Leading the young Slytherin Wizards into Hogwarts Castle, Professor Snape walked without stopping all the way into their common room.
Standing still in the common room, waiting until the footsteps behind him had gradually ceased, he suddenly turned around and with a forceful wave of his wand, closed the door to the Slytherin Common Room with a "bang."
"Stupid, impulsive, out of control."
Professor Snape looked down at the Slytherin students standing before him.
The Little Snakes from first to seventh year all hung their heads low; not one dared to say a word in rebuttal.
Among them, the third-year students were particularly uneasy, especially Draco, Daphne, Blaise, and others.
"Slytherins are shrewd, assess the situation, and use any means to achieve their ends. This is our tenet, the pride we have carried down."
"But look at yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, which of these have you carried on?"
The Little Snakes kept their heads down, clenching their fists tightly in an effort to restrain themselves.
Had they done something wrong? From childhood, their families had told them that pure-bloods were noble and that they were born superior.
So why should they have to assess the situation in front of those inferior to them? They should be where they belong—in the mud, shouldn't they?
"Of course," Professor Snape paused, a flicker of resentment in his hollow eyes—resentment toward his former self—"we are the same."
"Arrogant, short-sighted, and even utterly foolish."
The Slytherins looked up at Professor Snape in disbelief as they listened to his words.
"Professor Snape..."
"Why is the Dean talking about himself like that?"
Professor Snape's eyes had already returned to their hollow state, and his voice sounded incredibly distant at this moment.
"You-Know-Who is indeed a half-blood. We were deceived; this is a fact we must acknowledge."
The Little Snakes' expressions all changed at once; they couldn't believe Professor Snape would say this in public.
When Amanda first mentioned this, they had gone home to ask their parents and even older elders, but they were all secretive about it, refusing to reveal a single detail.
"Not only that, but because of a lie, we have offended the world's greatest white wizard, and offended the Muggle-born and half-blood Wizards who make up the majority of the Wizarding World."
"And you," Professor Snape's face twitched slightly, "have offended someone who can absolutely influence an entire future era."
"Influence an entire era? Just that Amanda? But she's not even a pure-blood; she might even be a mudblood."
Marcus Flint retorted loudly in defiance; he simply couldn't stand the way those mudbloods, or even half-bloods, were showing off.
What right did they have?
And now their own Dean was starting to speak up for them? He absolutely could not accept it.
"Your bloodline hasn't enhanced your strength, Mr. Flint!"
A surge of anger suddenly rose in Professor Snape's eyes as he glared fiercely at Marcus.
"If you think you can have enough strength based on your bloodline alone, then please walk out now, turn around, go upstairs, find the Ravenclaw Common Room, and pick a fight with Miss Amanda."
"I would very much like to see how long it takes for the fluxweed in your brain to be burned away before you can become even slightly smarter and use your head."
Marcus turned red from the scolding and could only lower his head silently.
"Behave yourselves, Slytherins. Show some restraint. If there is a next time, no matter what you face, I will no longer step in."
"Nor will I be able to."
Having finished speaking, Professor Snape strode out of the Slytherin Common Room, leaving the Young Wizards staring at one another.
Pure blood didn't bring them strength, nor would it truly make them superior.
In the face of true power, their families and their wealth were as fragile as bubbles.
With the things they were once proud of shattered and unable even to deceive themselves, many Slytherins bowed their heads, the superiority in their eyes slowly fading.
They no longer fit that state.
On the other side, Amanda, having just cast a massive area-of-effect attack spell, wasn't even out of breath.
She turned to face Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, and the others, bowing deeply.
"I'm sorry, Headmaster Dumbledore, Professors, for making you come all this way because of me."
"My behavior just now might not have been very friendly to the Slytherin students; please forgive me."
"Please stand up, Miss Amanda."
Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head and reached out, helping Amanda up from a distance.
"This is a conflict we could have long anticipated; it's just that I didn't expect it to come so early."
He sighed deeply; he had originally thought that the complete hostility and division between the four houses would occur after Voldemort's return.
The Slytherins would support Voldemort, while the other three houses would resist.
But he hadn't expected that because of Amanda's presence, the arrival of this point of conflict had been moved forward.
But it's just as well; this way, when Voldemort returns in the future, the Hogwarts that greets him might be a united front.
"Is this a spell of your own invention, Miss Amanda?"
Headmaster Dumbledore looked at Amanda, his eyes filled with admiration, sadness, and a hint of nostalgia.
"Yes," Amanda nodded, "it was created by combining many spells."
"It can completely destroy everything within the target range."
Things flying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in the water, and even those hidden underground will be turned to ash by this magic; nothing can escape it.
"A truly shocking talent."
Headmaster Dumbledore chuckled, stroked his white beard, and turned to leave without saying anything more.
At this point, there was no need for him to say anything else; the future had already unfolded.
The children were all better than them; as the suns of the old era, they only needed to shine a little longer for the new little ones, dispelling the last bit of morning chill.
Taking a deep look at Amanda and Hermione and their friends standing beside her, Professor McGonagall gave a slight nod, and Professor Flitwick nodded with a smile. Then the Professors turned and followed Headmaster Dumbledore.
"That spell was so cool; I want to learn it too."
Hermione reached out and pinched Amanda's cheek, looking at her with a mischievous gaze.
Amanda blinked and looked at Hermione expressionlessly. "With Hermione's magic power, one person cannot cast such a large-scale spell."
"You can practice with Harry and Ron. The probability of you facing Voldemort in the future is as high as ninety percent."
"There's also a fifty-five percent chance that I, Headmaster Dumbledore, and the Professors won't be around."
"You really do need to improve your strength."
Hermione nodded vigorously, while Harry and Ron, who were standing silently behind them and were suddenly mentioned, looked at each other.
It wasn't out of the question... Amanda's spell just now was indeed quite cool.
Come to think of it, what if they could use this spell to burn Voldemort to death in the future?
At the very least, they could still burn a few Death Eaters.
"Let's go, it's time. Let's go to the Great Hall for dinner. There's a lot to learn, but it all has to wait until you've filled your stomachs."
Penelope said with a grin, pushing Hermione and Amanda toward Hogwarts Castle with one hand each.
"Oh right, it is time for dinner. Let's go, let's go, I'm starving."
Hermione took Amanda's hand and quickened her pace under Penelope's push.
No longer did she feel the distress of being called a mudblood as she had before.
Other people's disparagement doesn't prove anything; the only thing that can ever prove yourself is your own strength.
The atmosphere among everyone quickly relaxed, and The Ravenclaws chatted with one another as they followed Amanda toward Hogwarts Castle.
Occasionally, they even helped the Little Badgers answer some questions; after all, that class hadn't been finished, so it was normal to have some doubts.
The Gryffindors were dumbfounded as they listened to the discussions around them. No, class was over; shouldn't they be talking about Quidditch or something lighthearted? Why were they still exchanging academic ideas?
But since The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs around them were all talking about these things, it didn't seem right for them not to join in.
Therefore, the lively Little Lions had to suppress their restless hearts and silently joined the ranks of those discussing knowledge.
Amanda walked ahead with Hermione holding her arm, beginning to mentally recite this semester's Transfiguration textbook.
She didn't stop until she sat down at the Ravenclaw Table to start dinner.
"The mashed potatoes are good today; you should try some."
Hermione stood up to serve Amanda a small bowl of mashed potatoes and placed it in front of her.
"Thank you, Hermione."
Amanda thanked her in a flat tone and took a bite of the mashed potatoes.
"It is indeed very delicious."
She nodded and ate the mashed potatoes bite by bite. Seeing her eat so seriously, Hermione felt her own appetite improve.
Dinner was soon over. Amanda, Hermione, Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, and Penelope went together to the Library to borrow the books Amanda wanted to read, then headed all the way up back to their Dormitory.
Halfway there, Amanda heard a burst of exclamations, seemingly mixed with shouts to find a Professor. Turning her head, she saw the sound was coming from Gryffindor Tower.
Exclamations plus shouts to find a Professor—there was a seventy-five percent chance that a dangerous situation had arisen.
Amanda's brain quickly made this judgment, and she nimbly drew her wand.
Harry and Ron were also Gryffindor students; they were Hermione's friends and her friends too. They couldn't be allowed to get into trouble.
"You guys go back first. I'll go take a look to ensure Harry and Ron's safe—"
Before she could finish, Hermione pinched both sides of her face with one hand, forcing her to stop talking.
"We're going together. Don't think we'll let you go by yourself."
"There are exclamations and someone shouting for a Professor; there might be danger."
With her cheeks pinched, Amanda spoke in a muffled, emotionless voice.
"Then we have even more reason to go."
Cho Chang drew her wand and said a word. Penelope also crisply drew her wand while looking back at Marietta Eckmore.
"Go find Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Okay, you guys be careful."
Marietta Eckmore also knew the situation was likely dangerous; without a word, she nodded and turned to run off.
Seeing that she couldn't stop Hermione and the others, Amanda turned around expressionlessly and quickly rushed up the stairs with her wand, ensuring she was always the first among the four.
This way, if there was danger ahead, she would be the first to encounter it.
Halfway up, they met a Gryffindor boy rushing down in a hurry.
"What happened?"
Hermione, as a Gryffindor student, asked. The boy was stunned for a moment when he saw Amanda and the other three.
He immediately reacted. "the fat lady's portrait has been ruined, and the fat lady is nowhere to be found."
"The portrait was ruined?" Penelope frowned. "No one would have a grudge against a portrait, would they?"
"In that case, his target should be..."
"The Gryffindor Common Room," Amanda finished, rushing up the stairs two or three at a time.
She found Harry and Ron in the crowd and, after confirming they had no obvious external injuries or anything wrong with their condition, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Hermione, who had rushed up after her, also saw the two boys. While feeling relieved, she also looked at the ruined portrait nearby.
Several deep gashes were left on the portrait, making the whole painting look shattered and incredibly pitiful.
"Knife marks."
Without even needing to think, Amanda instantly identified the cause of the marks on the portrait.
She was all too familiar with knife marks; she could tell just by looking.
"Amanda, Hermione! What are you doing here?"
Harry and Ron turned around when they heard Amanda's voice and immediately squeezed through the crowd to the four girls' side.
The Gryffindor boy from earlier had also been brought back by them; after all, Marietta Eckmore had already gone to find Headmaster Dumbledore, so one person was enough for that task.
"We heard the noise from the stairs and came to see if anything was wrong."
Hermione explained, then frowned as she looked at the damaged portrait.
"What happened? Amanda says the marks on it were made by a knife."
"We don't know either." Harry shrugged helplessly.
"Yeah, as soon as Harry and I got back, the fat lady's portrait was like this, and no one knows where she went."
"Now no one can get in." Ron sighed, looking at the damaged portrait.
"Could it be... retaliation from the Slytherins?" He narrowed his eyes and suggested his idea.
"Impossible," Hermione shook her head. "If they were going to retaliate, they would definitely go after me, Amanda, or even Ravenclaw."
Given the current state between the four houses, the conflict between Slytherin and Ravenclaw—or rather, with Amanda—was already more intense than their conflict with Gryffindor.
Therefore, if they were to retaliate, their primary target would definitely not be Gryffindor.
Amanda stepped forward slowly, her gaze focused on the knife marks on the portrait.
Her brain quickly performed an analysis. The knife marks were long and deep, made with great force; it was clear the person was in a hurry and very agitated.
At the same time, the knife marks were chaotic and haphazard; it was evident that he was also somewhat humiliated and angry, lashing out indiscriminately.
Hurried, humiliated, angry—why would someone feel this way toward a portrait like the fat lady?"
Combining the fact that the fat lady was the "guardian" of the Gryffindor Common Room, Amanda instantly deduced the result.
"Someone wanted to enter the Gryffindor Common Room but couldn't provide the password, and the fat lady refused his request to enter."
"Furthermore, for unknown reasons, he couldn't ask anyone else for the password, and his time was short; he couldn't stay long."
"Combining these two points, there is a forty percent chance the person is a student from another house, and a seventy percent chance they are not a student of Hogwarts."
Amanda spoke her analysis rapidly. "Unable to enter and feeling agitated and humiliated, he ruined the portrait with a knife, venting his anger while also trying to see if he could enter the Gryffindor Common Room by destroying the portrait."
"the fat lady fled because of this."
Pausing for a moment, Amanda's brain quickly conducted further analysis.
"Based on the probability, the person most likely to want to break into the Gryffindor Common Room right now," she said, turning to look at Harry, "is Sirius Black."
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