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Chapter 61 — The Shadow in the Passage
At that moment, a pair of green eyes appeared on the wall behind Theodore.
In the observation room, Douglas Holmes frowned the instant he saw the spell name displayed on the wall's magical monitor.
Beside him, Draco Malfoy noticed the change in Douglas's expression and muttered under his breath.
"Idiot."
He was, of course, talking about Theodore Nott.
The blazing fire Nott had produced was the Fire Curse, a form of advanced dark magic. Once unleashed, such flames were notoriously difficult to control.
Fortunately, the one who had cast it was only a second-year student.
If an adult wizard had used that spell, the entire transfigured training environment Douglas had created would have instantly reverted to its original form.
Douglas sighed inwardly.
He truly couldn't understand why some pure-blood families dared to teach their children such dangerous dark magic.
Didn't they realize that long-term use of dark magic could damage a wizard's mind and magic?
Reluctantly, Douglas stepped into the passage.
The fire was still burning weakly—stubborn but barely alive. With a flick of his wand, he extinguished the unstable flames.
He then carefully inspected the surrounding environment. After confirming that none of the cave structures had been damaged, he finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
A moment later, he cast:
"Zombie Float!"
Theodore Nott was lifted and carried out of the passage.
However, Douglas did not immediately remove the Full Body Bind Curse.
Instead, he simply placed Nott upright in the corner of the room like a statue.
Then Douglas looked back at the group of Slytherin students.
"Who's next?"
Draco glanced around the group before his gaze settled on Gregory Goyle.
Goyle shook his head frantically and retreated behind the others.
Draco frowned slightly. He needed someone to go in and figure out what was happening inside so he could clear the challenge in a single attempt.
So he turned toward the tall, broad-shouldered boy beside him.
"Crabbe. It's up to you."
Draco even raised his arm ceremoniously and patted Vincent Crabbe on the shoulder—like a general sending a soldier into battle.
"I have high hopes for you."
Crabbe said nothing. He simply walked toward the cave entrance.
Douglas, who had been silently observing his class representative's leadership, spoke up just as Crabbe reached the entrance.
"Mr. Crabbe," Douglas said calmly, "don't use any dark magic."
Douglas had a particularly clear memory of Crabbe.
During the final battle of the Second Wizarding War, Crabbe had once released a Fiendfyre Curse inside the Room of Requirement. The uncontrollable flames eventually consumed him.
Crabbe scratched his head awkwardly.
He struggled to master even ordinary spells—how could he possibly know dark magic?
Still, he nodded obediently and stepped into the passage.
Draco smirked slightly.
"Professor, don't worry. Crabbe can barely manage first-year spells. There's no way he knows advanced dark magic."
Douglas glanced at him.
Dark magic is far easier to learn than ordinary magic, he thought.
The darker your thoughts, the easier the spell succeeds.
But there was little point explaining such things to second-year students, especially Slytherins.
Inside the passage, Crabbe raised his wand.
"Lumos."
The wand tip lit up.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
People always called him stupid—but Crabbe believed he could think when it mattered.
He had listened carefully when Professor Holmes explained the rules of the challenge earlier.
The task was simple.
All he needed to do was pass through the passage safely.
There was no need to fight anything.
Just keep moving forward.
Crabbe looked down at the path beneath his feet.
Then—
He ran.
Head lowered, he sprinted straight ahead.
Despite his reputation for dullness, Crabbe actually possessed decent physical ability.
Because he was running with his head down, he never noticed the rustling sound of the puppet creature awakening behind him.
Soon he reached the puddle-filled section.
But he didn't slow down.
He stepped forward without hesitation, paying no attention to whether he landed on puddles or dry ground.
The low-lying area stretched roughly three meters.
On the third step—
His foot slipped into a deep pit hidden in the puddle.
Crabbe fell forward heavily.
Fortunately, he had thick skin and strong muscles. Moreover, Douglas had deliberately placed soft soil near the trap area.
Crabbe climbed up without serious injury.
Without even turning around, he continued running and quickly reached the first corner of the passage.
Outside the cave, the Slytherin students stared in disbelief.
When they saw Crabbe successfully turn the first corner, their gazes shifted toward Theodore Nott, who still stood frozen in the corner.
Their expressions were filled with disdain.
Nott felt both furious and humiliated.
To lose to Crabbe of all people was unbearable.
(The incantation of the Full Body Bind Curse is Total Petrificus. The victim becomes completely paralyzed, but their hearing, vision, and thoughts remain intact. It is fundamentally different from true petrification.)
Perhaps the students waiting outside did not notice anything unusual.
But Douglas was very surprised.
He had never expected the first student to reach the second stage would be Crabbe.
And the reason was simply—
Physical ability.
Still, Crabbe had unknowingly discovered a small loophole Douglas had intentionally built into the challenge.
If someone moved fast enough, even wasting a little time in the puddles wouldn't allow the puppet to catch them.
After rounding the corner, Crabbe kept running.
The passage ahead was scattered with loose rocks, forcing him to dodge obstacles as he ran.
Two steps later, he suddenly felt something was wrong.
He didn't need the Lumos Charm anymore.
Behind him, a torch burned brightly, casting strong light down the corridor.
The reason he noticed this—
Was the massive shadow stretching across the ground in front of him.
It looked as if something enormous was about to swallow him.
The creature was behind him.
The twisted shadow flickered violently in the torchlight, forming grotesque shapes that made Crabbe's scalp tingle.
Terrified, Crabbe ran even faster.
But after several steps, something felt strange.
It seemed like the floor itself was sliding backward beneath his feet.
He didn't dare stop.
He kept running.
And slowly, he realized something even worse.
The passage ahead—which should have been short—seemed to stretch endlessly.
The farther he ran, the heavier his chest felt.
It was as if the rock walls on both sides were closing in on him.
Finally, Crabbe couldn't take it anymore.
With a roar, he spun around and raised his wand.
But before he could think of a spell—
His body froze completely.
Moments later, Douglas brought Crabbe out of the passage.
With a casual flick of his wand, he lifted the Full Body Bind Curse from both Crabbe and Theodore.
Nott stood silently in the corner, his eyes filled with cold hatred.
Crabbe, meanwhile, still looked terrified.
Douglas took out a piece of chocolate and handed it to him.
"Have some chocolate. It helps calm your nerves and improve your mood."
Then Douglas glanced at Nott.
"Mr. Nott, would you like a piece?"
Crabbe hesitated for a moment before snatching the chocolate and stuffing it directly into his mouth.
"Thank you," he mumbled.
The words were so muffled by chewing that Douglas could barely tell whether Crabbe had spoken at all.
Still, after eating the chocolate, Crabbe's expression clearly improved.
Whether that was the effect of the chocolate or simply the act of eating, Douglas wasn't entirely sure.
Nott hesitated briefly.
Then he refused.
Douglas did not insist.
He simply put the remaining chocolate away—under Crabbe's rather hopeful gaze.
Douglas smiled inwardly.
Still just children after all.
"Mr. Vincent Crabbe," Douglas announced calmly, "you performed well in today's practical exercise. Five points to Slytherin."
He then turned to Nott.
"Mr. Theodore Nott—five points from Slytherin for using dark magic during class."
The Slytherins stared at Crabbe in shock.
Crabbe receiving bonus points in class was almost unbelievable.
Crabbe grinned happily.
This was the first time in his life he had earned points for his House.
In his mind, Professor Holmes instantly became a very good person.
After laughing, Crabbe glanced at Nott with a provocative grin.
Nott's already gloomy face darkened further.
If the professor weren't standing there, he swore he would have hexed Crabbe until the boy couldn't stand up again.
Douglas glanced at Nott.
He seemed strangely calm about the point deduction.
Douglas asked quietly:
"So it seems Mr. Nott understands the consequences of using advanced dark magic?"
Nott remained silent, his expression dark.
Of course he knew the consequences.
But he had believed that if the spell succeeded, he could simply extinguish the flames afterward.
Inside that dark passage, he assumed no one would know what magic he had used.
After all, he had gone in first.
And once he came out, Douglas had placed him in the corner the entire time.
He hadn't even realized that a spell-monitoring map was displayed on the wall.
If his cousin hadn't repeatedly warned him to show proper respect toward this Muggle-born professor, Nott would have already stormed out of the classroom.
He had lost points anyway.
Douglas noticed his attitude but said nothing.
He was well aware that many Slytherins disliked him because he was Muggle-born.
The signs had been obvious from the first class.
Later, when he designed the practical exercises for the seventh-year students, Douglas had intentionally avoided casting powerful dark magic himself.
Instead, he instructed them where certain dark spells should be placed in the training area—and explained how to counter them.
Many of those counter-methods were not written in any textbook.
Douglas had developed them himself after deeply studying dark magic.
He spoke about those dangerous spells as if they held no secrets at all.
That demonstration alone had forced the originally skeptical Slytherin seventh-years to respect him.
But the real reason Slytherin students showed restraint toward Douglas was simpler.
During those lessons, Douglas often cast the Lumos Charm casually.
Yet the effect of his magic was blindingly bright.
For students who secretly practiced dark magic, the light felt like the painful shock of someone who had lived in darkness for years suddenly facing the sun.
Because of that, they came to a single conclusion.
This professor—who was only a few years older than them—
Was extremely powerful.
After discussing the matter with Professor Snape, the Slytherin Head Boy had issued a quiet order:
Slytherin students were not allowed to disrespect Professor Holmes, regardless of his Muggle-born status.
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