He's Shelby?!
Spike's eyes widened in absolute shock.
As tonight's "medical personnel" amid this chaos, he was intimately familiar with that notorious name.
Look at those corded muscles! Those thick, powerful arms! Those chiseled pectorals!
Professor Sprout would absolutely adore him!
By Merlin's mortar and pestle, this bloke would be absolutely brilliant at cultivating magical herbs!
Why didn't he join Hufflepuff!
Only heaven knew how exhausting tending those temperamental plants could be—you needed proper physical conditioning for such work.
Spike smacked his lips with undisguised envy.
Wait!
This wasn't the moment for such thoughts!
He snapped back to harsh reality.
The hospital wing's fragile door seemed to cry for mercy, creaking and shuddering incessantly, practically ready to collapse from its hinges.
"Mr. Shelby!"
"This is the hospital wing—a sanctuary for patient recovery. You cannot barge in so brutally."
"Madam Pomfrey will be furious!"
All Hogwarts understood that when Madam Pomfrey erupted in anger, even Dumbledore strategically retreated.
The medical assistant's tone carried righteous indignation.
However, as Tiger's gaze descended with predatory intensity, Spike's breath lodged in his throat, complexion draining to ghostly pallor.
"You... you... you..."
"You could... perhaps be gentler..."
Confronted by such ferocious, menacing scrutiny, anyone's smile would appear more ghastly than weeping.
"Get outside and wait..."
"Certainly."
Observing the yellow inner lining of the other's robes, Tiger dispensed with pleasantries. Spike's response was instantaneous—he pivoted directly toward the exit.
"Hey! You cannot abandon us!"
(」???)?
"Return immediately! You must administer our medications!"
(???)
"The Burke family will grant you one substantial favor."
(?n?)
"Stop! I'm warning you!"
(s°□°）s
The Slytherins erupted in overlapping protests, their trembling voices betraying underlying helplessness.
The scenes of ruthless brutalization haunted them like persistent nightmares. Simply closing their eyes summoned those wretched, traumatic images flooding consciousness.
How could they endure solitary confinement with Tiger!
What rational person would cage themselves with apex predators!
Even the typically composed Riley Shafiq couldn't suppress her primal terror, casting desperate, pleading glances toward Spike's retreating silhouette.
The dark-haired girl's subtly flickering gaze was genuinely heart-wrenching, unfortunately Spike remained completely oblivious.
He merely shook his head with resigned helplessness.
Glancing between Tiger and the Slytherins, he spread his palms with a "surely you understand" expression.
"No offense intended, everyone."
"You experienced it firsthand, correct? He'll snap my neck, shatter my limbs."
Spike's tone paused meaningfully, gesturing sympathetically toward the patients. "But you won't. See you momentarily..."
With that declaration, he strode purposefully from the hospital wing, conveniently dragging away Tracy, who'd been peering through the doorway with starry-eyed fascination.
Hufflepuff girls didn't merely appreciate muscular physiques—they also enjoyed witnessing muscle-bound specimens overwhelming helpless, tear-streaked Cedric... in their illustrated manuscripts...
Spike sighed internally.
Absolutely ghastly preferences.
(?_?)（/?＼)
What constitutes fear?
Fear represents the overwhelming, oppressive emotion generated when one desperately attempts escape yet discovers complete powerlessness.
It cannot be resisted, cannot be deflected.
This is pure instinct.
When humans confront such primal responses, they either flee in panic, grovel pathetically, or retaliate with desperate fury.
Tiger wasn't arrogantly conceited.
He comprehended pure-blood aristocrats' inherent arrogance and obsessive nature, which explained his extensive verbal discourse within the common room.
Because he was analyzing—establishing genuine adversaries. Beneath his savage, brutal exterior lurked calculating, profound eyes.
He was evaluating, scrutinizing every individual Slytherin, mentally confirming:
Who deserved burial in the Forbidden Forest.
Who merited drowning in the Black Lake.
Yet surprisingly, aside from that elderly witch who'd seized his collar deserving execution, those he'd dismissed as moronic imbeciles proved universally intelligent.
They all bore intelligence's characteristic flaw—insufficient courage coupled with excessive self-regard.
Their privileged circumstances resembled invisible nets, simultaneously providing protective shelter while constraining their capabilities.
This made them cautious and hesitant, terrified of plummeting from celestial heights to earthly dust. Consequently, they congregated together, sacrificing the vulnerable to preserve the powerful...
Confronting challenges, their instinctive response was avoidance. Encountering obstacles, they preferred concealment. Approaching risks, their hearts filled with paralyzing hesitation.
They perceived direct confrontation as recklessness, challenging authority as naivety, circumventing danger through indirect approaches as wisdom, following stronger leaders as honorable glory.
Their souls fundamentally lacked inner strength.
Tiger experienced mild disappointment.
But disappointed regarding what? He couldn't be bothered analyzing deeply—this represented his desired conclusion anyway...
As the Slytherins dispersed, Tiger departed the common room, proceeding toward the hospital wing.
He carried traces of inexplicable anticipation.
Perhaps these wand-wielding pure-blood aristocrats would provide alternative responses.
Moreover, eliminating one meant death, burying two meant burial—the Forbidden Forest was absolutely perfect for evidence disposal...
However.
Observing this collection of trembling quails before him, the murderous intent in Tiger's eyes gradually transformed into tedium—until he noticed someone refusing to lift his gaze.
Corman Avery's venomous hatred was unmistakably evident. His fearful, cowering eyes flickered with twisted, malicious brilliance, as though desperate to tear Tiger apart immediately.
He assumed that within this dim environment, the despicable Shelby wouldn't notice him whatsoever. Yet Tiger's observation and assessment didn't rely exclusively upon visual perception.
[Bastard, this chocolate bean's emotions taste absolutely delicious. May I consume it shortly?]
Venom's hoarse whisper carried subtle tremors, resembling sighs before savoring exquisite delicacies.
[Just establishing—I don't consume deceased specimens.]
"Do you object to consuming soft ones?"
Tiger approached Corman Avery's bedside with malevolent amusement, the sound of chattering teeth growing increasingly distinct.
"You genuinely desire my death?"
"No, no, no..."
The unexpected voice rendered Corman Avery's physique instantly rigid, cold perspiration cascading.
He gripped bedsheets desperately, attempting to suppress his trembling, terrified of provoking this predator.
The following instant, his venomous pupils contracted sharply.
Tiger forcefully seized his fingers, then pitch-black slime lunged toward his mouth and nostrils, frigid tentacles binding his entire form.
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!"
Corman Avery struggled with terrified desperation.
"Relax."
"I won't provide you that opportunity."
Tiger's sinister laughter escalated, his unrestrained words and actions completely unconcealed. The remaining Slytherins stared with absolute disbelief.
"Madman—he's completely insane!"
"Farley, you cannot continue this!"
Within Riley Shafiq's stunned murmur, heart-wrenching, ear-splitting sounds of shattering bone suddenly erupted throughout the ward.
Accompanied by agonized, muffled groans and violent tremors, every Slytherin's hair stood rigidly erect.
Selwyn cowered in his bed's corner, complexion deathly pale, pristine sheets gradually soaking as droplets merged with blood pooling across the floor...
He occupied the closest position to the pair.
Within moonlight's ethereal illumination, he could distinctly observe Corman Avery's pain-induced bulging veins.
His bloodshot eyes brimmed with terror and desperate pleading, all previous venomous hatred completely dissolving into nothingness.
The harsh symphony of crushing bones continued relentlessly.
Tiger, before everyone's horrified gaze, methodically crushed upward along Corman Avery's shoulder, his smile never reaching his eyes.
Violent tremors and desperate muffled anguish resembled merciless hands, tightly constricting everyone's hearts.
Despairing sobs arose faintly.
Confronting Tiger, they resembled rabbits stunned by predatory roars—incapable of flight, powerless to rise, only able to watch helplessly as the apex predator devoured their companion.
Only Raven Burke's breathing intensified dramatically.
He stared unblinkingly at this spectacle, inexplicable emotions reaching near-ecstatic peaks.
The tremors and whimpering grew progressively weaker...
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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