Harry Potter Enshrouded

The Great Hall buzzed with the usual morning chatter as students drifted in for breakfast. The enchanted ceiling reflected a cloudy sky, hinting at rain later in the day. Halloween was just a week away, and the entire Slytherin table was buzzing with excitement.

Theodore Nott, sitting across from Adrian, asked lazily, "So, what's the plan for today? Let me guess—library again?"

Adrian rolled his eyes, swallowing a bite of toast. "No, mate, not the library today."

"You sure? You disappear half the time. So, where are you headed today?"

"Oh, it's nowhere special. Just going to practice some magic," Adrian replied cryptically.

As the conversations continued, the Slytherin table suddenly caught some gossip from the other tables. "Harry Potter just got a Nimbus 2000!" a Slytherin first-year announced.

Draco Malfoy, seated further down the table, stood up, becoming as alert as a watchdog. "What? First years aren't allowed to have a… broom? How is this fair?" His voice quivered, growing quieter as he spoke.

Adrian suppressed a smile. "Come on, Draco. Why are you so obsessed with Potter? Does he care about you? So why are you so fixated on him?"

"I am not hung up," Malfoy snapped. "I just don't get it. First years never make the team. That old man's bias is ridiculous."

Theodore snorted. "Do you really think a first-year has a shot against experienced seniors who've been playing Quidditch for years? I bet Potter's going to fall off his broom."

"Let's hope it's during the Slytherin match," Malfoy replied darkly. "I'll cheer louder than the rest of the crowd."

The conversation soon shifted to lighter topics: the upcoming Potions essays, gossip about someone losing points for a cauldron explosion, and the dreary weather. For a moment, life at Hogwarts felt simple and normal.

But Adrian knew better. He had an upcoming duel—a duel that would test his progress.

The Room of Requirement

That afternoon, Adrian climbed the stairs to the seventh floor, his steps had a sense of excitement, a sense of adrenaline. Today was the day he would get to test out his spell, Involvus. Could he finally beat his sister in a duel? he thought. 

Soon Adrian entered a spacious chamber lit with flickering torches, the walls arching upwards, forming a circular structure. In the middle stood a shimmering dueling circle, faintly glowing as if it was inviting someone to come and have a duel.

In the dueling circle stood Adrian's sister, Evanna Blackthorn. She stood there with a confident smile across her face, as if she knew victory was hers.

"Took you long enough," she teased. "Worried I'd lose interest?"

Adrian shrugged off his cloak and stepped forward. "I didn't want you to get too comfortable."

Evanna chuckled, pushing herself off the wall. "Confident, are we? I'll have to remind you who the stronger Blackthorn is."

Adrian grinned, wand in hand. "We'll see."

They took their positions at opposite ends of the dueling circle. The torches dimmed slightly, as though the room itself prepared for the battle to come. Evanna raised her wand, her expression playful but sharp. "Ready when you are, little brother."

The duel began.

Evanna moved first—Expelliarmus!—a lazy disarming charm to test one's reflexes. Adrian flicked his wand, deflecting it easily with a shield charm. The Expelliarmus was redirected towards a wall in the room.

"Not bad," Evanna remarked, circling him slowly. "But you'll need to do better than that."

Adrian didn't reply. He raised his wand and cast Involvus, a spell that conjured a sudden swirl of translucent silver vines that shot forward like snakes, aiming to disarm Evanna while also rendering her mind incapable.

Evanna was shocked to see such a spell. She could have sworn that this was a spell that never existed before. She never expected her brother to invent such a spell. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured up a rock, which managed to deflect the spell.

"Impressive. Where did you learn that?" Evanna asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Adrian said, firing burst after burst of vines that twisted unpredictably. Evanna kept on using objects to block the curse. Involvus was exactly like the Killing Curse: a spell with no counter whatsoever.

The duel escalated. Evanna switched to some more advanced spells, her movements sharp and precise. She started going all out, her fluid spell casting being too fast for Adrian. She started incorporating silent spell casting, which meant she could almost cast two spells at once.

The ground under Adrian started turning into something swampy. He started losing his footing. "Glacius!" he screamed, casting a spell that was going to be learned at the end of this year.

The ground froze as his sister's transfiguration was dealt with.

Yet time was something scarce in a duel. By the time Adrian had dealt with the swampy ground, he was already in trouble. "Shit, it's all over." A Diffindo came shooting at him quickly as he rolled to his right, barely managing to dodge it.

It was at this moment that Evanna cast a silent disarming charm that had very little power. However, it was quick and caught the rolling Adrian off guard. His wand flew away and crashed onto the ground as he stood there, gasping and panting.

"Ah, that was much better than I was expecting," said a tired Evanna. 

Adrian was happy as he could see his progress. Previously, he could not last this long against his sister. I must continue my daily practice. It won't be long before I catch up to her. If I was previously 15 percent of Snape, then now I must be at least 20 percent. I'm guessing my sister has about half of Snape's strength.

The brother-and-sister pair soon headed out of the room towards the dormitory. 

The day went by as Adrian had no classes in the afternoon and evening. He headed off to the library, dragging his friends along with him. Together, they did their homework while Adrian also continued his transfiguration research. 

Soon midnight arrived as Adrian had his first Astronomy class.

He climbed the spiral staircase during the chilly night, which carried the faint hum of the wind. Astronomy was something that he found fun. His pet bird symbolized his ability to prophesy, and astronomy was something closely connected to divination. He soon arrived at the classroom and sat down next to his usual friends. Tonight's class was shared with Ravenclaw.

Professor Aurora Sinistra stood at the edge, her silhouette outlined against the moonlight. Her robes billowed slightly in the breeze, and her calm, steady voice carried over the hushed crowd.

"Welcome, students," she began. "Tonight, we'll chart some of the more prominent constellations visible this season. Pay attention to the skies and your telescopes."

"Orion's Belt is supposed to be clearest tonight," he murmured, peering through the lens. "It seems to be aligned perfectly with Jupiter this month."

"Oh, it seems someone has done some preparations," said Professor Sinistra. "Plus five for Slytherin."

Professor Sinistra spoke again. "Orion, the hunter, has fascinated witches and wizards for centuries. Ancient magical texts spoke of its belt—Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka—holding paths to realms beyond our comprehension."

The class continued as students plotted diagrams of the Cassiopeia, Ursa Major, and the bright star Sirius. 

Adrian took one last look at the sky as the lesson ended. For all the magic he'd learned, the stars felt like the greatest mystery of all. The stars seemed to guide him.

"Coming, Adrian?" Theodore's voice sounded from the staircase.

Adrian nodded, turning away from the sky. "Yeah. Let's go."

The walk back to the dungeons was quiet, most students too tired and sleepy to speak. As Adrian entered the Slytherin common room, he couldn't help but glance at the clock—it was nearly 2 AM. He stifled a yawn as he sank into his bed, pulling the covers over himself.