The students who hadn't been caught in the vines were completely stunned by the scene before them.
Ernie's eyes were wide, his voice trembling.
"Charlie, I've never seen that spell before!"
"That's large-scale Transfiguration," Justin muttered, jaw nearly hitting the table.
He'd never really been interested in Transfiguration, too slow, too theoretical. Why learn to turn sticks into needles when spells were faster and flashier?
But now you're telling him that incredible technique just now... was Transfiguration?
The older Gryffindor and Slytherin students, who hadn't participated in the brawl, were just as shocked.
Seventh-year Gryffindor Victor Mars clicked his tongue in awe.
"That kind of wide-area Transfiguration…"
"I wouldn't be surprised if an adult wizard cast it," said a peer beside him, "but Charlie's only in his first year!"
"A first-year pulled that off?"
"How long has he even been studying magic?"
"He's from a regular wizarding family, right? Shouldn't have had formal magical training before age eleven."
"Maybe he's pure-blood?"
"Yeah right, you're pure-blood and you still can't do that."
Whispers spread rapidly among the upper years.
Percy, as a prefect, felt his scalp go numb.
He'd tried to stop the fight early on, but neither house would listen. Spells had flown everywhere, he almost got hit himself!
Now that the Great Hall had been reduced to chaos, could he even keep this job?
Sweat dotted Percy's forehead.
Meanwhile, Malfoy hung upside down in the vines, pale and still dripping nosebleed. He squirmed and writhed, trying to break free, but the vines only tightened.
"Let me go!" Malfoy's voice was strange, warped by his upside-down position.
"Charlie, I didn't even do anything to you! Why'd you come for me?!"
Charlie didn't respond, he was too busy enjoying his food.
Hermione, meanwhile, was studying the vines closely.
"Charlie cast complex Transfiguration on dozens of objects simultaneously… and he can control the pressure of each vine precisely…"
"How strong is his magical power, exactly?"
Ron tried struggling. "These vines are insane…"
Neville, still holding a fist stained with Malfoy's nosebleed, looked at Charlie with pure admiration.
His blood was still boiling from the fight. He couldn't stop trembling from excitement.
He'd never felt like this before, and it was all thanks to Charlie's words: "The tougher you are, the less people dare to bully you."
Just then, the massive doors of the Great Hall swung open.
Professor McGonagall stepped in and froze.
Then she closed the door, opened it again, and, realizing nothing had changed, gave up.
Gryffindor and Slytherin students dangled from or were tangled in all kinds of monstrous vines.
At the Hufflepuff table, everyone was huddled around Charlie.
The culprit was obvious.
"Are you trying to tear down the whole school?!" McGonagall shrieked.
...
Inside the Deputy Headmistress's Office.
The key participants in the chaos stood lined up in front of the desk.
After listening to the full explanation, Professor McGonagall's anger slowly faded.
She slammed her quill onto the desk, sending a few drops of ink splattering.
"Gryffindor, minus one hundred points."
"Slytherin, minus one hundred points."
Her voice was frigid as ice.
Harry and Malfoy both gawked, jaws wide enough to fit a Golden Snitch.
One hundred points?! Snape's going to kill me, Malfoy was nearly in tears.
One hundred points?! We already lost ninety... Harry stared into the void.
Professor McGonagall turned her gaze to Charlie, her expression complicated.
"Couldn't you have used a gentler way to stop the fighting?"
Charlie lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I acted too impulsively."
His sincerity was flawless, impossible to criticize.
McGonagall's anger ebbed further.
Never argue with teachers, elders, or women, Charlie reminded himself. Especially when the person is all three.
So he confessed and apologized immediately, with impeccable attitude.
That's also why, despite his frequent mischief, most professors still had a good impression of him.
…Well, Snape excluded. Snape thought Charlie was distilled chaos in a bottle.
"Given the state of the Great Hall, the professors had to eat dinner in their offices. But since your intentions were good, I won't deduct points. You'll just serve one month of detention."
Charlie didn't mind. He was already used to it. If he went a week without getting detention, he started coughing.
"Next time, report incidents like this to a professor first," McGonagall said, her tone softening.
"Still… your Transfiguration really was impressive."
She was privately astounded.
That kind of broad, precise control, she'd only barely managed it by fifth year.
If not for the utter destruction of the Great Hall, she'd have awarded him a hundred points on the spot.
"I understand, Professor," Charlie said with a nod, obedient and charming.
"You may go."
Charlie turned and left.
The door closed softly behind him.
Leaving the doomed Gryffindor and Slytherin students to face the full wrath of the lioness.
McGonagall shook her head as she stared at the closed door.
Good thing Charlie isn't in Gryffindor. Their house points wouldn't survive it.
...
Deep within the Forbidden Forest, dead leaves blanketed the ground.
Moonlight filtered through gaps in the canopy, casting flickering shadows across the soil.
The damp wind carried the earthy scent of rot, and the distant hoot of owls echoed through the night.
Snape stood beneath a large oak, black cloak fluttering lightly in the breeze.
His face was hidden in shadow, but his dark eyes gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
"Come out."
A rustle came from the undergrowth.
Quirrell slowly emerged, his purple turban unusually prominent in the moonlit forest.
He wrung his hands nervously.
"S-Severus..." His voice trembled with its usual stammer.
"You're here…"
Snape stepped forward.
The moonlight lit up his sallow face and hooked nose.
"Have you dealt with the three-headed dog?"
His voice was colder than the wind.
Quirrell flinched.
"N-not yet… that beast is ferocious. I-I'm still working on a way around it…"
"Pathetic enough to be a troll's twin."
Snape cut him off, disgust thick in his tone.
"If you've pledged loyalty to the Dark Lord, then carry it out properly. Can't handle something this small? And you call yourself a Death Eater?"
Quirrell shuddered.
Snape had been one of the Dark Lord's earliest followers. A rookie like him wouldn't dare talk back.
He forced a sycophantic smile.
"I'll do my best, Severus."
"You'd better."
Snape snorted and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Quirrell suddenly called out.
"The Master… he said you're to assist me."
Snape halted.
"I know what I'm doing."
And with that, he swept off into the darkness, cloak billowing behind him like wings.
Quirrell stood alone in the chill, the purple turban quivering slightly in the wind.
He raised a trembling hand and touched the back of his head, pain throbbed there like a curse etched into his skull.
"Master… Snape, he-"
"Silence, Quirrell."
A cold, serpentine voice echoed in his mind.
"Snape's loyalty is not in question. But his pride… that will take time to correct."
Quirrell nodded rapidly.
"Yes, Master."
"Focus on your task. The Philosopher's Stone must be secured."
"I understand, Master."
...
On his way back from the Forbidden Forest, Snape's face was unreadable.
The wind tugged at his dark hair, but couldn't mask the storm in his eyes.
The term had barely begun when Quirrell approached him, claiming the Dark Lord needed his help.
To prove his continued loyalty, Snape had no choice but to comply, this was part of the long-standing plan he and Dumbledore had agreed upon.
So outwardly, he would help Quirrell get the Stone.
But behind the scenes, he had to alert Dumbledore to Voldemort's presence inside Quirrell.
The Philosopher's Stone had to be protected at all costs.
Thankfully, the Dark Lord was still weak, too weak to even show himself in person.
Snape quickened his pace.
Hogwarts Castle loomed ahead, its outline half-shrouded in night.
His cloak billowed like a bat's wings through the cold air.
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35 Advanced Chapters on p(a)treon
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters
• Hello guys TL/N: Fanfic recommendation! •
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> Naruto: Mind Control
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