Rumors always spread fast at Hogwarts, often veering wildly away from reality as they took on legendary, romantic, insane, or bizarre colorations along the way.
From the initial rumor that Linus was strolling through the castle with a beautiful girl, to the mid-tier claim that Linus was engaged to a teenage Veela, to the final absurd assertion that Linus had fathered an out-of-wedlock child with the Deputy Headmistress of Beauxbatons, the rumors fermented with terrifying speed.
Now, whenever Linus walked down the corridors or sat reading in the library, he would hear older girls casually passing by and letting out soft gasps of “Wow!” mixed with whispers like, “Is that Linus?
What a handsome little boy!”
The older boys were nowhere near as subtle.
They usually tried asking Fleur directly for her contact details, and after being politely turned down, they would track down Linus to ask for her details instead.
The Hufflepuff upperclassmen were easy to deal with; a simple shake of Linus’s head would send them tactfully on their way.
Ravenclaws were trickier—Linus had to stump them with complex mathematical riddles, leaving them frozen in deep thought before he could slip away.
The older Slytherins were the easiest of all.
Arrogant and full of themselves, all it took was hanging them from the walls a few times, and they would naturally steer clear of him whenever they met again.
As for the Gryffindor boys, Linus would usually just say, “Some older Slytherins have been cornering me after class lately,” before dropping a name or two.
The hyperactive lions would instantly shift their focus to their arch-rivals, eagerly plotting spontaneous battle strategies.
“I hear the famous Linus has been quite popular lately,” Fleur said lazily, strolling through the castle with her hands clasped behind her back.
Most girls who locked eyes with her quickly lowered their heads or looked away in embarrassment, while boys hastily adjusted their clothes.
She seemed to thoroughly enjoy this queen-patrolling-her-domain routine.
“Thanks to you,” Linus replied listlessly from ahead, holding a thick stack of parchment.
Because he had been assigned to be Fleur’s guide, Professor McGonagall had excused him from his other classes for a few days.
The professors had generously agreed, albeit with a few minor conditions.
Professor Flitwick wanted him to help grade the homework for first- through third-year students—the very stack currently in his arms.
Professor Snape demanded a thirty-foot Potions essay on the growth habits of moon grass.
Professor Sprout had the most interesting request: she wanted a photo of Linus and Fleur together.
…
At the time, Linus had looked to Fleur in distress, hoping she would decline on their behalf.
To his surprise, Fleur had been unexpectedly cooperative.
Resting her hand on Linus’s shoulder with a bright smile, framed by golden daffodils behind them and the fiery red glow of the setting sun, her silver hair fluttering in the breeze, they snapped a radiant photo together.
“Could we have two copies of the photo as well?” Fleur had asked Professor Sprout.
“Of course,” the professor agreed readily, handing over two photos.
“Little Linus is quite cute, isn’t he?” Fleur remarked, pointing at Linus’s gloomy expression in the picture before poking his dimple in real life.
“Please don’t pick up bad habits from the professors, like weird nicknames,” Linus said, standing up and heading out of the greenhouse, unaware that Fleur had already slipped one of the photos into his school robe pocket.
…
“Seriously, you’ve been at Hogwarts for almost a week now.
Don’t Beauxbatons students have classes?” Linus stopped in his tracks, adjusting the half-person-tall stack of parchment in his arms to a more comfortable position.
“Speaking of which, you haven’t cast a single spell in front of me all week,” Fleur said, raising an eyebrow.
“Not even a simple Levitation Charm—*Wingardium Leviosa*.”
As her voice fell, she flicked her wand.
The stack of parchment in Linus’s hands floated gently into the air before neatly stacking itself on an empty spot nearby.
“Isn’t this a bit too formal?
I’m only in my first year!”
“If I still treated you like an ordinary first-year after seeing how highly so many professors regard you, then I, Fleur Delacour, wouldn’t be worthy to stand here and challenge you today,” Fleur declared proudly.
The standoff instantly drew a crowd of onlookers.
Passing students called out to their friends, dragging them over to join in the excitement, until the battleground was surrounded several layers deep.
“Make way!
Let us through!
My roommate’s in there!” Ron’s voice reached Linus’s ears.
He turned to see the trio squeezing their way to the innermost circle: Harry looking grim, Ron grimacing, and Hermione, who hadn’t spoken a word to him ever since she heard he was inseparable from a pretty older girl.
Hermione, clutching her textbooks, shot him a worried look.
He returned it with a reassuring glance that conveyed, *Don’t worry.*
Then he looked back at Fleur, casually digging a finger into his ear.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to make such a big scene out of this.
After all, I promised Professor McGonagall.”
“Promised her what?” Fleur asked.
“To make sure you come happy and leave safe and sound,” Linus offered a perfectly measured smile.
“How arrogant, Mr.
Sunwood,” Fleur said, lifting her chin at Linus.
“Aren’t you going to draw your wand?”
The surrounding crowd couldn’t help letting out a collective gasp.
“What’s there to be impressed by?” Hermione muttered softly under her breath before stomping hard on the foot of Ron, who was practically drooling beside her.
“So what is this supposed to be?
A challenge from Beauxbatons to Hogwarts?” Linus called out, looking up at Professor Durand, who was standing beside Professor McGonagall watching the scene unfold from the upper balcony.
The crowd went wild again.
Professor Durand rested both arms on the railing, leaning forward as she said unhurriedly, “At most, this can only be considered a duel between Minerva and me to compare our personal teaching abilities.”
“Are there any restrictions, Professors?” Linus asked further.
“Are we limited to Transfiguration spells?
Personally, I’m not very fond of using Transfiguration in a duel.”
“Of course not,” Professor Durand gave an easy laugh.
“Who could impose restrictions on a noble magical duel?
Though Fleur, do take care not to hurt our little brother.”
“I will do my best to avoid it,” Fleur answered calmly.
“Then, both sides bow,” Professor Durand took on the role of referee.
Linus drew his wand and bowed to Fleur, who bowed in return.
“One, two…”
As her voice resounded, the tension in the crowd mounted.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the starting sign.
“Three!” Before Durand’s voice even faded, Fleur shifted her position while launching a Disarming Charm at Linus.
“*Expelliarmus!*” A streak of red light shot toward Linus, striking only empty ground.
*So slow,* Linus thought with a silent sigh.
He was used to dueling multiple rapidly changing training dummies, but he couldn’t just defeat Fleur too easily—not with so many eyes watching.
If he finished her off in a single move, Professor Durand would lose face and have no dignity left to return to her school.
If she threw herself off Gryffindor Tower out of shame, Professor McGonagall would surely demand Linus compensate for it!
So he side-stepped two paces to the right, dodging the strike.
“*Impedimenta!*” Fleur attacked again.
She was accustomed to seizing the initiative and unleashing a relentless flurry of spells to force her opponent into making a mistake.
Even though the boy before her was three years younger, she still intended to give it her all.
Under Fleur’s flawlessly executed spell combinations, Linus appeared to dodge clumsily, staggering back and forth.
Yet strangely enough, despite his awkward posture, not a single spell even singed the hem of his robe.
The trio, oblivious to the true dynamics of the fight, saw Linus getting pressed hard and felt their hearts jump into their throats.
“Fight back, Linus!” Ron muttered urgently.
“Watch out!” Harry clutched the sleeve of an older student standing next to him.
The senior student didn’t even notice, as he was nervously clutching Harry’s sleeve too.
“Linus!” Hermione finally couldn’t suppress her worry for him and cried out.
*That’s about enough,* Linus thought, seeing Fleur slightly out of breath from her continuous casting, her footwork slowing down noticeably.
Plus—Hermione had finally spoken to him again.
Linus stopped holding back.
“*Protego!*” He blocked Fleur’s incoming attack with a Shield Charm.
The rebounding force knocked Fleur back two steps.
Immediately following it was, “*Expelliarmus!*” A red beam flashed through the air as Linus’s Disarming Charm struck Fleur’s right hand with pinpoint precision.
Her wand spun high into the air before dropping straight into Linus’s hand.
Fleur stood frozen on the spot, staring blankly at her empty right hand.
After a moment of absolute silence, the crowd erupted into a deafening cheer: “Linus!
Linus!”
Upstairs, Professor Durand gave Professor McGonagall a deep look.
“Minerva, you have a fine student.” She turned and left.
Linus stepped forward and handed Fleur’s wand back to her.
“Now I really am famous,” Fleur murmured, looking up blankly, only to see Linus smiling gently.
“Thanks to you.”