MrBlackWing
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✭ Chapter 105 ➜ Battle in the Forbidden Forest ✭
🕑 Added 2025-05-20 16:06:44 +0000 UTC"Being humble and cautious are good traits, but those can wait. Right now, you can afford to show more of your talent." Professor Oren spoke with a serious expression, treating the forest like his classroom, "After all, who would consider an eleven-year-old first-year a real opponent?"
Kyle continued walking forward in silence.
Oren pressed on, unfazed, "I've said my piece. Now it's your turn. Tell me, when did you figure it out?"
Kyle blinked, "Figure what out? I don't understand what you mean, Professor."
"If that's your answer..." Professor Oren halted abruptly, his voice turning cold, "Then there's no need for us to keep walking."
The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
Even Kanna, who had been focused solely on finding Porgy, sensed something was wrong and instinctively moved closer to Kyle.
"As the annual Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, I shouldn't be surprised that you're the problem." Kyle shrugged, "Everyone knows this is a cursed position. Most professors end up either injured in St. Mungo's or imprisoned in Azkaban. Some meet even worse fates.
Those who survive until term's end must resign for various reasons. Now it's the end of term, and you haven't had any accidents or resigned — so there must be something wrong with your identity."
"You're not wrong about that, tsk tsk... a cursed position." Oren sighed, "I actually enjoyed being a professor, but unfortunately my identity has been discovered. I just received word that Ministry people are coming. Those incompetent fools never imagined I was hiding right here at Hogwarts all this time."
His eyes filled with contempt at the mention of the Ministry.
"Wait, you mean the Ministry wasn't looking for the Swooping Evil, but for you!"
"Of course it was me."
Oren sneered, "Think about it — why would they make such a fuss over just a magical creature? What they want is what I have in my possession."
"What thing..." Kyle asked reflexively.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Oren asked teasingly, "If you want to hear it, I can tell you."
"Uh... no thanks." Kyle came to his senses and gave a dry laugh, "I'm actually not that curious."
Something that would prompt a six-month Ministry investigation was probably serious business he'd rather avoid.
By now, even someone as slow as Kanna had caught on. She stared at Oren in disbelief and instinctively drew her wand.
"No need to be so tense, Miss Prince." Oren ignored her reaction and turned toward a tree on the left, "Oh, look what I found."
With a gentle wave of his wand, the fallen leaves began to writhe, coiling like a snake around a gray rat crouching by the tree roots.
"Porgy!" Kanna cried out in alarm, her trembling hand pointing her wand, "Let it go..."
"Let me give you one final lesson." Without looking at her, Oren pointed his wand at the rat, "If you want to confirm whether an animal is an Animagus, the Revelio Charm is your best choice."
✭ Revelio ➜ Revelio Charm ✭
A blue light shot from the wand, and the rat instantly froze in mid-air, its small gray body twisting frantically.
Oren waved his wand again. The leaves scattered and the rat fell to the ground, followed by another brilliant flash of light...
Like a tree growing in fast-forward, first a head emerged, then limbs, until a hunched and ugly witch materialized out of thin air. She was stooped over, appearing very short, with thin, lusterless hair hanging in disarray over her large, hooked nose.
Kanna stared at the old witch, stunned speechless, her hand extended as she stammered, "She... Porgy... Po..."
"So your name is Porgy? Pleased to meet you." Oren said cheerfully, as if greeting a new friend at a party.
"Damn you!" The witch snarled with fury. She yanked out a thick, short wand and fixed him with a vicious glare, "I'll kill you, kill you!"
Her voice rasped like a rusty saw against wood. As she spoke, a purple light erupted from her wand, streaking straight toward Oren's chest.
Perfect timing...
Seizing the moment of the witch's attack, Kyle swiftly pulled two broomsticks from his transformed lizard skin bag and thrust one toward Kanna.
"Go, find Professor McGonagall!"
After a split second of shock, Kanna grasped his meaning and mounted the broom, shooting skyward at full speed.
Once she'd gone, instead of following her into the air, Kyle simply tossed the spare broomstick aside.
Meanwhile, Oren merely sidestepped the witch's spell before sneering and raising his own wand.
✭ Avada Kedavra ➜ Killing Curse ✭
A sickly green light whispered past the witch's ear and struck a small spider scuttling behind her. The unfortunate creature instantly went rigid.
Having brushed with death, the witch crumpled to the ground, her body wracked with uncontrollable tremors.
After this exchange, Oren turned to see Kyle tossing aside the broomstick.
"You never cease to amaze me."
"You said it before." Kyle said with a smile, "Always keep a broomstick handy — it could save your life."
"Fifty points to Hufflepuff." Oren smiled back, "That's the highest score I can give now."
He paid no attention to Kanna's departure, simply letting her vanish from sight.
"Kyle, you didn't seem surprised earlier. Did you already know that rat was an Animagus?"
With Kanna gone, Kyle visibly relaxed. He stretched his stiff shoulders and nodded, "I had my suspicions."
The doubts had started when Kanna mentioned Porgy was sick.
During the Quidditch match, he'd used the Marauder's Map to record the names of everyone in the common room. One name wasn't listed in the Hufflepuff student register.
Still, he'd remained uncertain — after all, having two rat Animagi in the castle seemed improbable. There was always the possibility of a visitor in Hufflepuff that day.
He'd been checking the registers of the other houses recently, with only Slytherin's left to examine.
But now that didn't matter anymore.
"If you knew, why didn't you say anything?" Oren raised an eyebrow, "Weren't you worried about the little girl's safety?"
Kyle shrugged, "This is Hogwarts — would she dare try anything here?"
Oren gave a light laugh, "You're smarter than I thought."
Then his expression turned cold as he addressed the witch sitting on the ground.
"Kill that boy, and you can live."
So the fight begins? Kyle smiled faintly and touched the ring on his hand.
But Oren spoke again.
"You probably have some means of escape, but I advise you to wait. Remember I have a Swooping Evil? Care to guess where it is right now?"
Kyle's pupils constricted, "You..."
In that split second of distraction, the rat witch's spell was already upon him. He fell backward — not elegantly, but enough to dodge.
The deep purple spell struck a tree behind him, instantly corroding a large patch of the trunk.
"Ten minutes." Oren placed an hourglass on a nearby rock, speaking to himself, "The Swooping Evil will be back in ten minutes. Good luck."
Ten minutes, huh? Fine!
Kyle gritted his teeth and, seeing a large fireball coming straight at him, turned and ran deeper into the Forbidden Forest, hoping to use the dense foliage as cover.
'This isn't fair!' He cursed inwardly as he sprinted through the woods, 'Why did Harry Potter get to face Quirrell, who was his natural counter, or the brainless Lockhart, while I have to deal with Oren, who has more tricks up his sleeve than holes in a honeycomb?'
How is that fair!
Meanwhile, after watching several of her spells miss their mark, the rat witch grew anxious and began casting faster.
For Oren's warning had been meant for her too — if Kyle was still alive after ten minutes, she would be the one to die.
✭ Petrificus Totalus ➜ Full Body-Bind Curse ✭
✭ Levicorpus ➜ Dangling Jinx ✭
✭ Corrodis ➜ Corrosion Curse ✭
...
Kyle ran ahead while the witch desperately chased after him.
Suddenly, her foot slipped as if she'd stepped on water. She lost her balance and tumbled forward. In that instant, Kyle stopped, whirled around, and pointed his wand at a massive tree beside her.
✭ Spongify ➜ Softening Charm ✭
The treetop shuddered as the sturdy trunk became soft and pliable. Like a giant noodle, it began falling toward the witch — its weight unchanged by the Softening Charm.
The witch's face drained of color as she saw the tree trunk, thick as a millstone, plummeting toward her. She scrambled to escape.
Kyle flicked his wand again, levitating several branches from the ground. They twisted and transformed into sharp stone spikes, hurtling toward the witch.
The witch spotted his movement and screamed desperately, "Protego—"
BOOM!
A thunderous crash cut her off as the tree slammed down. Birds erupted from the canopy, startled by the tremendous impact.
When the dust settled, a large crater marked the ground.
The witch lay in the pit, howling in pain. One arm was pinned beneath the tree, a stone spike had pierced her leg — she was completely incapacitated.
The battle's swift conclusion left even Oren bewildered. Though she might have been incompetent, she was still an adult witch who had mastered the Animagus transformation — how could she be defeated so easily?
If Kyle had used complex magic, it would have made sense. Yet the boy had only cast five of the simplest spells to achieve victory.
Two Softening Charms, a Levitation Charm, basic Transfiguration, and a Locomotion Charm (Locomotor) — these were spells that practically any young wizard would know.
Kyle wasn't particularly surprised by his victory. After all, he had spent two weeks studying that dueling master's biography, and it had taught him the fundamentals: setting traps, using terrain to advantage, and striking when the opponent was vulnerable.
Besides, that witch was truly incompetent. Just look at the spells she used...
Apart from the Corrosion Curse, her spells — Levicorpus and Petrificus Totalus — were all below 3rd-Year level. Even her most challenging spell, the 5th-Year Blasting Curse (Confringo), wasn't particularly impressive.
Moreover, she wasn't very bright — falling for such an obvious act. Kyle wondered if she had somehow purchased her Animagus ability, assuming such a thing were possible.
✭ Expelliarmus ➜ Disarming Charm ✭
Kyle walked over and put the short wand into his robe pocket.
"Bravo... fifty more points to Hufflepuff." Oren clapped and pointed his wand at him, "So, shall I give you time to escape?"
"Professor Oren..." Kyle stood still, asking puzzledly, "Why are you so determined to target me? Even if I took one of your Billywigs, it hardly warrants this... I could give you ten in return."
"..."
Oren's wand hand trembled slightly.
"This has nothing to do with that." He said through gritted teeth, "It's because you're Chris's son. If he hadn't meddled back then, I wouldn't be where I am today... Wait, are you stalling for time? Tsk tsk, don't tell me you're hoping those Ministry fools will save you?"
"I am stalling for time, but not waiting for rescue." Kyle looked directly at him and said, "I have another question — why do you think I had Kanna leave?"
"So-called friendship?"
"That's part of it." Kyle shrugged, "Also, I have certain things that wouldn't be appropriate for her to see."
"What thi—Ah!" Oren suddenly screamed in pain as something bit his leg, which immediately went numb.
✭ Expelliarmus ➜ Disarming Charm ✭
A red light shot from Kyle's wand.
Oren endured the pain and rolled forward to dodge the spell. As he did, he saw what had bitten him.
Two round cabbages.
"Damn it!" Oren said through clenched teeth, "How are there Chinese Chomping Cabbages in the Forbidden Forest?"
"I brought them, of course." Kyle said, casting another Expelliarmus, "Hogwarts is too dangerous — even Hagrid can fall victim to an ambush. For a defenseless young wizard like me, it's only reasonable to carry something for self-protection."
