A Certain Magical Hogwarts

The Quidditch field was full of people.

William zoomed across the field on his Nimbus 2000, moving at breakneck speed.

Logically, after breaking free of the time loop, things should have played out like this:

The professors would surround the Basilisk, with their own wands, performing an array of spells, ultimately beating up the basilisk with their wands.

Dumbledore would personally head to the fourth-floor corridor, engaging Voldemort in an epic battle.

Such a development of events would have been perfectly reasonable. With William's warnings, there was no way the tragedy of mass student casualties would happen again.

However, when William approached Dumbledore that morning and explained everything, the headmaster firmly rejected such a plan.

He insisted that Harry must face Voldemort alone and forbade William from revealing the truth to anyone else.

It seemed Dumbledore was determined to nurture Harry's courage, leaving William to question:

Why does Dumbledore care about Harry so much? What makes him so special?!

Meanwhile, the game was at 210–50, with Ravenclaw leading.

William was like a man possessed on top of being on drugs, scoring point after point.

For someone who had played over 200 matches against Slytherin during the time loop, it was child's play.

William knew every Slytherin player's weaknesses, positioning, and strategies. And he had memorized the fastest ways to score.

On top of that, his skills had only grown during the loop, now it rivalled those of seasoned players with six or seven years of experience.

Against the unsuspecting Slytherin team, his scoring was effortless.

The Ravenclaw stands erupted in hoarse cheers, their throats raw from the sheer shouting. Victory seemed within their grasp.

In contrast, the Slytherin stands were deathly silent. Snape's expression was so dark it could've dripped ink.

If he weren't bound by his role as head of house, he would have stormed the field to drag William off for a drug test.

That bastard definitely drank Felix Felicis!

William's performance brought back nightmares for Snape. Over a decade ago, James Potter had similarly dominated as a Chaser, humiliating Slytherin in the finals.

And now another Chaser was repeating history!

Snape was certain today's game would set a record for the largest point difference in Hogwarts history.

But William knew better.

In eight minutes, the Basilisk would emerge, abruptly ending the match.

Still, he needed to widen the point gap as much as possible to offset the Golden Snitch's 150 points and ensure Ravenclaw's place in the finals. According to the rules, with such big difference in points, there will be no rematch to diterminte winner, even if the match got interrupted.

In truth, William could've caught the Snitch within the first thirty seconds, as he knew exactly where it was.

He could have even secretly handed it to Cho Chang, with confidence that o one would notice.

But that would've been a blatant violation of the rules. Only Seekers were allowed to touch the Snitch during the game.

William had some standards, after all.

Two minutes before the Basilisk's appearance, William signaled for a timeout.

Madam Hooch, adhering to the rules, granted the pause.

Then, Voldemort's chilling voice echoed across the field.

He was releasing the Basilisk.

The ground at the center of the pitch caved in, and the monstrous serpent emerged.

But William was ready. His wand was already aimed.

"Mist Veil!"

Thick smoke billowed across the pitch, shrouding the Basilisk entirely.

William mentally noted that he could write a paper for Today's Magical Combat titled:

"Killing a Basilisk: The Importance of Obscuring Smoke."

Hovering above on his broomstick, William suddenly let go, plummeting from several dozen meters in the air.

The crowd gasped, eyes wide with horror as William fell.

Mid-descent, the ring on William's left hand transformed into a longsword. With a flick of his wand, forming a string ancient runes onto the blade.

The runes glowed faintly, enhancing the sword's ability to pierce the Basilisk's scales.

Professor Flitwick, gazing up at the scene, muttered to Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, do you recall any spell that involves fallin from the sky like that?"

Golden light surrounded William, and runes appeared on his robes. His fall slowed, as if he were under a Levitation Charm.

He pierced through the smoke and landed squarely on the Basilisk's head.

Planting one foot forward and bracing the other back, he steadied himself and cast two Blinding Hexes directly into the Basilisk's eyes.

With his left hand, he drove the glowing sword into the creature's skull.

The blade, radiating golden light, sliced through the Basilisk's tough hide and skull with ease. Runes exploded along the sword, scattering golden sparks flew off the sword as it rubbed against the hide, as he slid the sword across it's neck to sever the neck completely.

The basilisk crashed onto the ground, dispersing the soil along where it landed.

Moments later, the smoke cleared, revealing the lifeless Basilisk on the ground.

Its eyes were mangled, and its massive head had been severed cleanly. The technique was eerily like that of the method Dumbledore used when slaying the basilisk that day.

The Quidditch pitch fell into stunned silence. 

Students and staff alike stared at the dead serpent, their faces pale with shock.

Professor McGonagall quickly declared the match over, ordering students to evacuate to the castle.

Snape stormed over, circling the Basilisk several times. Finally, he asked with a knowing look, "Is this a Basilisk?"

William, who was collecting the serpent's venom in a vial, rolled his eyes, "I killed it, Professor Snape."

"I didn't say you didn't," Snape replied, "But look at your attitude. Ten points fro—no, one point to Ravenclaw."

What?! Snape awarding points to another house?! Now, this was unheard of!

And it wasn't just that. Snape seemed unusually patient, even sounding gentle as he leapt around the Basilisk, inspecting it with a curious intensity. 

Some might say he was even making sure his presence was noticed.

"Professor," William asked, "shouldn't you be organizing the Slytherin students to return to their common room?"

The unspoken implication: Professor, maybe it's time for you to leave.

But Snape ignored him. After another moment of observation, he finally said, "Such trivial matters are best left to McGonagall. Isn't that what deputy heads are for?"

He then produced a small vial from somewhere and handed it to William, "Here. Be careful with it."

Warmth filled William's chest. Despite his gruff exterior, Snape had a kind heart, even reminding William to be cautious of the venom.

Then Snape added, "Be careful not to spill it. Basilisk venom is extremely valuable."

"…"

William sighed and repeated, "Professor, I killed the Basilisk."

"It's school property," Snape shot back.

"Dumbledore said I could have it."

"Did he now?" Snape sneered, "And who gave him the authority to decide that?"

"Isn't that what headmasters do? Make decisions like these?"

"…"

Just then, both men looked up at the sky.

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