"What on earth is that?"
"Such a powerful... alchemical item?"
"That's Harry Potter! As expected of Harry Potter!"
"Idiot, it's those two alchemical items that are powerful. I could do it too if I had them!"
"I want to buy a pair."
"I want them too!"
"But where are they sold? Does Ollivanders have them?"
"I knew that old man was hiding things. This stuff looks way more useful than a wand..."
The young wizards shouted in excitement, whispering and debating inside their compartments.
Harry was the same age as them, yet he could suppress a group of upper-year students with just two alchemical items. The young wizards felt a shared sense of pride.
If they bought the same things, could they be that powerful too?
Harry gripped both guns and fired continuously, holding the entire corridor at bay single-handedly.
The opposing side was firmly suppressed by the shockwaves and accurately tracked bullets. A crowd of students lay on the floor; even those who had recovered didn't dare to stand up easily.
However, the Slytherins would never admit defeat so easily, especially when facing a child who hadn't even started school yet, even if he was the Savior.
Being knocked unconscious by the Savior was a little embarrassing, but no more so than Voldemort's defeat.
But being scared into fleeing without a fight was not only humiliating but would also lead to Howlers from their parents and having their pocket money cut for the entire semester. It was obvious which was the lesser of two evils.
Unlike the younger students, the upper-year students were beginning to see through the trick.
"The intensity of the spells coming from those things in Harry's hands doesn't seem very high, does it?"
"And it's just a simple impact; the effect is too ordinary."
"Give it a rest. How many spells do you even know right now? Those things don't even require an incantation. I'm definitely going to make my dad buy me a pair."
"They must be incredibly expensive."
"Arrogant as the Slytherins are, you have to admit they have the skills to back it up. Look, they've found a way to counter him."
A three-hundred-pound fat boy was pushed to the very front. The pale blue shockwaves slammed into him, sending ripples through his flesh.
Thud, thud, thud...
After a series of dull impacts, the fat boy's face twisted in pain, but he was held firmly by the group behind him, used as a human shield.
Malfoy and his two lackeys were paralyzed with fear. The two cronies dragged Malfoy into a corner, not daring to move an inch.
Harry was panting heavily. The continuous output of magic bullets was leaving him exhausted.
As everyone knows, handling a handgun is a very physically demanding activity. Little Harry's body couldn't keep up, and his firepower gradually began to wane.
He could no longer maintain high focus. The bullets, now lacking precise control, couldn't curve around the meat shield at the front and instead slammed fruitlessly into the poor fat boy.
The frequency and intensity of the shots dropped significantly.
"This is bad. Harry Potter is going to lose."
Hermione stomped her feet in anxiety, her face full of reproach. "What is that other guy doing? Just watching the show? Why is only Harry fighting? Harry is clearly standing up for him!"
Ron shrugged from the side. "Maybe he doesn't know any magic. We're all freshmen, after all. Harry Potter is the exception; he's the Savior."
It looked like it was over!
The same thought crossed everyone's mind. A few wizards from other houses drew their wands, intending to save Harry at the last second.
By daring to stand up for a friend against a powerful enemy and even holding the upper hand for a time, Harry had won everyone's favor.
Many couldn't bear to see Harry fall into the hands of those Slytherins and be humiliated.
As for the other freshman? Forget it. The moment he let Harry fight alone, everyone lost all interest in him.
He was nothing but a coward.
Things developed exactly as everyone expected.
Harry panted for breath. Ebony had been lowered, and White Ivory fruitlessly emitted shockwaves that were entirely absorbed by the fat boy's body.
The Slytherins spotted their opening. Wands poked out from the gaps around the fat boy, and several multicolored spells flew toward Harry.
Even before the magic hit, some of the Slytherins were already smirking. They would defeat the Savior and curry favor with the Malfoy family—a total win-win!
Hermione covered her eyes in terror, unable to watch.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Clatter...
A strange sound reached Hermione's ears. She peeked through her fingers and saw over a dozen diamond-shaped ice shields hovering in front of Harry, intercepting all the spells.
Shattered ice fell to the floor, clinking against the metal deck.
The crowd was stunned. Everyone stared blankly at the floating ice shields, instinctively assuming a professor had intervened.
But after looking around, they only saw the 'coward' walking out of the compartment, wand raised.
Makiya patted Harry on the shoulder. "How are you holding up?"
Harry looked at the ice shields in front of him in shock, quickly realizing that Makiya had acted.
He immediately accepted the reality and leaned against the carriage wall to rest, taking deep, ragged breaths.
In Harry's view, Makiya's talent far exceeded his own. Using ice to create shields against magic attacks was perfectly normal for him.
"I'm exhausted!" Harry gasped, swallowing hard. "And once I got nervous, I couldn't aim properly."
"That's normal. It'll get better with practice." Makiya pushed Harry back into the compartment and pointed to his head. "Next time, remember to go for the head. Wizards are quite sturdy."
Harry was still too disciplined; he kept aiming for the chest, which failed to cause enough effective casualties to thin their ranks.
But that was just as well. While recently processing softening materials, Makiya had inadvertently invented a small spell. It was time for its grand debut.
The ice shields rotated slowly around his body as Makiya turned to face the crowd.
The Slytherins instinctively took several steps back, holding their breath.
This young wizard was shrouded in strangeness and seemed completely composed. None of the shrewd Slytherins wanted to be the first to stick their necks out.
With their retreat, the fat boy at the very front was left exposed.
He looked around dizzily, his wand having long since vanished. He cracked his neck, clenched his fists, and began walking toward Makiya.
Makiya pointed his wand at the fat boy and softly uttered an incantation:
"Dick-Knot!"
A grey light shot from the tip of the wand, hitting the fat boy's body with lightning speed. The magical pulse surged through his entire system. The fat boy shuddered violently, and his expression instantly contorted.
"Aaaaaaaagh!!!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the entire train. Those who heard it felt their hearts sink, and those who saw it were moved to tears.
"Aaah, it's... it's tied... someone help... untie it..." The fat boy clutched his crotch and collapsed on the spot, instantly losing all strength.
"Hiss..."
A collective gasp filled the air as the boys felt a wave of phantom pain.
The Slytherins were breaking out in cold sweat. Facing the steadily approaching Makiya, they could only retreat further with their wands raised.
A wicked smirk played on Makiya's lips as he cast the spell again.
"Dick-Knot!"
Another boy clutched his 'little brother' and rolled on the ground in agony. The remaining Slytherins frantically tried to shout counter-spells, but their panic caused their magic to fizzle.
The few spells that did succeed were perfectly intercepted by the ice shields.
Makiya pointed again, and the grey magic struck a short upper-year student.
The boy jumped three feet in the air, nearly hitting the ceiling of the carriage.
"Huh?" The boy shook himself and realized that while there was a moment of discomfort, it didn't actually hurt. "I'm okay?"
Makiya shifted into full actor mode, his face darkening as he frowned deeply. He fired the spell again, but the boy remained completely unharmed.
Makiya's expression flickered several times before he finally let out a look of sudden realization.
"I see!"
Makiya shook his head and sighed. "As expected of my first attempt at developing a spell. I lacked experience; this magic has a massive flaw!"
"What flaw?" an onlooker from the crowd couldn't help but ask.
Makiya said with a dead serious expression, "If the subject's own size is too short and they lack the basic anatomical length to be tied in a knot, my spell simply fails. It means this curse is naturally ineffective against some people!"
He looked full of remorse, sighing again and again.
The onlookers: "???"
What a terrifying spell!
Terrifying in every possible sense!
The older girls suddenly came to a realization, and the looks they gave the boy immune to the spell became very subtle.
That boy's face turned from blue to white. His eyes darted around twice before he suddenly let out a piercing shriek and collapsed to the floor, wailing uncontrollably.
"Aaah! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]