King of Lightning [HP FANFIC]

After going through the seven years of Potions textbooks, Anduin returned in a good mood. He would probably master the basic spells and Defense Against the Dark Arts spells from years one to seven within about a week. By then, he would start learning Potions after selecting and practicing self-defense spells, so he could soon put the Potion matter on his agenda.

As he headed toward the Great Hall, he passed a classroom on the third floor and suddenly heard a rustling sound. His sharp senses told him someone was inside the nearby classroom.

"Is someone else checking classrooms like me? No, this is the first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom."

Anduin couldn't resist his curiosity. He cast a Hearing Charm on himself and slowly walked toward the classroom door. The door was locked. Opening it directly would surely alert whoever was inside. His goal was only to find out who was there; he didn't want to cause trouble.

However, this didn't stop Anduin. He raised his wand to his ear and cast an Amplification Charm. He had learned this at the last Charms Club meeting. It included techniques to counteract silencing charms and could multiply hearing ability several times. It was discovered by Quirrell, a senior Ravenclaw student whose research topic involved sound wave spells.

After casting the spell, Anduin suddenly felt the surroundings become noisy. This was also one of the side effects of the technique: if someone shouted nearby after casting the spell, one could faint immediately. Anduin adjusted for a few seconds, then pressed his ear against the classroom door, and intermittent sounds began to come through.

"Tomorrow night . . . Charles . . . you guys . . . hahaha . . . idiots . . . give him a good scare . . ." The voices weren't very loud, and there were other ambient noises, so Anduin could only hear fragments.

He listened a little longer and then dispelled the spell. This technique was still very immature; he felt dizzy after two minutes of use.

However, from what he heard and inferred, he roughly understood the situation. There were about five or six people in the classroom. He recognized one voice—it was Travers's. The others were unfamiliar, probably not from his year. Apparently, they were plotting something to do to Charles or Gryffindor the next night.

A mixed group from different years wouldn't gather just to bother a lower-year student.

"Is a small war about to break out within Hogwarts? Is Slytherin preparing to make the first move? The headmaster hasn't been at school much lately, so it seems they plan to cause trouble while they have the chance." Anduin mentally sorted out the causes and effects.

However, this was none of his business. He currently didn't have the ability to intervene in the conflicts between houses. But they mentioned Charles, and as his friend, he decided he should warn him if he had the chance.

With that thought, Anduin didn't linger any longer and hurried toward the Great Hall.

When he arrived, dinner had already begun. He sat at the long Slytherin table, looked around, and noticed that several active members of pure-blood families were absent. He understood what was probably happening. Then he turned to look at the Gryffindor table, where Charles was happily playing with his classmates.

Anduin silently nodded upon seeing this, already having a plan in mind. He then quickly bent down and ate some food. The taste was mediocre and very greasy, but he filled himself quickly.

After a while, he noticed some Slytherin students also returned to the Great Hall as if nothing had happened, and sat down to eat calmly.

Soon after, Anduin saw that Charles and some classmates seemed to have finished eating and were starting to pack up, preparing to leave.

At that moment, Anduin got up before them, packed his things, left the Great Hall, and waited in the corner by the door.

As expected, Charles and his group came out shortly after.

"Charles!" Anduin softly called his name, and when Charles looked at him, he waved gently.

Charles was puzzled, but seeing it was Anduin, he greeted those with him, told them to go ahead, and walked toward Anduin.

When Charles approached, Anduin grabbed his arm and pulled him into a nearby corner.

"What's going on, Anduin? Why the mystery?" Charles asked, intrigued, as he was led to the corner.

"I need to talk to you. I want to ask you something: Do you have plans for tomorrow night?" Anduin looked at him and asked softly.

Upon hearing this, Charles's heart skipped a beat; he felt something was wrong. He did have plans for the next night, but how did Anduin know? Although they had barely spoken since Anduin went to Slytherin, Charles instinctively trusted him.

After thinking, Charles replied, "Yes, tomorrow night is one of our prefect's birthdays. We're going on a little nighttime adventure to the Astronomy Tower to celebrate."

Upon hearing this, Anduin thought, "Just as I thought." It seemed they were planning an action against a house.

"Listen to me. You might be in danger tomorrow night. If possible, I suggest you don't participate, or warn your housemates to cancel the activity." Anduin was direct and clear.

"Do you think so?" Charles opened his eyes wide and looked at Anduin, who nodded slightly.

"Don't tell anyone you heard this from me. Take care of yourself." Having said that, Anduin left without waiting to see if Charles believed him.

As someone he liked, warning him once was already doing his best. If the other didn't believe him, it was no longer his concern. Besides, this was Hogwarts, and Anduin honestly didn't believe anyone would die. If the Gryffindor guys charged in, any losses would be their own responsibility.

Charles, still standing in the corner, thought for a moment and felt Anduin wouldn't lie to him, so he walked away thoughtfully.

For his part, Anduin no longer worried about house affairs. After the History of Magic class in the afternoon, he went straight back to his room.

Flipping through today's Daily Prophet, he could get a slight understanding of the current situation in the magical world.

"It seems the new Minister, Millicent Bagnold, is very determined." Anduin read in the newspaper that Minister Bagnold had given a public speech, announcing her firm resolve to fight against the Dark Lord and the Death Eater organization, and had even specially authorized Aurors to use Unforgivable Curses against them.