"Amorsta Blaine?"
Bill Weasley's handsome face lost its usual relaxed expression. Shocked, he almost tripped over a broken stump when he dismounted his Cleansweep 1700, his wizard robe snagging on the wood.
"When Filioa told me you killed Priam, I thought she was just playing a little joke on me."
Bill's sight was limited. He could only see Priam lying on the ground, his bare back over a bloodstained patch of earth, unable to discern whether he was dead or alive.
"I can hardly believe it, Blaine. Are you secretly plotting a massacre at Hogwarts?"
Bill's eyes roved over the unconscious Gryffindor players who had fallen from the air. His expression gradually twisted. When he saw Charlie lying silently in a clump of bushes, the shock on Bill's face vanished, replaced by hysterical rage. Without hesitation, he drew his wand and pointed it at Amorsta.
"Tell me, you bastard, what did you do to Charlie?"
The Weasley children, though they might occasionally get on each other's nerves, were the epitome of solidarity when it came to facing external threats to their family.
"Stop yelling, Bill Weasley," Amorsta said, unmoved.
"Let's get them back to the castle first. I'll explain to the Headmaster and the House Heads what happened in the Forbidden Forest, but I don't want to explain twice. If you're curious, you can request to listen in later."
"Stay where you are!"
Bill's wand tip trembled as he shouted, his voice sharp.
"Filioa has already gone to notify Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. Headmaster Dumbledore will soon return from outside the school. Until they arrive, you're not going anywhere!"
The cold wind rustled the leaves. There was still some time before dawn. The deadly tension lurked in the thick darkness, ready to pounce.
Amorsta glanced towards the deeper part of the Forbidden Forest, his eyebrows twitching. He was unsure of the source of the sudden feeling of being watched. Considering that Acromantulas were not solitary creatures, staying here wasn't a good idea.
"This place isn't safe, Weasley. Let's head back to the castle," Amorsta calmly repeated.
"The biggest danger here is you, Blaine. I'll say it again: stay where you are and hand over your wand!"
Bill's vigilance was high. He stared at Amorsta's wrist, his mind taut, ready to strike at any moment.
Amorsta frowned slightly and looked again towards the dark forest. The thin but clear sense of unease in the air made him feel uncomfortable. He was almost certain that something was secretly watching him.
"I'll repeat myself, Weasley," Amorsta emphasized. "This place isn't safe. Let's get back to the castle!"
Bill's eyes instantly turned sharp. To him, Amorsta's words signalled an attempt to escape. Without hesitation, he swung his wand!
Swish, swish, swish!
As one of Hogwarts' most outstanding students, Bill Weasley excelled in duelling. In a short time, he fired three dazzling red beams, blocking all of Amorsta's escape routes.
However, to Amorsta, this was hardly a threat.
Since Bill Weasley was unwilling to leave, he would incapacitate him and take him back. Carrying five or six people made no difference. Amorsta had already revealed too much tonight; a little more wouldn't matter.
Amorsta flicked away the Stunning Spell aimed at him, his wrist moving deftly as he mentally recited the incantation.
"Levicorpus!"
Bill's eyebrows raised, finally confirming that this Slytherin student, the obscure Amorsta Blaine, possessed extraordinary magical prowess.
"Protego!"
But Bill Weasley had his own confidence. When faced with the incoming spells, he didn't panic. He quickly and deftly cast defensive spells in front of him.
Whoosh!
A powerful gust of wind blasted toward him, and the immense magical force shattered the Shield Charm's barrier. Bill's previously calm and confident expression stiffened instantly. Before he could react, he felt the ground beneath him disappear. As darkness began to engulf his consciousness, a beam of sickly green magic caused his pupils to contract in terror. The hidden observer finally revealed their menacing presence.
"Watch out!"
In the final moment, Bill Weasley still managed to warn Amorsta.
Boom!
As the Killing Curse's beam struck the ground, a burst of green magical fire erupted, the ominous aura swirling like the Grim Reaper dancing in the flames.
Amorsta, who had rolled to dodge the Killing Curse, slowly rose from the ground. Despite his precautions, he felt a pang of fear from the first-time encounter with an Unforgivable Curse. That moment had been the closest he had ever come to death since entering the magical world.
A woman, around twenty years old.
From the hand gripping the wand, visible outside the black cloak, Amorsta deduced the attacker's gender and age.
The oppressive silence tormented Amorsta's mind. The pervasive danger made every cell in his body tremble. The dual emotions of fear and excitement heightened his magical energy to an unprecedented level, as if it had long awaited this life-threatening crisis.
"No matter who you are or what your purpose is,"
Amorsta stared intently at the face hidden under the attacker's hood, speaking coldly,
"Invading Hogwarts under the nose of Headmaster Dumbledore and using the most dangerous of the Unforgivable Curses against a minor wizard, I must commend you for your courage. You truly have guts."
The woman did not respond, only letting out a contemptuous sneer, as if dismissing him entirely.
"Dumbledore and the professors will arrive in no more than five minutes. If you leave now, you might still have time."
The woman's wand remained steady and unwavering, making Amorsta's heart sink. He realized that she was determined to take his life.
But why?
Since entering Hogwarts, he had not offended anyone. His dealings with outsiders were limited to selling potions through owls. Could it be that someone sought revenge because of a potion gone wrong? That was unlikely; Amorsta was confident in his craft and such tragedies were not supposed to happen.
Amorsta could not make sense of it, and the attacking woman would not give him time to ponder. She knew Amorsta's previous words were not a bluff. Dumbledore and the professors were indeed on their way.
Tonight, the most dangerous confrontation began!
The green light illuminating the Forbidden Forest sounded the trumpet for a life-and-death struggle.
Amorsta's expression was unusually solemn. He raised his wand high, as if wielding a king's sword, and the tip of the wand, glowing faintly, unleashed an immense surge of magic. This magic, under the pitch-black night, transformed into a silver river of energy, crashing down with overwhelming force.
Boom, boom, boom~
The ground shook violently. The large boulder blocking the path between them was shattered into dust, and thousands of frosty leaves rustled with a chilling sound.
When the dust settled and the spell's light faded, a terrifying fissure, over seventy or eighty feet long, appeared in the soft ground.
This spell was Amorsta's response to the woman's use of the Killing Curse!