First-floor corridor
Hogwarts
Ares was walking with Cowley and Carter, who thanked him for his help in Transfiguration and offered their apologies about his detention.
He knew it had been immature and a bit stupid to get upset with McGonagall like that... but what could he say? He used to be a Gryffindor.
He had Advanced Arithmancy with Diane next, so they split from Cowley as he headed off to Ancient Runes.
Along the way, their path was blocked by none other than Draco and his goons and the Golden Trio.
"Malfoy, we know you turned Hermione and Ron into ducks! Admit it!" Harry shouted.
"Ha-ha, Potter, you idiot, I wish it was me, but Human Transfiguration is only taught to the sixth years and above. So it can't have been me unless you think I'm a prodigy? Gosh, why can't I say I'm surprised you secretly adore me. Maybe it was Black!" Draco said with his patented sneer.
Weasley was already turning red and roared,
"Then you must have gotten one of the older slippery snakes to do it for you!"
Fed up with this schoolyard interaction, Ares interrupted and drew their attention.
"Fucking honestly, Weasley! Do YOU command the older years in Gryffindor? No one respectable would obey Draco, let alone someone older! Now get out of my way before I turn you into a duck again!" Growing more irritated by the second.
When the six of them all continued to stare at him open-mouthed, he got fed up.
Casting "Levicorpus" several times before they could even blink, he sent them all flying into the air before he banished them all out of the way. Then, with a final flick of his wand, they all dropped to the ground except Ron and Hermione.
"Next time, MOVE!" He said with a withering glare as he walked away with Diane leaving the Slytherins in awe and two of the Gryffindors still dangling by their ankles.
"What about Ron and Hermione?" Harry called after him.
"Figure it out yourself; she's the brightest witch of her age!" Ares called back without turning around.
As he turned the corner, he could hear Draco and his goons laughing at their enemy's predicament.
"You're going to get in even more trouble because of that, you know," Diane said with a smile.
Ares shrugged and continued walking until he made it to Arithmancy.
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Dumbledore greeted his class jovially. He then set some work for the course before making his way to Ares.
"Now, Mr Peverell, I think you should see me in my office this evening." Ares nodded, already having assumed this would happen.
"How has your research into the disintegration curse been going?" Dumbledore asked, trying to begin again on a cheery note.
Pulling out his essay, Ares explained the main points of his analysis.
"It has a fascinating build as it could be used to rid yourself of rubbish and stop polluting the planet, or it could turn someone to dust. However, there are many ways to kill someone; as I said before, any spell can kill someone somehow. After consulting the numbers, I have realised it is just a waste of magic for anything other than waste disposal, and even then, that is what the banishing charm is for." Ares explained the spell was pretty useless as it required enough energy to break down the object it was directed at, so if you tried to disintegrate a large object, it would take more power than a small object.
Albus nodded in understanding as he took the essay and filed it away for later marking.
"Mr Peverell, I have decided that your attending this class is rather pointless, you are clearly miles ahead of your classmates, and so I have a proposition for you. You will be allowed to study separately for your Arithmancy OWL next year and will be tasked with creating a spell that you can prove benefits our modern-day society." Professor Dumbledore laid out his challenge.
"Sounds like a wonderful idea, sir."
"You will, of course, report your progress to me weekly, and if you need any advice or help, you can find me in my office or during a lesson. "
"I accept; I will create a truly useful spell."
Albus looked the boy in the eyes, full twinkle activated and passively tried Legilimency.
Ares could feel Dumbledore's subtle probe and released a few surface emotions like hope and determination before slamming his defences back down.
Satisfied, Dumbledore spent the rest of the lesson debating the best household spells in history with the young Peverell.