Marcus Flint discovered something shocking.
Despite his efforts during his years at Hogwarts, the gap in ability between him and Gemma Farley had not narrowed, instead, it had grown wider with time.
For example, now, being publicly pointed at with a wand by Gemma should have been extremely humiliating.
Yet he, who should have been exploding with rage, couldn't muster even a trace of resistance.
Not only that, but when he saw Gemma's gem-like-blue eyes, his heart strangely began to feel an odd sense of anticipation.
With Flint silent, the other snakes in the common room, seeing the Head Girl's aura in full force, were all silent.
At this moment, no one dared speak rashly, afraid of angering Gemma.
Just then, a somewhat weak voice came from the corner. "I think the Head Girl is right."
Everyone turned in astonishment to see the pale-faced blonde boy Malfoy, his face which was now flushed red.
Under everyone's surprised gazes, he slowly said.
"From last Wednesday until now, I've been tripped seven times.
Even when using the bathroom, I have to constantly watch for people throwing Dungbombs into my stall.
I think rather than wasting energy on these things, we should focus on preparing for the match and defeat them on the field!"
Gemma looked at Malfoy with some surprise.
"Draco, is that really what you think?"
"Yes," Malfoy nodded. "The current situation is just too pathetic."
"Well said," Gemma laughed lightly. "Marcus, see? You're not even as good as a third-year student."
Flint's fists clenched tightly, then loosened powerlessly.
The other snakes also exchanged glances.
Although Gemma Farley's words were harsh, each one was like a scalpel, precisely dissecting their foolishness and inadequacy.
After a brief silence came complete submission.
Seeing even the instigator had backed down, the others naturally had no objections.
The anger and desire to resist that had flooded the air had completely dissipated, leaving only silence and confusion after being crushed by a high level existence.
Gemma naturally sensed this change. She put away her wand and walked straight to the dungeon door.
Just as she was about to exit, she suddenly stopped.
Turning around, she swept her gaze over these snakes who made her feel utterly embarrassed, and said coldly.
"If you want a ceasefire, do it thoroughly. Don't come perform this moronic crying drama for me again.
There are only a few days until the official match. Whether you continue being targets that get chased around, or prove you at least have some Slytherin brains... choose for yourselves."
The door closed silently behind her, leaving only a group of dejected, completely aura-crushed snakes in the room.
Looking at these shell-shocked, dejected Quidditch players, the two prefects Flint had called for support exchanged glances, their were eyes full of admiration.
This was Gemma Farley.
Though they were all prefects, they were completely incomparable to her.
Looking at Flint again, the anger on his face had not completely dissipated.
But in the two prefects' view, it was more the shame of having his foolishness publicly exposed and a sense of helplessness.
"Captain Flint, what should we...?"
"Let's go!"
Flint's throat emitted an unwilling growl, but he was still the first to move.
He roughly pushed aside the blocking players and walked toward the door with heavy steps.
The others exchanged glances and silently followed.
Malfoy was last, his face was still bloodless.
However, he noticed that the way his teammates looked at him had subtly changed from before.
He didn't particularly care about this.
The damp cold of the dungeon corridor made several players instinctively shrink their necks; it matched their current inner feelings quite well.
Leaving the dungeon, they saw Gemma standing at the boundary between shadow and light, her expression was stern.
Her gaze swept over the team members going out of the common room like a searchlight. Without another word, she simply turned and walked toward the stairs.
The Slytherin students discovered something surprising.
When Marcus Flint and the two prefects had earlier led the Quidditch team members toward the common room, everyone had been haughty and indignant, looking as if they wanted to tear the dungeon apart.
But now, following Gemma out, they were all dejected and silent.
The atmosphere formed a stark contrast with before.
News always traveled fast, especially during this period when the conflict between sides had reached a fever pitch.
In the Gryffindor common room, Neville burst in like a gust of wind.
"This is bad!"
Sherlock, who was quietly reading, said nothing, but Hermione beside him frowned.
Thanks to Sherlock's idea, the little lions and eagles had turned passive into active during this period, achieving staged success in the three-way confrontation.
As a result, the Gryffindor common room had rarely been this quiet.
Before Hermione had enjoyed it for even a few days, Neville had pulled this stunt.
"Sherlock, this is terrible!
Flint and his gang... they're heading our way with aggressive intent!
Percy and the Quidditch team have already gone. Ron told me to hurry back and tell you!"
With a rustle, all the little lions still in the common room stood up and instinctively looked toward Sherlock.
"They're finally here."
Hearing this, Sherlock smoothly closed his thick book with a soft thump.
His tone was calm, as if he had expected this all along.
"Sherlock, should we go?" Neville asked tentatively.
Sherlock stood up unhurriedly. "Let's go."
"Roar—!"
With the Lion King's word, the little lions roared and excitedly followed.
Seamus even ran back to the dormitory specifically to get his wand.
Since the first-year Quidditch stands battle that had crowned the Lion King, the little lions hadn't had a large-scale confrontation with the snakes.
Not until this year's crucial match had they been given such a precious opportunity.
Though they had started taking the initiative under Sherlock's suggestion, the three houses had still shown relative restraint.
But now the snakes were actually coming to them—that was clearly the pace of starting something!
Didn't this perfectly suit the little lions' intentions?
Besides, listen to what the Lion King just said: "They're finally here!"
What did that mean?
It meant Sherlock had long anticipated this day would come.
As expected, the Lion King was the Lion King, far-sighted and prepared for everything.
With him leading, how could Gryffindor not win?
"Sherlock, should we tell Professor McGonagall?"
Hermione couldn't help saying, "In case things get out of hand..."
"I don't think things will develop as you fear, dear Hermione."
Sherlock glanced at the worried Hermione. "If nothing unexpected happens, this time should completely resolve this matter."
Seeing Sherlock so calm, Hermione suddenly remembered the conversation between Sherlock, her, and Harry a few days ago.
"You mean... Gemma?"
"Obviously, Flint alone couldn't pull something like this off.
Ron couldn't see the essence of the matter, so his warning is understandable."
Hearing Sherlock say this, Hermione felt relieved.
Actually, there weren't many people left in the Gryffindor common room at this time, but when they followed Sherlock out, it still gave off a feeling of going to conquer the world.
Thus, the group marched grandly to the entrance of Gryffindor Tower.
The corridor intersection here was relatively spacious and usually bustling with people.
But at this moment, the scene was tense, yet strangely orderly.
Percy Weasley and Gryffindor Quidditch team captain Oliver Wood stood at the front.
Beside them were two new prefects elected by Gryffindor this year.
Percy's Head Boy badge was polished to a shine; his body was standing stiff straight.
Behind the four were the Gryffindor Quidditch players, including Harry, along with some Gryffindor students who had spontaneously gathered, all looking as if facing a great enemy.
Only the Weasley twins were craning their necks, looking eager to try.
Standing with the little lions were naturally the eagles.
Former prefect Penelope Clearwater stood beside Percy, with a male and female Ravenclaw prefect beside her.
Besides them, several other Ravenclaw students were also present.
Cho Chang's eyes were vigilant, fixed on the Slytherin group, while Luna was observing some mold spot on the ceiling from a unique angle, looking seemingly detached from the situation.
Confronting the little lions and eagles were naturally the snakes from Slytherin.
Originally, only the Quidditch players and two prefects had come with Gemma.
But along the way, more and more snakes joined them after learning what was happening.
A ceasefire was fine—the snakes had been exhausted dealing with both the lions and eagles during this period.
Since the Head Girl was willing to negotiate with the other side, they were happy to accept.
But in terms of momentum, they absolutely could not lose!
Gemma had initially wanted to stop them, but on second thought, she gave up.
Although she had said in the Slytherin dungeon that what she needed were hunters who knew when to advance and when to lie low, ultimately achieving their goals.
She had to admit that given the current situation, in all of Slytherin, there really weren't many such people.
After their seventh-year students left, there probably wouldn't even be one person capable of carrying the load.
It was what it was.
At this moment, Gemma Farley stood at the forefront of the Slytherin group, just like Percy for Gryffindor.
Percy had Wood and two prefects beside him, but Gemma stood alone.
She was like a cold gate, single-handedly keeping the two sides completely separated.
The Quidditch captain and two prefects who should have stood alongside her were behind her.
Add the Quidditch team members and other Slytherin students who had joined along the way, and it really did give the impression of a mobilized force coming to cause trouble.
But they knew their own situation.
At this moment, Flint's chest was rising and falling obviously, his face was no longer showing the previous fury, but more a suppressed frustration and embarrassment.
Draco Malfoy, pale-faced, stood a bit further back.
His eyes swept over Harry with complex emotions, then quickly looked away.
In fact, both sides had only just formed this standoff.
The arrival of Sherlock and his group, especially Sherlock's appearance, immediately drew everyone's attention.
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