Return of Salazar Slytherin

"An interesting spell, the 'Slugulus Eructo,' is it?" Rhys chuckled, shaking his head, pleased with Daphne's actions. 

What a great student, knowing to side with the teacher.

Much better than those who would laugh out loud watching a teacher get beaten down by a flaming sword. 

After spending a long time with Adrian in the past, Rhys often wondered if he owed him something in a past life. But after spending time with Daphne, Rhys was sure: he didn't owe Adrian anything. If anyone owed debts, it was Adrian! Otherwise, why send Daphne to repay them? 

It had to be said, even sharing the same surname and living in the same manor, the gap between people was wider than that between humans and Flobberworms. 

Up on the stage, Flitwick noticed the commotion in the Great Hall.

Together with Snape, he stepped off the platform and quickly approached Malfoy. 

"Ugh…" Right in front of the professors, Malfoy vomited two more slugs. 

Flitwick frowned, conjuring a large bucket and thrusting it into Malfoy's hands. 

"Just throw up in here. Once you've gotten it all out, you'll be fine." 

Malfoy: "?!" 

He wanted to shout for Flitwick to provide a more reliable treatment, but Flitwick was a seasoned professor, and Malfoy didn't dare cross him. Helpless, he turned to Snape with a pleading look, hoping the professor who usually favored him might do something. 

Snape thought for a moment, recalling how Lucius Malfoy had looked after him during their time at Hogwarts. He reached into his robes and pulled out a small vial. 

"Drink this. It'll help you vomit faster," Snape said, his face as impassive as ever. 

There was no other choice. With dozens of slugs writhing in Malfoy's stomach, the best solution was to expel them. 

Malfoy: "..." 

Seeing that even his "support" had said so, he could only accept his fate—though these bitter consequences would have to wait until he finished vomiting slugs. 

As Malfoy silently hugged the bucket and expelled the contents of his stomach, the other students were energetically practicing the Disarming Charm. 

Snape's potion proved highly effective.

After about fifteen minutes, Malfoy stopped vomiting, having completely emptied his stomach of slugs.

By this time, most of the young wizards had also become proficient in casting the Disarming Charm. 

Seeing that the majority of students could now disarm the wooden dummies, Professor Flitwick announced the final stage of the evening's activities: student duels. 

"Alright, children, it looks like you've all mastered the Disarming Charm—excellent work! Now, we can move on to the most exciting part of tonight!" 

Hearing Professor Flitwick's words, the young wizards present began to suspect what was coming. 

"Next, any student who wants to duel can come up to the stage for a match!" 

The crowd erupted in cheers so loud that it felt as though the Great Hall's ceiling might be blown off. 

Professor Flitwick proceeded to explain the rules and rewards. Tonight's student duels would follow a "king of the hill" format. The longer someone could hold their position on the platform, the greater the rewards.

However, each student only had one chance to participate. If they were defeated or failed to overcome the current "champion," they could not duel again. 

Flitwick hinted that the ultimate prize would be highly "tempting," but no matter how much the students begged, he refused to reveal what it was. This only fueled their enthusiasm even more. 

Many young wizards began shouting loudly, hoping that Professor Flitwick would let them go first—their wands practically itching for action. 

"Don't rush. Let's determine the first student to go up through a draw," Flitwick said cheerfully, pulling out a lottery box from seemingly nowhere. 

The students fell quiet, eagerly watching as Professor Flitwick reached into the box. 

After fumbling around for a moment, he pulled out a small slip of paper. He glanced over the crowd with a faint smile on his lips. 

Then, unfolding the paper, he read the name aloud: "Daphne Greengrass." 

Standing behind him, Snape and Lupin clearly saw that there wasn't a single letter on the slip of paper. Obviously, the first student to go up had been carefully chosen by Flitwick. 

Professor Flitwick had been paying close attention to Daphne Greengrass, a Slytherin. He thought there was something exceptional about the young witch and decided to take this opportunity during the dueling club event to test her abilities. 

If she truly was special, he would need to inform Dumbledore—students like her, with the potential to greatly influence the wizarding world, must be guided to develop the right values. 

The last thing they needed was another Dark Lord emerging from Slytherin. 

When Daphne heard her name, the excitement and eagerness on her face were impossible to hide.

She glanced at Rhys, who was standing beside her, then tiptoed to lean close to his ear and whispered quickly, "Um, please don't be the first to come up and challenge me, okay? This is such a rare chance…" 

Daphne had confidence in her ability to defeat most Hogwarts students. At worst, she figured it would be an even match. But against Rhys?

She doubted she could last even a single minute. It was a true zero-to-ten matchup. 

She suspected that Rhys could defeat her with ease even without using a wand. 

This was a rare opportunity for her to enjoy herself, and she didn't want her turn to end as soon as it began. 

"Of course." Rhys frowned slightly at the warm breath from Daphne's whisper tickling his ear, taking a small step to the side to put some distance between them. He genuinely had no intention of stepping onto the dueling stage. If Rowena ever found out the little Salazar was dueling little wizards, it would be an indelible stain on his reputation. 

More importantly, Rhys also wanted to gauge Daphne's current combat abilities and see how they compared to other Hogwarts students. 

Since Rhys hadn't faced students of all ages at Hogwarts, he wasn't familiar with their overall skill level. He wanted Daphne to serve as a sort of "quality control" measure—a baseline for evaluating the other students' combat effectiveness. 

Of course, judging by the chaotic scene during the disarming spell practice earlier, the children's practical abilities likely left much to be desired. 

With Rhys's reassurance, Daphne happily ran up to the stage. Seizing the moment, Astoria immediately squeezed in beside Rhys. 

"Watch me knock my sister off the stage later!" 

"Don't go up just yet. Let Daphne test the waters with the other students first," Rhys said, glaring at Astoria and signaling her to behave herself and not disrupt his evaluation. 

"Alright," Astoria replied, reluctantly quieting down. 

"Miss Greengrass, since you're the first student to step onto the stage tonight, I'm granting you a special privilege. You may choose your first opponent," Professor Flitwick announced after Daphne reached the stage, giving her the option. 

Hearing this, Daphne tilted her head slightly, a thoughtful expression appearing on her refined face. 

Finally, she spoke softly: "Anyone will do. After all, everyone here… is weak." 

Boom! 

The Great Hall erupted like a cauldron of boiling oil doused with cold water. 

_________

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