Chapter 254 The War Of The Houses

Among the four Hogwarts Houses, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff adhere to relatively moderate stances, whereas Gryffindor and Slytherin stand at opposite poles, engaging in a hostile competitive relationship, never seeing eye to eye.

However, this hostility and rivalry remained within the confines of school rules.

According to Fred and George, everyone knew the boundaries. There could be individuals who occasionally crossed certain lines, but before getting into trouble, they quickly retreated, or else they would be severely punished according to the school rules.

But by midday of that day, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was very peculiar.

Evan clearly sensed what was unfolding between the Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses.

The tension between both sides had reached a breaking point, something unprecedented.

Evan, Colin, and Ginny had just entered and saw the Slytherin students, led by Malfoy, looking at them with disdain.

Harry and Ron hurried to greet them and led them to the Gryffindor table.

Observing how cautious they were with each other, Evan suspected that if it weren't for the teachers seated at the head table, they would have fought right then and there.

"What is happening here?" Evan inquired as he sat next to Hermione.

"It has spread throughout the school, Sirius and Snape had a duel," Hermione whispered, her voice filled with concern.

"A duel?!" Evan was stunned. "We saw them at the school gates yesterday..."

"Not that time, it happened this morning. They fought in the teachers' room. Several Hufflepuff students passing by witnessed the entire duel!" Hermione revealed. "There was a lot of commotion at that time until Dumbledore intervened and the two men stopped."

Evan was astonished. It explained why he hadn't seen Sirius and Snape in the Great Hall that morning. He thought they had finished breakfast early. Who would have imagined they were actually fighting upstairs! No wonder Snape had been so off that morning and grumpy with everyone.

"Sirius is too impulsive. He had already clashed with Snape twice on the first day of school..." Hermione shared.

Evan wasn't very surprised. The duel between Sirius and Snape was bound to happen anyway, but he didn't expect it to be this soon.

Until one emerged as the clear victor, they would undoubtedly continue fighting.

"Now that we know there was a duel, what was the outcome?"

"It wasn't completed; Dumbledore intervened!" Hermione continued. "But after class, Sirius told us he could defeat Snape in just a few more minutes."

In Evan's opinion, this assertion should be a ploy by Sirius to save face. Snape was surely stronger than him.

Over a decade ago, they might have been evenly matched. But Sirius had been in Azkaban for thirteen years, causing his magical and combat skills to regress, while Snape had progressed significantly.

If the fight continued, Sirius would likely lose to Snape.

However, given Sirius's fighting style, Snape would certainly pay a considerable price even if he ultimately won the duel.

In summary, disregarding other external forces and environmental impacts, the result of the duel should entail losses and defeats for both sides.

"Well, Sirius and Snape fought, but what about Malfoy and those Slytherin students?" Evan curiously inquired. "Look at them, they seem eager to pounce on us!"

"Why don't you understand, Evan?" Harry interjected, "If Sirius and Snape are at odds, we must support Sirius."

"Support Sirius?" Evan felt even more puzzled.

"Exactly, we have all planned to find an opportunity to battle Slytherin and emerge victorious. We are recruiting people. Look at Malfoy and the Slytherin House, they must be thinking the same. They all support Snape."

A face-off between the Houses, winners and losers, the whole concept seemed truly childlike.

Evan knew that Dumbledore would never allow this to happen. Surely, he would restrain Sirius and Snape to prevent a worsening of the situation.

"Hermione, do you also find it ridiculous, don't you?" Hermione asked. After seeing Evan nod, she continued, "But Harry and Ron think otherwise. How can I convince them if they won't even listen?"

"That is not our intention, Hermione. Upon learning about this matter, many Gryffindors are ready to confront the Slytherins. That's what everyone wants to do," Ron innocently remarked. "Furthermore, this time, Sirius took the lead."

"These are just some of your private plans. Sirius would not agree to such a far-fetched idea," Hermione said with concern. "Did you forget what happened last year when Professor McGonagall got angry and said that if anyone dared to do it again, they would be expelled?"

"Are you referring to the Quidditch field incident?" Harry recalled. "Fred and George set off a bunch of stink bombs at that moment, and Malfoy was the target."

"He deserved it for what he said to Hermione!" Ron added, glancing at Hermione and quickly looking away.

"But none of us benefited in the end, and everyone was punished," Hermione tried to steer the conversation back to her point, "This time..."

"Alright, Hermione, it's no punishment to help Lockhart with his mail. I heard Harry say that you and Evan weren't there at that time," Ron waved his hand. "I spent the night under Filch's watch cleaning the trophy, and also spitting out slugs for over two weeks."

"The reason is that it's not supposed to..."

"The situation is different this time, Hermione! Malfoy was clearly gearing up for an attack," Harry said in a low voice. "The duel between Sirius and Snape was just the spark. He must be plotting something under that pretext. We must be on the defensive."

"If that's the case, we should tell the teachers," Hermione said uncertainly.

"Oh, goodness, do you want us to tell Professor McGonagall that Malfoy might be ready to attack us in the hope that the school will protect us?" Ron shook his fork and refused. "It's embarrassing. If we do that, we'll be the laughingstock."

"But..."

"Have you forgotten what happened this morning? Malfoy is provocative. We must fight," Harry asserted resolutely. "There's no other way, Hermione! This is for Sirius, and for us!"

As Evan listened to the conversation among the three, everything became increasingly confusing.

He couldn't fathom how Harry and Ron managed to turn the duel between Sirius and Snape into a war between the two Houses, and what transpired between those two situations to cause that escalation. But simply analyzing the situation, Malfoy could indeed be planning some conspiracy. The morning duel would likely have its repercussions.

The defense needed was certainly necessary, but engaging in a direct conflict on such a large scale seemed too trivial!