Screams.
Manic laughter.
Twisted faces.
Set against the gloomy Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, the scene looked even stranger and more terrifying.
Looking at the professor whose entire face had been cast a sickly green by the green magical light, every young wizard fell silent in fear. None of them dared make a sound.
Even the timid young witches covered their mouths with their hands, not daring to let out the faintest whimper, afraid that the terrifying professor might turn his gaze on them.
And among them, the one with the strongest reaction was probably Neville Longbottom.
His constantly trembling body and gradually reddening eyes immediately drew Draco's attention to Mr. Longbottom.
The way he looked, it was as if the one suffering right now was not the Gryffindor student rolling on the floor, but Neville Longbottom himself...
Draco was not the only one who noticed that something was wrong with Neville Longbottom.
Their Miss Know-It-All noticed it too.
"Draco, did you notice?"
"You mean... Longbottom?"
"Mm. What's wrong with him? Why did he suddenly become like this?"
Because of Draco, Hermione had not had much close contact with the other students in her house for quite some time, but she still knew a little about what kind of person Neville Longbottom was.
Beneath that timid exterior, there was actually a brave heart.
So even if he really was frightened, Longbottom should not have shown it this clearly.
Unless there was another reason...
Pansy leaned closer from the side as well. "Is it because he knows that Death Eater on the platform?"
"It doesn't really look like he knows him... And rather than saying he's afraid of that lunatic, it's more like..."
"More like Longbottom is afraid of the Cruciatus Curse." Before Hermione could finish, Draco took over the words she had not yet said.
"Afraid of the Cruciatus Curse? Draco, you seem to know something."
"That is a long story. After all, it involves Longbottom's parents."
"Huh?!"
After all, Longbottom had once been part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Even though the family had declined, Draco still knew a little about the Longbottoms.
In fact, if that tragedy had never happened, perhaps Longbottom would not have become the slow, foolish boy everyone saw him as.
But it had to be said.
In this classroom, the only people still calm enough to chat and talk about other things were probably Draco and the few beside him, who had the nerve and confidence to do so.
After all, Draco, sitting beside Pansy and the others, was a dangerous man who had once slaughtered Death Eaters.
Their sense of safety had been raised straight to the highest level...
So when the young wizards nearby saw that he did not seem to take the dark magic before him, or the deranged professor's behavior, to heart at all, traces of admiration and envy appeared on their faces.
If they were in his place, perhaps they would not have to be so terrified.
That said, most of the wizards were still worried that the "professor" on the platform might notice what was happening on Draco's side.
As the saying went, when great powers clashed, the little people suffered.
No one knew whether, if the two sides really came into conflict, innocent bystanders would be dragged into it...
...
In short.
So many things had happened in such a brief span of time.
Some people had not even fully accepted it all yet, still thinking they were trapped in a dream they had not woken from.
Perhaps because of that, no one noticed.
Ron Weasley, who had suddenly returned to Hogwarts, was staring with a fanatical gaze at the ghostly green light shooting from the wand in Amycus Carrow's hand.
That focused look made it seem as if he were gazing upon the most beautiful, mysterious thing in the world...
As time passed, Amycus Carrow seemed to remember something and slowly stopped casting the Cruciatus Curse.
However, the unsatisfied look on his face made the young wizards below, who had only just breathed a sigh of relief, tense up all over again, terrified that they might become this deranged professor's next target...
"The Cruciatus Curse. A very beautiful spell. Yes, just as you saw. This is the small punishment I give to disobedient students."
"..."
That was a small punishment?
They silently looked at the miserable figure who had stopped screaming, but whose eyes had rolled back as uncontrollable drool slipped from the corner of his mouth. No one would ever want to experience the same treatment.
This was far beyond simple humiliation.
Looking at that body still trembling faintly even after losing consciousness, everyone wanted to ask the professor on the platform one question.
Did he have some enormous misunderstanding of the word "small"?
This was basically torturing someone to death!
Only this time, no one dared stand up and question Amycus Carrow's words anymore...
As for the students, who had become unusually obedient...
Amycus Carrow seemed very satisfied with everyone's reaction. That much could be seen from the wand spinning continuously in his hand, showing just how delighted he was.
Whether that was because the students had become obedient, or because he had just used one of the Three Unforgivable Curses on a student and it had put him in such a good mood, no one could say...
Thud, thud.
Amycus Carrow, who clearly had no love for his wand, used it to rap hard against the desk several times.
His crazed appearance nearly drove the young wizards below mad.
Fortunately, this time, the Death Eater seemed to remember his identity as a professor and was finally about to begin teaching.
"Then our first lesson will be learning to master the spell I just used!"
"..."
"It seems everyone is looking forward to it."
"..."
Although the class Defence Against the Dark Arts did indeed contain the words "Dark Arts," that did not mean the class was meant for learning dark magic.
Leaving aside the fact that school rules explicitly forbade students from coming into contact with dark magic, the Cruciatus Curse he had just used was one of the Three Unforgivable Curses.
It was a spell completely forbidden in the wizarding world.
Was this something they could just learn casually?
Instinctively.
Every young wizard below turned to look toward the Slytherin side.
More precisely, toward the blond-haired Draco Malfoy.
That synchronized movement made Draco's lofty position in their hearts perfectly clear.
Because instinctively, they believed Draco could solve this problem perfectly...