Harry Potter: Shadow Eminence

Chapter 6.

After realizing that his actions could cause more trouble for Hermione, Brian limited his interactions with her; Hermione also agreed, as she wanted to avoid any issues.

Now, the two were more like pen pals, occasionally exchanging letters to discuss academic challenges or life difficulties, and they would share a knowing smile when they met.

Another thing was that flying lessons were about to start.

Malfoy always bragged about how he almost collided with a Muggle airplane while flying on his broomstick, and he frequently complained that first-year students were not allowed to bring their own brooms; otherwise, he would definitely make the Quidditch team. Brian couldn't be bothered to call out his lies.

His owl, Becca, brought a letter from Hermione, in which she shared her anxiety about the flying lessons. She even wanted to memorize flying-related facts to improve her flying skills.

In his letter, Brian reassured her and mentioned that many children from wizarding families were not skilled at flying either.

However, Brian wasn't entirely confident himself.

His predecessor had certainly ridden a broomstick before and was quite proficient at it.

The Walker Manor had dozens of different broomsticks, all part of his father's collection. They were either limited editions or luxury custom models, similar to the high-end cars in the Muggle world that his father couldn't resist.

But for him, having crossed over, he wasn't sure if the broomstick would favor him.

The flying lesson soon commenced, and Slytherin had it together with Gryffindor.

This time, Brian had another idea: to see if he could earn some witness points. Some events occurred during this lesson, leading Harry Potter to join the Quidditch team early, which was quite significant in the original story.

If that didn't suffice, Brian would have to alter his plans and seek other opportunities.

At three-thirty in the afternoon, the Slytherin students were already waiting on the field, while the Gryffindors arrived late after a while.

Madam Hooch instructed them to stand next to a broomstick, with Hermione directly across from him.

The two exchanged secret smiles, and he noticed Hermione murmuring to herself, reciting the flying rules.

Brian glanced at the broomstick beside him; it was quite old, resembling an ordinary wooden broom from the Muggle world.

Listening to Madam Hooch's instructions, he extended his right hand over the broomstick and shouted, "Up!"

The broomstick beneath him rolled lazily on the ground, and Hermione's broom did about the same. They exchanged glances and both smiled.

"Turns out I'm just as good as Hermione, really..." Brian looked at the broomstick beneath him and shouted once more, and it finally obediently jumped into his hand.

Before Madam Hooch could blow her whistle, a familiar scene unfolded.

Neville Longbottom shot up into the air like an arrow, flying straight up, then plummeting downwards.

Prepared, Brian drew his wand and cast a levitation charm on him, slowing his descent, but Neville still scraped his arm on the bushes.

Fortunately, he had learned the levitation charm in advance.

Madam Hooch hurried to check Neville's injury, and his arm was bleeding profusely. She let out a sigh of relief and said, "Your arm is scratched; it's not serious. Come, I'll take you to the hospital."

"None of you move!" she instructed the rest.

"Of course, thanks to Walker's timely levitation charm, I think, um, Slytherin gets ten points!" Madam Hooch smiled at Brian as she took Neville away.

Brian distinctly heard Neville sobbing as he passed by, saying "thank you."

But Malfoy was clearly displeased; he shot a disgruntled glance at Brian, regretting that he couldn't witness that toad fall and break his leg.

He spotted the remembrall that Neville had dropped on the ground and came up with a wicked idea, laughing as he ran over to pick it up.

"Perhaps I should place it somewhere for that big oaf to find," he chuckled as he mounted his broomstick and kicked off into the air.

Harry quickly followed him out, and Hermione screamed.

Brian looked at the broomstick in his hand, wanting to get involved, as the witness points earned from participating in the event could be doubled. But he hesitated for a moment and dismissed the thought.

He didn't want Madam Pomfrey to have to treat two people.

As Malfoy threw away the remembrall, Harry executed a beautiful dive and landed steadily on the ground, bringing the incident to a close.

Professor McGonagall took Harry away, while Brian and the others continued with their flying lesson.

Malfoy looked smugly at the Gryffindors, like a victorious rooster.

And Brian happily heard the notification sound:

[Witnessed flying lesson event, witness points +0.5]

While Brian was pleased, he silently complained, "0.5 witness points can't do much."

He still had to learn step by step.

After dinner, Malfoy found Brian and said, "You always hinder me, Brian. I hope you know your place."

"And what place is that, Malfoy?" Brian replied with a helpless smile and a gentle voice. "I believe you know that Longbottom also comes from a pure-blood family."

"But that big fool is a reckless and arrogant Gryffindor!" Malfoy said slowly.

"Actually, Draco, your target is off this time," Brian intended to gradually change his perspective. "If people like us can't unite internally, how can we fight external enemies?"

"The wizarding world is not safe, Draco, and relying solely on pure-blood fantasies won't allow us to thrive longer," Brian said before Draco could speak. "Moreover, those Muggles are not fools, Draco; they even have the power to destroy a whole country now!"

"I'm not asking you to change your childish antics immediately, but I hope you can be more calm and composed towards your classmates, as when the time comes they can become our strength!"

Seeing the defiant look in Draco's eyes, Brian realized he had said too much; this kid simply couldn't understand or consider such things.

He looked into Malfoy's eyes and rephrased it in a way he could understand:

"You are a Malfoy, Draco, but they are not your family servants. This arrogance will only drive others away from you. A leader should always be humble and respectful. Only a mad leader mistreats their followers, but in the end, they are all destroyed, right?"

"One person cannot achieve anything; even the Dark Lord needs a loyal following, doesn't he?"

Brian said with some pressure.

"I have many Slytherin friends and don't need those silly guys," Malfoy stubbornly replied. "The Dark Lord is the same; he only needs a group of excellent elites!"

"And that's why he failed," Brian said slowly.

"Positioning yourself against the vast majority is the dumbest thing to do, Draco."

Malfoy's gaze was fixed on him, as if he wanted to devour him: "You... do you dare to say that about the Dark Lord?" He looked around and said, "He will rise again; my father said so."

"You are simply hopeless, Brian. I will prove to you that my choice is the right one!" He walked away proudly with his head held high.

"Is what you said true, Brian?" Daphne emerged from behind a wall.

"You heard everything?" Brian said helplessly.

"Sorry, I overheard part of it. Um, I'm curious, do Muggles really have the power to destroy countries?" Her blue eyes were as clear and deep as the ocean.

"Yes, so our enemy should never be ourselves. The Statute of Secrecy was enacted to protect wizards from Muggle persecution, but it has also limited our thinking, causing us to become complacent and bask in past glories."

Brian sighed, believing that even if Daphne couldn't take it in, it wouldn't cause any disagreements between them. Her views came from her upbringing, but she was not extreme.

"Even just looking at Muggle world newspapers, one can see the rapid changes in the Muggle world over the years, yet they have all closed their eyes, Daphne."

"We can still comfortably hide in the wizarding world now, but one day, Muggles might discover our power. At that time, everything will be unavoidable."

Daphne nodded as if she understood.

"All wizards should be the strength we unite, because the number of wizards is too small, insignificant compared to Muggles. Everyone is a precious strength."

Including wizards of Muggle descent. Brian swallowed that sentence.

"So what should we do?" Daphne tilted her head and asked, "Do we need to eliminate Muggles?"

"No, perhaps we just need some deterrence. War is not a means to solve problems," Brian smiled.

"I haven't thought of a solution yet, but maybe you can help us think of one."

Daphne nodded.

"However, I think that wizard supremacy should not be like this, right?" Brian continued, "Only when a group is united enough can it be unstoppable."