The Will of Gil (Harry Potter)

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Chapter 80- Paper Chase!

With Gemma Farley sent on her way and assured that she has nothing to do with this, I continue on my way. Yeah, sure, she did some ritual stuff in the Slytherin common room, which I saw that night, but that's pretty much par for the course, given she's in the house she is in, and she is a Pureblood. Rituals and magic ceremonies like that are the usual for those types. I don't know a lot about it, having not grown up with that, but it's nothing to be concerned about. They didn't even sacrifice an animal or something; they just spilt some of their own blood, which isn't that concerning.

I follow the trail around a corner and immediately duck behind it again as a red spell goes shooting by, passing through where my head would have been if I hadn't just dodged. Well, it seems as if I found my suspect. No, the question is, how the hell did he know I was there. The spell was instantaneous the second I rounded the corner, and I almost got hit. Did he somehow know I was there and that I was looking for him? Either way, no point thinking about it now; I have to get the bastard before he blows something up and gets all of the faculty to converge on us. I need to take him down, now. And it isn't going to be as easy as it was with Farley as I managed to get the drop on her.

Darting back out into the hallway where my assailant waits, I have my shield up and ready, deflecting the barrage of spells he already has firing at me, chaining quite a few. My opponent is talented, but they don't have the experience. Definitely haven't had a lot of battles in their life. I stop in my run, jumping backwards and getting rid of my shield, evading the spells that shoot past in front of me. I respond with a barrage of basic casts, which shoot towards my opponent; he responds with a shield, the fool. Definitely inexperienced. Basic casts are not that fast, and they are not even that damaging compared to other spells, so it is best to try and dodge. This guy is definitely a noob.

Taking the moment of him defending himself from the basic casts, I quickly conjure up a pair of sunglasses and put them on, readying myself for a possible later manoeuvre if I can pull it off. I also take the opportunity to observe them, but there isn't much I can tell just from their appearance. By that, I mean I can see my opponent clearly. He looks to be a fifth- or sixth-year Slytherin student.

One of the pompous, arrogant, Pureblooded ones with more money than sense, who doesn't even know how to use their wands properly, always sat at the back of the room and made derisive comments about all of his lessers that actually performed better than him. If I remember correctly, his name is... Whatever, I'm not the most attentive teacher; I can just read his mind after I knock him down and find out everything I need to.

My opponent had just got rid of his shield after defending against my basic casts, and perhaps, realising that I had him beaten in this category, he tried a new avenue. Swishing his wand, He transfigures items on the sides of the corridors into dogs, which he sends towards me. Replying in kind, I transform the items near me into wolves and send them forth, having them battle it out. Of course, our creations are autonomous, so we continued to fight whilst our animals battled, hoping at least one would make it through to attack the wizard opposite us. However, it looked like our animals would achieve mutual destruction first, given the ferocity of their attacks with no regard for themselves.

The animals are making a lot of noise, but nothing would bring any of the professors out of their sleep or draw anybody here. Everybody pretty much stayed in their quarters and rooms as a rule since the attacks started, even the Professors patrolling till a certain time and then calling it quits. The only one that would be up this late to actually catch sight of this would be Filch, but he's petrified along with his cat, and luckily, there are no portraits nearby this area. Lucky... or is it planned? Damn it, stop being so cryptic and questioning and focus on downing this asshole.

We start to fling, immobilising, and capture spells back and forth, spells that would have a kick but nothing noisy or attention-grabbing. It seems like little Mister possessed by Riddle doesn't want this escalating and getting loud enough to bring Professors running over here. I don't want them to either, but I could still have this pann out if it doesn't. Honestly, this might be very foolish on my part, but I want to prove my existence in this universe. I want to prove that I don't need a Harry, or a Hermione or even a Dumbledore to achieve anything or live in this world. This year isn't Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This year it is Gilderoy Lockhart and the Sewer of Snake Bitches.

With a plan in mind to bring him down, I start to cast a spell, but before I can get the words out, "Fuck! Little bastard!" A snake had somehow slithered through the entire battlefield of canines and sprung forth to bite at my leg, sinking its sharp fangs into my calf and giving me a whole lot of pain. I instinctively go to use my wand on the thing to banish it away from me, but then I ignore it, allowing the snake to continue sinking its chops into me. Instead, I erect a shield in front of me, which blocks a barrage of spells that are constantly battering against it, trying to get at me.

My shield was cast too hastily and wasn't fortified enough to withstand the attacks, and it broke pretty quickly, but it gave me enough time to jump to the side and out of the way of the spells, the snake following along as I crashed to the ground. With this, I am on the ground, hidden from sight of my opponent, and I take the opportunity to vanish the snake away. I use Episkey on the wound, but it only heals a bit. It seems too much for the spell to heal without putting more focus on it, and I don't have time for that because while his eyes aren't on me at the moment, mine aren't on him.

It seems that while my adversary is inexperienced, he isn't without his danger. He is talented and skilled, not to mention cunning and sly. A true Slytherin. So, definitely not the fifth year I remember in class that would pick his nose with the tip of his wand, risking a deadly weapon in his orifice and showcasing what centuries of inbreeding does. No, this is Riddle. He is in complete control of the boy, willingly or unwillingly. This is a young teenage Voldemort who has yet to learn all of his advanced magic and battle a thousand battles and come out on top every time. A young and inexperienced Voldemort and he is still a force to be reckoned with. Even so, some wet behind-the-ear kid isn't going to beat me. What does wet behind the ear even mean?

Ignoring the sudden thought on expressions, I set to treating the wound as best and quickly I can by using the spell I devised so long ago on ol' Digby, a variant of the Incarcerous spell, conjuring forth cloth and wrapping it tightly around my leg, covering the bite and stopping any seeping. This is the best I can do for now. I just hoped that it wasn't a real snake or a kind with potent poison because I wouldn't know how to treat it, and it would also affect my battle acumen. Either way, I have to get this guy down fast. Deciding to use my current cover to my advantage, I apply a disillusionment spell to myself and stand up, using stealth to assess the situation.

Riddle is still standing there, wand at the ready, prepared to fire even more spells at the first sight of movement that isn't an animal. I can't help but think that this would have been an excellent time to be an Animagus and sneak through the animals to attack, but I can try to become one later. What interests me more is the fact that he hasn't sent any killing curses at me, which is basically Voldemort's go-to weapon, using it to deal with anything from a baby to a giant. The fact he hasn't leads me to believe he wants to capture me as much as I want to capture him, which makes him wonder what he wants from me. Nothing good.

Anyway, this is a good time to put my plan into action, and the animals are nearly all tuckered out. Reaching into my pouch, I pull out a vial and pour the contents out onto my hand. Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. I always keep some on me; ever since that encounter with Piotr Rasputin, you never know when you are going to need a quick escape. It's always handy to have a backup plan. Whoever made this really did not want to be seen because this shit is potent and blotts out everything. The first time I used it, I had to question if I had actually gone blind. Of course I did a lot of experimentation with it and even used it to develop a strategy.

Blowing the powder from my palm, the smoke spreads out in an instant and covers the entire surrounding in pitch-black darkness, removing vision from both of our eyes. Still, this was my own unique mixture that would only last five seconds. I figure if the Weasley twins could develop and alter so many things, then so could I. All it took was an open and curious mind as well as time. It was through this that I even figured out a way to light up the surroundings even through the darkness powder that would usually make any lighting spell useless. Well, I found a way through that.

"Lumos Infinitus," I whisper into the darkness, and suddenly it is no more. Piercing light shines out in every which direction as if a miniature sun had suddenly appeared. I can hear an agonised cry in front of me as whoever Riddle was possessing had their corneas burnt by the intense light, and they were truly blinded. This is why I had conjured the sunglasses for myself, to protect my own eyes from the fierce light that my wand was emitting. I killed off the spell quickly; my sunglasses were still insufficient to mitigate the bright lights. All returned to darkness, and then less than a second later, it was dispelled, the powder wearing off.

Seeing the few transfigurations still around, I wave my wand and crush the fake animals, commanding them all to begone from me. Looking at all the destruction in the hallway that had occurred, even with the both of us trying to limit our collateral damage, I can't help but sigh. Wizards are truly dangerous, but they are also useful as well as I will just clean all of this up later with a Reparo, and it will be like none of this had ever happened. Still, right now, I should focus on fully immobilising my opponent, who is still screaming out and clutching at his face. It won't be long before Riddle regains his senses and strikes back.

I quickly used a leg-locking spell on him, and then an Immobulus, a Petricius Totalus, and then an Incarcerous before finally using an Expliarmus to disarm him and take the wand from his hand. With all of that done, I approach the prone, immobile form of the fifth-year Slytherin student. However, even with him fully paralysed, he is still screaming a mumbled scream through frozen lips, and with the freezing charm Immobulus slowing him down, it is a slow, drawn out, tortured thing being echoed out. I follow up with a Silencio just to stop the irritating noise assaulting my ears.

Crouching over the unseeing eyes of my defeated opponent, I can more clearly identify him. Just as I thought he was the stupid student from my class that didn't know his wand from his ass, but he wasn't part of that cult group that was sacrificing their blood to ask for protection. I breathe a sigh of relief at that, as Gemma Farley is indeed a lovely girl, and I would have hated to turn down her advances on account of suspicion of her being a secret diary owner. Not bothering to try and glean anything more from the student's appearance or possessions, I settle for the quick route and gaze down into their eyes, delving deep using my Occlumency in search of answers.

The boy obviously has the diary on him, but I am not stupid enough to just pick it up or think that Riddle hadn't placed any traps or curses on it, especially since he knows someone is after him. No, I am not going to risk myself like that. So, instead of grabbing the book straight away, I will check this boy's memories for any information that could prove helpful and search for his knowledge of any traps and what Riddle has been up to these last few months when he has been silent. However, things do not go as planned.

This kid... his mind isn't... I'm so confused; I don't know what is wrong with him. Unsure of what the hell is going on with this kid's mind, I start to go through it in order as fast as possible, starting from the beginning. Peter Pute is a fitting name for the kid, as he is pretty putrid. Grew up as customary in Pureblood circles, wanting for nothing, thinking for shit and knowing he is better than everybody else. Nothing of much interest, getting into Slytherin and, because of his false superiority, trying to take control of his year and failing miserably, blaming others for his failures. He basically became an Incel and got his kicks from being a bully, only able to bully the younger year as they didn't know much yet.

Life continues much the same, and finally, I get to this morning's breakfast in the Great Hall, and I slow down my perusal, going over everything with a fine tooth comb and every aspect of his day, even sacrificing and watching as he uses his hands on himself until finally we got to night time and he went to bed... That's not right. He is right here, and yet he has no memory of it. How the hell is that- his mind is switched off. This is a full possession, and the kid isn't even aware of it, having his body puppeted and used for Riddle's ends.

Shit, with this, I don't even know if the diary the boy is carrying is booby-trapped or not, but I will have to risk it. I will have to search him and identify where the diary is located on his person before floating it up and into the cage with the Diadem. I Accio the cage over, glad that I had outfitted it with a levitation charm so it would float on its own and made it indestructible so that it was unharmed even where I left it at the end of the hallway during the battle. With my wand at the ready, I look over the body of the student, but with the thick robes in the way, I can't tell where the book is. Plus, the Petrificus Totalus has made him stiff to the touch and even frozen his robes in place, so I release that first.

Before I can react, something shoots out of his robes and speeds past me, leaving a thin cut that doesn't even draw blood on my cheek as it shoots past me. I quickly spin around and try to get whatever it is, trying to draw it back to me with an Accio, but it dodges the spell and zooms off around a corner, too fast for me to even catch. It's gone before I can do anything, and all I can do is look at the direction it left with frustration on my face. What the hell was that? It seemed very thin and fragile, but it was fast as hell. So fast and thin that it even left a cut on me.

Moving my hand up, I felt along the thin cut on the side of my face, my finger moving along it and identifying exactly what type of injury it was. This conclusion brought a feeling of dread inside me as I considered what it meant and the answers I could draw from it.

"A paper cut?"

Finished The Umbrella Academy. It was enjoyable, but I won't lie and I'll say it all felt a bit like a hot mess by the end, and the only way to fix it was for them to go and everything to be reset. So, I guess the end made sense, but it all did feel quite off by the end. Nevertheless, it's all good; I enjoyed watching it. The Five Lila thing was undesirable but still weird, so it's good everything got obliviated.

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