Chapter 19: Christmas Holiday
Early on Christmas morning, Su Yu opened his eyes to see the mess in the dormitory.
Gift boxes were piled everywhere, with silver-green and gold ribbons tangled together like sleeping little snakes.
The fire in the fireplace was still burning, its red light flickering in the dim room.
After Su Yu finished making everyone's Christmas gifts last night, he had been pulled into bed by Farley, who said this was the real Christmas gift she wanted to give him.
And so, she was still covered in red marks and hadn't gotten up yet.
Farley lay beside him, her long black wavy hair spread across the pillow, obscuring half her face.
The quilt only covered her up to her waist, revealing her smooth shoulders and back, extending all the way down to her waist.
Su Yu turned his head to look at her.
Then he leaned over gently and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Merry Christmas, my dear Gemma Farley."
Farley struggled lazily, her eyes still closed.
"Merry Christmas, my little Prefect!" Farley's voice was muffled by the pillow, "Go see what gifts you've received."
Su Yu sat up in bed, rubbed his eyes, and looked to the side.
The gifts were piled higher than the Christmas tree.
Boxes of all sizes were stacked together, the colorful wrapping paper glistening in the morning light; some were tied with ribbons, some had labels, and some had no packaging at all.
Su Yu counted them; most were from his fellow Slytherinstudents.
Malfoy had sent an exquisite necklace with a delicate silver chain and a green gemstone pendant that shimmered with a dim light in the embers of the fireplace.
Pansy had sent a silver goblet, but what Crabbe and Goylesent was... how should one put it? They had sent Su Yu a lump of mud.
A perfectly formed lump of mud.
The mud was placed in an exquisite velvet box, lying right in the center, its surface so smooth it reflected light.
The box also contained a note with scrawled writing that said: "This mud will definitely make a loud sound when thrown!"
Su Yu stared at it for a long time, not knowing what to say, and finally placed the box on the bedside cabinet.
Cassandra sent a suit.
It was made of deep black fabric, tailored exquisitely, with silver patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs.
The box included a card with Cassandra's sharp, ornate calligraphy: "Wear this to the next party."
Daphne had sent a necktie.
It had silver-green stripes and was made of silk.
On the back of the tie, two letters were embroidered with tiny stitches—Y.S.F.
Su Yu touched the letters; they were hand-embroidered.
He imagined Daphne sitting in a room at home, head bowed, stitching these letters one by one.
As for Farley, it went without saying; she had gifted herself.
That was quite impressive.
Su Yu glanced at Farley lying beside him; she had her eyes closed and the corners of her mouth curled up, unsure if she was feigning sleep or secretly smiling.
Next was the butler, Carson.
He had given Su Yu a new game console.
The box was large, tied with a gold ribbon, and had a note attached with handwriting as neat as print: "Young Master, I visited the mall many times and observed that every child wants a game console of their own, so I assumed you would want one too. However, you should not play too much; after all, your studies must come first. You must not play for more than an hour each day."
Su Yu thought to himself: I want to play too, but there is absolutely no electricity in Hogwarts.
Then there were the gifts from his parents.
His mother sent Su Yu a brooch.
The attached card read: "This is made from the tooth of a Qiongqi. Because it bared its teeth at your mother, your father knocked it out and made it into a brooch for you. I hope its tooth can ward off evil."
His father had given Su Yu a storage ring from the East.
It contained a space, not too big, about two cubic meters, where he could store clothes or other items.
The attached card only had one line: "Don't lose it."
Mrs. Weasley had actually sent a package too.
The package was wrapped in brown paper, tied with twine, and labeled: "For Su Yu."
Su Yu opened the package to find a deep green and black fitted Weasley sweater.
Next to the sweater was a large box of soft candies of various colors, wrapped in transparent candy wrappers.
Mrs. Weasley had specifically included a note: "I don't know how it happened; usually I make their candies, but yours were made by Ginny. She insisted on practicing, and I don't know if they are tasty, but I hope you don't mind."
Kurama had woken up at some point and was crouching by the bed, staring intently at the box of candies.
"Give me one," Kurama said.
Su Yu tossed one to her.
Kurama held it with her two front paws and nibbled on it in small bites, her amber eyes squinting.
Su Yu put on the sweater knitted by Mrs. Weasley and the scarf knitted by Daphne, then crawled out of bed, washed up, and got dressed.
Farley finally got up as well, sitting on the bed wrapped in the quilt, her hair a mess, and her face still flushed with sleep.
Kurama finished the candy and lay on the bed licking her paws.
When Su Yu arrived at the Slytherin Common Room, he saw everyone gathered together, each holding something—a silver-green Slytherin badge.
That was the Christmas gift Su Yu had given them.
Su Yu stood in front of the fireplace and explained the gift he had sent.
"Every badge contains the power of Kurama and myself. When you want to activate it, just tap the badge twice."
Su Yu pulled a badge from his pocket and tapped it twice.
The badge emitted a soft golden light, and a thin layer of Tailed Beast Cloak appeared on his body. Golden Chakradanced on the surface of his body like flames, but it was much fainter than the full-form Tailed Beast Cloak, almost transparent.
"A Tailed Beast Cloak will appear on you," Su Yu said, "It can provide defense and rapid healing, ensure abundant magic power, strengthen your attacks, and protect against the erosion of the Dark Arts. After all, when it comes to malice, Kurama is the ancestor of the Dark Arts."
Several senior students' eyes lit up.
"With this badge," Su Yu retracted the Tailed Beast Cloak and put the badge back in his pocket, "you can cast the Unforgivable Curses without any pressure."
The common room went quiet for a moment.
Then came a low, irrepressible murmur of excitement.
The Unforgivable Curses, but now—with this badge, those were no longer issues.
"It's fine if the power inside runs out," Su Yu continued, "Just go to the storage room in the Slytherin Common Room and exchange it for a new one; there's a whole pile there. I will also go periodically to replenish the energy."
Everyone's eyes turned in unison toward the direction of the storage room.
That small room, previously used for storing old brooms and broken textbooks, was now filled with badges. The little silver-green items were stacked on the shelves, neat and orderly, like rows of soldiers awaiting inspection.
Su Yu's gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Theodore.
Theodore stood at the back of the crowd, clutching the badge, his knuckles white.
Su Yu walked over.
"Theodore," Su Yu said, "From now on, this badge will be your greatest source of confidence."
Su Yu patted his shoulder, turned around, and led everyone to the Christmas feast.
In the Great Hall, one hundred roasted fat turkeys were laid out on the four long tables, their glistening skin reflecting a caramel-colored sheen in the candlelight, the aroma so thick it could drift from the Great Hall to the Forbidden Forest.
Mountains of potatoes, plates of small sausages, several large bowls of buttered peas, several large silver gravy boats filled with rich gravy and cranberry sauce, and magical Christmas crackers stacked several feet high—these things crowded the tables so full that there was no room left for plates.
Su Yu saw Harry pull open a magical Christmas cracker; it made a loud bang, and a blue smoke screen poured out, like a small cloud.
Then, an admiral's hat burst out, blue and white, with gold tassels embroidered on the brim, along with several lifelike white mice.
The little mice ran a few steps on the ground and then turned into ordinary plastic toys.
Headmaster Dumbledore was wearing a flowered bonnet he had traded his pointed Wizard's hat for, with several brightly colored flowers stuck in it, blooming vividly in the candlelight.
He looked to be in a very good mood, holding his goblet and clinking glasses with every Professor at the staff table.
Professor Flitwick told him a joke, and Dumbledorecouldn't help but laugh, his silver beard trembling, and the petals on his flowered bonnet shaking with his laughter.
To cater to Su Yu's dietary habits, Whisk had specially made him braised pork ribs and Dapanji, along with rice.
Su Yu ate very well, and Farley also tried a few bites; after eating, her eyes lit up, and she helped herself to another piece.
After the turkey feast was finished, the next course was pink Christmas pudding.
The pudding was doused in blue flames, which danced on its surface for a while before extinguishing, revealing the golden pudding inside, decorated with candied fruits and nuts.
Meanwhile, Hagrid continued to drink spirits, his face turning redder and redder, until he finally got so drunk that he kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek.
What surprised everyone even more was that Professor McGonagall did not get angry, but instead blushed and giggled until her hat tilted to one side.
In the afternoon, Su Yu took the young Slytherin Wizards out to go skiing.
The hillside behind the Castle was covered in thick snow, the slope just right—neither too long nor too short—and as they slid down, they could feel the wind whistling past their ears.
The Slytherin students used makeshift skis; although the shapes weren't standard, they worked fine for sliding.
Su Yu lay in the snow, covered from head to toe in snow, with Kurama crouching on his chest, patting his face with her paws.
After playing for a while, they started a snowball fight.
Snowballs flew back and forth in the air, with no one able to tell who was on whose team.
Farley and Kurama helped Su Yu build a snowman. The snowman turned out crooked, and Kurama insisted it looked like Su Yu, so she got a snowball to the face from Su Yu...
They spent a happy afternoon.
Then, cold and wet, they returned to the Slytherin Common Room, out of breath, to warm themselves by the fire.
Su Yu had Whisk bring over many grilled meat skewers and various vegetable skewers.
And then a barbecue party started in the common room.
The sizzling, oily lamb skewers were sprinkled with cumin and chili; they were a mix of fat and lean, and with one bite, the juices exploded in the mouth.
Farley even ate several extra skewers.
Paired with chilled beer, it led to many young SlytherinWizards falling asleep as soon as they returned to their rooms.
In the following days of the Christmas holiday, the "battles" between Su Yu and Farley every night were quite intense.
So intense that Kurama didn't dare to come out to sleep at night.
Whenever Su Yu and she returned to the dormitory, Kurama would quickly retreat into Su Yu's body to sleep.
This also resulted in Su Yu and Farley not getting up and going out until the afternoon every day.
Breakfast turned into lunch, and lunch turned into afternoon tea.
Theodore had been much more cheerful these past few days.
He kept showing off his badge to Olivia.
He pinned the badge in the most conspicuous place on his robes.
Olivia would listen quietly every time he finished speaking, then praise her little Duo for being truly amazing!
Until the day before the holiday ended, when the students who had gone home returned to Hogwarts.
During dinner, Hermione was telling Su Yu stories about what happened when she returned home.
She also said she bought many new books in Diagon Alley, finished most of them during the holiday, and planned to read the rest slowly after school started.
However, she also mentioned Harry.
"When I got back," Hermione lowered her voice and leaned toward Su Yu, "I heard that Harry obtained an Invisibility Cloak and didn't sleep in his bed for three days and three nights, but instead wandered around the school. I think this is terrifying; this is not something a student should be doing!"
——————
As the new semester began, everyone became much busier.
Hermione was often buried in the library and nowhere to be seen; she was rarely seen at the Gryffindor table.
The Slytherin gang was also training their spells more diligently.
The Quidditch team members were training like madmen, vowing to reclaim the glory that belonged to Slytherin.
They got up before dawn every morning, flying laps around the pitch until Madam Hooch chased them back to eat breakfast.
Chapter 20 One Scheme Harms Three Wise Men
The efforts of Slytherin during this period proved that the hard work of these young Wizards had not gone to waste; their progress was visible to all.
Coupled with the badges Su Yu gave them, they could cast spells with much greater ease. The upper years had also mastered non-verbal and wandless spellcasting to perfection.
The ones who progressed the fastest were Malfoy, Theodore, Blaise, and Pansy; they had already learned non-verbal spellcasting, which was truly fantastic.
But the conflict between Slytherin and Gryffindor only intensified.
The other two schools, seeing the increasingly arrogant faces of Slytherin, would at most pretend not to see them and walk away, but those little lions in Gryffindor didn't have such good tempers; they were at odds with Slytherinevery single day.
The most famous incident was on the day of the Quidditchmatch, when Ron took Neville to provoke Malfoy. Yes, you heard that right—it wasn't Malfoy looking for trouble, but Ron taking Neville to provoke Malfoy.
The current Malfoy no longer bullied the weak, but his arrogance remained unchanged, and that arrogant look made Ron even angrier.
Ron couldn't stand this, because every time Malfoy looked at him, he felt like Malfoy was looking at a beggar...
So, on the day of the Quidditch match, the atmosphere on the field was already tense.
The Slytherin team was warming up on the field, their green uniforms particularly striking in the sunlight.
The Gryffindor team was also warming up, their red uniforms like clusters of flames.
The stands on both sides were full of people, and flags snapped in the wind.
Ron grabbed Neville and blocked Malfoy near the entrance to the stands.
"Malfoy," Ron's voice was very low, but every word was filled with fire, "What exactly is your problem?"
Malfoy stopped, glanced at him, and ignored Ron.
"What is your problem?" Ron's voice rose a little, "What kind of look do you give me every time?"
Malfoy's mouth twitched slightly, not quite a smile. "Are you worthy of my attention?"
Ron just exploded.
His face flushed red instantly, from the root of his neck up to his forehead, and he clenched his fists.
Neville stood beside him, his lips moving as he gathered the courage to speak: "Malfoy, you shouldn't speak like that—"
Malfoy's gaze shifted to Neville and paused for a second.
"Neville," Malfoy's voice was unhurried, "If brains were gold, you would be even poorer than Weasley. Do you know what I mean?"
Neville's face also turned red; Neville's attack power was zero.
At this moment, Harry happened to make a beautiful dive overhead, winning cheers from the crowd.
Hermione stood up, covering her mouth with her hands.
Just then, Harry sped towards the ground like a bullet.
Malfoy glanced at Harry, "You're really lucky, Weasley. Harry seems to have spotted some gold dropped on the ground."
Ron could no longer hold back.
He and Neville rushed up together.
Ron lunged at Malfoy, and Neville flanked from the other side.
Both of their fists swung out at the same time—
Malfoy's wand had already appeared in his hand.
Non-verbal spell. Leg-Locker Curse.
An invisible force shot from the tip of Malfoy's wand, hitting Ron and Neville's legs.
Their feet were suddenly stuck together, causing them to lose their balance; they bumped into each other and then fell to the ground in a heap.
"Let us go!" Ron roared, struggling on the ground, but his two legs were as if welded together and could not be separated no matter what.
Malfoy put away his wand and looked down at the two people writhing on the ground.
Crabbe and Goyle walked out from behind him.
Crabbe kicked Ron in the butt, and Goyle squatted down to punch Neville's back.
The three of them began to beat up Ron and Neville, and the pain made Ron and Neville howl continuously.
In the end, it was Hermione who heard the commotion below from the stands and turned to look.
Hermione rushed down immediately, pulled the others away, and rescued Ron and Neville.
When she helped the two of them up, she saw that Ronand Neville's faces were swollen like pig heads, and their feet were still locked.
Malfoy stood right beside them, and Crabbe and Goylewere still laughing.
"Malfoy! Get lost!" At this moment, Hermione, like a lioness, shielded Ron and Neville, and then she quickly cast a spell to undo the curse for both of them.
Malfoy, of course, couldn't be bothered to argue with Hermione; not to mention her relationship of playing around with the Prefect every day, he also knew Su Yu's temper.
Besides, could he, Malfoy, possibly lay a hand on a girl? It was simply impossible.
He gestured to Crabbe and Goyle.
"Let's go," Malfoy said.
Crabbe and Goyle followed behind him, and the three of them pushed through the crowd and disappeared from the stands.
Hermione squatted down and looked at Ron and Neville.
Their faces were bruised black and blue, their eyes were swollen until only a slit remained, and their lips were cut, with blood smeared on their chins.
"Can't you two just calm down for one day?" Hermione's voice was full of anger and anxiety.
Ron crawled up from the ground, rubbed his swollen mouth, and mumbled something indistinctly.
Hermione didn't catch it, but she didn't want to hear it anyway.
Slytherin still lost that Quidditch match.
It wasn't that they were weak.
The Slytherin team had trained harder than anyone else over the past few months, and Cassandra's command on the sidelines was impeccable.
The score had been suppressing Gryffindor the whole time; by the second half, it was already 150 to 10, and Slytherin was set to win.
Montague scored seven goals, Pucey scored five, and although Flint didn't catch the Golden Snitch, his defense meant that the Gryffindor Chasers couldn't break through at all.
But Harry Potter was worthy of being the favored one of the plot.
That Golden Snitch flew into Harry's hand all by itself.
Can you believe it?
It circled twice above the field, bypassed Flint's hand that reached out three times, dodged the Bludger hit over by Derrick, and then—landed steadily in Harry's palm.
Harry himself was stunned, looking down at the Snitch in his palm, then looking up and around.
Anyway, Su Yu felt this was a rigged game, and Dumbledore was the biggest mastermind behind it.
He knew the old man wanted to boost Harry Potter's confidence, but couldn't he refrain from using every possible means?
He stared at Harry in the center of the field, then at Dumbledore in the teacher's stand.
Dumbledore was smiling and clapping, his silver beard shining in the sun.
Su Yu's fists clenched; he felt angrier the more he thought about holding back, and felt more cheated the more he thought about taking a step back.
Golden Chakra appeared on the surface of his body, the Tailed Beast Cloak already draped over him; he almost summoned the Susanoo right there on the spot to give that old geezer a hammer blow.
A hand pressed onto his arm.
Cassandra's hand.
Her fingers were slender and strong, and the temperature in her palm was higher than usual—probably because she had been shouting too excitedly while commanding on the sidelines earlier.
"Don't," Cassandra's voice was very low, and only Su Yucould hear it, "It's not worth it."
Su Yu looked down at her.
Cassandra's green eyes appeared exceptionally bright in the sunlight, reflecting his image in her pupils.
Her lips were pursed slightly, her chin slightly lifted, and her whole person radiated an aura of "trust me."
"I will definitely rely on my own command ability," Cassandra said, word by word, "to lead Slytherin to take back the glory."
Su Yu looked at her.
"Cassandra is badass."
Then he lowered his head and, in front of so many people, kissed her.
Cassandra's body stiffened for a moment.
Her eyes widened for an instant, then slowly closed.
A crowd of Slytherin young Wizards were cheering on the side.
Whistles, applause, and laughter mixed together, even livelier than the Quidditch match.
Farley leaned against the railing, arms crossed over her chest, the corners of her mouth curled up, wondering what she was thinking.
Daphne stood beside her, watching the two of them with a smile.
Malfoy, excited in the crowd, picked up Pansy beside him.
Pansy's brain crashed for a moment—her eyes were wide open, and she looked like someone had pressed the pause button on her.
Then she reacted, excitedly hugged Malfoy back, stood on tiptoes, and kissed him.
Now the Slytherin laughter grew even louder.
Malfoy's face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, from the root of his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.
He wanted to push Pansy away, but felt it wasn't good to push, and not pushing wasn't good either; his two hands hovered in mid-air.
After Pansy finished kissing, she realized everyone around them was watching, her face turned red, and she let go of Malfoy and stepped back, almost stepping on Crabbe's foot.
A scene of Malfoy being the only one embarrassed was born.
The Slytherin young Wizards laughed until they were bent over, forgetting even the fact that they had lost the match.
After the Quidditch match ended, it was almost time for the final exams.
Hermione had prepared her revision schedule early and started reviewing.
Her schedule was extremely detailed—waking up at 6:00 every morning, reviewing Potion Class from 6:00 to 7:00, eating breakfast while reviewing Transfiguration theory from 7:00 to 8:00, 8:00 to 10:00... Every minute was packed, even the time for going to the bathroom was marked with "Can review spell pronunciation."
She also dragged Su Yu and Daphne along to study.
Su Yu had been feeling better and better lately.
The conversion between Chakra and magic was becoming smoother, and his Transfiguration and Potion skills had also improved significantly—although he couldn't say he was very strong, passing and moving on to the second year was not a problem.
But rather than studying, it was more like Hermione and Daphne were studying, while Su Yu slept soundly.
One day he would lie on Hermione's lap to sleep, and the next day he would lie on Daphne's lap.
Only Kurama was unhappy.
Because Daphne had long legs, she wanted to lie on Daphne's lap to sleep.
Some time later, Su Yu and the others heard from Hermione that Hagrid was raising a dragon.
A newborn Norwegian Ridgeback.
When Hermione said this, the expression on her face was between excitement and worry—excited because it was a dragon; worried because that dragon was growing too fast.
Hermione also said that Hagrid fed it brandy and chicken.
Kurama was quite interested when she heard this, and asked, "Is dragon meat delicious?"
Su Yu said, "I don't know either."
However, there was another person who knew about them raising a dragon—that was Malfoy.
That night, because Malfoy had something to do, the Slytherin students had already gone to the Forbidden Forest for group training.
Only Malfoy went alone at the end.
He was walking on the path at the edge of the Forbidden Forest when he saw three sneaky figures slipping out from the direction of the Castle, heading towards Hagrid's hut.
Malfoy followed them.
He hid beside the wooden hut and, through the glass, saw the hatched dragon.
The little guy was covered in black scales, the membranes on its wings were dark red, and it was spitting sparks from its mouth, looking fierce.
Malfoy watched for a while, found it boring, and turned to leave.
It was just a dragon, it wasn't like he hadn't seen one before.
He didn't take it to heart at all.
But Harry and the others noticed someone peeking from behind the glass just now.
However, when Harry and the others came out to look for who was spying, they checked towards Hogwarts.
But by then, Malfoy had already entered the Forbidden Forest.
So, for a while, Malfoy always looked at Harry and the other two with a meaningful gaze.
When he saw them in the corridor, he would stop, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, watch for a few seconds, and then turn and walk away.
Harry and the others felt uncomfortable and increasingly nervous.
Every time Malfoy looked over, the three of them would invariably lower their heads, stay silent, and pretend to be doing something else.
Malfoy felt that this secret was something he could hold over Harry and Ron for a lifetime!
However, dramatically, because Malfoy pushed too hard, it resulted in Hermione being bitten by that dragon.
That night, Malfoy had originally intended to go to the Hospital Wing to apologize to Hermione; after all, Hermione getting bitten was not the result he wanted to see.
However, when he reached the door of the Hospital Wing, he happened to run into Madam Pomfrey questioning Ron.
"Where was she bitten?" Madam Pomfrey asked, "What was she bitten by?"
Ron stammered and couldn't speak.
His face turned bright red, his mouth opening and closing, opening and closing, like a fish thrown onto the shore.
Malfoy stood at the doorway, the corners of his mouth curling up.
He walked in and went up to Ron.
"Oh, poor Hermione, Weasley," Malfoy said, his tone as relaxed as if he were just chatting.
"Madam Pomfrey is asking you a question. Are you mute?"
"No, I didn't. I think, I think it was a dog bite, right?"
"Weasley, did you really bring Neville's brain home with you?" Malfoy teased him, "Or is it that you're hiding something? Looking at it, it doesn't look like a dog bite to me."
"Oh, no! It was a dog bite! You have to believe me!"
Ron was almost crying with anxiety.
At this moment, Madam Pomfrey spoke, "Malfoy, what are you here for?"
Malfoy looked left and right, spotted the book in Ron's arms, and said casually, "Madam Pomfrey, I'm here to borrow a book from Ron."
Ron subconsciously handed over the book in his hand.
After getting the book, Malfoy left.
However, when he returned to the dormitory, Malfoy threw the book on the table, and a letter unexpectedly fell out of it.
It was the letter Charlie had written to Ron, marked with the time, location, and details for picking up the dragon.
Malfoy had originally thought this was a trap, a setup by Harry and the others, and sat in front of the fireplace thinking for a long time.
Then, based on his observations over the next two days, Malfoy decided—to follow the plan.
He was going to expose Harry and Ron!
Hermione was in the infirmary and couldn't go, which was perfect for dealing with Harry and Ron.
He had calculated it well: if he stayed out at night alone, he would lose 20 points, but Harry and Ron were two people, so that would be 40 points!
This kind of self-destructive attack method meant Slytherinwould definitely make a profit!
But what he didn't expect was that that night, Gryffindorlost 150 points.
Neville, in order to notify Harry and Ron that "Malfoy is going to snitch," was also caught by Professor McGonagall.
Three Gryffindors—Harry, Ron, and Neville—plus one Malfoy, Professor McGonagall was furious.
Gryffindor lost 150 points.
Slytherin only lost 20 points—Malfoy alone staying out at night.
Malfoy later described Professor McGonagall at the time, "She was just like that dragon, the only thing missing was the ability to breathe fire."
In this battle, Slytherin won a complete victory.
One scheme harmed three, and Malfoy became an overnight sensation.
You have to know, a house only gets about four hundred points by the end of the term, and this time, Gryffindor was knocked down by 150 points.
Malfoy would even suddenly laugh out loud while sleeping, scaring Crabbe awake, and Crabbe would then scare Goyle awake.
The two of them would stare at each other in the dark, not knowing what had happened.
The result was that Malfoy became a great hero of Slytherin.
Harry became the great villain of Gryffindor.
All the Gryffindor students were gossiping about Harryand mocking him.
In the corridors, in the Great Hall, in class, everywhere people were saying, "He's the one who lost our 150 points."
Gryffindor gave Harry a new nickname—the Seeker.
Not to praise him for being good at seeking the Snitch, but to mock him for only knowing how to seek trouble.
There were people ostracizing him everywhere.
People who used to greet him now walked around him.
Wherever Harry went, it would go quiet, and only after he had passed would the whispers start up again.
This also made Harry see the coldness of human relationships.
However, he had lived in this environment since he was a child, so he could accept it; he just felt even more guilty.
Ron, on the other hand, was more resilient than him.
He would curse back at those who cursed him and fight back at those who hit him.
Although he often couldn't win, he never backed down.
On the other hand, on the Slytherin side, Su Yu stopped them from mocking.
That night, the Slytherin students were talking loudly in the Great Hall about the Gryffindor point deduction, with laughter and cheers rising one after another.
Malfoy was surrounded in the middle, with a few people patting his shoulders, and Pansy was laughing from ear to ear nearby.
Su Yu stood up from the sofa.
The common room slowly quieted down.
Everyone's eyes were focused on him.
Su Yu stopped those who were mocking, just as he had stopped them from mocking the Slytherin Quidditch team.
"Don't do that kind of kicking someone when they're down," Su Yu said.
No one spoke.
"You are a group of aristocrats," Su Yu's gaze swept across everyone's face, "You must respect your opponents. When they fail, be doubly careful, instead of getting carried away, until you have completely defeated them."
"When treating your own companions, learn to be patient. After all, they have tried their best, and having no regrets is enough. Look forward to their efforts next time."
The common room was quiet for a long time.
Then some people nodded, and some lowered their heads.
Malfoy stood in the middle of the crowd, the smile on his face slowly fading, replaced by a different kind of contemplation.
The Slytherin students followed Su Yu's advice.
The next day, when they encountered Harry and Ron in the corridor, they didn't mock or taunt them; they went about their own business, heading to class as if nothing had happened.
This situation, on the contrary, made Gryffindor look particularly out of place.
Chapter 21: The Final Trial (Part One)
Time flew by, and soon the exams were upon them.
You ask about Malfoy's punishment? Going to the Forbidden Forest was like going home for him; there were no more scenes of him nearly wetting himself in fear like in the movies. It was good enough if the things in the Forbidden Forest didn't run away from him—after all, Slytherin students would team up to hunt monsters in the Forbidden Forest every night. Acromantulas would shrink back at the sight of silver-green robes, Red Caps would burrow into the ground when they heard Slytherinfootsteps, and even Werewolves would avoid them. Even if there was danger, the Kurama Cloak would protect them.
It was a bit of a pity that Malfoy didn't catch the black-robed person who killed the Unicorn that night. He wandered the Forbidden Forest for most of the night, only seeing the corpse of a Unicorn and drag marks of blood on the ground. By the time he pursued, the figure had already vanished deep into the Forbidden Forest.
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Exam day was scorching hot.
Hogwarts in June was truly hot.
Especially in the large classroom where they were taking their exams. All the windows were open, but there was no breeze, and even the curtains were too lazy to stir. They had to use the special quills provided, as these pens had been enchanted to prevent cheating.
After the written exam, there was a practical test. Professor Flitwick called them into the classroom one by one, testing if they could make a pineapple tap dance across a table.
Professor McGonagall had them transform a mouse into a snuffbox. The prettier the transformation, the higher the score, but points would be deducted if it didn't resemble one. The mouse in front of Su Yu was a dusty little thing, squatting on the desk, its black bean-like eyes staring at him. Su Yu raised his wand, aimed it at the mouse, and chanted the spell.
The mouse began to transform. Its body shrank into a ball, its fur turned metallic, its tail retracted, and its nose became the lid of a pot—but the color was wrong; it should have been silver, but it was gray, and the shape wasn't quite right either, flat like a crushed can. Professor McGonagall walked over, glanced at it, pursed her lips, and said nothing. Su Yu didn't know what that meant, but he didn't think it meant a deduction.
Everyone was extremely nervous when Professor Snapetested them. They had to rack their brains to recall how to make a Forgetfulness Potion, staring blankly. Su Yu's Potions had improved quite a bit from
Their last exam was History of Magic, where they had an hour to answer questions about an eccentric old Wizardwho invented the Great Cauldron.
When the ghostly Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and hand in their papers, the entire school cheered. They had a week's holiday to await their exam results.
After the exams, Su Yu, feeling completely drained, was helped by Daphne to the lakeside to find Farley and Cassandra, who were already waiting there.
This was the story of three top students and one slacker.
The four found a large tree and sat down. Su Yu lay on the grass, his head resting on Cassandra's long legs. Kuramajumped out of Su Yu's arms, squatted in a corner of the blanket, and clawed at the pastries in the basket, only to have her paw swatted by Farley. She retracted it, then extended it again when Farley turned her head.
Daphne sat beside Su Yu, took a pastry from the basket, broke it into small pieces, and fed him bite by bite, hoping to quickly restore his drained mind.
Farley leaned against the tree trunk, watching Daphnefeed Su Yu, her lips curved upwards, her eyes shining.
Daphne smiled gently, saying nothing more. She broke off another piece of biscuit and brought it to Su Yu's mouth. Su Yu opened his mouth, ate it, chewed twice, then suddenly sat up, turned sideways, and kissed Daphne on the mouth.
Daphne's lips were stained with biscuit crumbs from Su Yu's kiss. Daphne froze for a moment, her face slightly flushed, then reached out and pinched Su Yu's waist.
The pain made Su Yu twitch. He hunched his waist, dodging sideways, and while dodging, he called out to Farley:
Farley rolled her eyes at him. Then, disdainfully, she reached out and pushed Su Yu towards Cassandra.
Su Yu took the opportunity to fall back onto Cassandra's lap, muttering,
The four of them enjoyed the peaceful afternoon like this. Occasionally, a fish would jump out of the lake, splashing back into the water with a plop, the ripples spreading out in circles.
Kurama finally stole a biscuit from the basket, squatting by the edge of the blanket, nibbling at it in small bites, her amber eyes narrowed to slits.
They didn't return until the sun was about to set.
That evening, Su Yu had just finished showering, emerged from the bathroom, towel-drying his hair, and was about to cuddle with Farley to sleep.
Peeves burst in.
He came straight through the wall, his purple body doing a somersault in mid-air, his pointed hat almost poking the chandelier on the ceiling.
Kurama exploded.
She had been dozing at the foot of the bed, startled by Peeves' sudden appearance, she sprang directly from the bed, her four legs kicking in the air, her nine tails simultaneously flaring out, her entire body instantly swelling, and her Spinosaurus form activated.
Her mouth opened, and a ball of golden light condensed in her throat—a precursor to a miniature Tailed Beast Ball.
"Don't!" Su Yu rushed over, pressing one hand on Kurama's head, closing her mouth. Kurama's teeth clacked, the Tailed Beast Ball extinguished in her mouth, emitting a puff of smoke. She glared at Su Yu, but he ignored her.
"Peeves," Su Yu turned his head, his voice very low, "What exactly is going on?"
Peeves did a somersault in the air, his hat askew:
Su Yu frowned.
In the movie, that place was simply Dumbledore's trial ground for Harry, with no real danger. Except for a slight danger when Harry finally faced Quirrell, but Dumbledorewas right there watching. So Su Yu didn't bother with the three of them at all, thinking a trial was good, and Hermione also needed a chance to prove herself.
No, that's not right.
Su Yu's frown deepened.
Dumbledore had tricked him again.
That night's Fire Troll—
Su Yu stopped thinking. He quickly put on his clothes, turned to Farley, said,
Farley sat on the bed, her book still open, but her gaze was not on the pages. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her fingers gently tapped the edge of the page—a small habit she had when thinking. She thought for a moment and felt that something was wrong.
Farley put down her book, got off the bed, put on her slippers, draped a robe over herself, and walked out of the dormitory.
There were still a few people chatting in the Slytherincommon room. The fire in the fireplace burned brightly, and three or four people sat on the dark green sofas drinking tea. Farley walked to the fireplace and pulled the bell that Slytherins used specifically for assembly.
Three minutes. Within three minutes, all Slytherin students appeared in the common room. From first year to seventh year, nearly a hundred people.
Farley stood in front of the fireplace, the firelight reflecting on her face.
"The Chief went to that room on the fourth floor," Farleysaid, "but I have a bad feeling about it."
She paused.
"Now, it's up to you to decide. Those who want to follow, step forward."
There was no hesitation.
Nearly a hundred people collectively stepped forward. The sound of their footsteps was as uniform as one person. Crabbe and Goyle didn't miss a beat this time either—Crabbe's mouth was still open, Goyle's eyes were still wide, but their feet had already moved.
Farley's gaze swept across every face.
"Very well. Go back and pack your respective equipment. In two minutes, everyone sets off!"
The common room immediately became busy. Everyone returned to their dormitories to pack their equipment, and two minutes later, nearly a hundred people stood neatly in the common room. The boys were all uniformly dressed in white shirts, green ties, black suits, and black trench coats, while the girls wore white shirts, green ties, black jackets, pleated short skirts, and black stockings. Silver-green badges shimmered faintly on the inside of everyone's robes.
Farley walked at the very front, Cassandra followed beside her, and Daphne walked in the middle of the group. Nearly a hundred people formed a long line, quietly passing through the corridor and ascending the stone steps.
Filch and his Madam Norris watched, trembling, and for now, stopped catching people out after curfew.
On Su Yu's side, the Kurama Cloak was already donned.
He even leaped directly up the stairs—pushing off the ground with his foot, he shot up half a flight, tapped his toe on the railing, and shot up another half flight.
If he couldn't Apparate, he would have been up there long ago. The Anti-Apparition charm in Hogwarts Castle was personally set by Dumbledore; it wouldn't work for anyone.
Su Yu rushed to the fourth floor and kicked open the door.
The room for the first trial was empty. The Cerberus was not there. On the ground were only a few thick iron chains, extending from iron rings on the walls to a large cushion in the center of the room. The chains were broken, with jagged ends.
Su Yu didn't have time to wonder where the Cerberus had gone. He saw the trapdoor on the floor, which was open. He jumped in.
The second trial was a dark expanse.
Before his feet even touched the ground, things coiled around him from all sides—vines.
Su Yu's eyes changed. Black tomoe spun in his red pupils, connecting into a circle, Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Great Fireball Technique."
He took a deep breath, Chakra surged in his chest, and then he exhaled a massive flame. The vines twisted, shriveled, and turned to ash in the flames, emitting a burnt smell. The remnants of the Devil's Snare writhed on the ground a few times, then stopped moving.
The third trial was a huge room, with thousands of keys hanging densely from the ceiling. Thousands of keys fluttered in the air, the sound of their wings flapping like a flock of startled sparrows. At the other end of the room was a door, which had already been opened, indicating that Hermione and the others had passed this trial.
Su Yu didn't take a broom. He jumped directly through the door.
The room for the fourth trial contained a giant chessboard.
As soon as Su Yu entered, he heard Ron shout,
With that, he stepped forward, was knocked unconscious by the White Queen, and Ron's body fell to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Then he was dragged aside by the White Queen, and Harry, moving three steps to the left, won the game.
Su Yu jumped to their side, Hermione looked at Su Yu in surprise, and quickly rushed forward to hug him.
"Su Yu!" Hermione's voice was sharp and bright, with a tremble of relief after escaping danger.
"It's alright." Su Yu's hand rested on the back of Hermione's head, his fingers tangled in her bushy curls.
Su Yu walked over to Ron, squatted down, and checked him. Ron's breathing was steady, and his heartbeat was normal, but there was a bump on the back of his head, from when he was knocked out by the White Queen earlier. Su Yu told Harry to just help him to the side.
All the chess pieces moved aside, kneeling, clearing the path to the exit. Su Yu, Hermione, and Harry walked through the chess pieces and pushed open the door to the next trial.
The room for the fifth trial contained only a dead Troll.
The air was filled with a strong medicinal smell, mixed with the Troll's unique stench of decay, making one want to vomit.
"I'm glad we don't have to fight it," Harry whispered as they cautiously stepped over its huge legs. His voice was very low, as if afraid of waking the Troll.
"Hurry up, I can't breathe!" When Harry pushed open another door, he and Hermione barely dared to look inside. Su Yu found them a bit amusing, both cowardly and brave.
But to Harry's surprise, there was nothing scary inside. Only seven bottles of different shapes neatly arranged on a table.
"This is Snape's trick," Harry said, "What do we have to do now?"
As soon as they stepped over the threshold, a ball of purple flame ignited at the entrance behind them. At the same time, a ball of black fire roared to life at the doorway leading forward.
They were trapped in the middle.
"Look!" Hermione pulled out a piece of paper from beside the bottles and gestured for Su Yu to see.
The paper read:
Danger lies ahead, and safety behind you. If you can find it, two of our seven bottles can help you. One bottle will help you move forward, another will send you back to where you started, two are just ordinary nettle wine, and three are deadly poisons. Choose quickly if you don't want to stay here forever!
To help you choose, we have four clues: First, no matter how secretly hidden the poison, you will always find it to the left of the nettle wine; second, those on the edge are always different wines, but if you move further in, there are no good wines; third, as you can see, all bottles vary in size, and short or tall bottles are not dangerous; fourth, the second from the left and the second from the right are actually a pair, though they may not seem so.
The paper read:
Su Yu got a headache reading it. Only Hermione was unusually excited. She loved solving mysteries like this. As for Harry? Su Yu just wanted to laugh looking at Harry. Did Snape expect Harry to have brains? This was clearly making things difficult for Fat Tiger.
After a moment, Hermione clapped her hands.
"Alright!" she said, her voice filled with excitement: "That smallest bottle will allow us to pass through the black flames to find the Philosopher's Stone!"
Harry looked at the small bottle. It was only the size of his thumb.
So Hermione pointed to the round bottle on the far right. It was a bit larger than the thumb-sized bottle, and the liquid inside was red.
Now there were three people, but only two sips of Potion.
Hermione spoke first:
"These flames can't harm me," Su Yu said. "You should go back quickly."
He poured the red Potion into Hermione's mouth and, while he was at it, gave Hermione a Kurama Cloak.
"Go back and wait," Su Yu said, "I'll be back. Be good."
Hermione hugged Su Yu, gave him one last look, her lips moved, but no sound came out, and then she disappeared.
Su Yu turned his head and looked at Harry.
"Let's go."
He extended his hand, and golden Chakra spread over Harry, forming a layer of armor.
Harry poured the Potion into his mouth.
"Follow me," Su Yu said.
Su Yu led Harry into the seventh trial, to confront Lord Voldemort.
Chapter 22: Hell Valley (Part 1)
When Su Yu stepped into the seventh level, he was a bit bewildered.
They had actually arrived in a valley. The gray sky hung very low, casting only a dim, hazy light. A volcano stood in the distance between heaven and earth, with lava flowing through its fissures. The air was filled with the smell of sulfur and scorched earth.
Everywhere was scorched land. The ground beneath his feet was cracked into pieces, with heat rising from the fissures. The ground was covered in ash, gravel, and bones burned to charcoal, scattered across the scorched earth; they crumbled into powder the moment they were stepped on.
Where had this brought him? Was this still Hogwarts?
The distant hillside was crowded with a dense army of hell. The Cerberus from the first level was here too, though now it had become a Hell Cerberus. The eyes of all three heads were blood-red, fangs protruding from the corners of their mouths, dripping with saliva. Its three heads roared at Su Yu and Harry.
Behind the Cerberus were skeletons covering the mountains and plains, interspersed with Minotaurs, each over two meters tall. Goat-demons were crouched on both sides of the formation, with goat heads and human bodies, holding longbows in their hands.
Little demons flew in the air, while the Fallen stood at the very back of the army, wearing black robes with hoods covering their faces, leaning on staves. Balrogs moved slowly at the foot of the volcano, their figures twice as large as the Minotaurs.
And Professor Quirrell stood at the front of the hell army, staring at Harry.
"It's you!" Harry exclaimed in shock.
Quirrell was smiling, but the muscles on his face did not move at all.
"It is I," he said indifferently, "I was even wondering if I would be able to meet you here, Potter."
"But, I thought it was Snape—"
"Snape?" Quirrell laughed again. But it was not his usual loud laughter; it was sharp and cold.
"Yes, Snape is indeed worth suspecting. It was very useful to have him scurrying around like a rat, distracting everyone. Without him, who would suspect poor, stuttering Professor Quirrell?"
Harry could not accept this fact. His mouth was agape, his eyes wide. This wasn't true! It couldn't be!
"But Snape once tried to kill me!"
"No, that's incorrect. It was I who wanted to kill you." Quirrell's voice became steady, speaking without any emotion. "Your friend, Miss Hermione, accidentally knocked me over when she cast fire at Snape during that Quidditchmatch. Snape... she broke my contact lenses. A few more seconds and I would have knocked you off your broom, but Snape cast a counter-curse at that moment and saved you."
"Snape wanted to save me?" Harry's voice cracked.
"Of course, otherwise why would he be the referee for your next match? He did it to ensure I wouldn't have another chance to act. Hmph, how interesting..." Quirrell said coldly.
At this moment, Su Yu interrupted the two of them.
"I didn't mean to interrupt you," Su Yu interjected, "but could someone tell me what exactly this place is? And what are those things?"
He pointed at the dense army of hell on the hillside, and then at the volcano in the distance, which was spewing lava.
"Also, Harry, this is a battlefield, not a coffee shop. Are you planning to have afternoon tea with Quirrell?"
Quirrell looked at Su Yu.
Then, his head began to turn. Not turning his head, but rotating his head. The back of his skull slowly rotated to the front, and his face slowly rotated to the back.
Lord Voldemort's face appeared.
Su Yu's sanity plummeted. This was just too disgusting. He didn't know if Quirrell would be willing to walk backward like this in the future—if he was still alive, that is.
Lord Voldemort spoke. "Sean Foley?" His voice was much deeper than Quirrell's, "Do you know about Hell?"
"The Demon Lords of Hell cannot descend directly into the surface world, so they joined forces to create this Inner World. And this place is where Lord Belial, the Lord of Sloth, has specially prepared for Harry."
His red eyes paused on Harry for a moment, then shifted to Su Yu.
"I don't know why they like Harry's soul so much. However..." Lord Voldemort raised his finger and pointed at Su Yu. "Kill him!"
The hell army moved. The skeletons on the hillside charged down first. Their bone joints creaked as they ran. The army behind them was dense, surging forward like a tide.
Su Yu moved as well. The Kurama Cloak instantly expanded. Golden Chakra surged out from his body, and the red Chakra armor of Susanoo pieced itself together, layer by layer.
Su Yu stood inside Kurama's head, his Mangekyo Sharingan rotating slowly within his red pupils.
He clenched his right hand, and a red longsword condensed in Susanoo's hand. The tip of the sword pointed at the charging hell army.
He swung the sword, and where the light of the sword swept, skeletons shattered into pieces, and Minotaurs were cut in half at the waist. The Fallen's purple lightning struck him, not even scratching the skin of the Kurama Cloak. He swept his sword back, and three of the Fallen exploded simultaneously. Balrogs charged up aggressively; Su Yu's sword slashed down from the top of its head and came out through its crotch. The Balrog fell to the ground in two halves, lava gushing from the cut, burning the surrounding skeletons to ash.
He slaughtered from one end of the hillside to the other, and then slaughtered his way back. Everywhere he passed, only broken bones, severed limbs, and smoldering scorched earth remained.
The Cerberus pounced.
All three heads bit toward Su Yu simultaneously. Su Yublocked the middle head with his sword; the blade stuck between the fangs, and the Cerberus's saliva dripped onto the sword, sizzling and smoking. The left head bit onto Susanoo's shoulder, but the teeth failed to pierce the armor, and it ended up baring its teeth in pain.
Su Yu backhanded the Cerberus, kicking it away.
Then he stepped on its body, holding the longsword in a reverse grip with one hand.
He stabbed down with the sword. The blade pierced the upper jaw of the middle head, came out through the chin, and pinned it to the ground. The Cerberus howled, the sound leaking from its pierced throat, becoming hoarse and broken. The left and right heads struggled frantically.
Su Yu pressed the sword deeper into the soil; the middle head of the Cerberus was pinned to the ground, unable to move. Its eyes were still open, reflecting Su Yu's image in its blood-red pupils, but it could no longer bite. Su Yucrouched down and gave the other two heads a slap each. Then he turned to look at Lord Voldemort.
"This is what you call Belial's preparation?" Su Yu's voice came down from above, "Just this?"
On the volcano in the distance, swarms of purple mist slowly condensed. The mist grew thicker and denser, gathering on the mountaintop into a huge, irregular cloud. A pair of large purple horns slowly emerged from the mist.
Then, a massive figure, a man wearing a purple trench coat, slowly revealed himself.
He stood there, taller than Kurama.
He stood on the volcano crater, looking down at the battlefield in the valley. And the dense mob of minions on the battlefield shouted, "Lord Belial is eternal!" It didn't move, didn't speak, just looked down at everything below. But its very existence was a form of oppression.
Su Yu looked up at the figure on the volcano top that was even larger than Kurama.
"This one," Su Yu said, "is actually somewhat interesting."
A long spear reappeared in Su Yu's hand, red Chakracondensing into a blinding light at the spear tip. He kicked off the ground, and he, along with Kurama's massive body, lunged straight at Belial.
Belial did not move.
He simply raised one hand, his purple trench coat fluttering in the air current. The long spear stabbed into his palm, the tip pressing against his skin—and then stopped. It could advance no further. Su Yu frowned, pushing his Chakra to the limit; the light at the spear tip was so bright it was almost about to explode, but Belial's fingers simply closed gently, gripping the long spear in his palm. Like pinching a twig.
Before Su Yu could react, a tremendous force traveled through the spear shaft. Belial swung one hand, and Kurama's entire body was sent flying. —Boom— Kurama's spine smashed into the mountain range in the distance; the peaks collapsed like building blocks, and gravel and dust rose dozens of meters high.
Su Yu lay in the giant crater created by the impact, asking in his heart: "Kurama, are you alright?"
Kurama spat, golden Chakra flashing at the corner of her mouth. "I'm fine. Come again."
Su Yu did not move. He stopped Kurama, and then began to retract the Kurama Cloak and Susanoo. The golden Chakra and red armor faded from his body layer by layer.
"Kurama," Su Yu said, "a girl shouldn't spit everywhere."
Kurama was stunned for a moment. "Is this really the time for that?"
Su Yu did not answer. He pressed his hands together and closed his eyes. "Give me all your Chakra."
Kurama looked at him, without hesitation. Golden Chakrasurged from her body, pouring into Su Yu's body continuously. Su Yu's hair was blown up by the air current, his robes flapping loudly in the strong wind.
He opened his eyes.
"Sage Mode."
Black markings began to spread from his eye sockets, extending along his cheeks, forehead, and bridge of his nose, eventually forming complex patterns on his face.
He crouched down and slammed his hands onto the ground.
"Sage Art — Wood Style — True Several Thousand Hands — Susanoo: Nine-Tails Resonance Form!"
The earth began to shake.
Cracks spread in all directions from under Su Yu's palms, gravel rolled down from the hillside, and then—a hundred-meter-tall giant Buddha slowly emerged from underground.
The outside of the giant Buddha was wrapped in Susanoo's red armor, and behind the giant Buddha, the thousand arms were draped in the golden Chakra of the Kurama Cloak, like a thousand burning banners.
The giant Buddha stood up. The several-hundred-meter-tall Thousand-Handed Buddha stood in the center of the valley, its head touching the gray sky, its shadow covering the entire battlefield. The wreckage of the hell army was as insignificant as ants beneath its feet. Belial stood on the volcano crater, looking up at the top of the giant Buddha, his purple trench coat fluttering in the air current.
Su Yu stood on top of the giant Buddha, the wind blowing his robes, the black Sage Mode markings clearly visible on his face. He looked down at Belial, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"Now, let's fight again."
He raised his hand. The thousand hands behind the giant Buddha were raised simultaneously. A thousand arms, each wrapped in golden Chakra, each covered in red armor, every palm aimed at Belial. "Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands!"