To Wayne, the wizarding world had always seemed bizarre.
It resembled some legendary world of five-village feuds and red-eyed grudges, filled with inexplicable connections.
Like Harry and Malfoy. Like Arthur and old Malfoy. Or like Snape and James Potter.
Well, if James were still alive.
But since James was gone, he had his good mate Sirius to carry on. Naturally, Snape transferred all his hatred for James Potter onto Sirius's head.
As for Lupin, during their schoolyard bullying days, Lupin had usually been the lookout. So Snape merely despised him, without the burning hatred.
The moment Sirius appeared, the original dispute between Harry and Malfoy was instantly forgotten.
The two professors glared venomously at each other, eyes locked in mutual loathing.
Sirius taunted: "What's this, Professor Snape? Trying to kill with your eyes?"
"No, I was merely wondering when the school started allowing dogs to bark indoors."
"Really?" Sirius feigned shock, eyeing Snape incredulously. "Dogs are man's most loyal friends. Surely a two-faced, backstabbing weasel like you wouldn't be able to hear them?"
Snape's eyes narrowed dangerously, volcanic fury building in his chest.
Just as he'd expected – with Sirius at Hogwarts, clashes between them were inevitable.
Just like when Lupin had been here last year.
But Snape never imagined it would happen this quickly – only the second day, and already the man was jabbing at his most painful wounds!
Who leads with their ultimate move right at the start?!
"Standing here alive is the ultimate victory." Snape retorted sharply, "Whatever I've done, there's at least one thing I can't match you in – I never played the clever fool by changing the Secret Keeper without authorisation, causing my best friend's death."
"Let me guess, what do you see when you look at Potter now?"
"A replacement for that bully? A tool for your own redemption? Or are you trying to find a home for some stray dog who's lost its pack?"
Since you've come out swinging, don't blame me for going straight for the jugular.
In this world, Snape might now be the person who understood Sirius Black best.
Not just because of their former rivalry, but more due to their shockingly similar experiences afterwards.
Because he passed along the message, Lily died by his mistake.
Because Sirius changed the Secret Keeper, James died by his mistake.
If Snape and Sirius had arrived at the Potters' house simultaneously that fateful night, it would have created a bizarre scene.
Sirius weeping over James' body while Snape cradled Lily's corpse.
Thus Snape could be sure that Sirius, like himself, harboured complex, conflicted feelings towards Harry.
When he looked into Harry's eyes, he saw Lily. So when Sirius gazed at a face that might have been James Potter's carbon copy, he couldn't possibly be seeing Harry either.
Sure enough, at his words, Sirius' face flushed crimson with rage.
Neither noticed when their wands had appeared in their hands, the tension between them crackling like live wires.
More students began noticing the standoff, edging closer in fascination, while others ran excitedly to common rooms to summon spectators.
Harry and Malfoy stared at them in bewilderment.
Hello? We're supposed to be the main event here.
"Professor, my relationship with Sirius really isn't any of your concern," Harry interjected, asserting his presence while supporting his godfather.
"My godfather treats me extremely well. If seeing me reminds him of my father, that's a good thing – at least his friend lives on in some way. I'm proud he had such loyal friends."
"As for changing the Secret Keeper, I've said this repeatedly – it was my parents' joint decision with him. You can't blame Sirius entirely."
"Harry." Sirius looked at him with moved, guilty eyes.
Snape wasn't wrong – his feelings towards Harry were complicated.
You couldn't expect deep affection overnight between two people who'd never met until months ago. Much of it was residual from James.
But over these months, Sirius had genuinely worked to build rapport with Harry. They would become a true family in time.
"Did anyone permit you to interrupt professors' conversation?" Snape glared icily at Harry. "Five points from Gryffindor!"
Sirius turned his ire on Malfoy: "Not even a greeting after all this time? Same ill manners as your Head of House. Five points from Slytherin!"
"Potter, where's your house crest? Five points from Gryffindor!"
"Malfoy, you're tracking mud everywhere. Six points from Slytherin!"
"Potter, daring to glare at me? Seven points from Gryffindor!"
The two were now thoroughly locked in a battle of wills, neither willing to back down. For every point Snape deducted from Harry, Sirius deducted one from Malfoy, leaving the onlookers utterly dumbfounded.
Several young wizards passing by the House Points hourglasses watched in shock as the gems from both houses steadily decreased, thinking there must be some mistake.
Zzzzt!
A burst of flames suddenly erupted from the adjacent room.
Wayne hurried out, still dressed in his pyjamas.
He'd been recovering in the common room when someone rushed in shouting that Snape and Sirius had squared off against each other.
To save time, Wayne had summoned Ho-Oh to create a portal for instant travel.
"Good, good, not too late."
Seeing the two still deducting points from each other's houses, Wayne sighed in relief – he hadn't missed the show after all.
Cedric noticed him, staring at Wayne as if he'd seen a ghost.
You'd come to watch the drama without even changing out of your pyjamas? That's dedication.
"Why aren't they fighting?"
Wayne shook his head regretfully as he watched the two merely exchanging words without any physical confrontation.
Inter-house rivalry at Hogwarts was fierce, with student conflicts occurring frequently throughout the year. But it rarely escalated beyond this point – even professors had their dignity to maintain.
Except Snape... Well, even Snape had some restraint.
Apart from targeting Harry, his point deductions did follow some logic, just several dozen times harsher than others.
Clearly, both men still retained some rationality, aware that students from other schools were present, maintaining a tenuous self-control.
But then Sirius suddenly said, "Lily was clearly mistaken about you, thinking someone like you could change. If she knew how you've been bullying her son, she'd think she'd been blind."
Snape's heart twisted violently.
Sirius could say whatever he wanted about him – he had thick skin and didn't care.
But using Lily against him? That was like Garen building Collector – silence, armour penetration, critical hit with execute damage all in one.
Instinctively, Snape's arm jerked upwards.
Wayne's eyes lit up as he subtly twitched his fingers. Suddenly, Snape felt an enormous force propel his arm forward.
Spotting Wayne in his pyjamas watching eagerly from the sidelines, Snape had only one thought:
Damn you, Lawrence, you absolute bastard.
Knowing his fist would inevitably connect with Sirius, Snape stopped resisting the force and even added some momentum of his own.
Thud!
Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, Sirius was sent flying two to three metres by the unexpected punch, crashing to the ground.
"You actually hit me?!"
Sirius hadn't expected Snape would really strike him in front of so many students. Before he could react, he felt his nose had been knocked askew, blood streaming uncontrollably.
This only fuelled his rage as he tackled Snape to the ground.
Amid flying blood, the two engaged in fierce close-quarters combat, trading blow for blow.
The situation spiralled completely out of control as Harry and Malfoy also began grappling, forcing spectators to retreat and give them ample fighting space.
In terms of physical combat, the long-time office-bound Snape was actually no match for Sirius.
Over the past few months, Sirius had largely replenished his physical deficiencies and was now remarkably robust.
Yet recently, Snape had fused with the Thestral bloodline, significantly enhancing his physique as well. The two were now evenly matched in combat!
In contrast, the pair of Malfoy and Harry proved far less compelling.
With hair-pulling and ear-biting, one might mistake them for flirtatious banter rather than a proper fight.
The real excitement lay in Snape and Black's brutal, flesh-pounding brawl.
Young wizards cheered loudly, supporting their favoured professors with even greater fervour than during the Holy Grail War.
However, Snape's popularity remained decidedly poor – apart from Slytherins and some Mahoutokoro students, nearly everyone rooted for Sirius.
"Wayne, separate them quickly," Cedric whispered urgently, skirting around the battlefield.
"Why bother?" Wayne didn't even turn his head, thoroughly engrossed. "Let them fight. This is personal business between professors. We should respect their choices and abandon any saviour complexes."
Mid-conversation, Snape landed a vicious elbow strike to Sirius's ribs. The momentary pain left Sirius weakened and at a disadvantage.
Wayne grew frantic: "Aim for his eggs! Go for the eggs! Knee strike!"
Following this expert advice, Sirius instinctively drove his knee upwards with devastating accuracy.
"Oh~"
Snape emitted an... expressive groan, curling into a shrimp-like posture that made every male spectator inhale sharply through clenched teeth.
Bloody hell. Just witnessing it made one empathise with the pain.
Wayne winced in sympathy.
Surely Snape wouldn't mind – he'd already resigned himself to lifelong bachelorhood anyway.
As Sirius prepared to press his advantage, Professor McGonagall arrived. She'd heard the commotion from upstairs, but the gathered crowd confirmed her worst suspicions.
"Make way! Make way!" Pushing through with difficulty, McGonagall reached the front – only to nearly faint at the sight of four men still grappling.
"Impedimenta!"
"Incarcerous!"
Several spells later, the combatants were separated and restrained. McGonagall trembled with outrage: "Black! Snape! Have you lost your minds?"
"Professors, brawling in public! What in Merlin's name is the meaning of this?"
At this moment, Professor McGonagall wished she could die.
Here were the Head of Slytherin House and the newly appointed etiquette professor brawling in front of so many students.
Not just Hogwarts students, but so many foreign students had witnessed it too!
Now their disgrace had spread internationally!
"It's nothing, Professor McGonagall," Sirius panted heavily. "Old friends meeting again—bound to get a bit emotional. Snape punched my nose, so of course I had to return the favour!"
His nose was still crooked, his face covered in blood, looking utterly savage. Snape wasn't faring much better—likely missing a few teeth, with blood seeping from his mouth.
"Snape, did you throw the first punch?" Professor McGonagall pressed her lips together, glaring sternly at him.
"Yes!" Snape slurred, "But he insulted me first!"
"Mr Lawrence, what exactly happened here? Why did they start fighting?" Professor McGonagall immediately spotted Wayne—the only one in pyjamas spectating, making him far too conspicuous.
"Professor, I really dunno," the boy shook his head like a rattle-drum. "By the time I got here, they'd barely exchanged two words before going at it."
"You'd better ask Cedric—he's been here the whole time." With a pointed finger, Wayne threw Cedric under the carriage.
Snape shot Wayne a venomous glare.
Bloody hell, it was you who fanned the flames!
But Snape didn't tell Professor McGonagall. For one, he had no proof, and secondly, he'd genuinely wanted to punch Sirius.
So be it.
As Professor McGonagall turned to him, Cedric recounted everything truthfully from the beginning.
Hufflepuff's credibility was beyond reproach, so Professor McGonagall didn't doubt his account for a second.
Upon understanding the full story, she felt blood rushing to her temples, the urge to faint returning.
Over such a trivial matter, you resorted to violence?
And drained both houses of all their points?!
"You... you..." Professor McGonagall's finger trembled as she pointed at them, wanting to deliver a scathing reprimand. But seeing both men still bleeding profusely, she ultimately restrained herself here.
"Go to Madam Pomfrey to stop the bleeding first, then report to the Headmaster's Office immediately!"
In the end, Professor McGonagall decided to leave these two troublemakers for Dumbledore to handle. Involving two professors, this was beyond her authority as Deputy Headmaster.
Sirius said nothing, lowering his head as he shoved through the crowd and strode off. Snape snorted coldly, glanced at Harry, then finally at Wayne before following.
"Potter, Malfoy—return to your common rooms at once. You're confined there for the rest of the day."
Professor McGonagall punished the two 'instigators' before hurrying away.
With the spectacle over, the students reluctantly dispersed.
Today had been quite the windfall—witnessing such a dramatic showdown. The only regret was that the duel remained unresolved when Professor McGonagall intervened.
Meanwhile, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students were particularly delighted.
Happiness had arrived so abruptly. In one fell swoop, Slytherin and Gryffindor had lost all their house points—perhaps even gone into deficit by dozens.
Gryffindor's situation was hardly worth mentioning; they'd been perpetually at the bottom anyway.
But this year, Slytherin had firmly secured first place through Snape's shameless manipulations, leaving the other two houses with no hope of winning the House Cup this year.
Wayne returned to his dormitory reluctantly and immediately disappeared into his suitcase world.
The spectacle had left him too energised to sleep. Since he couldn't rest, he might as well get to work.
Today, he planned to test the combined effects of Ravenclaw's Diadem and Felix Felicis—something even Nicolas had praised highly.
...
Meanwhile.
After receiving basic bandaging and wound treatment from Madam Pomfrey, Snape and Sirius limped their way to the Headmaster's Office.