Although Gryffindor wasn't as united as Hufflepuff, when facing Slytherin, all internal grudges were forgotten.
Soon, a crowd gathered.
Shouting and cursing began to spread.
Unlike Ron, who was getting caught up in the heat of the moment, Basil and Hermione were not infected by the atmosphere.
Hermione because she believed House points were more important.
And Basil... well, his expression was quite fascinating.
Just now, he clearly saw several Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws hiding in the crowd, quietly fanning the flames.
The Hufflepuffs were crude in their instigation, but as the most populous and united House, they covered for each other so well that even if someone noticed something was off, they couldn't pinpoint the culprit.
The Ravenclaws, on the other hand, were precise in their instigation.
While almost everyone dismissed them as bookworms, some pretended to be deep in thought, muttering to themselves; others buried their faces in books, not watching where they were going; some were carefully observing a peeled potato...
They just happened to pass through the crowd of Slytherins and Gryffindors.
Accidentally stepping on someone's foot, bumping into someone's head, and so on.
Meanwhile, Snape hid in the shadows of a corner like a giant bat.
Ready at any moment to deduct points—blatantly biased, of course.
Is it really worth being this shady over a useless House Cup?
Basil felt his worldview cracking.
No wonder Gryffindor, despite hogging all the talented students (protagonists), hadn't won the House Cup in years.
It wasn't just Snape sabotage.
It was Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too.
Sure, they didn't want Slytherin to win, but they didn't want Gryffindor to get too many points either.
In the end, the fight didn't break out.
Although Flint was despicable, he seemed to prefer defeating Gryffindor on the Quidditch pitch.
And he wanted to promote how excellent his first-year player was.
So, under the restraint of the burliest of the burly (Flint), the other hulking Slytherins backed down.
"Hey! Basil, you noticed it too, right?" Percy suddenly appeared behind him.
Basil nodded.
Percy: "You're surprised?"
"Yes," Basil signaled Hermione with his eyes not to speak yet, then said, "I don't understand. From my observation, isn't Slytherin the public enemy of the whole school? Anyone winning the House Cup is fine as long as it's not Slytherin. But today?"
Percy laughed. "This is targeting Slytherin. Didn't you notice they were only bumping into Slytherin students? If a fight really broke out, they would have joined in their own House styles, making it impossible even for Snape to bias his intervention effectively." He sighed nostalgically. "It's a pity. The last time such a big confrontation happened was two years ago. The protagonists back then were Fred and George. They had just started school."
"A pity?" Hermione began to doubt her ears.
She thought Percy was on her side (the side of rules).
---
Just one night passed. By the next day...
Almost every student and portrait knew that Slytherin and Gryffindor had recruited the two youngest Seekers in a century.
For a time, all conversation in the castle revolved around this.
But no one questioned if Wood and Flint had gone mad.
Every student who witnessed the aerial duel between Harry and Malfoy during Flying Class was full of praise for their skills.
Their skills were great, and the fact that Draco Malfoy used a female riding posture also spread throughout Hogwarts.
Even Rita Skeeter joined the fun, publishing an article about it in the Daily Prophet.
But Basil didn't have time to care about this.
He was humbly seeking instruction from the Youth Version Voldemort inside the Chamber of Secrets.
Although the [Horcrux · Sealed Diary] Summon Card only summoned a Youth Version Voldemort whose data panel highlighted a single [Dark Arts Proficiency (Strong)]...
There was a caveat.
His System was a manifestation of a NetEase (mobile gacha) game.
NetEase games put a lot of effort into costumes and monetization channels.
But their data panels were relatively simple.
A player's Magic Resistance, Physical Defense, Agility, Strength, Constitution, etc., were all lumped under Health.
And there was no detailed representation of a wizard's magical cultivation level.
So, even though Youth Version Voldemort possessed the magical cultivation and combat experience of a 17-year-old Dark Lord...
Purely on data, he didn't look much different from other excellent students in the same year.
If only it labeled Dark Arts Lv. X, Transfiguration Lv. Y.
Basil couldn't help but sigh again.
In the Chamber, Riddle, using a battered wand found in the Room of Requirement, displayed extremely brilliant combat skills.
One spell flowed into another.
The previous spell always enhanced or paved the way for the next one.
His wand seemed to aim automatically, destroying the tables and chairs Basil suddenly teleported into mid-air one by one.
Even more impressive was Riddle's Killing Curse.
When facing the Killing Curse from the Boggart-Voldemort summoned by Basil, Riddle didn't even look.
He closed his eyes, his wand twirling automatically in his palm, finding that green light.
A more brilliant Killing Curse, accompanied by the sound of an unknown behemoth rushing through the air, shot from the tip of the battered hawthorn wand.
The Boggart-Voldemort's Killing Curse was shattered.
Along with the Boggart itself.
Leaving behind broken stools and table legs scattered everywhere.
He had no choice; the "Practice Room" was counted as part of the [Dueling Component], so the school had to suffer a bit.
Consider it interest for Basil lending Hogwarts Castle to the school to use.
Afterward, Riddle explained the principles.
"My Lord. Your spellcasting methods can be divided into three types."
"I am not referring to Magic and 'System Mana.' But the three methods brought by the wand and the [Magic Book]."
"Spells released purely by the [Magic Book], without your Mental Power guiding them, perform exactly as described on the panel."
"A Stunning Spell only stuns. A Killing Curse only kills. If you consume more 'System Mana,' it only results in simple extra damage. Just brute force. The nature of the spell's power doesn't change."
"But conversely, you don't need to recite incantations. With just a thought, you can 'throw the punch' with almost no mental or physical effort."
"Using a wand—traditional wizard spellcasting—requires full concentration and mental effort when you are unfamiliar with it."
"But you haven't truly combined them. Using a wand and the [Magic Book] simultaneously... you are just enjoying the bonuses of both at the same time."
"In fact, you must have noticed that none of the cards in your [Magic Book] have reached Level 2 yet."
"This is because when you use the cards, you almost never use Mental Power to drive them."
"This only exercises the 'muscle'—the magic power itself. It does nothing to improve your magical cultivation."
"You may have glimpsed the Level 2 [Devil's Snare] created by using both powers simultaneously via a Summon Card."
"But a Level 2 spell is absolutely not just an increase in damage."
"The Level 4 spells boosted by your Echoes aren't truly Level 4 either."
"And your Card Levels are definitely not capped at Level 15 like in the game."
"Actually, a Level 1 spell is already at the level of an ordinary wizard."
"A true Level 2 spell will birth special effects outside the spell's original scope or enhance its base effects according to your will."
"Like my Killing Curse, which can kill other spells. That is not a property of the original Killing Curse."
"This is what Ron called 'personal style'."
Basil was a bit confused.
He lay in his dormitory bedroom, mouth opening but making no sound.
His voice was displaced to Riddle's ear in the secret chamber connected to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor.
"Then what exactly is a Level 2 spell? By your logic, the Stunning Spell I used on Malfoy and his goons, which had Banishing properties, was a Level 2 spell."
Riddle denied this. "That was a Level 1 spell with the properties of a Level 2 spell."
"A true Level 2 spell is more powerful when using the same amount of magic, and simultaneously possesses unique traits based on your personal will."
"Traits that you don't need to inject extra Mental Power to constrain or apply every time."
"It's as if the spell is alive."
"At that stage, your wand will change too, becoming more spiritual."
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