A Witch Among Villians

A chase and an Unlikely Alliey

Ace, Deuce, and Grim surprised at that challenge, and that Hazel even accepted with a straight face.

Jack was no slouch at combat, but Hazel's endurance as a wizard POW, her fights with Voldemort, and everything else gave her the upper hand. Even when they were both disarmed, and Hazel got Jack in a vice grip.

JACK: (panting) You put up a pretty decent fight...

"You're not bad yourself." Hazel said as she stood up along with Jack.

"Alright...you won Potter. I'll tell you everything that I know. The conflict that's been raging in my heart. Since I'm practically betraying my own dorm." Jack said looking frustrated.
"But I can't bear it anymore!!
The real essence of a fight is winning by pure effort no matter how tough it gets!
I tried to test how far I could go in our fight, too.
Choosing to win by lowly methods makes me want to puke! That defeats the purpose of a competition!
I wanted to reach the top by winning using my own power!" Jack said with his hands in fists.

'He may look stand-offish, but he's just really passionate about things and has a hard way to express it.' Hazel deduced as she listened.

Jack continued; "Ruggie-senpai's unique magic is...
It's making people mimic whatever he's doing.
Basically, he controls the person he wanted to control and made it look like the accident was only because they were being careless."
"I see now. That explains how he managed to trade Grim's bread for his without looking suspicious back at the cafeteria." Ace realized.

"But, wait...
Wouldn't it be suspicious if he started pretending like he fell down the stairs near the target?" Deuce wondered.
"That's the thing. Ruggie-senpai wasn't acting alone during all those incidents. The other guys from Savanaclaw are probably in on it, too." Jack confessed.
"Wha–!? All of Savanaclaw?!" Grim shouted.
"If they're around, he won't stand out too much even if he did his unique magic.
So the other students acted as Ruggie-senpai's cover so he wouldn't be seen."
"A conspiracy caused by a whole dorm... Why go so far...?" Deuce questioned.
"Hm... The Magical Shift Tournament's really beneficial to your future if you win, right?
Then I guess I can kinda understand why they're doing it, but..." Ace thought.
JACK: (growls)
"Jack's the only one who disagrees because of the dishonor." Hazel summarized.
ACE: You're so scary, man! Don't bare your fangs like that, I was just joking!
" Hmph! The present matters more than the future! If you can't show what you can do now, your future doesn't matter!
The one I really can't stand is our Prefect Leona Kingscholar!" He said making the group confused.
"He's a really great player, but he doesn't put in effort at all!" Jack said in frustration.
"True... That guy looked lazy, but he was crazy strong." Grim put his 2 cents in.
"Right?! He's so powerful, but why doesn't he use it!? I hate those kinds of people the most! But...
The plays that Leona-senpai did in the tournament three years ago were really amazing.
That's why I entered this school...
I got into Savanaclaw and I thought that I would be able to draw out his full potential in a game, but..." Jack told the group also had Hazel realizing something.

Leona, despite being strong, was apparently lacking a drive for some reason.

"The incidents so far are like child's play to them. I know that they're still after something bigger." Jack said.
"Something bigger?" Hazel asked.
"It's Diasomnia's Prefect, Malleus Draconia."
This surprised the group till Jack explained why.
"He's got monstrous power and brought two consecutive victories for Diasomnia the past two years.
Thanks to him, Savanaclaw keeps getting eliminated at the first round. I bet that my seniors all have a grudge against him.
"I see. Losing at the first round without scoring points... As previous top-placers, that must have been frustrating..." Deuce realized.
"Yeah. They stopped being the center of attention ever since then.
They're trying to gain that back... But they're using such cowardly means...!" Jack said almost shouting.
"So you're thinking that they might do something to Diasomnia on the day of the tournament, huh." Ace realized.
"Yeah, that's why I want to break their plan!"

"I've heard enough."
The group turned to see...
DEUCE: Prefect Rosehearts and Diamond-senpai?
"To think that they would trample on such a traditional event. How unforgivable." Riddle said as he and Cater got their pens back from Hazel.
"What do we do, Riddle-kun?" Cater wondered.
" We can't apprehend Ruggie right now because we lack proof.
We're dealing with the sharp-witted Leona-senpai. I doubt that we'll get them to confess smoothly." Riddle pointed out.
"In other words, we have no choice but to catch them in the act? But how?" Ace sighed.

JACK: Wait. I only told you what I know, but I have no plans on joining you.
CATER: Eh~? You've gone this far and yet you'll still say that?
JACK: I'll handle my own dorm's problems by myself. See you.

"Have you even considered that you may be ambushed now?"

JACK: Huh?!
GRIM: Th-there it is again... This guy's sharp tongue...
DEUCE: It's true that your chances of winning against a whole dorm are very slim.

"You do realize that you may be targeted yourself if they learned you told us everything." Hazel reminded Jack.

"..... Very well. I'll listen to what you have to say.
But, I'll do something on my own if I don't like it." Jack said.
ACE: This guy's really annoying...
CATER: Stubbornness is your specialty though, Acey~
"I have an idea myself, though, I'm gonna get some participation from one more person..." Hazel said confusing the group.

-----Somewhere else ------
A certain Diasomnia member had just answered the phone that was ringing.

"Hello, Lilia? This is Hazel Potter."
"Ah, Miss Potter! How are you doing?"
"Alright, but I didn't call to chat. Listen, I need your assistance."

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Next part ready!
I'm now on vacation until August so expect more updates. Especially on Mon, and Fri!
Plz comment and stay safe!