In an instant, Cedric seized the advantage.
Animals and projectiles shaped from earth surged toward Gemini and Pisces, forcing the two into a frantic defensive scramble.
By controlling the soil beneath him, Cedric's mobility also skyrocketed—their spells couldn't even brush the hem of his robes.
But Cedric was suffering in silence.
He hadn't awakened a true domain and couldn't expand his influence over the soil as freely as his teacher. These wide, forceful attacks consumed massive amounts of magic. Barely a minute had passed, yet he was already struggling, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
Cedric was anxious, but Gemini was even more so. To him, being pushed back by a mere youngster—briefly falling behind, even—was an utter humiliation.
"Domain Expansion, Light and Dark!"
After blasting a flying earthen spike into dust and watching his counter-spell get swallowed by Cedric's earthen wall, Gemini finally lost his patience and activated his domain.
In a flash, a layer of shadow spread across the ground, racing toward Cedric at an alarming speed.
Pisces quietly retreated a few steps and began drawing a magic circle on the ground, though it was unclear what he intended to do.
The moment the shadow touched the soil under Cedric's control, he felt his earthen constructs dissolving rapidly, like frost under a blazing sun.
At this rate, the enchanted soil he had animated would vanish completely in just a few minutes.
Cedric couldn't afford to worry about magical exhaustion. He poured every ounce of strength into communicating with the earth, trying his best to resist Gemini's bizarre domain.
At that moment, the magic inside Cedric surged out of him like floodwaters breaching a dam, pouring forth uncontrollably. Sweat beaded across his forehead in varying sizes, and his face had turned completely pale.
Compared to Cedric, Gemini appeared utterly calm. His Dark Domain continued rapidly devouring Cedric's magic to strengthen itself. Facing a true domain without having awakened one himself put Cedric at a severe disadvantage.
Still, even without a real domain, Cedric was far stronger than an ordinary witch or wizard—he could last a long time… if he were only fighting Gemini alone.
While the two were locked in a stalemate, Pisces had already finished drawing his magic circle, inscribing a ring of runic characters around its edges.
Once everything was ready, he stepped into the center of the circle, raised his hand, and pointed his index finger at Cedric.
"In the name of Hela, Queen of the Underworld, I, Pisces, curse you—Cedric Diggory!"
The moment he spoke, Pisces's face turned starkly pale, and his robes were instantly soaked with sweat. It was clear he was enduring tremendous pain.
"Arrgh!!" Cedric, on the other hand, felt a stabbing agony in his stomach, as if someone had punched him with full force. Pain burst through him, his vision darkened, and he involuntarily doubled over.
Gemini and Pisces worked together seamlessly. Seizing the instant Cedric was distracted, Gemini's Dark Domain lunged forward, leaping across the ground and climbing directly onto Cedric's shoulder.
Cedric forced the earth beneath him to slide backward, managing to slip free of the domain's grip—barely—but a patch of shadow the same color as the Dark Domain now clung to his shoulder.
Seeing his attack land, Gemini's face lit up with a triumphant smile.
"Light!"
He raised his hand, and a field of radiance burst outward from him as the center, instantly enveloping the entire area.
The light was gentle—anyone touched by it would feel a warm, comforting glow. But Cedric let out a pained scream; the shadow clinging to his shoulder was burning with agony that seemed to come from the depths of his soul.
Caught between the two attackers, Cedric's control over the earth collapsed completely.
His consciousness shattered, vision going dark as he collapsed to the ground.
Just as Gemini and Pisces believed they had succeeded, a violent surge of magic suddenly erupted from Cedric's body.
Vooosh!!
At the same time, the bracelet on his wrist silently crumbled into dust and fused into the earth beneath him.
The earth came alive—stirring as if granted consciousness—and swallowed Cedric whole in a single gulp.
…
Helga's eyes snapped open.
She sensed that the magical tool she had left with Cedric had been triggered. Her sleepiness vanished instantly, and she sat up in one swift motion. She knew Cedric must have encountered extreme danger.
Her robes wrapped themselves around her automatically, and Helga prepared to leave in the shortest possible time.
Without hesitation, she forcibly reclaimed part of the castle's control authority—and then used that authority to lift the anti-Apparition restrictions within the Hogwarts grounds.
This action woke more than just her.
Rhys and Dumbledore were both jolted from sleep by the sudden disturbance.
Dumbledore opened his eyes, expression immediately serious. He didn't know what had happened—only that the school's anti-Apparition enchantments had been lifted. His mind moved quickly and pinpointed the most likely culprit: Smith White.
Dumbledore acted at once.
Rhys didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. He wrapped the blanket around himself, and the next second he appeared in Helga's office with his wand in hand.
The blanket on his body shifted automatically, transforming into a Roman-style robe, and his gaze immediately locked onto the teleportation portal slowly closing near the entrance to Helga's bedroom.
It was a special teleportation spell the four founders had developed long ago—one capable of transporting them precisely to predetermined locations. They usually incorporated it into emergency life-preserving items for their students.
The moment Rhys saw this teleportation array, he understood why Helga had forcefully lifted the school's anti-Apparition barrier in the middle of the night.
With the current state of Hufflepuff House, it wasn't easy for Helga to receive a student she truly favored. Her anxiety was only natural.
Without hesitation, Rhys picked up a piece of parchment from the desk, transformed it into a mask, pressed it over his face, and stepped into the shrinking portal.
The moment Rhys entered, the portal flared brightly, suddenly expanding outward before vanishing entirely.
The next second, a loud crack echoed through Helga's office as Dumbledore appeared inside.
Ignoring propriety entirely, he strode straight into Professor White's bedroom—only to find it empty. The bed still held residual warmth. Dumbledore frowned deeply.
As expected, the one who forcibly broke the school's restrictions was her. But why? Who exactly was she?
He first restored the school's protective wards, ensuring that Apparition within Hogwarts was once again impossible. Then he began analyzing the situation:
A witch who had returned from ancient times…
Skilled in food-based magic and in constructing dolls…
Behavior wildly different from modern wizards…
Possessing partial authority over the castle…
…Who is she?
...
Seeing that the roasted chicken seemed about to fly away, Gemini and Pisces finally lost their composure. They immediately began attacking the patch of earth where Cedric had sunk.
With the two of them attacking together—Gemini's Light-and-Dark Domain assisting him—and considering that the dust formed from the shattered bracelet had only just "arrived" and hadn't gained enough recognition from the surrounding soil, they actually managed to dig Cedric out.
Cedric's entire body was now encased in a strange amber-colored shell—this shell was the only thing keeping his fragile body safe.
Gemini's expression tightened. From that outer shell, he felt a powerful, oppressive force.
He tried using his domain to erode it, but met stubborn, unyielding resistance.
Gemini instantly understood—whoever crafted this protective shell also possessed a domain, and definitely wasn't a half-trained beginner like the boy before him. That person was a true master of the domain, someone on par with himself.
Looks like this kid's ancestors produced a real powerhouse, Gemini thought in surprise.
But it wasn't a big problem. The boy named Cedric had already lost consciousness. All Gemini needed to do was patiently grind away at that shell bit by bit, and then he and Pisces could take him back to Taurus and complete their mission.
That thought lasted only a few seconds.
Because Helga Hufflepuff arrived—carrying boundless, overwhelming fury.
The moment she appeared, she saw her student lying unconscious on the ground, two unknown dark wizards surrounding and attacking him.
Helga always considered herself a kind and gentle soul—but at this moment, her rationality was drowned entirely by rage. Her anger surged like a roaring flood, completely smashing through the dam of her restraint.
When was the last time she had been this furious?
Probably back when she discovered Salazar was secretly using all sorts of methods to monitor her Muggle-born students.
Even Salazar Slytherin had paid a heavy price for that—so what chance did two stray, nameless mongrels like these have?
In the depths of her wrath, Helga's lips actually curled upward. A cold, merciless smile appeared on the elderly witch's face. The tremor of the earth was about to begin here.
"You two mongrels are already dead." She pointed straight at Gemini and Pisces as she spoke.
Gemini and Pisces were startled. They spun around, and the moment they saw the witch who had appeared out of nowhere, a chilling alarm rang in their hearts—this person had appeared right behind them, and they hadn't sensed anything.
If she hadn't spoken just now, and instead had—
"You're thinking, 'If she'd ambushed us just now, wouldn't we already be dead?' aren't you? Heh… and you mongrels think you're worthy of even realizing that?" Helga tightened her fist.
"Together," Gemini said grimly. "This woman is terrifyingly strong."
He knew tonight would not end peacefully—the person before them was clearly the domain master who crafted the protective bracelet for Cedric.
He had originally assumed that bracelet must have been an heirloom passed down by Cedric's family. Who would've guessed the creator of such an item was not only alive but standing right in front of them?
Clearly, their organization had severely underestimated Hogwarts' true strength. There was more than one domain-awakened wizard in that school besides Dumbledore.
But it wasn't hopeless. His domain complemented Pisces' ability extremely well. All he needed was a single opening—then he could inflict a devastating blow directly to her soul.
"Right." Pisces adjusted his collar, bracing himself for a battle to the death.
"Hey. Your opponent is me. You're carrying something I'm interested in~"
"Huh?" Pisces froze mid-movement. A voice interrupted his warm-up, halting him in place.
At some unknown moment, a figure wearing a white mask had appeared behind the two of them, sitting casually on a stone as he watched. Seeing him arrive, Helga couldn't help letting out a cold snort—this old snake certainly moved fast.
Gemini, Pisces: !!!
"Who are you?" Pisces couldn't help asking.
"You can call me Rhys Lint, currently a third-year student at Hogwarts."
After glancing over and confirming that Cedric had already lost consciousness, Rhys simply announced his name.
Hearing the boy state his name so openly, Pisces felt a brief surge of relief. Combined with the fact that the newcomer was just a third-year student, the shock he'd felt earlier completely evaporated.
_____
12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI
Also check out Marvel's Reality Editor. Be warned: it contains SMUT, but the story is highly plot-driven. (^///^)