Saruman, possessing Edward's body, clearly had full access to Edward's memories.
He knew every spell Edward had learned, and with Saruman's own power supporting them, his spellcasting was nearly on par with Sylas.
Relying on Sylas's reluctance to kill Edward, Saruman swung his wand at him without restraint.
But the wand, tied to Edward's will, resisted fiercely. It refused to obey Saruman, fighting every spell he attempted to cast.
Saruman's expression darkened.
"Damn wand!"
The resistance slowed him considerably.
But Saruman simply pulled out another wand from who-knows-where and continued attacking.
He never got the chance.
Sylas wasn't alone, Elrond had already drawn his elven sword, the Ring of Air glowing softly.
Gandalf and Galadriel attacked from behind, and the other professors raised their wands, surrounding Saruman. Out of concern for Edward's safety, they all used restraining and binding spells rather than destructive ones.
Gandalf lifted his staff, light gathering around him.
"Saruman, surrender. You will not escape today."
Galadriel remained silent.
Instead of using destructive magic, she activated the Ring of Water.The massive barrier outside the castle instantly shrank inward, slipping through walls, floors, and people, and closed around Edward's body like an invisible prison.
Under the combined pressure of Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, Saruman rapidly weakened.
His defensive magic faltered as Galadriel's barrier tightened, the conjured armor trembling and about to collapse.
Suddenly, Saruman stopped resisting.
He pressed Edward's wand hard against Edward's own neck.
"Stop! Unless you want this body to die with me, don't move. I'll kill myself here and now!"
Galadriel instantly halted the barrier's compression.
Gandalf and Elrond froze as well, they could see he wasn't bluffing.
Sylas lowered his wand. The professors did the same, though they remained tense and ready.
Sylas spoke calmly, without expression:
"Saruman, if you leave Edward's body, I'm willing to let you go."
"Headmaster?!"
The professors gasped, shocked.
Even Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond were surprised. Letting Saruman go meant releasing a deadly enemy.
But Saruman only sneered.
"Ha! Sylas, you devious little wizard. You think I'd believe that? The second I leave this body, you'll destroy me."
Sylas's gaze hardened.
"If you don't believe my word, I can form a magical contract guaranteeing your safe departure."
Saruman laughed bitterly.
"Your contracts are worth as much as your promises, nothing."
He glanced around at the encircling professors, then at Smaug outside the window, watching like an executioner ready to torch him.
Then he reached into Edward's pocket.
He pulled out a spatial bag.
From the tiny opening, he dumped out a Vanishing Cabinet, large enough to shake the floor when it landed.
A dial on the door read:
Hogsmeade- Bree- Isengard- Rivendell- Lórien
Saruman twisted the dial to Isengard.
He smirked.
"I should thank your portrait, Sylas. If it hadn't granted me access to the Dragon Vault, I'd never have gotten this precious Cabinet.Don't worry, once I'm gone, I won't harm your faithful servant.As long as you stay out of my way."
He backed into the Cabinet, still facing Sylas and the others, and pulled the door shut.
He wasn't worried about them attacking it.
Seeing the frustration on their faces before vanishing filled him with triumph.
Saruman passed through swirling darkness, he could feel the shift as he entered the connected Cabinet.
He pushed open the door with a smug grin, and froze.
A massive serpent head hung directly in front of him, dropping from the top of the Cabinet.
Its enormous, cold, deathlike eyes locked onto him instantly.
"No!"
A flash of terror, resentment, and fury twisted across Saruman's face.
He gripped his wand tightly, desperately trying to lift it in resistance, but his entire body stiffened before he could finish the motion. A gray, stony sheen spread over him rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, Saruman, possessing Edward's body, had turned entirely into solid stone.
This was no ordinary Petrification Charm. This was true basilisk petrification, caused by the enormous goggles coated with a sticking charm that Herpo the basilisk wore.
"Well done, Herpo!" Sylas's voice came from the doorway.
Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, and several professors followed him in.
Herpo immediately shut his eyes and hissed softly at Sylas.
To Sylas, the hiss sounded like a proud plea for praise. To everyone else, it was so menacing that a few professors instinctively stepped back.
In truth, Saruman had not gone to Isengard at all.
Although he used the Vanishing Cabinet stolen from the Dragon Vault, he was still inside Hogwarts, and had appeared directly in Herpo's feeding chamber, face-to-face with the basilisk who had been waiting there.
The room had once stored the corpses of the Mirkwood giant spiders as Herpo's food supply, but a decade later those were long gone, all digested inside Herpo.
After consuming so many magical spiders, Herpo had grown even larger and more dangerous than the thousand-year-old basilisk of the other Hogwarts.
Sylas praised and soothed Herpo before turning his gaze to the petrified Edward, stiff, gray, and unmoving.
Why had the Vanishing Cabinet, supposedly linked to Isengard, brought Saruman here?
Because Sylas had rigged them all.
When he sealed the fireplaces, he also had all Vanishing Cabinets removed to Smaug's vault. But even with Smaug guarding them, Sylas felt it wasn't enough.
So he secretly altered the network:
Every Vanishing Cabinet ultimately led to the one in Herpo's chamber.
It was always meant as a final trap, in case Saruman tried to escape through the Cabinets.
And Saruman had walked straight into it.
Upon seeing Edward's stone body, Sylas quickly removed his wand to prevent further danger, even though the petrified Edward couldn't resist.
"Headmaster… is Professor Edward alright?"
Professor Luke asked anxiously.
Sylas knew exactly what Luke feared and answered calmly:
"Don't worry. Edward is only petrified, not harmed. Once Saruman is expelled, Professor Alanhis can brew mandrake restorative draught to recover him."
Sylas then turned to Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel.
"Saruman is still inside Edward. Do you have a way to force him out?"