Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 51 The Professor's Intervention

A flash of red light, and Cullen felt a sharp pain in his wrist, as if it had been clamped by a red-hot iron clamp. His wand flew out of his hand, tracing an arc in the air. He turned to see Professor Snape striding towards him, his black robes billowing behind him like bat wings, his sallow face contorted with rage. Snape's eyes were as black as still water, yet they burned with a dangerous fury.

"Professor! Save us!" a Slytherin cried out, his voice like a pig being choked. "He's going to kill us!"

Snape's gaze swept over the four bound, broken-legged Slytherin students, a barely perceptible twitch at the corner of his mouth. He turned to Cullen, his eyes unfathomable: "Mr. Hawthorne, explain yourself." His voice was as smooth as silk, yet carried an unyielding command.

Karen bent down to pick up his wand, the movement sending a sharp pain through his wounded shoulder. He forced himself to remain calm. "Actually, they ambushed me first, Professor. Four of them were lying in wait in the bathroom, and I fired a curse as soon as I passed by." He pointed to his charred robes and the wound on his shoulder. "It was self-defense."

"Nonsense!" Selwyn screamed, his voice distorted with pain. "We were just chatting in the bathroom, and he attacked us for no reason! You filthy liar!" His blond hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his forehead, making him look disheveled.

Snape's gaze darted back and forth between Cullen and Selwyn, like a snake surveying its prey. Just then, another voice joined the conversation: "I witnessed the whole thing, Severus."

Castor Grindelwald, or rather Professor Victor Eisenberg, emerged from the shadows of the corridor. Today he wore a dark green robe edged with delicate silver runes, his golden hair neatly combed back, and his sharp eyes scanned the scene like a hawk scrutinizing its prey. His presence seemed to lower the temperature of the corridor by several degrees.

"Victor," Snape's voice held a wary glint of tension, "What did you say you witnessed?"

"These four students ambushed Hawthorne," Castor said calmly, his fingers lightly stroking his wand. "Hawthorne was merely acting in self-defense... though perhaps a little overreacted." He glanced at Selwyn's twisted leg, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Selwyn struggled to turn to Snape, his face a mixture of pain and resentment: "Professor Snape! He's lying! My father will expel that fraudster and that Mudblood—"

"Crucible!" Castor's wand suddenly pointed at Selwyn, the movement almost imperceptible. A beam of magic shot from the tip of the wand, striking Selwyn precisely in the chest. Selwyn's scream instantly filled the corridor. His body was contorted into unbelievable angles as if by an invisible hand, his eyes bulging, and saliva dripping uncontrollably. His fingernails scratched at the stone floor, making a teeth-grinding sound.

Snape's expression changed drastically, and he immediately pointed his wand at Castor: "Stop! This is the Unforgivable Curse!" His voice unusually trembled.

Seeing Snape's actions, Castor's lips curled into a cold smile. He pulled a black, gem-like object from his pocket with his left hand. Its surface shimmered with an eerie light, as if it could absorb the surrounding light. He tossed the gem to Snape: "Quiet down, Severus."

The gem exploded in mid-air, transforming into a viscous black substance that enveloped Snape. The Potions professor attempted to cast a spell, but there was no response after the incantation.

Through the Eye of Truth, Cullen saw that the black matter was frantically absorbing the surrounding magic, firmly controlling the magic around Snape and preventing him from using it. Snape's lips moved, but there was no trace of casting any spells; a flicker of shock and fear crossed his eyes.

"You haven't learned enough spells, Karen," Castor said to Karen without turning his head, maintaining the Cruciatus Curse. His voice was as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "See, the Cruciatus Curse is much more effective than your desk and chairs when dealing with this arrogant trash." As he spoke, he increased the output of magic, and Selwyn's screams became even more shrill, echoing between the ancient stone walls.

"Professor..." Karen looked at Selwyn's contorted pain, his heart filled with complex emotions. Although he was furious, he had never considered using the Unforgivable Curse. He could see the Cruciatus Curse's magic coiling around Selwyn's body, like a swarm of hungry leeches sucking away his life force.

"What? Giving in now?" Castor sneered, a dangerous glint in his remaining blue eyes. "This brat just threatened your family. Remember, Karen, in the magical world, mercy is only seen as weakness." He abruptly stopped his spell, looking down at Selwyn, who was slumped on the ground, his pants wet. "So, brat? Still going to tell your father you fired me?"

Selwyn was speechless, only shaking his head in terror, his face streaked with tears and snot. His blond hair was covered in dust and sweat, and his expensive silk robes were soaked with urine, completely robbing him of his usual haughty demeanor.

Hurried footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor. Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore arrived almost simultaneously. McGonagall gasped, her eyes widening behind her square glasses. She was wearing a plaid robe today, her hair styled in a neat bun, but now it appeared somewhat disheveled due to shock.

"Merlin! What happened?" Professor McGonagall asked in shock, her gaze sweeping from Snape, who was shrouded in black matter, to the Slytherin students sprawled on the ground, and finally settling on Castor and Cullen, who were holding wands.

Dumbledore stood beside her, his long, silvery hair and beard fluttering slightly in the corridor breeze. His azure eyes swept across the room, finally settling on Castor, his gaze a mixture of reproach and something deeper: "Victor, could you please release Severus from his... restraints?"

Castor shrugged, tapped his wand, and the black substance quickly shrank back into its gem-like form and flew back into his hand. Snape immediately raised his wand, but Dumbledore gently raised his hand to stop him: "I think we need to understand what happened first."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape stood warily to the side, not putting away his wand.

Professor McGonagall had already knelt down to examine Selwyn and the others' injuries. Her wand traced complex trajectories in the air, and the light of a diagnostic spell enveloped the four students: "Fractured leg bones. They need to be taken to the infirmary immediately." She looked sternly at Castor, her brow furrowed. "No matter what happened, Professor Eisenberg, you should never have cast an Unforgivable Curse on your students."

Castor shrugged upon hearing this, but did not reply.

Dumbledore said, "Alright, Minerva. We need to figure out what happened first. You should stabilize their injuries."

"They ambushed Karen first!" Castor said coldly, his voice as sharp as an ice blade. "Four people ambushed a first-year student, using a dark curse to sneak up on him. Karen was only acting in self-defense." He kicked the wands on the ground—those were Selwyn's and the others' wands. "Use the Flashback Charm; just look at the last spells these wands used."

“Even so, using the Unforgivable Curse is going too far!” Professor McGonagall retorted, using her wand to stabilize Selwyn’s injuries. Her voice trembled with anger. “This violates the Fundamental Laws of the Ministry of Magic!”

Dumbledore raised his hand to signal silence, a small gesture that carried undeniable authority. "Let's hear what the parties involved have to say." He turned to the four Slytherin students, his eyes behind his half-moon spectacles gleaming with intelligence. "Who will tell me what happened?"

Several Slytherins immediately launched into a cacophony of accusations, recounting how Cullen had attacked them "without provocation" and "cruelly" broken their legs. Although their accounts were riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions, they all insisted that they had been attacked first. The thinner Slytherin, now fully conscious, weakly echoed their accusations. Selwyn, though weak, still glared maliciously at Cullen, repeating the word "Mudblood."

When Snape heard the word, his expression subtly changed, and a fleeting, unfathomable emotion flashed deep in his dark eyes.

Dumbledore listened patiently, then turned to Cullen: "And you, Cullen?"

Karen took a deep breath and recounted the events in detail—from the curse that shot from the bathroom to Selwyn's threat and how he fought back. He deliberately omitted the details of Castor using the Cruciatus Curse, only saying that Selwyn had lost control of his bladder due to the unbearable pain. His voice was calm, but the wound on his shoulder still throbbed, a reminder of the danger he had just faced.

"I admit I overreacted, Headmaster," Cullen said finally, her grey-blue eyes looking directly at Dumbledore. "But the four of them ambushed me and threatened my family... I lost my mind for a moment." His hand gripping his wand trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the lingering adrenaline.

"Merlin's beard! How could they do such a thing!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed in surprise after hearing the general outline of what had happened.

Dumbledore paused for a moment, his long beard swaying gently with his breath. He turned to Snape: "Severus, do you have anything to add?"

Snape's dark eyes flashed with a complex light: "Selwyn did use that... word." He said slowly, his voice low and restrained, "but I didn't see the initial attack." He glanced at Cullen, a fleeting, unreadable emotion in his eyes.

Professor McGonagall said sternly, “In any case, it’s bad enough that four students ambushed one, but Mr. Hawthorne, your act of revenge is equally unacceptable. You should seek the help of a professor after you have subdued them, except for Professor Eisenberg, of course.” She then glanced at Castor beside her.

Then she looked at Dumbledore, her expression resolute, "I suggest deducting fifty points from Slytherin for this underhanded ambush. Hawthorne, in turn, needs to be punished—one night a week for two months."

Surprisingly, Snape did not object to the punishment, but simply nodded with a grim face. His gaze frequently swept towards the black gem in Castor's hand, his eyes filled with vigilance.

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, his silvery-white eyebrows furrowing slightly. Fawkes' portrait on the wall behind him seemed to chirp softly, as if awaiting his judgment. Finally, he said, "I think Minerva's suggestion is fair. Severus, please take these students to the infirmary with Minerva. Victor, Cullen, please come with me to the Headmaster's office."