"Speaking of which, what exactly is an Unbreakable Vow?" Harry asked, looking at Aiden's departing figure, then turning to his companions with a puzzled expression.
Hermione sighed, a familiar air of exasperation settling over her. "Honestly, don't you two ever read? It's quite a serious piece of magic."
"No, no, I actually know what it is," Ron interjected, shrugging. "It's a really powerful magical contract. If you break it, the consequences are… well, extremely miserable, to put it mildly."
He leaned in, a reminiscent look on his face. "When I was little, George and Fred tried to trick me into signing one. That day, Dad and Mum had the biggest row I've ever seen them have. Seriously, if you ever get a look at George and Fred's backsides, you'll probably still see the marks. You'd know just how badly they were beaten that day."
Harry stared at Ron in disbelief. He couldn't help but feel a little ashamed that even Ron, who wasn't known for his academic diligence, knew about this significant piece of magic while he remained clueless.
On the other side of the castle, Aiden, having emerged from the Gryffindor common room, made his way swiftly towards the Slytherin dungeons.
He didn't bother with passwords. He simply spotted a younger Slytherin student scurrying along the corridor and, with a calm but unignorable presence, gestured for him to open the entrance. The young wizard, recognising Aiden, opened the hidden door with trembling hands, cautiously following a few steps behind as Aiden strode into the Slytherin common room.
It seems that the last duel still had some lingering effect on their collective memory. Aiden mused inwardly, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he took in the opulent, somewhat gloomy green-and-silver common room.
There were many young wizards milling about. The moment Aiden stepped inside, a sudden, almost palpable silence fell over the room. Conversations died mid-sentence, and all eyes turned towards the Ravenclaw intruder.
After a tense moment, a slightly braver young wizard, perhaps a second or third year, mustered his courage and stepped forward. "A-Aiden Prewett," he stammered, "what… what are you going to do this time?" The fear in his voice was evident.
Aiden's gaze swept coolly around the assembled Slytherins. "Where is Draco Malfoy?" he asked, his voice calm and level.
The tense atmosphere instantly deflated, replaced by a wave of collective relief. Murmurs broke out: "He's not here to cause trouble." "Looking for Draco? Great!" "Hey, you, Nott! Go fetch Draco, quickly!"
A clueless Draco Malfoy was soon pushed out from the throng by his housemates. Before Draco could fully process what was happening or launch into one of his usual tirades, Aiden casually put an arm around Draco's shoulder and began to lead him out of the common room. Behind them, a group of Slytherin students waved, not with hostility, but with an almost eager desire to see them gone.
"Aiden Prewett! What in Merlin's name are you doing now? My father will—"
Draco's protest was cut short by Aiden before he could get into full swing.
"Okay, Draco, relax," Aiden said with a slight, knowing smirk. "I'm sure your father will be quite pleased to hear about this, actually."
Draco visibly bristled. "No! I told you, I don't like guys that way!" he sputtered, trying to pull away.
Aiden held him firmly and gave him a light flick on the forehead. "Do you even hear the nonsense you're spouting? Focus." He then handed Draco a formal-looking invitation. It was for the Mind's Edge Duelling Club.
"Read it. Sign it. Then you join. This comes directly from Dumbledore's request, understand?"
Upon hearing Dumbledore's name, Draco's demeanor changed. He nodded rapidly, like a chicken pecking at rice, quickly scanned the invitation, and then, with a flourish of his quill, signed his name.
"There's an Unbreakable Vow embedded in that contract, Draco," Aiden informed him casually. "So, don't even think about violating it after signing. Also, the first activity is on Thursday night. Make sure you go to bed early that night, understand?"
Draco nodded again, though a look of confusion crossed his face. Go to an activity on Thursday night, but also go to bed early? How did that work?
Aiden, however, was too lazy to explain the intricacies of the Distorted Illusion to Draco at that moment. He simply turned and left, leaving Malfoy to ponder the cryptic instructions.
Next on his list was Hufflepuff. As Aiden entered their cozy, welcoming common room near the kitchens, he ran into Hannah Abbott. With her was her good friend, Ernie Macmillan.
Aiden, employing his considerable silver-tongued charm, explained the purpose of the Mind's Edge Duelling Club and Dumbledore's initiative. Ernie Macmillan, impressed and perhaps a little flattered by the personal invitation from a renowned duellist like Aiden, readily agreed to join.
Fortunately, the Hufflepuff students lived up to their house's reputation for good temperaments. No siege or panicked outcry occurred when Aiden, a Ravenclaw, wandered into their common room. They were mostly just curious.
Time passed, and Thursday night arrived. Everyone holding an invitation, as instructed, went to bed early. As they drifted off to sleep, their conscious minds, their mind bodies, were gently but irresistibly pulled into the shimmering, ethereal landscape of the Distorted Illusion, an effect of the magically binding contract they had signed.
"Welcome, everyone!" Professor Flitwick's cheerful voice chirped. He took out his wand and, with a flick, shot a cascade of colorful fireworks into the illusory sky above them.
The young wizards who had just entered the Distorted Illusion for the first time looked around with wide-eyed curiosity and awe. The duelling room was a vast, adaptable space, but the world beyond its defined boundaries shimmered with an unsettling, fluid quality. Harry and Ron, ever adventurous, even looked like they were planning to step out of the designated duelling room boundaries to explore.
"I would strongly suggest you refrain from doing that," Aiden's voice cut in, calm but firm.
He continued, his eyes narrowing slightly, "The surrounding illusion has been anchored by me with specific magical parameters. Stepping out of the boundary of this dueling room means breaking away from the protection of that anchor."
Ron swallowed audibly. "And… what will happen then?"
Professor Flitwick took over the explanation. "Wizards with insufficient mental control or training cannot safely navigate this place without guidance. They would be captured by the inherent gravity of this realm, the deeper layers of consciousness, and finally sink towards the bottom, lost in the vast Collective Unconscious Sea, quite possibly unable to return to their physical bodies."
Aiden looked around at the slightly pale faces of the new recruits and added, his tone grim, "If you absolutely must step out, then congratulations. St. Mungo's Hospital's sixth floor, the ward for permanent spell damage, will be very happy to receive a new, long-term patient."
All the young wizards shuddered in unison and instinctively leaned closer towards the middle of the designated safe zone.
"Okay, okay, don't worry too much," Professor Flitwick chuckled, effectively dismantling the dramatic tension Aiden had built. "Aiden has also added a protective net around this immediate area, so you can't accidentally wander out, even if you tried."
He then clapped his hands together. "So, in order to balance everyone's progress, I will first provide some make-up instruction on the previous teachings for our new members. Aiden, you and your roommates, the four of you, can practice on your own for now."
"Yes, Professor," came the chorus of four voices.
Aiden took out his wand and turned to face his three Ravenclaw roommates: Edmund, Oliver, and Ethan. A challenging glint appeared in his heterochromatic eyes.
"Come on, then," Aiden invited. "Let's go. All three of you, together."
"Are you absolutely sure about that, Aiden?" Edmund asked, though he was already taking out his wand. Without waiting for an answer, he directly cast a Petrification Curse at Aiden.
Aiden casually knocked the spell away with a flick of his own wand. Almost simultaneously, Oliver fired a Stupefy charm at Aiden, muttering under his breath, "Aiden, you know, it's all for practice, nothing personal."
Aiden pushed out with his left hand, an invisible force sending Oliver flying backwards. Ethan quickly moved to fill Oliver's vacated position and fired an Expelliarmus charm straight at Aiden.
"Yes, Aiden," Ethan chimed in, a grin on his face. "This is a rare and excellent opportunity to practice dueling against someone of your caliber!"
Aiden, unfazed by the coordinated assault, waved the wand in his right hand. "Accio Edmund."
He directly pulled Edmund towards him, using his roommate as an impromptu shield. Ethan's Expelliarmus charm struck Edmund squarely, causing Edmund's wand to fly out of his hand.
Ethan was momentarily stunned by this unexpected and rather ruthless maneuver. Aiden seized the opportunity, casting a spell he had learned from Snape's advanced dueling notes on him.
"Bat-Bogey Hex!"
After being hit by the unpleasant spell, Ethan found himself unceremoniously hung upside down in the air, a swarm of oversized, enchanted bats flapping angrily around his nose.
At this moment, Oliver, who had been knocked away, also managed to scramble back into the fray. While Aiden was occupied with subduing Ethan, Oliver raised his wand and fired another Expelliarmus charm at Aiden.
This time, Aiden was hit. His wand flew out of his hand, clattering onto the illusory floor.
Oliver approached Aiden with a weird, triumphant smile. "Hehe, Aiden. This isn't a personal grudge, you understand. Just good, clean practice."
Aiden, however, remained perfectly calm. He stretched out his hand and, with a sharp snap of his fingers, instantly disappeared from Edmund and Oliver's sight.
With a subtle fluctuation of space, Aiden reappeared directly behind Oliver. His beautiful, heterochromatic eyes, now focused intently on his target, seemed to glow faintly.
"Deterrence."
Oliver felt an unspeakable, crushing sense of oppression wash over him, as if a colossal, ancient dragon was staring directly into his soul, judging his worth. He froze.
"Bat-Bogey Hex". Aiden, with a casual air, cast the spell wandlessly, and Oliver too was soon hanging in the air, a victim of enchanted bats.
At this point, only Edmund was left on the field, still disarmed but scrambling for his wand. In the brief gap where Aiden had dealt with Ethan and Oliver, Edmund had managed to pick it up.
"Haha, Aiden!" Edmund crowed, feeling a surge of confidence. "I have my wand! Even if you can cast spells without a wand, you can't possibly stop me now!" He was complacent, relaxing his vigilance for a fatal second.
Aiden seized the opportunity. He stretched out his hand and, with a silent, focused application of will, used the Accio charm.
The wand that had flown from Aiden's hand earlier, lying some distance away, shot through the air straight towards Aiden's outstretched fingers. Edmund saw the situation was rapidly turning against him and belatedly fired a Petrification Curse at Aiden.
Unfortunately for Edmund, he was one crucial step too slow. The wand flew smoothly into Aiden's hand. Aiden, with a contemptuous backhand wave, conjured a silent Shield Charm, effortlessly blocking Edmund's Petrification Curse.
"And then," Aiden said, his voice deceptively mild, "Bat-Bogey Hex." As the spell flew, Edmund also joined the unfortunate ranks of his roommates, hanging upside down and tormented by bats.
Looking at his three roommates, all suspended in the air and groaning in discomfort, Aiden let out a small sigh. "Sure enough," he muttered to himself, "facing three opponents simultaneously is still a bit too difficult, even for me."
"Ding," the System chimed in, its tone dry. "Do you want to see what you are saying, Host?"
***********
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