Marcus froze on the spot, staring at Chu Yang in disbelief. "You're just a first-year—where did you learn those spells?"
"Aren't they all written in the textbooks?" Chu Yang sneered. "Besides the Disarming Charm, I can also cast the Petrification Spell you were talking about earlier."
Marcus instantly realized things had gone terribly wrong and shouted, "Stop him, now!"
Harper was the first to react, pulling out his wand to cast a spell at Chu Yang. But the moment his wand left his robes, a flash of light struck it with pinpoint accuracy.
Another wand went flying.
"How is your casting speed this fast? Even fifth-years don't cast that quickly!" Harper shouted in panic, immediately drawing the attention of the surrounding upperclassmen.
Some of them hesitated, watching from the sidelines.
Others chose to step in at once to help Harper and Marcus.
If word got out that two upper-year students had been disarmed by a first-year, their reputation would be utterly ruined—
And worse, by a non–pure-blood wizard.
One after another, the previously spectating students pulled out their wands, all preparing to cast Disarming Charms at Chu Yang.
Then something terrifying happened.
No matter who showed even the slightest intention of attacking, Chu Yang's Disarming Charm landed within a second—striking their wand with flawless precision, every single time.
It was as if Chu Yang could see the future.
In less than twenty seconds, a pile of wands littered the floor of the common room.
"That first-year just cast more than a dozen Disarming Charms in such a short time—no adult wizard has that much magical power!"
"His casting speed is even faster than wizards who've already passed their O.W.L.s!"
Gasps echoed through the crowd. They had come expecting to see that non–pure-blood wizard humiliated—instead, they were witnessing a scene that completely shattered their understanding.
As the instigators, Marcus and Harper were now filled with regret.
"I told you—I don't just know the Disarming Charm," Chu Yang said with a devilish smile. "I also know the Petrification Spell."
He had no intention of letting them off so easily. That wasn't the outcome he wanted.
Chu Yang hated trouble, especially the kind that kept crawling back like cockroaches. The only way to end it for good was to make it hurt—badly.
The moment they heard "Petrification Spell," every upper-year who had tried to attack him panicked.
"Run!"
Marcus shouted and immediately bolted for the exit.
The rest followed in a blind rush, knocking over decorations and turning the once-elegant hall into complete chaos.
But no matter how fast they ran, they were slower than Chu Yang's wand.
Flashes of light burst forth, and one by one, Marcus and the other upper-years froze in place—rigid and immobile, only their eyes able to blink faintly.
Chu Yang turned his gaze toward the remaining onlookers, his voice calm but edged with warning."Shouldn't you seniors be heading to class? If you're late, our house will lose points again."
Those icy words fell like frost into their hearts. The remaining students didn't dare linger a second longer and rushed for the exit.
A first-year this monstrously strong was clearly not someone they could deal with.
Better to run now than stay behind and become statues.
Moments later, only a group of motionless boys—like sculptures—remained in the Slytherin common room.
"I just want to study magic in peace," Chu Yang sighed, shaking his head. "Why is that so hard?"
"No matter how you look at it, this should probably be blamed on that old man Dumbledore…"
For the sake of the restricted section's hidden knowledge, whatever arrangements Dumbledore made for him, Chu Yang could only grit his teeth and accept them.
Grumbling to himself, Chu Yang stepped over the scattered wands and walked out.
Crack. Crack.
At the sound, Marcus and the others' eyes filled with pain. Chu Yang's departing figure cast a shadow deep enough to haunt them for a long time to come.
That morning, Slytherin once again had students absent from breakfast in the Great Hall.
This time, however, it wasn't the first-years.
It was the upperclassmen.
Snape felt a vague sense of unease but didn't dwell on it, heading as usual to the Potions classroom to prepare for his lesson.
What followed soon proved his intuition right.
More students were absent—again from Slytherin.
After class, Snape left the classroom with a dark expression.
Not long after the morning lessons ended, Chu Yang was summoned to the Headmaster's office once again.
Snape was already there, his face grim.
The moment the two met, the air crackled with tension.
"Mr. Chu Yang," Snape demanded coldly, "tell me—are you retaliating against those students, or are you retaliating against me?"
It was only the third day of term, and Slytherin had once again suffered mass absenteeism.
And the cause was still Chu Yang.
Snape's face was livid, his body trembling with anger, his voice as cold as ice scraped from a cellar."In all my years as Head of Slytherin, I have never seen anything like this!"
Chu Yang met Snape's slightly reddened eyes and replied sincerely, "I'm very sorry, Professor Snape. I'd like nothing more than to live peacefully, but the environment doesn't allow it. Perhaps you should discuss with Headmaster Dumbledore whether transferring me to another house would be more practical."
Snape snorted. He knew perfectly well that Chu Yang had been placed in Slytherin by Dumbledore himself—and he understood Dumbledore's intentions to some extent.
Despite his warnings, Dumbledore was in fact quite content to see Chu Yang discipline Slytherin's overly arrogant students.
Besides, Hogwarts had no tradition of house transfers. Once the Sorting Hat made its choice, it was for life.
"Mr. Chu Yang, a house transfer is impossible. Hogwarts has no such precedent."
Dumbledore first corrected Chu Yang, then turned to Snape."Although Chu Yang used the Petrification Spell, we've confirmed that the upper-year students initiated the conflict."
"Professor Snape, I believe Slytherin could benefit from some reinforcement in character education. A group of upper-years bullying a first-year is hardly something to be proud of."
The veins in Snape's neck throbbed violently. He suddenly recalled what he had said to Chu Yang in Potions class not long ago—only for Chu Yang to slap him in the face with sheer ability so soon after.
Loudly.
So loudly that the entire school probably heard it.
Adjusting his glasses, Dumbledore said in a steady voice, "The Petrification Spell isn't particularly dangerous. This matter ends here. If those students have objections, they're welcome to come to me—I doubt any of them will."
At the core of it all, the upper-years had attacked first.
No one could reasonably accuse Chu Yang for acting in self-defense.
Snape had no choice but to swallow the humiliation of having his words thrown back at him and take his leave in silence.
(End of Chapter)