Chapter 75: The Knight Bus

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"Disarm your weapon!"

"Stupefy!"

George seized the opportunity during a brief pause in the duel between the two seventh-year wizards, using his superior speed to swiftly approach from behind. With his wand pressed to the back of one of them, he cast a spell, narrowly securing his victory.

Honestly, if it weren't for his physical advantage, he would have stood no chance against the seventh-year wizards in terms of magical ability and combat techniques.

However, this duel gave him a deeper understanding of the magical duels in the world of Harry Potter.

The techniques displayed by the seventh-year wizards were particularly enlightening, and he learned quite a bit from them.

"George helped maintain order and demonstrated excellent dueling skills. Although he still has room for improvement compared to me, he's quite impressive—20 points to him!"

Lockhart came forward and pulled George into a quick embrace. Snape, who had been a moment too late, raised an eyebrow at the scene but said nothing, particularly since Lockhart had awarded George points. Snape simply turned and walked to the center of the stage.

"It seems you lot haven't grasped the basics of dueling well. Let's do it this way: two of you will come up at a time, and Professor Lockhart and I will each guide one of you individually before we start the next duel."

"Professor Snape's suggestion is excellent. I'll take George under my wing," Lockhart volunteered.

A cold glint flashed in Snape's eyes. "George is too skilled to serve as a good example. I suggest Malfoy and Potter. I'll guide Malfoy, and you can take Potter."

"That works too," Lockhart conceded. After all, Harry's fame wasn't far behind George's, so it was still a good choice.

All the younger wizards left the stage, leaving only Snape, Malfoy, Harry, and Lockhart.

George stood below, aware of what was about to unfold but made no move to interfere.

He needed the uproar surrounding the Chamber of Secrets to persist. Only then, by the next term, would Dumbledore be temporarily removed from the school, giving him the opportunity to raid the restricted section for dark magic tomes.

As things stood, the only way for him to learn unforgivable curses and dark spells like Fiendfyre was through the restricted section.

But whenever he tried to enter, Dumbledore would secretly monitor him, deterring him from looking at those dark magic books.

In many ways, George had already become much like a young Voldemort. If he showed any overt interest in dark magic, Dumbledore would likely intervene.

So, George exercised caution and restraint.

As expected, during Harry and Malfoy's duel, Malfoy used the Serpensortia spell, and for the first time, Harry revealed his Parseltongue ability in front of everyone. This led to mass confusion and panic.

Most of the school now believed that Harry was the heir of Slytherin, since only a Slytherin could speak Parseltongue.

Despite the commotion, the Dueling Club continued to meet nightly, and George regularly trained with the seventh-year wizards, steadily improving his wand combat techniques.

Soon, Christmas approached, and the school officially went on holiday.

The Hogwarts Christmas break lasted over two weeks. After saying goodbye to his professors and classmates, George packed his suitcase, took his pet pig, Peaky, and boarded the Hogwarts Express for the journey home.

Six months ago, when he first arrived at school, he was a little-known wizard who could barely manage unlocking charms and other basic spells.

Now, he was the famous "Star of Slytherin," undefeated in single combat against seventh-year wizards—even without using his superpowers.

If he did use them, his strength would be even greater.

After all, his abilities had significantly improved since the start of the term. He could now effortlessly control objects weighing several hundred pounds.

By evening, with the sky not yet fully dark, George stepped out of King's Cross Station.

Unlike the other young wizards, who were picked up by their parents, George—an orphan—could only return home to Knockturn Alley alone.

This time, returning to Knockturn Alley for Christmas, he hadn't informed Tonks, so there was no chance she would pick him up in her enchanted car like last time.

Favor and goodwill shouldn't be wasted on trivial matters. Even the best relationships will gradually fade if constantly worn down by small things.

"Knight Bus!"

Standing by the roadside, George raised his wand and waved it in the air before shouting loudly.

In less than a minute, accompanied by a deafening bang, a brilliant purple triple-decker bus appeared in front of him.

With an owl as large as Peaky, taking the subway or a taxi wasn't very practical. Since George didn't yet know how to Apparate, nor could he fly openly, he chose the wizarding world's commonly used magical public transport—the Knight Bus.

The Knight Bus was a service provided by the Ministry of Magic for underage wizards or those too weak to Apparate, offering convenient magical public transport.

Inspired by Muggle buses, the Knight Bus had been magically modified for extreme speed and could take you anywhere within the UK.

It began operating in 1865 and had been highly praised by the wizarding community ever since.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, the emergency transport for stranded witches and wizards. Just stick out your wand hand, hop aboard, and we'll take you wherever you want to go. I'm Stan Shunpike, and I'll be your conductor tonight," said a young wizard dressed in a purple uniform as he jumped off the bus to greet George.

George curiously glanced at the magical bus before boarding with his luggage. "Hello, Mr. Shunpike. Please take me to the Leaky Cauldron."

"Seven Sickles for the fare. Ten Sickles if you'd like some chocolate, and eleven will get you a hot water bottle and a toothbrush, any color you like," Stan offered as he climbed back onto the bus.

"Oh, by the way, what's your name?" he added.

"George. Here are seven Sickles."

George placed his luggage on one of the beds and handed over the fare.

The inside of the Knight Bus was quite different from an ordinary bus. Instead of seats, there were brass-framed beds, each with magical candles mounted on a small tray beside them.

Passengers could lie down and sleep during the journey until they reached their destination.

"George? That name sounds familiar, and you look a bit familiar too," Stan said, pausing for a moment. He rummaged through a pile of discarded newspapers nearby, eventually pulling out an issue from a month ago.

After glancing between the paper and George, his eyes widened as he exclaimed, "You're that once-in-a-millennium Quidditch prodigy, George!"

"It seems I've become somewhat famous in the wizarding world," George said with a smile, not denying it.

Stan, clearly a Quidditch fan, became much friendlier after recognizing George. He started chatting enthusiastically, now even more engaged.

This was the effect of fame—even strangers seemed to have an immediate, hidden fondness for you.

"Drive on, Ern!" Stan called to the bus driver.

With a roar, the Knight Bus shot forward at breakneck speed, moving so fast that it seemed to enter another dimension.

Streetlamps, mailboxes, and trash bins jumped out of the way as the bus sped past, returning to their original positions once it had gone by.

(End of Chapter)