Chapter 41: You Don’t Understand What It Means to Do Whatever It Takes

Several Pruning Charms fell in succession.

Some side branches of the Goldfish Plant were neatly trimmed. On the system panel, the silver glow over the words "Pruning Charm" visibly brightened by a small degree.

Sharl felt a rush of emotion.

Ever since his magical perception improved, the efficiency of advancing spells had increased dramatically. It had taken considerable effort to get Lumos to Bronze level before. But now, pushing the Pruning Charm to Silver level felt significantly smoother."Judging by this trend, by midnight tonight—tomorrow morning at the latest—the Pruning Charm will fully advance to Silver level."A look of anticipation flashed in Sharl's eyes. He was eager to see what kind of qualitative changes the spell would undergo after promotion. Judging by the advancements he saw with the Loosening Charm and Lumos, the Silver-level Pruning Charm would not disappoint.

Immediately, Sharl concentrated, continuing to cast the Pruning Charm.

Unconsciously, the sky grew darker.

The time mentioned in the duel challenge was drawing near.

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin common room, it was already late at night.

The first-year snakes showed no sign of going to sleep. Instead, they were all gathered around Malfoy.

Malfoy had somehow acquired a Sneakoscope—a common alchemical item often used for spying. It was said that reporters from the Daily Prophet frequently used them.

Right now, Malfoy's Sneakoscope displayed three alternating scenes: the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, and the House Cup hourglass.

The little snakes held their breath."Malfoy… do you think they'll fall for it?""There's not much time left until the challenge. Why is there still no movement?"Though Malfoy looked calm on the surface, his clenched fists betrayed his tension."Shut up! Don't disturb them!" he snapped.The others were startled. For a moment, they even wondered if the Sneakoscope could hear them.

Then—movement. On the Gryffindor side.

Harry and Ron quietly slipped out from behind the Fat Lady's portrait. Ron was still whispering advice."If he tries to cast a spell on you, just dodge. I don't remember how to block anything."Harry nodded silently, unsure if he even heard him.

Just then, Hermione appeared in a pink nightgown, looking sleepy and angry."I can't believe you're doing this.""Harry! Ron!""I told you it's likely a trap set by Malfoy and the Slytherins. There won't really be a duel!""You'll just end up losing points for Gryffindor!"Harry couldn't understand how someone could meddle so much.

Ron, on the other hand, rolled his eyes."Hermione, how do you know it's a trap?"Hermione replied immediately."When I was with Sharl, I saw him receive a duel challenge too.""He said it must be a trap. Malfoy isn't bold enough for a real duel."Ron raised an eyebrow."So it's just Sharl's guess.""Maybe he's too scared to duel, so he's making excuses."Hermione was fuming."Ron Weasley!"Harry stepped in quickly."Alright, Hermione. Let's just go and see.""If Malfoy really shows up, we'll teach him a lesson.""If not, we're not stupid—we'll leave right away."Hermione sighed, deeply frustrated.

But then, something even more annoying happened—the Fat Lady had gone to visit friends.

Meaning, Hermione couldn't get back into the common room.

Grinding her teeth, she had no choice but to follow Harry and Ron to the Trophy Room, just like in the original story.

Unbeknownst to them, everything was being monitored by Malfoy and the little snakes through the Sneakoscope.

Though they couldn't hear what Hermione said, they saw that the three Gryffindors had taken the bait."This is perfect," Malfoy sneered."Gryffindor won't be able to catch up in points anymore."His face radiated smug satisfaction.

But when he looked back at the Hufflepuff entrance, he frowned."Why isn't Sharl Sprout leaving yet?""Didn't he get the challenge?""Or is that coward actually afraid to duel?""Fine. Tomorrow I'll spread the word and make a joke of him."Though Malfoy was annoyed Sharl didn't fall for it, the trap still worked on Gryffindor, their sworn enemy. That alone was worth celebrating."The three of them will cost Gryffindor at least fifty points.""Just imagine the look on their faces when they see the hourglass tomorrow!""Harry Potter will be blamed for sure!"The snakes stared unblinkingly at the House Cup hourglass on the Sneakoscope, afraid to miss any action.

Time passed.

The night deepened.

Eyelids began to droop.

Suddenly, Malfoy's eyes snapped open."It moved! There's movement!"The little snakes jolted awake and focused on the Sneakoscope.

Then—to their utter shock—it was the Slytherin hourglass that moved.

Slytherin lost ten points.

The little snakes looked at each other in disbelief."What's going on?!"Moments later, the door to the Slytherin common room burst open.

A dark, furious figure stormed in—Professor Snape.

Seeing the group of snakes huddled around the Sneakoscope, Snape looked like he was about to erupt."You idiots!""I told you to honestly practice the Lumos Charm!""But no—you had to get clever again, didn't you?""Sending duel challenges, tipping off Filch, hoping he'd catch them and deduct points—just so you could avoid spell practice?!""A bunch of museum pieces! That's what you are!"Malfoy, looking pale, still dared to ask:"Professor, what… happened?"Snape laughed coldly."What happened?""Filch caught no one. He insists Slytherin was playing a prank on him.""McGonagall happened to be patrolling nearby, and guess what? Slytherin lost ten points.""And I had to stand there listening to Filch whine like a banshee!"He glared around the room."This is what your clever plan achieved."The snakes dropped their heads in shame.

Malfoy mumbled a last defense."It was just bad luck, Professor. But if it worked, we'd be in the lead.""We were only following the Slytherin tradition… 'by any means necessary'..."Snape sneered."By any means necessary?""While I'm brewing potions to keep this school running, you're dodging spell practice, and you dare talk about tradition?""Listen well—and remember it!"Snape's voice dropped, cold and firm."What Slytherin House means by 'by any means necessary' is this:""Strengthen yourself by any means necessary.""Weaken your enemies by any means necessary.""Achieve victory by any means necessary.""And the first point is the most basic and crucial."He took a deep breath."If you can't endure the boredom of spell drills—if you shirk this kind of minor hardship—then even the Hufflepuffs will outstrip you.""You're a disgrace to Slytherin House."His tone dropped to a chilling final order."You like staying up late, don't you?""Fine. None of you are sleeping tonight.""You will practice the Lumos Charm until dawn. No exceptions."The little snakes turned pale.

But before the fury of the Snake King, they dared not complain.

Inside, though, they were already wailing.All-nighter? Who can survive that?!Meanwhile, in the Hufflepuff common room, Sharl—who had been up all night—felt refreshed.

On the system panel, the last glimmer of bronze on "Pruning Charm" faded completely.

In its place, a new silver radiance shone with power."Silver-level Pruning Charm… done."

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