Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 924: Snape’s Choice, Kanna in a Coma

Kyle had no idea what Snape was playing at. Was it really necessary for him to join the attack on Hogwarts in person?

Did he actually see himself as a Death Eater now?

...

Kyle made his way back down to the Great Hall from the Astronomy Tower.

It looked like Voldemort had struck again—this time, destroying Hogwarts’ strongest line of defense. The stone statues and suits of armor lay shattered across the floor, their magical traces completely gone.

A surge of Death Eaters had poured into the castle, packing the staircases and entry halls.

Professor Flitwick was dueling a blond Death Eater nearby, sparks flashing with every strike. Beside them, a masked Death Eater was locked in combat with Mr. Weasley.

Even with his face hidden, the Death Eater’s bulky frame and clumsy movements gave him away—he had to be old Goyle, another long-standing member of Voldemort’s forces.

Several recent graduates were helping out, and Oliver Wood managed to land a stunning spell that brought Goyle down, giving Mr. Weasley the upper hand.

Goyle’s massive body crashed to the floor, crushing the Gryffindor hourglass beside him and sending rubies scattering in every direction.

Kyle raised his wand. The fallen rubies lifted into the air, reshaping into floating daggers—then, in a flash, they streaked toward a specific spot.

A gray figure had just leapt down the stairs—and was immediately struck by the flying gem-daggers, impaled like a pincushion.

Three daggers pierced its throat simultaneously. The werewolf didn’t even get a chance to struggle. It collapsed, lifeless, on the floor.

Just then, another werewolf landed nearby. Seeing his comrade lying in a pool of blood, he looked briefly relieved.

He seemed ready to back away quietly—but the moment he saw the red daggers rising into the air again, he panicked and began howling, waving his arms as if trying to communicate something.

“Remus Lupin?” Kyle asked in a low voice, watching the way the werewolf gestured.

Lupin nodded furiously.

“Sorry,” Kyle said. “Once they’ve transformed, werewolves all look pretty much the same. I couldn’t tell.”

The werewolf—Lupin—shook his head, clearly indicating it was fine.

Truthfully, when he’d seen those daggers begin to rise, he’d been terrified—afraid Kyle might stab him by accident too.

It was a full moon tonight, the peak of a werewolf’s strength. That other one had held his own against Lupin for over ten minutes... and Kyle had taken it down in just a few seconds.

If Kyle had acted even a little faster, Lupin might not have had the chance to explain himself.

Right now, he just wanted to get out of the castle—anywhere away from Kyle’s line of fire.

“Hold on, Remus,” Kyle called after him. “Can you find Sirius right now?”

The thought had just struck him—Lupin, in his werewolf form, had an extraordinarily keen sense of smell. He was the perfect person to track someone down.

Sure enough, Lupin only sniffed around for a few seconds before pointing a clawed hand outside the school—toward what looked like the Quidditch Pitch...

He let out two drawn-out howls, seemingly trying to say something. But whether it was because werewolves weren’t classified as Magical Creatures or for some other reason, Kyle couldn’t understand a word.

He didn’t mind, though. He gave a quick wave and sprinted off in that direction.

“Thanks.”

...

Kyle passed through the entrance hall, leaving the Wampus Cat behind to help deal with the Death Eaters.

Wampus Cats were perfect for chaotic battlefield situations like this. Their natural Legilimency allowed them to easily tell friend from foe—there was no risk of them attacking the wrong side.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Kyle reached the open grounds outside the castle.

Several massive spiders were clinging to the castle walls, their limbs scraping and clicking as they tried to squeeze through a breach in the stone and crawl inside.

“Still stragglers?” Kyle frowned slightly.

He’d already cleared out the Acromantulas from the Forbidden Forest earlier, even collecting some venom while he was at it. If he hadn’t, it wouldn’t just be a handful of spiders showing up now—it would’ve been a swarm.

He hesitated, debating whether to take care of these remaining Acromantulas first or go find Snape. Just then, a Hungarian Horntail suddenly swooped down from the sky. Like it was picking off jelly beans, it snatched the spiders from the wall one by one and devoured them all.

It even gave them a quick roast with its dragonfire beforehand.

“I hope Hagrid didn’t see that,” Kyle muttered under his breath and took off running toward the Quidditch Pitch—but barely made it halfway before he was forced to stop again.

A group of more than a dozen Dementors had gathered, and the air around them had turned deathly cold.

Kyle’s expression shifted to something oddly bemused.

Really, this Death Eater invasion of Hogwarts was starting to feel more like a reunion tour of old acquaintances—first the surviving Giants, then the surviving Werewolves... now the Dementors?

But what good would a few of them do?

There weren’t even enough to make an impressive formation.

He truly didn’t get it. The Dementors had already been purged—twice. Why couldn’t they just stay gone?

Did they really believe in Voldemort that much?

A Patronus shaped like a silvery jellyfish shimmered into being behind Kyle. The Dementors tried to flee, but it was far too late.

Its long, flowing tentacles had already wrapped around their necks, dragging them along behind it like grotesque floating ornaments.

And under the Patronusʼs influence, their bodies began to wither, collapse, and finally dissolve into nothingness.

“That should finally be the end of it.”

Kyle pressed forward and quickly arrived at the Quidditch Pitch.

The place had been ravaged. The stands were nothing but rubble, and all six goalposts lay snapped and scattered across the grass, which was still smoldering with fire.

Nearby, someone was lying motionless on the ground...

“Kanna!” Kyle’s heart skipped, and he dashed over—only to stop short a few steps later.

Wrong person.

It was a witch he didn’t recognize, dressed in black robes. Likely another Death Eater.

Thank Merlin...

Kyle forced himself to calm down and scanned the surroundings carefully. At last, he spotted Sirius, swaying unsteadily in the Slytherin stands, with an unconscious Kanna slumped across his back.

And directly across from them stood over a dozen Death Eaters in black robes.

“Sirius Black... What luck,” one of them sneered. “You’ve been a real pain.”

“As long as we kill you, the Dark Lord will definitely reward us!”

“Enough talk—do it!” a female Death Eater snapped.

“What’s the rush? There’s twelve of us. He’s got dead weight on his back—he’s not going anywhere.”

Another Death Eater added lazily, “I’m not going into Hogwarts just to get myself killed. This is much better. If we take him out here, it’s still a big win—and we don’t have to risk our necks like those other fools.”

“Exactly,” someone else agreed. “And no one’s coming to save him...”

Shlick!

The Death Eater’s words were cut short—as though something had slashed clean across his throat. Then, suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the stands.

“Damn it, who’s there?!”

The other Death Eaters hadn’t even figured out what was happening when two more of them went down—long, bloody gashes splitting their chests open as though sliced by an invisible blade.

“It’s a curse! Kill Sirius—now!”

One of them finally caught on—but before they could act, the solid ground beneath them suddenly turned to swamp, and they all began sinking.

“Sectumsempra!”

A gust of wind tore through the air, and silence fell over the stadium.

Sirius sat heavily on the ground, panting, eyes fixed on the figure now standing behind the fallen Death Eaters.

”Youʼre just in time... Kyle.”

”Yeah, just in time,” Kyle replied, glancing behind Sirius with a hesitant expression.

”Oh, donʼt worry. Kannaʼs fine,” Sirius said.

But Kyle noticed a flicker of unease in his voice as he said it.

”I don’t really know how to explain this.” Sirius gently set Kanna down. ”Snape knocked her out and left her in my care.”

”I don’t even know how to describe the feeling. That Snivellus is a Death Eater, and yet he handed his niece over to me—his enemy—to look after.”

The more he spoke, the more his expression twisted, like his whole worldview had shattered and he didn’t know what to make of it anymore.

He’d known about the connection between Kanna and Snape for a long time… It wasn’t a secret. A lot of people knew.

And he’d complained to Lupin more than once—how could someone like Snape, that greasy git, have such an exceptional niece?

What baffled Sirius wasn’t just that, but Snape’s attitude toward the Death Eaters. He seemed genuinely afraid of them.

To Sirius, a “typical” Death Eater was like a Malfoy—parents were Death Eaters, kids were mini Death Eaters, the whole family devoted to Voldemort.

Even if the children didn’t agree, their parents would drag them into Voldemort’s camp by force if necessary.

That was the reality for most Slytherins. The Death Eaters would go to any lengths, use any means, to prove their loyalty.

But Snape didn’t follow that pattern… He was clearly a seasoned Death Eater, yet he was terrified of Kanna being exposed to Voldemort.

Sirius could feel it—Snape didn’t want Voldemort to know Kanna existed. He was even willing to risk his life just to hand her over to Sirius.

When Snape stood there, he was completely unguarded. He’d even thrown away his wand. If Sirius had wanted to, he could’ve killed him right then and there.

But he’d hesitated… and watched Snape walk away, out of sight.

Even now, remembering it made Sirius want to claw at the walls with regret… Snape was the one responsible for Lily and James’s deaths—so why had he let him go?

Kyle didn’t pay attention to Sirius’s shifting expressions. He stepped forward and carefully examined Kanna.

Just like Sirius had said, she was unharmed—only hit with a Stunning Spell...

Wait.

Kyle’s hand froze midair.

He suddenly realized the bracelet on Kanna’s right wrist was missing.

It was a silver bracelet shaped like a phoenix with its head and tail joined, and its eyes were inlaid with fragments of the Philosopher’s Stone.

But the materials didn’t matter. What mattered was that it had been a gift from Nicolas Flamel, and it could block two Killing Curses. Its value went far beyond anything measured in Galleons.

Kanna had always worn it. But now it was gone.

Could she have already used it?

Kyle felt a pang of uncertainty. He tried to wake Kanna, only to discover that Snape hadn’t just used a Stunning Spell—he’d also given her the Draught of Living Death.

That made things much more complicated. There was no way he could go brew an antidote in class right now.

So Kyle simply placed Kanna inside his suitcase.

Sirius, watching from the side, asked, “Kyle, you looked worried just now. Is something wrong with Kanna?”

“No, nothing serious. I just realized she drank the Draught of Living Death, so she probably won’t be waking up anytime soon.” Kyle shook his head, choosing not to mention the bracelet.

Its effects were far too extraordinary, and it was tied to Nicolas Flamel. The fewer people who knew about it, the better.

It wasn’t a matter of trust. The magical world had too many strange and unpredictable ways of prying into secrets. Sometimes, wanting to keep something hidden wasn’t enough… not unless he made an Unbreakable Vow with Sirius right then and there.

“Sirius, what the hell happened?” Kyle asked, changing the subject as he shut the suitcase.

“I’m not exactly sure what happened either,” Sirius replied, his expression turning grim. “Let’s talk about it later. Right now, the priority is dealing with those Death Eaters.”

“That’s easy enough.” Kyle waved his wand, and a fire dragon made of Fiendfyre reappeared above the Quidditch pitch, diving straight into the area where the Death Eaters were most heavily concentrated.

Earlier, he hadnʼt had the time or energy to control Fiendfyre. But now? Now he had time to spare.

The roaring flames lit up the night sky, and in an instant, the Death Eaters’ frenzied assault came to an abrupt halt.

Where the Fiendfyre dragon loomed, it was like an insurmountable barrier—no one dared take a step forward.

Sirius watched the scene, unconsciously licking his lips. His thoughts drifted to the dozen or so Death Eaters Kyle had killed earlier.

It was a different kind of magic, but just as swift and ruthless. No wonder so many said Kyle was the next Dumbledore. With the power he had now, he seemed only a step behind Dumbledore himself.

Honestly, it could be said he was leagues ahead of anyone else in the Order of the Phoenix—including Sirius.

“Can you tell me now?” Kyle asked. “I’m really curious.”

“After Snape dragged me down from the tower, I chased him out of the castle.”

With the Death Eaters having retreated, Sirius was no longer in such a rush. He thought back briefly, then said, “I lost him not long after. Snape’s cunning—he created a diversion that made me think he was heading for the dungeons. By the time I got there, I realized I’d been tricked.”

“Then how did you end up here?” Kyle asked, while guiding the Fiendfyre forward, engulfing more enemies and driving the remaining Death Eaters all the way to the school gates.

Ever since killing those two Death Eaters atop the Astronomy Tower, he hadn’t worried about conserving magic.

It felt so liberating to fight without restraint. Kyle flicked his wand again, and five small phoenixes broke off from the fire dragon’s massive body—each about the size of a sparrow.

The little phoenixes zipped through the school at blazing speed. When they spotted a lone Death Eater, they would dive down and deliver a scorching embrace.

Unfortunately, Kyle could only control five at once—any more, and the risk of friendly fire was too high.

Sirius licked his lips again. That kind of fine magical control... he couldn’t help feeling like Kyle was showing off. Eventually, he just turned away, pretending not to notice.

“Because of Lucius Malfoy.”

Sirius went on, “After I lost Snape, I was heading back to the Astronomy Tower when I happened to see him and Narcissa hurrying across the grounds.”

“I figured they were plotting something against Hogwarts, so I followed them to see what they were up to... and I ended up here. They pulled someone out from the Quidditch changing rooms—someone who was supposed to have vanished long ago.”

“Draco Malfoy,” Kyle said softly.

“Exactly.” Sirius nodded, gritting his teeth.

“Draco Malfoy. That little Death Eater who killed Dumbledore has been hiding in the school this whole time—in the Quidditch changing rooms of all places.”

“Perfect hiding spot, isn’t it? Ever since Quidditch matches were canceled, no one’s gone near the place. Not even the Aurors on patrol bother checking there.”

As he spoke, Sirius gave his wand a furious swing, wanting to take his anger out on any Death Eater he could find.

But the area had already been cleared by Kyle—there wasn’t a single Death Eater left. Not even a bug. In the end, he could only blast a few rocks to vent his frustration.

“Then what happened?”

“Snape showed up too,” Sirius said. “He seemed to already know that Draco Malfoy was there, and right then I realized—he was the one who saved that little Death Eater.”

“I wanted to rush in, but there were three of them, and I didn’t know how to take them all down in one go. So I hesitated.”

“Good thing I did,” he added with a lingering sense of dread. “Because the Dark Lord arrived as well. Looked like he was planning to kill that little bastard Draco Malfoy.”

“Lucius and Narcissa dropped to their knees and started begging him. They said something, but I was too far away to hear clearly.”

“When I circled around from another path, the Dark Lord and the Malfoy family were already gone. All I saw was Snape—and it felt like he knew I was close.”

“You’re saying he was waiting for you?” Kyle raised an eyebrow.

“It just seemed that way,” Sirius said. “He led me into a patch of shrubs, and there I found Kanna—unconscious.”

“Snape asked me to take her back to the castle, said that what he was doing had nothing to do with her... I could hardly believe it. That someone like Snape would willingly lower his head to me.”

“But Snape assumed too much—thought everyone else was like him.”

“Even if he hadn’t said a word, I still wouldn’t have left her. We all know Kanna’s a good kid. Nearly half the potions used in this war came from her.”

“What potions?” Kyle paused, caught off guard.

“You didn’t know?” Sirius looked at him in surprise. “Ever since Kanna went to France, she’s been sending us all kinds of healing potions and antidotes. I thought you knew.”

“I... didn’t,” Kyle said, stiffly shaking his head.

No wonder—both times he went to find Kanna, her potion shop had been closed. So that’s what it was.

All the potions had been sent back to Britain. Of course the shop would be shut.

Kyle rubbed his forehead... How did I not notice something was off back then?

“You really didn’t know?” Sirius asked, clearly curious. “She didn’t tell you?”

“No,” Kyle said, shaking his head again. “And I doubt Snape knows either.”

“Alright then,” Sirius said. “You know the rest. I was just about to take Kanna back to the castle when I ran into those Death Eaters.”

“Lucky you showed up when you did. By the way, what spell were you using earlier? It looked familiar.”

“The Laceration Curse,” Kyle replied. “It’s a curse Snape invented.”