Harry Potter: Magic and Guns

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Perhaps it was because of how busy Harry was that the amount of material he had to study was almost two to three times that of other first-year students. Whether it was practicing spells, learning potions, or pondering over magical fusion, all of it took an immense amount of time.

After successfully reinforcing the pinky finger on his left hand, Harry realized he had already spent two full months at Hogwarts. The sensation of time slipping away made him feel slightly disoriented. When you focus entirely on one thing, time flies, and there never seems to be enough of it.

What was once an unfamiliar castle was gradually becoming more familiar, starting to feel like home. Thinking about this, Harry found time to run over to the Owlery to send a long letter to his aunt and uncle.

The Halloween break was short, and only when the Christmas holidays arrived at the end of the first semester would Harry have enough time to go home. When he calculated the time, he realized it was less than two months away.

Earlier, Professor Flitwick had told Harry that after the first semester, Hogwarts would open the “battlefield” to first-year students. This news excited Harry. He had seen upper-year students battling in temporary magical barriers several times. While most of those fights seemed somewhat "juvenile," no boy could resist the allure of real-life magical combat.

Unfortunately, even though he could easily take down many of the upper-year students now, he didn't have a "health bar," so he wasn’t eligible to participate. He could only watch from the sidelines.

The two months of foundational studies had brought great progress for all the first-year students. Just today, in Charms class, Professor Flitwick delivered some good news: over the next two months, they would learn a total of eleven spells. He also hinted at their future assignment: to discover and research the connections between different spells and explore the concept of "combo" spells.

It was a long and time-consuming assignment, but it was meant to prepare them for second year, where they would begin working on spell combinations. Each wizard’s spell set was unique, and this exploration was the foundation for future development.

Standardized spell sets would only stagnate magical progress. While it ensured that wizards maintained basic combat abilities, without innovation and creativity, magic would eventually decline.

After the afternoon class ended, countless young witches and wizards streamed out of the classroom, heading down the steps toward the Great Hall. Tonight was the Halloween Eve feast, and while there weren’t any strange costume events, the festive atmosphere was enough to get everyone excited.

A thousand bats flew around the Great Hall’s ceiling. Curiously watching them for a while, Harry realized they weren't real—they were transfigured mimicry creatures. He glanced at the teacher’s table, noticing that Snape hadn’t taken his seat yet.

“Is it possible... could he have transformed and snuck in? I mean, how else would those bats be so well-organized? It’d take some serious precision to create a bat-shaped pumpkin formation.”

Harry’s mind wandered as he enjoyed the rare feeling of letting his thoughts drift freely. He chuckled at the idea—Snape wasn’t Professor McGonagall. Was he studying Animagus transformations? Even if he was, a bat didn’t seem like the right fit for him. With his high-and-mighty gangster attitude, Snape would more likely transform into a black cat, a panther, or maybe even a black tiger.

After all, Sirius Black was a big black dog, so it would make sense for the cat-dog rivalry to extend into their Animagus forms.

“Wait a second... I feel like I’ve forgotten something.”

As Harry bit into a piece of lamb rib, the more he ate, the more uneasy he felt. Tonight was Halloween Eve, after all. Normally, something would happen at Hogwarts on this night.

Suddenly realizing something, Harry chewed up the crispy bone and scanned the Great Hall with a glint of anticipation and gossip in his eyes.

“Even though Quirrell, the Voldemort vessel, is gone, Dumbledore still left that Chamber of Secrets! Hagrid said Fluffy was borrowed, and it's probably still guarding something. If there’s a plan, does that mean the storyline might still follow some faint momentum?”

But halfway through the feast, when everything remained calm and uneventful, Harry dismissed his unrealistic hopes.

Even though Dumbledore wasn’t here, Grindelwald was! The two formidable wizards, friends or not, could easily crush the barely-alive Voldemort in his weakened state. Forget fighting—he wouldn’t stand a chance. Just seeing either one would be the end of him. Grindelwald wasn’t like Dumbledore. While he wasn’t one to freely use the Killing Curse, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so when necessary, and his hand wouldn’t tremble in the slightest.

The Killing Curse, which could annihilate an ordinary person's soul, would obliterate a weakened, fragmented soul with even more devastating effect. Harry couldn't believe it wouldn't inflict at least tenfold damage.

"It seems that the so-called plot momentum can’t compete with J.K. Rowling’s rapid-fire AK,” Harry mused with a self-deprecating smile. Clinging to "old plotlines" was clearly foolish. “What chance does a JK-uniformed loli have against a gang leader with an AK, smoking a cigar, wearing sunglasses, and draped in bullet belts?”

Amused by his own thoughts, Harry speared a thick piece of fried pork chop and took a large bite. The crispy batter and the explosion of carbs brought him a wave of pure, simple pleasure.

But just as he was about to fully enjoy the moment, a dull thud and a tremor shook the lively Great Hall, plunging it into brief silence.

The sudden noise was jarring, but the students’ silence lasted only a few seconds. After the rumble and shaking passed, their chatter resumed, louder than before. Countless students began speculating, wondering if this was part of a special Halloween performance. After all, it was the kind of holiday where being scared was part of the fun, so a little shock seemed par for the course.

However, the professors at the head table were not as optimistic as the students. They knew the schedule. Tomorrow’s Halloween feast had a few traditional surprises planned, but tonight—Halloween Eve—had no such events.

A flicker of confusion crossed the professors' faces. Professor McGonagall, now in charge of overseeing Hogwarts in Dumbledore's absence, rose silently. Part of the headmaster's responsibilities had been handed to her, and just beyond the teacher’s table was a door leading to the nearest portrait, where she could ask what had caused the sound and tremor.

Hogwarts had its own surveillance system, with portraits serving as its eyes and ears. Only the headmaster could fully command this hidden network.

But before McGonagall could reach the wooden door, a new set of heavy, hurried footsteps echoed down the hall, growing louder with every step. These ominous, thunderous strides reverberated in the students’ hearts, and an inexplicable sense of fear began to spread through the hall.

"Silence!"

McGonagall's booming voice filled the Great Hall. She had just cast a Sonorus charm, amplifying her voice several times over so that all the confused students could hear.

There was no need for her to say much more. The other professors had already risen from their seats, including Grindelwald, who calmly dabbed his mouth with a napkin before turning his gaze toward the Great Hall doors directly opposite the teacher’s table.

"Boom!"

The heavy footsteps were followed by a tremendous crash. The wooden doors of the hall, previously locked, were violently smashed open, blown off their hinges by an unseen force. The hall's magical shields glowed blue as they activated, catching the flying debris in mid-air, suspending the broken door fragments above the ground.

The thick stench of blood began to fill the air, and a chorus of terrified screams erupted from the students.

(End of Chapter)