The Return to Hogwarts

Harry wasn't blinded by anger. Although he believed that Malfoy really just wanted to have a match with him, at least if Professor Blaine found out, Hermione wouldn't be dragged into it.

"--Then, we all swore in the name of our respective academies that, regardless of who wins or loses, we would not tell anyone else about this duel. If you agree, then let's do it!"

Having learned his lesson so many times, Harry has grown considerably. He genuinely wants to fight Malfoy, but at the same time, he doesn't want to be kicked out of the party.

Chapter 680 Take action

2024-01-08

"Are you really going to fight Malfoy, Harry?!"

Hermione turned and glared sternly at Harry. "I must warn you, Harry, don't take any chances. If Professor Blaine finds out about this, he'll kick all the participants out of his class. He always keeps his word!"

Hermione raised her voice to make sure the three Malfoys on the other side could hear her, and her warning did have some effect.

Standing behind Draco was a quiet, gentle little witch with blond hair and blue eyes. She was Astoria from the Greengrass family. She and her sister Daphne Greengrass were both students at Slytherin House. Compared to her sister's usual aggressiveness, Astoria was much more delicate.

After following Draco into the classroom, Astoria remained silent, quietly observing the situation. However, upon hearing Hermione's words, she could no longer suppress her hidden worries.

"Shouldn't you reconsider, Draco?"

Astoria, wearing black leather boots, had to stand on tiptoe to reach Draco's ear.

“If you and Potter, or one of you, are seriously injured in a duel, Madam Pomfrey will definitely inform Professor Snape or Professor McGonagall. Then even if you want to hide the duel, you won’t be able to. The news will definitely reach Professor Blaine’s ears.”

A flicker of hesitation crossed Draco's grey eyes, but then he noticed a hint of defiance in Potter's cold gaze, and his wavering resolve instantly solidified.

“This is none of your business, Astoria!” Draco said arrogantly, raising his head. “It’s as you say, Potter. The duel will be between the two of us. I swear on the name of Slytherin that whatever the outcome of this duel, I guarantee that both Pansy and Astoria will keep it a secret!”

"Malfoy never keeps his word, Harry, don't fall for it!"

If the outcome were decided by fists, Ron would probably have already taken action. But having heard about the rules of PE class before, he definitely didn't want to see Harry expelled from PE class because of him, a class that many people wanted to attend but couldn't.

"Your family has utterly trampled the honor of pure-blood families, Weasley—"

Draco's face darkened as he spoke.

"But that doesn't mean other people of noble birth don't care!"

"I swear in the name of Gryffindor—"

A strange restlessness surged through Harry's veins; he was increasingly looking forward to what was about to happen. He paid no heed to the whispers Ron and Hermione were making in front of him, instead drawing his wand and pointing it straight at the ceiling.

"I swear in the name of Gryffindor that, regardless of the outcome of the duel, Ron, Hermione, and I will never reveal the fact that this duel took place!"

“Oh, don’t even think about it, Harry!” Hermione said fiercely.

However, Harry had already broken free from her grasp and walked towards the center of the classroom first, his back and steps revealing a firmness and decisiveness.

snort--

Draco gave a soft snort, turned to look at Pansy and Astoria, hesitated for a moment, and then said to Astoria,

"Go stand guard outside the door. If anyone approaches this classroom, come in and let me know—"

Having said that, without waiting for Astoria to speak, he took off his robe and threw it into Pansy's arms, then strode forward.

Now that the matter has come to this, there is nothing more to say.

Harry and Draco stood in the center of the classroom, on either side of each other, about sixty or seventy feet apart, their eyes locked on each other.

Do you think Harry can win, Hermione?

Back in their first and second years, Ron had a good idea of ​​Harry and Malfoy's abilities, but now he had no idea what their strengths were after being personally trained by Professor Blaine. Harry and Hermione, to avoid upsetting Ron, rarely showed off in front of him, and Ron learned most of what they were doing from Fred and George.

"I can't say for sure, Ron—"

Hermione frowned as she watched the two men locked in a standoff, recalling Draco's performance during practice.

"But Draco is no pushover; his team has been among the longest-lasting under Professor Blaine—"

The crimson setting sun gradually disappeared below the horizon, struggling to hold onto its last rays. Sensing the approaching darkness, the torches on the classroom walls suddenly lit up in unison, their light reflecting in Harry and Draco's eyes, making it seem as if torches were burning within their pupils!

The air was thick with heat and oppression. Both men, bent over and ready to fight, suddenly had a strange thought: although they had clashed several times in the past few years, and their fists and wands had been used quite often, this time it felt like the first time they had truly fought, a sense of destiny in their confrontation.

Harry and Draco, like the armor on their backs, remained motionless in an offensive stance, their eyes fixed on each other.

"What's going on? Why are they standing still like statues?"

Ron expected a fight to break out immediately, but in reality, neither Harry nor Draco made a move. They remained petrified, their eyes still gleaming with a sharp light, and they didn't even seem to blink.

"Keep your voice down, Ron, the duel has already begun—" Hermione whispered quickly, "They're looking for each other's weaknesses, you know? Professor Blaine said that people believe in striking first, but often, the one who strikes first is also more likely to be caught out—"

Ron pursed his lips. He wanted to shout, "I don't know!" but at least he now understood that Harry and Malfoy had begun to clash in a strange way!

When the standoff truly began, Harry and Draco realized the predicament. They were both Professor Blaine's students, and the experience he imparted to them was the same. In this situation, it was extremely difficult to gain the upper hand.

Harry's eyes flickered. He didn't want to admit it, but the truth was that he couldn't find a single flaw in Malfoy's defensive posture. He believed that the reason Malfoy hadn't made a move was because he was facing the same difficulties as him.

But must they continue this standoff indefinitely?

Click!

Just then, the door to the gym classroom was suddenly pushed open, and everyone in the classroom except Harry and Draco instinctively looked towards the door.

Astoria Greengrass was just sent out on guard duty on Draco's orders.

"Longbottom is here. He's at the other end of the corridor and walking this way. I didn't let him see me!"

Upon hearing this, Hermione's face lit up with joy; she thought the duel was off, but—

The two who were locked in a standoff did not expect to make a move at the same time!

Harry was faster; he raised his hand and fired, a red streak, about the thickness of a thumb and covered with an electric lock, shot out, covering dozens of feet in the blink of an eye, aiming at Draco's arm.

boom!

Unexpectedly, Draco did not choose to attack. He dodged Harry's disarming spell while pointing his wand at the void in front of him. With a loud bang, a thick cloud of black mist squeezed into everyone's vision from the void.

Amidst the violent churning, the black mist rapidly expanded, instantly obscuring Draco's figure from Harry's sight and spreading in all directions, seemingly determined to envelop the entire classroom!

The sight before him stunned Harry for a moment. He had never seen Malfoy use such magic in his usual training. However, in a flash, Harry understood Malfoy's intention—to block his vision!

Staying still would be the most foolish choice. Harry's figure swayed slightly, and then, like an arrow released from a bow, he moved swiftly to the side, moving away from the expanding black mist while remaining alert for any sudden attacks from within it. As it turned out, Harry's guess was correct.

His feint did indeed lure Malfoy. From the slightly thinned black mist that had expanded, a dark figure shot out like lightning, bursting through the mist and charging menacingly toward the spot where Harry had just stood.

The black python, too rushed to turn in mid-air, slammed heavily into the armor beneath the side wall. Enraged, it coiled itself up and sprang back up like a compressed spring, charging towards Harry. At the same time, another shadowy figure suddenly emerged from the other side of the defensive line.

Two black pythons attacked from two directions, one from the sky and one from the ground, forming a pincer movement!

Harry instantly realized that he couldn't possibly be faster or more agile than Malfoy's pythons. He could use the Ironclad Charm to block the first wave of attacks from the two black pythons, but he would soon be at a disadvantage. The Ironclad Charm couldn't kill the pythons; it could only block frontal attacks. If they then coiled around him and began to fight, he would be in trouble. Don't forget, the two black pythons could move on their own without Malfoy's control, albeit much slower. Malfoy would definitely take advantage of Harry's distraction to launch another attack!

Thank you all so much for your company in 2023. I wish you all good health and happiness every day in the new year!

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Chapter 681 High-Level Duel

2024-01-08

Harry had never seen this black mist during his physical education training sessions. It must be Malfoy's 'secret weapon,' and who doesn't have one?

As Harry watched the black pythons approaching him swiftly like dragons, his emerald eyes flashed with a sharp light. In the blink of an eye, he made his decision: he would take down these two ferocious black pythons and crush Malfoy's arrogant and domineering attitude displayed in his attack!

It's still the disarming spell.

As Harry retreated rapidly, his wrist flicked deftly, and the tip of his wand once again emitted a dazzling crimson light, the beam whistling sharply as it tore through the air. But to everyone's surprise, the thumb-thick beam of crimson light, as it hurtled forward, unexpectedly split into two slightly thinner red beams in mid-air. These two beams left slightly curved marks in space, and then—

Bang, bang!

Harry, a genius Seeker, possessed extraordinary dynamic vision. Two beams of red light accurately struck the black python that was moving at high speed. With two crisp sounds that rang out almost simultaneously, the black python summoned by Draco Malfoy was immediately frozen in place by two brilliant red orbs of light covered with electric locks, and then turned into blue smoke and dissipated.

Disarming Spell - Group Battle Version!

By now, Harry had practiced the Disarming Charm hundreds, even thousands of times, but during one spellcasting mishap, his Disarming Charm's light exploded in the air into dozens of beams before dissipating. Harry immediately recalled Professor Blaine subduing Professor Moody, and in his second year, he had heard from others about Professor Blaine using a special Stunning Charm to incapacitate Fred and George.

Harry immediately approached Professor Blaine for guidance. After pondering for several days, Professor Blaine offered an improved version that would allow the Disarming Charm to attack multiple opponents simultaneously.

Of course, this requires the user to have strong magical micro-management skills. Harry can currently only make the Disarming Charm attack two opponents at the same time.

Even through the space and the black mist, Harry could sense Malfoy's surprise. The momentary feeling of triumph in Harry's heart vanished, for the situation remained difficult. If Malfoy continued to hide within the black mist, which had stopped expanding, he would be virtually invincible, and Harry would have no way of pinpointing his true location.

Whoosh! Malfoy's attack came one after another.

This time it wasn't any special magic, just a petrification spell.

Disarming spells, stun spells, petrification spells, obstacle spells, and other relatively easy offensive spells are standard practice in physical education class. Professor Blaine requires everyone to master them, and they must achieve a very high level of proficiency.

The rapidly advancing cursed light pierced a fist-sized hole through the black fog cave. Harry caught a fleeting glimpse of Malfoy's slightly smug face.

Before his conscious action even began, Harry's body reacted with the instinct to retaliate honed through countless training sessions. He slid to the side, turned his head to dodge Malfoy's petrification spell, and raised his right hand in a backhand motion. The counter-spell surged into the closed black mist, heading in the direction Harry predicted Malfoy would be displaced.

Snapped!

To Harry's dismay, his magic did not hit Malfoy, but instead pierced through the black cloud, leaping across a large distance and striking the classroom wall.

This offensive and defensive battle has ignited a fierce back-and-forth, with spells flashing back and forth like shooting stars streaking across the night sky!

Draco's spells, thrown from within the black cloud, were incredibly tricky. He had clearly put a lot of effort into his dueling skills, his attack rhythm was perfectly timed, and his predictions of Harry's next move were extremely accurate. In the intense twenty-second exchange, he was completely on the offensive.

Harry's movements inherited the elusive and ethereal quality of his Quidditch flying skills. He used deceptive feints to lure Malfoy's attacks into open spaces multiple times. However, compared to his defense, Harry's offense was in a slump.

That's easy to understand, right?