice arena.
Snape moved among the crowd, occasionally lingering near the spot where Professor Malfoy had fallen earlier. At times he corrected a student's grip; at others, he demonstrated precise pronunciation.
With his guidance, even Quirrell managed, nervously but successfully, to cast his very first Disarming Charm.
"Don't use jinxes on your classmates," Snape warned as he passed two Gryffindors dueling enthusiastically, "unless you want to spend your weekend with Madam Pomfrey."
By the end of the practice, the atmosphere in the hall had completely changed. Even the most timid and introverted students were now shouting their spells boldly.
"How does it feel?" Snape asked, stepping back onto the dueling platform. He tapped his throat with his wand, amplifying his voice.
"Fantastic!" shouted Bertram Aubrey from Hufflepuff.
"Way better than Malfoy's lesson!" Quirrell added, then seemed to realize what he'd said and quickly shrank his neck.
Snape's lips curved slightly but immediately returned to neutrality.
"I believe Professor Malfoy also taught you something today, about the superiority of pure-bloods."
He paused, his black eyes sweeping across the hall.
"The student who just demonstrated a brilliant Shield Charm, Miss Mary Macdonald, comes from a Muggle family.
"And, as you've seen, the noble patriarch of the famous Malfoy family, a pure-blood wizard of great 'prestige,' couldn't last even two spells against me. To be precise, one. He'll likely be running to the Headmaster to complain right about now."
Laughter broke out across the Great Hall.
"As you can see, there's little in his words worth believing. Yet, there was one point he made that is worth thinking about." Snape raised a hand for silence.
"We need unity.
"Not unity under some pure-blood wizard, but unity among all four Houses. Regardless of blood, House, or ability, every one of us at Hogwarts faces the same threats. We should live in harmony and stand as one, just as the founders once did."
"Therefore," Snape went on, "I propose we form a society. If you agree with this idea, you're welcome to join. We'll call it The Order of the One. Within this society, we'll help each other and strictly forbid discrimination or bullying, whether within or outside of it."
"Why should we unite under you?"
A provocative voice rose from the crowd. "Why should we 'stand as one' with Slytherins? How many Dark Wizards has your House produced?"
The air in the Great Hall turned instantly tense.
Snape did not get angry; he recognized Sirius's voice but didn't care.
"That question itself is the problem," he said calmly. "It's a question I would never ask. I don't care which House you come from, what your background is, or how strong you are. Everyone is equal here."
Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but Lupin tugged his sleeve.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Lily Evans raised her hand.
"Miss Evans?" Snape said.
"I'd like to join," Lily said clearly. "Lily Evans, Gryffindor."
"Very well." Snape drew a roll of parchment and a quill from his robes and wrote down her name.
Soon, more hands rose.
"Pandora Fawkes, Ravenclaw..."
The quill wrote down each name automatically as they spoke.
At the edge of the hall, Sirius muttered to Remus and Peter, clearly displeased. "Let's go! This is ridiculous-"
"Actually," Remus said softly, lowering his head, "I think Snape has a point. The rivalry between Houses has caused too many unnecessary conflicts. No one's ever tried something like this before..."
Sirius stared at him incredulously. "You're siding with the Greasy Git?"
"I..." Remus hesitated. "I just..."
Sirius's face darkened. He turned and strode toward the exit.
Peter hurried after him; Remus cast Snape a complicated look, then followed as well.
Just as they were about to leave the hall, they ran into Dumbledore.
"Ah, already finished, Mr. Black?" the Headmaster asked kindly.
Sirius stiffly nodded and brushed past him without a word.
Dumbledore stepped aside, then called out, "Remus. You've surprised me tonight. It takes great courage to stand by your beliefs in front of your friends. You've done well."
Remus flushed and muttered, "Thank you, Professor," before hurrying after the others.
Dumbledore slowly walked toward the dueling stage, and the students instinctively parted to make way.
Snape was still bent over his list of names, until the sudden silence around him made him look up.
"Ah, Professor," Snape said quickly, regaining composure. "Would you like to join our student society as well?"
"Nicely taught, Severus." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled faintly with amusement before turning to address the rest. "However, joining a club is an important decision, it may shape your time at Hogwarts. So there's no need to rush tonight. You may think it over carefully and approach Severus later."
"That will be all for tonight's dueling practice," he added. "Everyone, you may return to your dormitories."
The students began packing their belongings and left in a buzz of excited chatter about the evening's training.
Dumbledore looked toward Snape. "Come to my office for a moment. We have things to discuss."
As they walked down the corridor toward the Headmaster's office, Snape couldn't help but complain, "I've walked this road far too often, Professor. Hopefully I won't need to come this way so much in the future."
"Not if you stay out of trouble," Dumbledore replied mildly.
"I always do, Professor," Snape said, shrugging. "I prefer a quiet life, you know that."
Dumbledore chuckled and shook his head.
The stone gargoyle leapt aside, and the spiral staircase carried them slowly upward.
When they entered the circular office, Abraxas Malfoy was already there, pacing irritably.
"Finally!" Malfoy's complaint hit them immediately. "Dumbledore, I thought you meant to keep me waiting until sunrise!"
"One mustn't interrupt young wizards in practice, or spoil their enthusiasm, Abraxas," Dumbledore said calmly, gesturing for Snape to sit. "A valuable dueling lesson is worth a brief delay."
"And what's more important, me, or those brats playing games?" Malfoy demanded furiously.
Dumbledore and Snape exchanged a glance and wisely said nothing.
Malfoy launched into a long tirade, accusing Snape of being "disrespectful and insubordinate," insisting on severe punishment.
"I only followed your request for a duel demonstration, Professor," Snape replied evenly. "If your lack of skill showed, that's hardly my fault."
"Dumbledore, do you hear him!" Malfoy's face twisted in rage. "This is the kind of student you've raised!"
"I thought you might be calmer, Abraxas," Dumbledore said mildly, conjuring a tray of pastries and a bottle of wine. "Try one. I hope it soothes your temper."
Malfoy picked up a biscuit, bit into it, and immediately spat it out. "Too sweet! Utterly inedible!"
"Dobby!" he barked.
With a loud crack, the house-elf wearing a filthy pillowcase appeared in the middle of the office.
"Master called Dobby?" he squeaked, ears trembling.
"Bring some proper pastries! Now!"
Another crack, Dobby vanished.
Moments later, he reappeared with an elegant tray of confections, standing respectfully at his master's side.
"Such insolence," Malfoy said, waving a waffle. "This insolent boy must be severely punished!"
"No problem," Dumbledore said. "Perhaps we should forbid Snape from continuing Defense Against the Dark Arts classes."
"Skipping class sounds fine to me, it would save me time," Snape thought, his eyes drifting toward Dobby,
The little elf stood trembling, ears drooped, thin and scarred all over.
"But could we at least get Malfoy to release him? After what happened today, he'll likely take it out on the elf."
"No classes?" Malfoy's voice snapped Snape back. "Detention isn't enough! He needs old-fashioned punishment, hang him by the wrists from the ceiling for days!"
"Hmm, the Imperius Curse perhaps..." Snape mused, thinking of a way to free Dobby. "If I used the Imperius Curse to make Malfoy give Dobby clothing, would that free him? Hard to say.
"After all, though Lucius's giving of the sock was unintentional, it was at least done by his own will. If the master were under the Imperius, the act wouldn't be of free intent, and the magical contract might not recognize it."
"Besides," Snape thought, glancing at Dumbledore, rejecting the idea, "Dumbledore would never allow that."
He continued to half-listen to their conversation while his fingers quietly touched his socks.
The Imperius plan was risky. But Transfiguration... robes wouldn't do, nor would trousers...
After some thought, socks were clearly most convenient. No wonder Potter had done the same.
Snape recalled the living transfiguration technique from Advanced Transfiguration. While Dumbledore was placating Malfoy, he quickly slipped off one sock.
He exposed the tip of his wand and tapped the sock lightly.
The sock writhed in his palm, transforming into a tiny dark-red snake with black-speckled scales.
"Professor Malfoy," Snape suddenly said, interrupting the endless complaints, his tone carrying rare humility, "I realize my behavior earlier was inappropriate, and I sincerely apologize for it."
As he spoke, he extended his hand as if to shake in apology. When Malfoy grasped it in puzzlement, Snape pressed the little snake into his palm.