" Lewis Green... I should thank you."
Just as Lewis tucked the vial containing Sirius's memories into his bag...
A mocking voice echoed through the tunnel.
Severus Snape had finally entered the stage.
"What a fortunate evening..."
The old bat stepped forward slowly.
His wand remained pointed at Lewis, but his eyes were fixed entirely upon Sirius.
Within them burned a fanatical light of anticipation.
"I never expected to meet an old friend here..."
"Sirius Black."
"Or perhaps I should call you..."
"The escaped prisoner of Azkaban."
"Revenge is such a sweet thing."
"How I wish I'd been the one to capture you."
"But..."
"This is acceptable as well."
"It's time you returned to where you belong."
"Though perhaps..."
"You won't even need to go back."
"Maybe the Dementors will simply give you the Kiss."
Only then did Snape shift his attention toward Lewis.
"And you..."
" Lewis Green."
"Ravenclaw's finest student."
He forcibly suppressed the hatred burning inside him and asked in a comparatively calm voice,
"Tell me."
"Why are you making deals with a murderer?"
"Give me one good reason."
"Otherwise..."
"Your new bedroom will be in Azkaban alongside his."
Looks like Professor Snape still has a favorable impression of me.
At least he didn't attack immediately.
Lewis quietly shook his head.
Snape truly was a tragic man.
Back then...
James and his friends had tormented him relentlessly.
He had every reason to hate Sirius.
But...
Sirius was still useful.
Lewis couldn't allow Snape to interfere.
Unfortunately...
He also knew there was no explanation Snape would accept in his current state.
Without another word...
Lewis suddenly raised his wand.
"Expelliarmus!"
Snape's reactions were lightning-fast.
The instant Lewis moved...
He cast his own Disarming Charm.
He intended to knock Lewis's wand away before the boy could finish his spell.
However...
Just as the crimson bolt reached Lewis...
A transparent magical barrier automatically appeared around him.
The Shield Charm intercepted the attack entirely.
Snape had never before seen a Shield Charm capable of remaining active continuously without requiring immediate recasting.
The next instant...
A burst of blazing fire surged back along the path of his own spell.
Lewis's Elemental Rebuke had activated.
Before the flames could engulf him...
Snape instantly raised another Shield Charm to block the fiery retaliation.
But those two passive defensive spells had already cost him the initiative.
And Lewis never wasted an opening.
The counterattack descended like a violent storm.
Lewis merely flicked his wand.
He didn't even bother chanting.
Suddenly...
A brilliant cloud of sparkling dust exploded directly before Snape's eyes.
His vision vanished beneath blinding light.
By the time he barely managed to see again...
He discovered thick spiderwebs had somehow wrapped around his entire body.
The sticky silk bound him tightly, making even the slightest movement nearly impossible.
At the same time...
His limbs rapidly became numb.
His body refused to obey him.
His thoughts grew sluggish.
His consciousness became clouded.
His ability to think deteriorated dramatically.
Then...
All he could do was helplessly watch Lewis stroll calmly up to him...
And casually remove the wand from his hand.
Snape couldn't understand what had just happened.
He had been defeated...
Instantly.
In truth...
Had Snape fought at full strength from the very beginning...
He absolutely possessed the ability to stand against Lewis.
The problem was...
He knew almost nothing about Lewis's spell repertoire.
Meanwhile...
Lewis had planned every step in advance.
Before Snape even realized what was happening...
He had already fallen into a perfectly prepared magical combination.
Ever since Lewis had obtained the Level 2 Source Mage class...
Bringing his total caster level to Level 13 and unlocking 7th-Circle spells...
His combat power had increased dramatically.
The reason...
Was a single spell.
Spell Sequencer.
7th-Circle Transmutation.
You prepare a magical matrix capable of storing up to four spells of 5th Circle or lower.
Casting Spell Sequencer itself functions as if affected by Quicken Spell.
Once activated, the stored spells are released in sequence.
Furthermore, two or more stored spells of 2nd Circle or lower may be linked into a single sequence, allowing them to be unleashed simultaneously in an instant.
Put simply...
Its first effect allowed Lewis to exchange a single 7th-Circle spell for four instant-cast 5th-Circle spells.
To Lewis...
That merely saved magical power.
Nothing extraordinary.
But...
The second effect was absurdly powerful.
Through Spell Sequencer, four separate 2nd-Circle spells could be unleashed simultaneously.
Even the Quicken Spell metamagic possessed cooldown limitations.
No matter how skilled a wizard was...
Instant-casting couldn't be spammed indefinitely.
Spell Sequencer completely ignored that restriction.
Second-Circle spells might not be individually powerful...
But many possessed terrifying utility.
Just now...
Lewis had released four spells simultaneously.
Glitterdust.
Web.
Touch of Idiocy.
Ghoul Touch.
The first two belonged to the Conjuration school.
Both created direct physical effects that were almost impossible to avoid.
Other than covering one's eyes immediately and retreating...
Lewis couldn't think of any reliable way Snape could have countered Glitterdust and Web.
Once those two spells landed...
The remaining pair became decisive.
Touch of Idiocy dulled Snape's mind.
Ghoul Touch paralyzed his body.
Within a single instant...
Lewis simultaneously attacked Snape's senses...
His physical movement...
His mind...
And his body.
The combined effects completely neutralized one of the greatest wizards alive.
A man second only to the Dark Lord and the White Lord...
Had been reduced to utter helplessness.
Now deprived of his wand...
Snape had no meaningful way to retaliate.
Even then...
Lewis wasn't willing to take chances.
He had never underestimated his Potions professor.
After confiscating Snape's wand...
He pulled out an ordinary rope.
Using Animate Rope, he ordered it to wrap itself tightly around Snape.
Layer after layer...
The rope completely restrained him, leaving no possibility of resistance.
Unfortunately...
Perhaps because Lewis's imagination wandered a little too freely...
The spell obediently followed those unconscious thoughts.
By the time Lewis realized what had happened...
Animate Rope had tied Professor Snape into an extremely... suggestive position.
One that would have made even professional rope artists raise an approving eyebrow.
At the very least...
Sirius couldn't bear to look directly at it.
In any case...
Snape had been thoroughly defeated.
Left behind where he stood...
Unable to move.
Ironically...
Exactly as he had done moments earlier to two unfortunate students.
Meanwhile...
Ron and Malfoy still lay immobilized by Snape's spell.
Neither could move.
Their mouths remained sealed by magic.
The two sworn enemies could do nothing except glare at each other.
Several moments later...
Snape's Langlock finally wore off.
Both boys regained the ability to speak.
Suddenly...
Malfoy's face turned pale.
"Weasley..."
"H-have you..."
"...got any toilet paper?"
Ron looked equally uncomfortable.
"...No."
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
At that exact moment...
Both of their stomachs cramped violently.
Loud rumbling noises echoed from deep inside their bellies like boiling cauldrons.
Each heard not only his own stomach...
But the other's as well.
Immediately...
Both turned their heads away in embarrassment, desperately suppressing the overwhelming urge building inside them.
Neither wanted to disgrace himself in front of his greatest rival.
At the same time...
The exact same thought flashed through both of their minds.
Did...
Did we eat something bad at dinner tonight?
Whatever the answer...
Something very interesting was about to happen.
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