"It's over, we're finished… I never should've come to Hogwarts… never should've gone against the pure‑bloods…"
Catching sight from afar of Ormod and Lorena's miserable state, Didier—who was being escorted by the Marauders—instantly fell into uncontrollable panic, mumbling incoherently as if trying to vent the lingering terror in his heart through words.
"Enough! Can't you just shut up for a moment? Ormod and the others did all of that for you—could you at least show a bit of backbone?!"
James exploded first.
He had already been seething after witnessing Slytherin's bullying with his own eyes, yet had no choice but to obey orders and run because of his lack of strength.
His chest was stuffed full of rage—and the Seeker they were protecting turned out to be such a useless coward.
Unable to hold it in any longer, James finally shouted at Didier, who was a fifth‑year.
He hated iron for not becoming steel.
"I really don't understand how Gryffindor ended up with a coward like you. You don't deserve to be in this great house at all!"
Didier stared, wide‑eyed, at the small lion in front of him—half a head shorter than himself, yet utterly overwhelming him in presence.
For a moment, he was speechless.
He lowered his head in shame, completely unable to say anything.
Only after Lupin and the others managed with great effort to calm James down did Didier mumble, as if trying to defend himself.
"I… I don't want to be like this either, but I'm just so scared…"
Despite years of Quidditch training and a strong build, Didier's performance was enough to be called a disgrace to the upper‑years. Not only did he fail to shoulder his responsibilities in this moment of crisis when everyone was scattered, he even fell short of the courage shown by these first‑year lions.
He shook like a leaf.
Even before the pursuers arrived, Didier was already sobbing with snot and tears, looking like a condemned man being dragged to the gallows, on the verge of collapse.
The more James looked at him, the angrier he became; he could barely stop himself from kicking him a few times.
They ran, weaving through the trees.
The Marauders had no idea how many of their older schoolmates were still on the run, or if they had already been caught by those Slytherin bastards.
A sense of frustration rose within them.
Before today—even for the usually steady Lupin—the Marauders had been growing complacent during these nearly two months at school.
They had built up a fair bit of authority among the first‑years. As long as they didn't run into that one person they least wanted to see, they could swagger around almost anywhere they pleased.
This gave all of them a powerful illusion—and made James and Sirius especially sink into it, unable to pull themselves out.
But today's fight was like a bucket of cold water over their heads, ruthlessly shattering all their fantasies.
Maybe among the first‑years, this little group had enough fame to be proud.
But faced with upper‑year students several times stronger than them, or with hidden societies holding immense influence inside and outside the school, the so‑called Marauders were nothing.
In today's battle, all four of them had repeatedly felt just how lacking their strength was.
They had thought of themselves as "big names," yet they could do almost nothing to change the outcome of this bullying. That realization planted a quiet but firm craving for power in each of their hearts.
Swish—
The sound of cloth brushing past branches reached them.
Ever‑vigilant, Lupin suddenly felt his scalp tingle. There was no time to look back; he could only cry out "Watch out!" and dive forward, narrowly dodging a vicious Jelly‑Legs Jinx skimming over his head.
An annoyed click of the tongue and peals of laughter sounded behind them.
Seeing Lupin fall, James stopped without hesitation, ready to fight to the death, never once considering the option of abandoning him and running alone.
One enemy after another stepped out from behind the trees, their malicious gazes shooting toward them like arrows.
When they realized that the "bodyguards" for Didier were just four first‑years who didn't even reach their chests, they were stunned for a heartbeat, and then an explosion of deafening laughter followed.
All four Marauders' faces went dark.
The contempt coming from their enemies made James's eyes blaze; he no longer had the slightest desire to compromise with this pack of scum who did whatever they pleased.
He suddenly pointed his wand at the leading student, and a Stinging Hex shot out amid his enraged roar.
But Seko—who had three more years of schooling than these clueless little brats—merely flicked his wand lazily. With a casual "Protego," the Stinging Hex was perfectly blocked, and a mocking, contemptuous Petrification Curse shot back at James.
He never even saw what hit him.
With no training from the Duelling Club yet, James was thrown backward like a rag doll, slammed into a tree trunk, and crumpled to the ground, unable to move.
Sirius let out a terrifying roar and, losing all reason, hurled curse after curse at Seko.
Seko blocked them all with ease.
He lifted his chin slightly and spoke in a proud tone.
"Little Black, the same noble blood that flows in my veins flows in yours. If you're willing to stand on our side, I can overlook what you did just now."
"Who's the same as you?!"
Seko sighed.
He cast a glance at the lackeys beside him.
They understood immediately, broke through Lupin and Peter's feeble attacks, and froze Sirius to the ground as well.
After learning of Sirius's exalted bloodline, the laughter around them did soften somewhat—no one wanted to be targeted for revenge if he decided to "see the light" one day.
With the bothersome ones taken care of, Peter and Lupin stood back to back, nervously pointing their wands at the Slytherins closing in from all sides with malicious grins.
Every time they cast a spell, it was casually swatted aside by their enemies, who treated the whole thing like a game of cat and mouse. Cruel laughter echoed around the trees.
Didier's performance was even worse.
When his two protectors fell and he saw Seko walking toward him, he broke completely—dropping to his knees, trembling, hugging his head and sobbing, which only made Seko's smile grow sharper and more vicious.
"Mudblood, weren't you just running so well? Why'd you stop?"
"No… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that…"
"Oh? Are you talking back to me?"
Seko pressed the tip of his wand under Didier's chin.
His wails grew even louder; his humiliating display sent a thrill of excitement through all the Slytherins watching.
Seko straightened up with a cold smile and kicked Didier hard. The others were clearly itching to join in.
In Didier's trembling pupils, they drew closer and closer; every time he struggled to crawl away, they dragged him back amid laughter, savoring his despair like a slow execution by a thousand cuts.
And in the middle of this pure, unrestrained carnival of cruelty, none of them heard it—
The sudden, sharp, almost silent flurry of incantation, rapid as a blade.
"Petrificus Totalus."
Three streaks of light flashed and vanished.
At the last second, only Seko reacted. He darted behind a tree, barely dodging the sneaky attack.
The other two weren't so lucky. They collapsed straight to the ground, clearly unable to move for quite some time.
The surprise ambush startled everyone.
They backed away from the already bruised and swollen Didier, hurriedly searching for the source of the attack.
But what appeared before them was only a cold‑faced boy with handsome features and slightly wavy black hair.
They looked at one another.
Laughter burst out again, filled with mockery at how that lone newcomer had overestimated himself.
Only Seko frowned, silently noting the green crest on the boy's chest.
"Slytherin?"
"Mm."
"You should be on our side—and in any case, you don't have the ability to stop us."
"Is that so?"
The corner of Snape's mouth lifted.
A cold flame roared to life deep in his dark eyes.
In the next instant, his chilling voice sliced through the laughter like a blade, shaking their hearts.
"Then let's wait and see."
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