In the very next instant, Vaughan fired again.
"Expelliarmus!"
The black-robed man's Protego shattered—but the brief gap was enough for a counter. As the shield collapsed, a red streak lashed out from the man's wand—
Only to burst into harmless sparks before Vaughan.
A far more refined Protego, cast by Vaughan himself, absorbed the spell as casually as brushing away dust.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Red light flared again and again, tearing through the dim corridor. Step by step, the black-robed figure was driven backward.
Protected by a Level 4 Shield Charm, Vaughan advanced without hesitation.
The man was stunned.
Not just by the clean precision of Vaughan's spellcasting—far beyond a first-year—but by the sheer magical force behind it.
How does a child have reserves like this?!
Cornered, the man let out a warped, piercing scream.
"Forgive me—Master! Help me!"
The moment the cry left his lips, the hissing presence that had vanished earlier flooded back.
Something else awakened inside him.
A cold shockwave rippled outward. The walls paled. Enchanted flames dimmed. Colour itself seemed to drain from the corridor.
The black-robed man screamed in agony.
Something—not him—was twisting his body. His magic.
Controlling him.
Harry screamed too.
The sensation slammed into him harder than before. His vision collapsed into warped halos and jagged smears of light. He saw the nightmare figure lift its wand—
And Vaughan's gaze hardened.
"…Voldemort."
If Harry and Hermione hadn't been there, Vaughan would never have revealed himself so early. Not from fear—but from habit.
He never acted without preparation.
Thoughts flashed through his mind in a heartbeat. He raised his wand, locked onto the now truly terrifying figure, and with every shred of malice he could summon, he shouted—
"Sectumsempra!"
No flash. No thunder.
Just a silent distortion—razor-sharp and invisible.
From Harry's blurred perspective, time slowed. He saw the strange spell cut through the air, slice straight through the man's shield—
—and bury itself in his shoulder.
The black-robed man shrieked.
His wand flared with a sickly green glow.
"Avada—"
Vaughan was already moving.
The instant Sectumsempra left his wand, he plunged a hand into his pocket, snatched out a fiery-red feather, and flicked it upward.
His wand snapped.
The feather ignited.
"—Kedavra!"
Green light and fire collided.
The moment the phoenix sensed a summoning within Hogwarts, it Flashed into the corridor—
Straight into a wall of Killing Curse energy.
There were many tragic ways to die.
Materializing directly into an Avada Kedavra ranked disturbingly high.
The instant the phoenix recognized the light, a single thought crossed its mind:
Oh. Not again.
Then—
PFFT.
It exploded into feathers.
And plopped onto the stone floor as a bald, pink baby chick.
At the same time, a far greater magical presence surged upward from below.
Dumbledore was coming.
The black-robed figure felt it too.
His scream twisted—half rage, half terror. Clutching his shredded shoulder, he dissolved into black smoke and fled down the corridor.
Vaughan, who had already grabbed Harry and Hermione and hauled them into the Charms Classroom the instant the phoenix feather ignited, finally exhaled.
Thank Merlin he'd warned Ron in advance.
Thank the phoenix.
As the adrenaline drained away, Vaughan realized his robes were soaked with sweat. His wand hand trembled.
This hadn't been like killing a troll.
This was his first true duel with a wizard.
And not just any wizard—
Lord Voldemort.
…Well. The severely damaged version.
Quirrell hardly counted.
Vaughan sank to the floor, breathing deeply. Harry lay unconscious beside Hermione, who was pale but alert, eyes wide with shock.
Vaughan didn't scold them.
The professors would handle that.
He turned back to the corridor.
The reborn phoenix chick sat there—tiny, naked, and staring into the void, utterly traumatized.
Vaughan crawled over and gently scooped it up.
"Thank you," he murmured. "I knew you'd come."
The chick blinked slowly.
If it could speak, it would have unleashed a phoenix-sized tirade.
Why did I answer that summon? Why didn't I ignore it? Why did I trust this idiotic child?
If it could go back to the day Vaughan found one of its fallen feathers—when it had perched smugly and silently mocked the overexcited boy—
It would kick its past self in the head.
Repeatedly.
White mist coiled at the end of the corridor, condensing rapidly.
Dumbledore landed heavily, robes billowing, blue eyes sharp with urgency. They swept over Vaughan, Harry, and Hermione—
Alive.
Only then did his expression ease.
He turned.
And saw the corridor.
Scorched stone. Shattered masonry. Blood. Destruction.
And in Vaughan's hands—
A newborn phoenix chick.
Dumbledore's mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
His lips trembled.
Later — The Headmaster's Office
"I simply cannot believe this!"
Professor McGonagall clutched her chest, breathing hard, fury barely contained.
"Skipping the feast. Sneaking out. Encountering a troll. Losing each other. Not informing a prefect. Not informing a professor. And then running off—alone—to search for a missing friend!"
"You four—"
Vaughan, Ron, Harry, and Hermione stood obediently in a row.
For ten full minutes, she lectured them.
What infuriated her most… was that none of them looked ashamed.
Vaughan idly surveyed the office.
Ron puffed his chest out proudly.
Harry stared blankly into space, occasionally glancing at Vaughan.
Even Hermione—normally the model student—looked distracted.
Snape stood apart, dark eyes fixed on Vaughan, unreadable.
Then Dumbledore spoke calmly.
"Severus, Filius—please see to the troll in the corridors. Our dear Vaughan rather… removed its head. Quite thoroughly."
Flitwick nodded, gently steering Snape toward the door.
"Minerva," Dumbledore continued, "take Harry, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger to Madam Pomfrey. And retrieve Professor Quirrell from the Great Hall."
Still simmering, McGonagall inhaled sharply—
Then froze.
"Vaughan," Dumbledore added softly. "You stay."
She hesitated, met his gaze… and swallowed her objections.
Ron, dragging an utterly bewildered Harry, puffed his chest one last time as he left. Hermione cast Vaughan a worried look.
He nodded reassuringly.
Only then did she follow McGonagall out.
The door closed.
PS :
Protego (LV4)- High-level Shield Charm capable of deflecting adult combat spells.
Sectumsempra - Silent, invisible Dark curse that slices flesh and bypasses conventional shields; extremely dangerous.
Avada Kedavra - Killing Curse; unblockable by normal shields and fatal on contact.
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