Orion remained silent for a moment, pondering how he was going to answer the three questions. Until his arrival at Hogwarts, he had never really had social interactions, living isolated with Lyra. This world of commotion, curiosity, and judgment was still strange to him. Of course, he was happy to have met his sister Arcana, as well as Emma and Max, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed by many of those he had encountered at school. Since his arrival, he had sensed contempt and heard mockery without ever having sought to offend anyone.
Even though he told himself it didn't really affect him, he couldn't deny that these constant criticisms were unpleasant. Being looked down upon and criticized, for no apparent reason, was never enjoyable, even for someone like him who had learned not to care about others' opinions. Still, he had to admit that it wasn't easy to simply ignore everything.
Lost in thought, he let his eyes wander over the faces of the Hufflepuff students, trying to understand their motivations. Their curiosity seemed genuine, free of jealousy or contempt. That almost surprised him.
Emma, with her usual enthusiasm, spoke up first. "I knew Hufflepuff was the right house, finally, people who seem to understand just how amazing Orion is. You should have seen it," she began excitedly. "From the moment we met, he stood up to Malfoy on the Hogwarts Express. He didn't even have to say anything to shut him up. And that's not all! Do you know what he did afterward? He made our luggage levitate like this"—she made a theatrical gesture with her hands—"without a word, without a wand, not even a glance."
The students around them listened with amusement and interest, increasingly captivated by her story. Carried away by the excitement, Emma continued without stopping.
"And what about what he did in Transfiguration class? You've probably heard about it, but I swear it was incredible. He made his matchstick levitate with just a look, and then it transformed in an instant! Professor McGonagall was completely stunned!"
Max, more composed, added with a sly smile: "And I won't even mention his skills in Potions. While Professor Snape was trying not to kill anyone, he acknowledged Orion's talent. The other students were envious, seeing just how awesome Potions class is when you're in Orion's group."
The first-year students around them nodded, confirming the remarks. Orion wasn't used to receiving compliments, and even though he couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed by all this attention, he appreciated the praise, which replaced the usual criticism he had been getting.
"Alright," he said, scanning the room. "Let's go step by step. To answer your first question, I suppose a demonstration should be enough to clear up any remaining doubts."
Orion mumbled to himself, scratching his earlobe distractedly. "That's all well and good... but what should I do as a demonstration?"
He continued scanning the room until his attention was drawn to a chandelier hanging nearby. His classmates, curious, collectively followed his gaze, expecting something impressive. With a quick gesture and without uttering a word, a small flame identical to the chandelier's appeared beside it, floating gently in the air.
All heads immediately turned toward him, but he quickly noticed expressions of disappointment on several faces. He frowned slightly, not understanding why they seemed disappointed.
Emma, staring incredulously at the small flame, suddenly spoke up, hands on her hips. "What! That's it?"
Orion blinked, surprised by her tone.
"Orion," she continued, "I went to all this trouble to tell everyone how amazing you are, that you can do incredible things... and all you do is a little light?!"
Completely thrown off by her remark, Orion defensively responded, "You asked me if I could do non-verbal and wandless magic. I did, didn't I? So why are you scolding me?" It was clear to everyone that he felt hurt, as evidenced by the pout on his face.
Cedric, who had been observing the scene in silence until now, suddenly burst out laughing. "Looks like the competition's falling flat," he said, laughing, causing the older students to join in.
The girls joined in the teasing, gently mocking Orion's adorable pout, as he seemed confused by why he was drawing the ire of his young, fiery friend. Even Emma, though initially annoyed, eventually broke into a smile, amused by the turn of events.
As the laughter subsided, Emma, still with her hands on her hips, fixed him with a mock-serious look.
"Orion, if you don't do something more impressive right now, I might lose all credibility," she said, only half-joking.
Orion, still surprised by the intensity of her reproach, looked at her for a moment before realizing that she was half-joking. But he also knew that she truly expected something a bit more spectacular.
He shrugged, grumbling, "Alright, alright... Maybe I should summon a dragon. That should satisfy her hunger for grandeur."
As he muttered this, he scanned the room, looking serious, as if he were genuinely considering the feasibility of the idea. He squinted slightly, analyzing every corner of the room, mentally measuring the available space. A few students, surprised by his demeanor, tensed slightly, casting nervous glances at the windows and doors, wondering if he was serious.
Suddenly, the small flame he had created changed shape, slowly animating until it took the form of a giant fiery badger. The flaming animal leaped into the air, swirling around them, leaving the audience frozen, their eyes wide with astonishment.
The fiery badger made two full circles around the group, its movements fluid and majestic, before softly hissing, without a sound, sending sparks toward the spectators. A few cries of fear rang out, especially from Emma, who, particularly frightened, jumped and clung to Orion's arm. Her scream pierced the air, attracting the attention of the other students, some of whom couldn't help but laugh nervously at her reaction.
The fiery badger, meanwhile, disappeared in a spectacular shower of flames, falling gently like glowing feathers.
Silence reigned for a few seconds, with each student seemingly frozen by the display. It was the soft laugh from Orion, which he could no longer hold back, that brought them back to reality. Their eyes turned toward him, and they saw Orion's eyes shining with joy, a broad and amused smile lighting up his face.
Emma, realizing with embarrassment that she was still clinging to Orion, abruptly pulled away, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She took a deep breath, ready to scold him, especially when she saw his satisfied expression. However, a sudden exclamation cut her off as a scandalized shout rang out from behind the group.
"My flowers!"
The group turned as one, intrigued by the shout, to see their Head of House, Professor Sprout, at the entrance of the common room. She was visibly panicked, wand in hand, frantically summoning jets of water. The purpose of her intervention? To save the plants in the room, which showed clear signs of having suffered from the heat.
The once-green leaves were now curled and brownish, as if they had been exposed to intense heat for too long. The stems themselves seemed withered, some bending limply under their own weight. The flowers, once vibrant, had lost their bright colors, prematurely wilted.
Professor Sprout kept muttering incantations to water the plants, hoping to limit the damage, but her eyes were wide open, filled with a panic the group had never seen in her before.
It took Professor Sprout less than a minute to revive her plants. The wilted leaves gradually regained their green color and vitality, while the wilted flowers straightened under the effect of the restorative spells. Once her precious plants were saved, she abruptly turned to the group, her face red with anger.
"Who dared to summon fire in our common room?!" she demanded in a loud voice, her eyes flashing.
Without conferring, the entire group turned as one toward Orion. Caught off guard, he felt his amused and satisfied expression wither as visibly as the poor plants he had unintentionally harmed. His features froze, and his smile slowly faded, giving way to palpable embarrassment.
As Professor Sprout marched furiously toward Orion, the Hufflepuff prefects immediately sprang to his defense. Emily Hart, the prefect, stepped in front of him, raising her hand to calm their head of house.
"Professor Sprout, wait, it wasn't his fault," Emily began confidently. "We asked him for a demonstration. After all the rumors going around, we wanted to see for ourselves what he was capable of."
Behind her, several older students nodded, one of them adding, "It's true. We asked him to do something impressive... and we didn't expect it to cause damage. But... everyone was on board."
Professor Sprout stopped, her anger still palpable, but she was now listening carefully.
Cedric Diggory, who had been silently observing the scene, decided to intervene. He stepped forward slightly, a soothing smile on his face.
"You have to admit, Professor, that a badger this impressive, summoned right here in our common room... it was pretty cool, wasn't it? And honestly, well thought out."
Cedric's words seemed to have an effect. Although still annoyed, Professor Sprout relaxed slightly, her expression softening a bit. She finally sighed, visibly thrown off by the turn of events.
Professor Sprout, though calmer, placed a hand on her hip and fixed Orion with a half-amused, half-questioning look.
"I understand that you responded to your classmates' request, but why on earth did you summon a fiery badger in a room with so many plants? You know how sensitive they are to heat."
Orion, slightly embarrassed, shrugged before responding with a hint of irony. "Honestly, I was thinking of a fire dragon at first... but the room's a bit too small for that."
A few students exchanged surprised looks as Orion continued, nodding to himself. Professor Sprout stared at him again with a glint in her eyes that clearly betrayed her desire to reprimand him. But Orion, absorbed in his explanations, didn't notice her stern look at all.
"They wanted something impressive, and fire... it always makes an impact." He paused before smiling slightly. "As for the badger... I got the idea from one of the banners hanging up."
Though still slightly annoyed, Professor Sprout couldn't help but sigh with a resigned air.
Professor Sprout, still a bit irritated but visibly calmer, took a deep breath before addressing Orion.
"I'll let this incident slide this time," she declared, her eyes narrowing. "You did it to meet your classmates' demands, and thankfully, no irreversible damage was done to my little babies."
She then gave him a more stern look and added in a graver tone: "But know this, Orion. If you ever harm my plants again, even unintentionally, you'll face consequences... as dangerous as your stupid fire dragon."
The students around them exchanged amused, half-anxious glances, while Orion, slightly startled, nodded without a word.
Satisfied that she had made her warning clear, Professor Sprout turned back to the group, now calmer. "Alright. Now that that's settled, tell me, what else did you ask him?"
The students quickly explained the other questions they had posed to Orion, including their desire to see a demonstration of his magical abilities. After listening attentively, Professor Sprout nodded, thinking for a moment.
"Well," she said, turning to the prefect, Emily Hart, "since you've already seen a demonstration, I think this comes at a perfect time. In fact, I'm here on behalf of Professor Dumbledore. He wants to know more about Orion and his abilities. So, Emily, I'm asking you to test him. This demonstration works perfectly for me."
Emily, surprised but ready to comply, glanced at Orion with a sly smile, ready to proceed.
Orion, intrigued by Sprout's words, frowned slightly before asking, "You're asking for my opinion, aren't you?"
Emily Hart, the prefect, nodded with a pleased smile. "Yes, a friendly duel. What better way to show your skills?"
Orion, after a moment of reflection, accepted the duel without further hesitation, maintaining an almost detached calm. He positioned himself in front of Emily, who, for her part, seemed amused by how events were unfolding.
As Professor Sprout announced the beginning of the duel, whispers arose among the students.
"This isn't really fair, is it?" murmured one of the younger Hufflepuffs. "He's only a first year."
"Why make him face someone more experienced?" added another, visibly worried.
Emma and Max, standing not far away, exchanged apprehensive looks, their eyes betraying their concern.
"Orion... is this really a good idea?" whispered Emma, her voice filled with worry.
Hearing the murmurs in the hall, Professor Sprout spoke up to calm the students. "The point of this duel isn't to see if Orion can win. It's merely a way for him to demonstrate his abilities."
Emily, smiling, seemed to be taking it all lightly, but some of the younger students continued to cast worried glances at Orion, whose face remained expressionless.
As soon as the duel began, Emily launched her first attack. Orion, without even seeming to try, dodged it effortlessly, barely moving. Whispers of astonishment spread among the students, while his friends remained tense. The students watched, fascinated, as Emily attempted a second, faster attack. But once again, Orion, without much effort, evaded it with the same nonchalance.
"You don't need to hold back," he said calmly, without the slightest trace of exertion in his voice.
Emily, stung by her pride, increased the speed of her spells, her movements becoming more precise and powerful. However, Orion remained just as calm, dodging each spell with a composure that only heightened his opponent's frustration.
Eventually, after several failed attempts, Emily, exasperated, stopped and threw a defiant look at Orion. "Can you do anything other than dodge?"
Orion shrugged slightly. "It's not necessary," he replied simply.
His response seemed to frustrate her even more. Seeing this, Orion sighed, as if reluctantly giving in. Suddenly, a red beam, characteristic of the Stupefy spell, shot out directly from his chest with such speed that no one had time to react. The spell hit Emily squarely, throwing her backward before she collapsed, stunned.
A stunned silence fell over the hall. Everyone, even the older students.