The excitement of the Duelling Club's internal activities spread like wildfire—
More Little Wizards with nothing better to do flocked to the Duelling Club classroom. Some couldn't find anyone to invite them in, so they simply crowded around the doorway, craning their necks and peering inside eagerly.
Seeing this, Professor McGonagall calmly conjured several large mirrors. Through mutual reflection between them, she arranged a high-definition "live broadcast" in the corridor.
These mirrors, conjured by the Transfiguration professor herself, were exceptionally clear! The angles at which they were hung and placed were perfect too—clearly the work of a perfectionist with a mastery of geometry.
The beautiful Professor McGonagall is mighty and impressive!
Standing on the raised platform, Professor Flitwick passionately concluded:
"Today, you've all done splendidly. You are the future of the wizarding world—and I'm very proud of you! Please take good care of the parchment in your hands; it will continue to record your points and match schedules."
With a wave of his wand, twelve duelling platforms rose from the floor and stacked neatly against the wall. Then, the long table that had been positioned along the side was moved to the centre of the classroom.
"In addition to duelling matches, the club committee has arranged a few other fun activities. As the fourth-ranked event, everyone may participate and challenge themselves."
All eyes in the room turned in unison to the oddly shaped and coloured objects displayed on the long table, each Little Wizard guessing what these items might be.
"This time, our fun activity is: Cutting Charm Level Test," Professor Flitwick announced excitedly. "This is content from the first-year Charms syllabus!"
"In front of you, from left to right, are—"
The ever-smiling Professor Flitwick chirped out a string of terms that left many of the Little Wizards thoroughly baffled—
"Talc."
The Little Wizards: …??
"Gypsum."
"Calcite."
"Iron."
The Little Wizards: Finally something we recognise.
"Apatite."
"Moonstone."
"Quartz."
"Spinel."
"Stishovite."
"Diamond."
After this stream of geological terminology, more than half the Little Wizards looked thoroughly overwhelmed, as if they'd just been knocked out cold by the periodic table.
"Our fourth-ranked activity is: use a Cutting Charm to slice the objects in front of you, carving the specified marks on their surfaces to earn corresponding points. From left to right, the difficulty gradually increases, and the scores rise accordingly!"
"Don't underestimate the Severing Charm!" Professor Flitwick beamed spiritedly. He could practically envision his Charms class becoming the most popular in the school. "Although it's a first-year spell, when you actually use it—you'll see! Small changes in technique can lead to vastly different results!"
As soon as this testing format—long dominant in the "Qidian fantasy section" and perfect for dramatic reveals and satisfying "basic human urges"—was introduced, it immediately sparked intense interest among the Little Wizards, who broke into lively discussion.
"It's like this—from here to there, the materials get progressively harder, so it becomes increasingly difficult to leave a mark on their surfaces," Lily, always quick to grasp key points, quietly explained to her friend Mary.
Sirius and James exchanged knowing grins. He and Regulus had done similar experiments at home, and naturally, Sirius had shared them with his friends.
He was already predicting future activities for the Duelling Club—many of which he and Regulus had brainstormed before—like high-temperature flame tests, boulder control games using magic, spell-carved ice sculptures, speed-bursting charm-bubbles, levitating and dodging weeping willows... the possibilities were endless.
In the crowd, Regulus clapped along, joining the applause for Professor Flitwick. For him, the greatest benefit of such projects was that they could be run without teacher supervision. No one wanted to overwork Flitwick and the others—they already had their hands full.
He made a mental note: they really needed to push for teaching assistant roles at Hogwarts and start recruiting more staff.
Sustainable wool is the best wool.
…
Due to the overwhelming number of sign-ups through the Developing Paper, the competition ultimately adopted a lottery system.
All the club's Little Wizards clutched their parchments tightly, waiting for information to appear summoning them to take the challenge.
"Severus Snape—Mohs scale of six! Mohs scale of six!"
After announcing the score, the supervising prefect, Fowley, couldn't help but feel a trace of unease—Why are the lower-year students so fierce? I'll have to practise more when I get back…
Fortunately, as both a prefect and a member of the club committee, Regulus had given him a heads-up… otherwise, today could have been rather embarrassing. A flicker of gratitude towards Black rose in his heart.
Several other prefects had the same thought.
"Severus, that was excellent!" Regulus applauded vigorously, providing full emotional support to Severus Snape—As expected of the future inventor of Sectumsempra!
Making his friends happy—that was one of the goals of speaking up.
Severus walked back to Regulus's side, a faintly proud expression on his face, unable to suppress the small smile tugging at his lips—Ha! That Potter only scored a four, managing to carve a triangle on the iron at best.
"I haven't practised the Cutting Charm in ages," the Ravenclaw prefect attempted to save face before taking their turn. In the end, they also achieved a score of six—which, to be fair, wasn't bad at all.
Severus glanced happily towards Lily, and the little sun herself was also applauding him.
See? Wasn't that a proper face-slap with strength?
"Everything is going fine~" Reg muttered.
Look, wasn't this the moment for a simple-minded, short-sighted villain to come forward and challenge him, Regulus? Yet even Rabastan Lestrange—whom he'd provoked directly—showed no reaction.
They weren't fools!
...Could it be that he was the villain?
Heh. He hadn't signed up at all—the game he designed himself, he had no intention of participating in.
"Next up: Sirius Black."
The elder Black stepped up and successfully stopped at stage five. But instead of leaving the stage, he turned and walked calmly toward the diamond on the far right, under the astonished gazes of all present.
Could it be...?
"Professor, please allow me to try," he said politely to Professor Flitwick, exuding a calm presence that seemed to transcend the notion of winning or losing.
After receiving the professor's approval, the entire hall seemed to fall still, every Little Wizard holding their breath in anticipation of what would come next—
The uncut diamond in front of him, though lacking brilliance, clearly held immense potential value.
Sirius gazed at it steadily, his eyes focused and intense, as if at that moment, only two things existed in the world—him and that diamond.
His intense gaze seemed to carry its own magic. If a Hogwarts girl were to be looked at with such a "gaze," she might very well be enchanted for life.
Sirius focused and held his breath.
Willpower was the embodiment of strength!
Of course, willpower alone wasn't enough—there were also all those countless Transfiguration exercises he and Regulus had practised, turning carbon into diamond… He was already extremely familiar with this material called diamond.
"Diffindo!"
Swoosh!
As the incantation fell, a flash of light burst forth—the diamond suddenly cracked. With a crisp sound, one side of the gem split cleanly, revealing a soft, cold, dazzling blue glow beneath its rough exterior.
"Excellent!" Professor Flitwick stood up and applauded, and even Professor McGonagall gave a rare smile and nod. The girls in the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
Sirius looked over—Regulus gave a slight smile and a thumbs-up, then strolled over. James and Lily also joined them.
After a round of praise, Severus unexpectedly addressed Sirius:
"You… were very impressive," Severus said, his tone reluctant, but his eyes sparkled with a grudging respect.
The cheerful Regulus couldn't help but sling an arm around Severus's shoulder.
Sirius shrugged, his easygoing demeanour mirroring Regulus's, and under the watchful eyes of everyone nearby, he said casually: "Thank you. Actually, Regulus taught me."
All sorts of gazes immediately turned toward Regulus—admiration, surprise, envy, even awe and jealousy...
Not gonna lie, this feeling is pretty good—Regulus smiled and rubbed his nose.