Wednesday afternoon's Transfiguration class had just ended.
Winter was approaching quickly, and the autumn wind sweeping through Hogwarts carried an icy bite sharp enough to make students pull their robes tighter around themselves. The castle corridors were already decorated for Halloween, giving the gloomy stone walls a festive atmosphere despite the cold.
"Leo, hurry up!"
Draco tugged impatiently at his sleeve as they made their way down the corridor.
"We're going to the Happy Hut. I tied with Potter yesterday, and I refuse to believe I can't beat him today."
As he spoke, Draco unconsciously reached beneath his robes and touched the Colt holstered beneath his arm. His fingers brushed against the cold metal, and a satisfied smile immediately appeared on his face.
Walking beside him, Leo yawned lazily.
"It's normal to win and lose sometimes," he replied casually. "You're all beginners anyway. Right now, it's basically a competition between amateurs."
His voice gradually trailed off as his attention drifted toward the Halloween decorations hanging throughout the castle. Pumpkin lanterns floated beneath the ceiling, casting warm orange light across the corridors. Enchanted candles flickered along the walls while cheerful ghosts drifted about preparing for tomorrow's feast.
After learning more about the situations surrounding his friends, Leo had eventually equipped each of them with a second-generation version of the Equalizer.
Ever since discovering the Room of Requirement, development had accelerated dramatically. The hidden room gave them a secure location to test weapons and experiment freely without worrying about professors or curious students interrupting them.
Eventually, the group had decided the room needed a proper name.
The Happy Hut.
Arriving at that name, however, had nearly sparked a civil war.
Harry and Ron had stubbornly insisted on calling it Gryffindor Cottage. Draco had fought passionately for Slytherin Manor. The argument escalated so badly that the three boys nearly started dueling in the middle of the room.
In the end, Hermione and Charlotte lost patience and settled the matter themselves.
Happy Hut.
Simple.
Final.
Leo honestly didn't care what they called it as long as it served its purpose, so he never bothered arguing. Thus, the Room of Requirement officially became their secret headquarters.
Thanks to the Happy Hut's firing range and experimental facilities, progress on the Equalizer improved enormously. In less than a month, Leo successfully completed a much more stable upgraded version of the weapon.
He renamed it Equality.
The name earned plenty of eye-rolls from Hermione, but Leo ignored them completely.
During testing, Harry and Draco had practically fallen in love with the weapon.
What began as curiosity transformed into outright obsession the moment they witnessed its destructive capabilities. Naturally, both of them immediately begged Leo for their own versions after the experiments succeeded.
Eventually, he agreed.
But only after establishing strict rules.
First, unless absolutely necessary, the existence of the Colt could never be casually revealed at Hogwarts or anywhere in public.
Second, the weapon could never remain loaded while being carried because it lacked a proper safety mechanism.
Third, under no circumstances could the muzzle be pointed at an ally.
Violating any of those rules would result in immediate confiscation.
And, as Leo had specifically declared:
"Final interpretation rights belong to me."
Nearly a month had passed since the Happy Hut became their hidden base, and Halloween was now only a day away.
Draco remained so focused on his rematch with Harry that he completely ignored Leo's comment about everyone being amateurs. Under normal circumstances, such an insult would have triggered an immediate argument.
Walking alongside them, Charlotte grinned mischievously.
"Draco, you'd better win this time," she teased. "Losing over and over again is getting embarrassing."
Draco lifted his chin proudly.
"Obviously I'm winning today."
Leo merely smiled and said nothing.
Not long afterward, the three arrived outside the Room of Requirement. Once the hidden entrance appeared and they stepped through the iron door, the atmosphere changed instantly.
It felt as though they had crossed into an entirely different world.
Compared to the room Leo had originally discovered, the interior had expanded considerably.
Several additional rooms now connected to the central lounge. The firing range occupied an entire section of the chamber and remained separated from the main area by an enormous crystal wall.
The transparent barrier looked elegant and served a practical purpose as well. It completely absorbed sound, preventing the constant gunfire from driving everyone insane.
Hermione sat beside the fireplace with a copy of Hogwarts: A History open on her lap when they entered.
"You're late," she said without even looking up.
Through the crystal wall, several blurry figures could be seen moving around inside the firing range.
Harry.
Ron.
Neville.
The moment Draco spotted them, his competitive instincts immediately ignited.
He shoved open the crystal door dramatically just as Ron emerged from the range accompanied by faint echoes of gunfire.
"Hey, Weasley!" Draco announced proudly. "I'm beating Potter today."
Ron immediately crossed his arms.
"In your dreams. Harry's not losing."
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"You two argue like children. Just compete already."
Leo sighed helplessly and stepped between them.
"Can we not turn every gathering into a battlefield?" he asked. "We came here to relax."
Hermione finally closed her book and stood up.
"He's right," she said flatly. "Watching you two fight every day is getting repetitive."
At that moment, Harry and Neville stepped out of the shooting range.
Harry spotted Draco and immediately clenched his fist.
"I won't hold back today."
Draco snorted.
"Good. Because I definitely won't either."
Watching the growing excitement, Leo felt both amused and slightly concerned. Competition was healthy, but if everyone got carried away, someone would eventually forget the safety rules surrounding the Equalizers.
"The match is fine," Leo reminded them seriously, "but nobody breaks the safety rules."
Everyone nodded immediately.
Satisfied, Leo began explaining the day's competition format.
"The shooting range contains targets of varying difficulty," he said while gesturing toward the crystal wall. "Each person gets a fixed number of shots. Highest score wins."
He paused briefly.
"This time there's an additional rule. Only the first three shots may contain magical enhancement. Every shot afterward relies entirely on normal firing skill."
The new rule immediately sparked interest.
Magical reinforcement dramatically improved both accuracy and power. Limiting its use meant genuine marksmanship would matter far more than magical talent.
"But control your magic properly," Leo added. "Don't overload the weapon. I'm not interested in watching someone blow off their own hand."
Everyone listened attentively while excitement grew across their faces.
The competition began with Harry.
He picked up his Colt carefully and closed his eyes. Magic flowed through the weapon, causing silver patterns along the barrel to glow faintly.
Then Harry opened his eyes.
Focused.
Determined.
He aimed directly at a medium-difficulty humanoid target.
Bang!
The shot exploded from the barrel.
The target was pierced straight through the chest before flying backward and smashing violently into the wall.
Ron and Neville immediately erupted into cheers.
Draco clicked his tongue impatiently.
Then he stepped forward for his turn.
With a confident smirk, he infused magic into his own Colt and aimed at a moving target several times more difficult than Harry's. After taking a steady breath, he squeezed the trigger.
The bullet streaked across the range like a meteor.
The shot grazed the line between the four-point and five-point zones, but most of the damage remained within the higher-scoring area.
A solid hit.
Several rounds later, Draco ultimately defeated Harry by a single point.
Naturally, he became absolutely unbearable afterward.
Harry looked ready to challenge him to a rematch immediately.
Soon Ron and Neville joined the competition as well. One after another, everyone rotated through the firing range while discussing shooting techniques, magical control, and rune performance.
For most of the afternoon, Leo acted more like an instructor than a participant.
His natural learning ability had already elevated his marksmanship to a frightening level. While he couldn't hit the exact center every single time, landing four bullseyes out of six shots had become completely normal.
As gunfire echoed continuously throughout the range, the score differences gradually widened.
Harry and Draco remained the fiercest competitors by far.
Meanwhile, Hermione and Charlotte lasted only a short while before abandoning the range entirely. Although the wizarding version of the Colt produced less noise than ordinary firearms, the constant gunfire and lingering smell of smoke eventually became unbearable.
Ron managed to endure slightly longer.
Unfortunately, he stopped participating for a far sadder reason.
He ran out of money.
Since Leo personally supplied all ammunition, everyone paid according to usage.
And Ron's budget had limits.
Neville, however, remained completely absorbed in practice.
Shot after shot rang through the range as he calmly adjusted his stance and improved his accuracy.
Leo watched him silently for several moments before the corners of his mouth twitched.
"A sword in one hand and a gun in the other..." he muttered to himself. "Is Neville evolving into some kind of Gun Sword Saint?"
....
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