Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Just as the two exhaled a breath and were about to adjust their state to organize the next round of attack, they saw that the dust and grass clippings that had been raised suddenly stopped dispersing and instead began to quickly solidify and gather. A chill crept up their spines and they vaguely realized what was about to happen. They quickly bent down and tried to dodge to the side.

But everything happened too fast. In the blink of an eye, the dust and grass clippings gathered into two thick ropes, which wrapped around Cedric and Draco as if they were alive, instantly binding their hands and feet tightly.

"Damn it!" Draco cursed under his breath, quickly gripping his wand and chanting into the ropes binding his shoulders, "Oolong, come out of the cave!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the ropes binding him transformed into a long black snake, which twisted and burrowed into the grass, temporarily averting the crisis.

Cedric remained calm. As the incantation was finished, the ropes binding him lost their magical support and turned back into scattered dust and grass clippings, drifting away in the wind.

While Dylan was keeping Cedric and Draco occupied, Harry quickly regained his composure.

He waved his wand, continuously unleashing attack spells to disrupt Dylan's movements, while quickening his pace to close the distance and find an opportunity for a melee attack.

When Harry was about ten feet away from Dylan, he was about to accelerate again when he suddenly felt a sticky sensation under his feet, as if he were stepping on melted asphalt. Before he could react, something stuck to his feet, and he lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground with a thud.

It was only then that Harry realized that Dylan had been prepared all along, and had unknowingly turned the grass in front of him into a "glue board" covered with sticky glue. Because he was caught off guard, not only was his body firmly stuck to the glue, but even his wand was stuck to the ground, unable to move.

With his wand fixed in place, Harry was completely unable to fight. He could only lie on the ground, struggling to lift his arms and legs, trying to break free of the glue binding him, his face full of anxiety and resentment.

Cedric and Draco didn't last long either. They had just broken free of the ropes and hadn't had time to reorganize an effective attack when Dylan seized an opening. Dylan's wand was like a nimble snake, casting a series of precise disarming spells. The wands in their hands flew out one after another and landed on the grass not far away, basically losing their ability to resist.

Seeing that the three were at a loss, Dylan put away his wand. He first picked up Cedric and Draco's wands and returned them to them. Then he waved his wand, chanted a spell, and turned the glue board on the ground back into the flat grass it was before.

Harry was finally free. He quickly got up from the ground, brushed off the grass and dirt, and had a look of relief on his face.

“I never expected this,” Draco said, looking at Harry with a half-smile, his tone slightly mocking, “that you’d be the first one to be subdued, Harry Potter. Where did all your confidence go?”

“You weren’t much better!” Harry retorted immediately, glaring back at him defiantly. “You only lasted ten seconds longer than me, and you still got your wand taken away. What’s there to be proud of!”

“You’re right,” Draco nodded noncommittally, his tone still laced with sarcasm, “but undeniably, you were the first to fall. That’s a fact.”

Cedric interrupted their argument with a smile, turned to Dylan, and asked sincerely, "Dylan, do you have anything else to do? If not, could we practice a few more rounds?"

“I’m fine.” Dylan understood what Cedric meant and nodded with a smile. “It would be good to practice a few more rounds. I also need to take this opportunity to get a feel for real combat and prepare for the third project.”

"That's great!" Cedric said with a hearty smile, turning to Harry and Draco. "This is such a rare opportunity, let's get into a good mindset and practice a few more rounds to improve our combat skills!"

“Alright!” Harry looked at Draco, raised an eyebrow, and his eyes were full of fighting spirit. “Then let’s have another match and see who falls first!”

"Heh!" Draco sneered, gripping his wand tightly, a sharp glint in his eyes. "I'll fight to the bitter end! I won't hold back!"

The four took their positions again, and the air was filled with the tense atmosphere of battle once more; a new round of dueling practice was about to begin.

Although the entire duel practice lasted less than thirty minutes, Cedric, Draco, and Harry already felt a deep-seated fatigue. The physical soreness was far less intense than the mental exhaustion. Fighting a formidable opponent like Dylan required intense concentration every second, anticipating his attacks, adjusting their own tactics, and finding openings for counterattacks. Their nerves were constantly on edge, and they dared not relax for a moment.

This mental exhaustion was even more unbearable for them than the end of the second project.

After being precisely knocked down by Dylan for the last time, the three of them no longer had the strength to struggle to their feet. They lay sprawled on the grass, limbs outstretched, eyelids drooping as they gazed at the cloud-covered sky, their desire to speak gone.

Dylan's actions were always very measured, ensuring they wouldn't get hurt while still putting enough pressure on them to achieve the desired training effect. At this moment, Cedric, Draco, and Harry were only covered in grass clippings and dust, looking somewhat disheveled, but their school uniforms and robes were completely undamaged, without a single tear or scratch.

On the contrary, the grassy area that had been used as the dueling ground was now a complete mess. Holes of varying depths, blasted open by magic, were everywhere; grass blades were broken, soil was overturned, and the once smooth lawn was now uneven and pitted, a stark contrast to the surrounding pristine grass. "How about we call it a day?" Dylan suggested gently, looking at the three exhausted individuals. "If we keep practicing, this grassy area will probably be completely ruined, and then we'll have to apologize to the Forbidden Forest guardian."

Harry and Draco were still holding back their determination. During the practice session, they had been unable to determine a winner, and even though they were exhausted, neither of them wanted to admit defeat first. So they just pursed their lips and remained silent, their eyelids drooping even lower.

“Alright… let’s call it a day!” Cedric broke the silence first. He struggled to sit up, rubbed his sore shoulders, and turned to look at Harry and Draco, who were still lying on the ground. His tone was somewhat helpless. “What do you guys think? If we keep practicing, our bodies won’t be able to take it. We should save our energy for the next session.”

Harry and Draco remained silent, secretly competing with each other. Almost simultaneously, they propped themselves up and slowly sat up, their eyes still showing a stubborn refusal to admit defeat. They glared at each other, neither willing to back down first.

Seeing this, Cedric shook his head, both amused and exasperated, and turned to Dylan, saying, "Dylan, I think they probably have no objections, they're just still unwilling to accept that the outcome wasn't decided."

“Then I’ll clean up the mess.” The damage to the grass caused by the magic was quite easy for Dylan to handle. He calmly raised his wand and clearly recited the repair spell.

The wand drew a graceful arc in the air, and as the spell fell, a magical scene unfolded. The ravaged grass seemed to be rewinding, with the holes quickly filling in, the broken blades of grass standing upright again, and the overturned soil returning to its original position.

In the blink of an eye, the grass was completely restored, becoming smooth and new, with no trace of its previous desolation and mess, and even greener than before the duel began.

A gentle breeze blew by, carrying the fresh scent of the grass, and brushed against the three tired faces. Harry felt a strong wave of sleepiness wash over him, his already drooping eyelids almost closed completely, and his head began to feel dizzy.

But then he suddenly remembered something important he hadn't said, and he jolted awake, instantly snapping to attention. He blurted out instinctively, "Dylan, when are we going to start practicing Occlumency? I want to learn this magic as soon as possible."

"Practice Occlumency?" Draco frowned immediately upon hearing this, his eyes filled with doubt. "Why would you suddenly want to learn this spell? Occlumency isn't something you can just practice casually; it's extremely difficult and rarely used in daily life."

“This spell is indeed quite difficult, requiring extremely strong willpower and mental control,” Cedric chimed in, his tone tinged with surprise. “But thinking about it carefully, the current situation is indeed a good time to practice Occlumency. In the third project, we not only have to face traps and magical creatures, but also have to guard against attacks from other warriors, and we may even encounter dark magic. Learning Occlumency will certainly provide an extra layer of protection.”

“Uh…” Harry realized he had spoken out of turn and scratched his head in a fluster, unsure how to explain. He couldn’t very well tell Cedric and Draco that he had witnessed Voldemort’s resurrection and was so eager to learn Occlumency to prevent any unforeseen events and to prevent Voldemort from invading his mind and transmitting incorrect information through their soul connection, could he? He couldn’t easily reveal such a secret concerning the safety of the wizarding world.

“Learning another spell…it’s not…it’s not a bad thing!” Harry quickly tried to explain, his eyes darting around and his voice becoming a little stammering. “I remember this spell…it seems…it seems to be able to resist the Stunning Curse. It’s always good to have another way to protect yourself.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, his eyes full of suspicion, clearly not believing Harry's statement: "Resisting the Stunning Curse? That requires complete mastery of Occlumency; beginners simply cannot achieve such an effect. However, it's true that learning another high-level spell can indeed enhance one's strength."

He paused, looked at Dylan, and asked tentatively, "What, Dylan, are you planning to teach us Occlumency? I don't mind learning another skill, but I wonder if the practice process will be very boring."

“That’s right!” Draco’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had thought of some key information. His tone was somewhat confident. “Frandelagur of Beauxbatons is a half-Vevel. The charm of Veela has a mental influence. If we can learn Occlumency, we can resist this mental interference. Dealing with Fleurdelagur should be much easier then.”

“That’s right! That’s exactly it!” Harry nodded vigorously as if he had grasped a lifeline, and continued Draco’s words with a sense of relief, “That was my idea from the beginning! I wanted to learn Occlumency in order to deal with the various mental interferences that might be encountered in the third project.”

"Heh! That was your idea from the beginning?" Draco sneered, his eyes filled with mockery. "Then why didn't you just say so directly? Why did you have to come up with such a flimsy excuse as resisting the Stunning Curse? Don't forget, we are all Hogwarts warriors. The third project is a dual test of team honor and individual strength. Shouldn't we share good ideas?"

He paused, his tone becoming increasingly sharp: "You want Dylan to mentor you alone, and then secretly turn the tide and claim all the credit once the third project starts, right? I'm truly amazed. It turns out that even Gryffindor, known for their bravery, enjoys playing these underhanded tricks."

"Hmm? Which set of Gryffindors do you prefer?" Harry immediately raised his eyebrows, his previous fatigue instantly replaced by indignation, and his spirits were much higher than before. He looked directly at Draco, his tone somewhat questioning, "When did I say I wanted to study alone? I just couldn't think of a suitable reason for a moment, so I casually mentioned the Stunning Charm. Do you have to make such a big deal out of it?"

"Alright, stop arguing." Dylan's voice rang out at the right moment, interrupting the argument between the two. His tone was gentle, but it carried an undeniable power. "Occlumency is indeed a very practical high-level spell. If you are both interested, why don't you practice together? This way, you can supervise each other and exchange ideas during practice, which will help you improve faster."

“Of course I have no problem!” Draco immediately dropped his sarcastic expression and nodded hurriedly, a hint of eagerness flashing in his eyes. “I can definitely learn Occlumency faster than Harry, and then I’ll show him who the real talent is.”

“Dylan, if you don’t mind…” Cedric spoke up, his tone sincere, “I also want to learn Occlumency. The third project is complicated, and having more skills means more security. Besides, practicing with everyone will improve our teamwork.” (End of Chapter)