At the Great Hall's entrance, Ryan spotted Professor McGonagall, whom Hagrid had mentioned. She was a witch in green robes and a wizard's hat, with piercing brown eyes. She was tall, and her demeanor and expression were serious—a fact made evident by the sudden silence of the young wizards.
"You're a little late, children," she declared sternly. "Time is running out. Let me tell you what you need to do next—you'll cross the Great Hall and join the other seniors..." She recounted the Sorting ceremony, though without elaborating on its details.
After she finished her brief explanation, Hagrid invited her aside. "Professor McGonagall, on the Black Lake... yes... the Giant Squid..." Hagrid lowered his voice, detailing what had just happened.
Meanwhile, the young wizards were already buzzing with discussion. It was clear that many of them were still a little frightened by what had happened on the Black Lake. Of course, some held different opinions.
"I heard from my grandmother that the Giant Squid from the Black Lagoon has been at Hogwarts for a long time," a chubby-faced young wizard, holding a toad, said. "Legend has it that it's Gryffindor's pet, a spiritual creature that protects Hogwarts students..."
"Just like that ugly thing you're holding?" another added.
But then, platinum-haired Draco Malfoy scoffed. "The beast from the Black Lagoon attacked noble wizards, but what about yours? What did your grandmother expect it to do? Wash your face with slime—Neville Longbottom!"
His wizard robes were intricately embroidered, but now a hole had been torn on the left hem. It was the hole where his robes had caught on the side of the ship when the Giant Squid appeared, stained with moss and water. This was clearly the source of his current attitude.
"Don't talk to Neville like that! Trevor was his grandmother's birthday present!" Hermione, in the crowd, said angrily. As someone who had enthusiastically helped Neville find the toad on the train, she naturally knew the toad's origins from Neville.
"Oh? Who are you?" Malfoy frowned.
Then two young wizards approached him—one short and plump, the other tall and fat... in short, neither looked particularly bright. Notably, Pansy Parkinson was also standing beside them. One of the young wizards leaned over and said something, causing Malfoy to look at Hermione with even more disdain.
"Mudblood, how dare you speak to me?" he sneered.
His words clearly angered even more people—at least the two young wizards around Hermione gave him a noticeably unfriendly look. Malfoy, however, held his head high, scanning the two young wizards with clearly angry expressions.
"And you... red hair—you must be a Weasley," he said with a haughty expression. "Look at those ugly robes of yours. Are they made from your brother's old clothes?"
Hearing this, Ron Weasley's face flushed crimson. He clenched his fists and even reached into his sleeve, as if to pull out his wand. But Malfoy ignored him, turning to another young wizard.
"And... oh, I've heard for a long time that Harry Potter will be starting school this year," he said, looking at the bespectacled boy. "But you shouldn't make friends with the wrong people—the Weasleys? A disgrace to pure-blood families. They can't even get into Slytherin, the symbol of honor."
"And that Mudblood..."
He finished his words, and Ron was about to draw his wand from his sleeve to curse Malfoy. But before he could do that, a voice rang out.
"Silencio!"
Malfoy found himself unable to speak. No matter how hard he tried, no sound came out of his throat. "I've heard enough," the voice said. The young wizards looked up and saw the caster of the spell—Ryan Elias.
At this moment, Ryan walked toward Malfoy. His face didn't show much anger—only indifference—or perhaps this was a manifestation of a deeper rage. All the young wizards subconsciously made way for him.
"There are many problems with what you just said, Mr. Malfoy," Ryan said softly, stepping in front of Malfoy. "First, magical creatures like the giant squid, which have lived for centuries, possess intelligence comparable to any wizard. Calling them 'beasts' is a sign of profound lack of education—just like you guys like to call other wizards 'Mudbloods'!"
As Ryan spoke, Pansy Parkinson's pretty face, not far behind Malfoy, paled visibly. At the same time, Draco Malfoy's two henchmen—the two chubby young wizards—reached out for their wands.
But...
"Petrificus Totalus," Ryan waved his hand, and their bodies instantly froze, slamming heavily to the ground. Ryan, unfazed, gracefully retracted his wand and continued to look at Malfoy. "Secondly, I noticed you mentioned Slytherin—you said it symbolizes the honor of blood..."
He looked at Malfoy, his pale blue eyes still cold. He shouldn't have taken action. After all, getting angry with a child was unseemly for him. But there was no way; the young wizard named Malfoy had managed to infuriate him.
It wasn't just his insults against Shuja'ah, but more importantly—on the way to the Great Hall with Hagrid, he'd heard plenty of young wizards' opinions about the four houses. He was struck by the rift between the four houses, especially the way most young wizards described Slytherin.
Dark wizards, followers of the Dark Lord, bigots, evildoers, conceited rich kids... in short, few were favorable.
This was the thing Ryan couldn't accept the most.
"Slytherin's honor has nothing to do with blood," Ryan said, his gaze fixed on Malfoy, his voice soft but clear. "If you don't understand, that's fine—I'll teach you," he said calmly. "But before that... you should improve your manners, Mr. Malfoy."
"I think rinsing your mouth would be a good start. Maybe you'll stop saying those dirty words—clean it up."
He waved his wand casually, and water and foam began to form in Malfoy's mouth. He began to struggle in fear, and the water and foam soaked his collar. But just then...
"Oh, my God!" Professor McGonagall, who had synchronized the situation with Hagrid, interrupted him with a cry of surprise. She waved her wand, breaking Ryan's spell
"What are you doing?" Her expression grew serious.
'Cleaning up the mess,' Ryan wanted to say it. But instead, he just smiled at Professor McGonagall. "Professor, as you can see... Draco Malfoy challenged me to a duel, and I accepted."
He was confident that this wouldn't land him in trouble. After all, if this were a thousand years ago, Draco Malfoy's insult would be considered a challenge to fight to the death. The boy was lucky that he grew up in such a peaceful period, where even a family full of arrogant lpeople ike him could still walk freely without any repercussion...
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Author's note
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