The Return to Hogwarts

boom!

A slight ripple of air!

An armored spell seemed to have been waiting for this, easily intercepting her magic.

Umbridge, pale-faced, stared blankly as the Triwizard Tournament champion held up her wand. It was she who had cast the Ironclad Charm earlier.

At this moment, only three seconds had passed since Blaine announced the start of the duel, and the three young wizards from Hogwarts had already crossed half the distance between the two sides!

An immense sense of oppression tormented Umbridge's nerves; she couldn't understand why three brats who only knew how to recklessly charge at her could terrify her.

Perhaps the pressure unleashed his potential, for Umbridge unleashed three spells in quick succession, two aimed at Hermione and one at Luna.

"attack!"

The moment Hermione caught sight of the three streaks of magical light, she made her decision, her clear voice ringing out.

Immediately, Hermione and Neville, who were in a straight line, suddenly crossed paths. Neville flashed to the left and approached along an arc, while Hermione appeared in front of Luna and swung her wand to disperse the cursed light that was attacking Luna.

Using Hermione's body as a shield, Luna, who had briefly disappeared from Umbridge's sight, flicked her wrist, and several silver 'notes' emitted sharp whistling sounds as they arced through the air towards Umbridge's left side!

At the same time, Luna and Hermione suddenly accelerated, running in the same arc toward Umbridge's left, as if to flank her.

"Armor protection!"

Umbridge screamed, wand raised high, as the incoming musical notes and the little witch flanking from the left unconsciously shifted her gaze and body to the left!

Keng!

Before she could even rejoice at using her armor to block the musical notes, a crisp clang suddenly rang out from her blind spot on the right, instantly changing her expression!

Chapter 1018 Expectation

2024-07-07

Clang!

A crisp clang echoed through the auditorium, and before everyone's eyes, Neville leaped up with a sharp expression, drawing a sword from his waist.

It was a sword without any superfluous carvings, but its blade gleamed with a cold light, and its sharp edge emitted a holy radiance under the sunlight!

At this moment, time seemed to stretch out.

Almost all the young wizards wore a ridiculous expression the moment Neville drew his sword. The students stared at Neville, most of them thinking that Neville had lost his mind!

Before this school year, if the students were to choose the weakest, most vulnerable, and most incompetent student from Gryffindor, Neville would undoubtedly be elected by a large margin, and he himself would probably volunteer.

However, since the beginning of this semester—or more precisely, during the time Hermione Granger was attacked and hospitalized—Neville has become different after returning from a trip outside the school with Professor Dumbledore.

Neville's return surprised everyone.

People could no longer see the timid and submissive figure he once was. The former laughingstock of Gryffindor had undergone some transformation and become confident and optimistic.

Of course, those close to him know why Neville has undergone such a dramatic transformation.

If it were Neville from before, and Professor Blaine had sent him out, Harry would have been absolutely uneasy, even if Neville had performed admirably in some of the training exercises during physical education class.

After his personality changed drastically, Neville, who resembled Fred and George in some ways, excelled in all physical education classes. Therefore, when Professor Blaine named Neville, Harry didn't question it.

However, when Neville drew a silver sword—the kind only found on armor in castles—in full view of everyone, Harry's composure crumbled.

Has Neville gone mad?!

Harry stared at Neville, who was flying into the air with a calm and collected expression, and thought to himself with frustration.

This is a great opportunity to defend the honor of Hogwarts and Gryffindor and undermine the prestige of the Ministry of Magic. Why is Neville suddenly acting stupid again?

Draco stared at Neville Longbottom in astonishment.

However, compared to Harry, he didn't think Neville Longbottom was being stupid.

He remembered the days when Hermione Granger had just been chosen as a warrior, and with his tacit approval, Pansy had played some little pranks.

This sparked a strong reaction from Neville Longbottom during physical education class.

At that time, this guy drew the swords from the armor in the gym classroom and pointed them at him.

What seemed like a very funny act, Draco remembered that he did feel an unusual sharpness when Neville drew his sword and pointed it at him!

Draco glanced sideways at Professor Blaine above the Great Hall and saw a calm and unperturbed face.

Professor Blaine witnessed Neville drawing his sword during gym class, so Longbottom switched majors on Professor Blaine's advice?

The Hogwarts faculty and staff were equally astonished.

Perhaps only Dumbledore had a deeper understanding of this.

Dumbledore's deep blue eyes held not only astonishment at Neville drawing his sword during the duel, but also an extraordinary sharpness.

Godric Gryffindor's sword hung in his office; it was a magical weapon he knew intimately. Yet, at this moment, he sensed the same aura emanating from the magic sword Neville held as the sword of Gryffindor!

动了

As Ling Yue reached his highest point, Neville raised his sword high, which began to slash downwards amidst a dazzling white light.

Caught off guard by the oppressive and fierce attack from the three young wizards of Hogwarts, Umbridge turned around in fear.

Neville's raised, gleaming silver sword caused a moment of confusion in Umbridge's eyes, who was panicking at the thought of being ambushed. But as she realized what was happening, a sinister smile appeared on her face.

This kid pulled out a sword?

He's about to take a sword and cut himself?!

This was so funny that Umbridge almost burst out laughing, and this lighthearted mood even allowed her to perform at her best.

She had no time to retaliate, but she bared her teeth and quickly defended herself, the tip of her wand glowing with a deep blue light!

Time has returned to its normal flow rate.

Neville suddenly let out a sharp shout. Having trained in private for a long time and already adapted to the speed at which mithril absorbed magic, he released his control over his own magic, letting the magic flow endlessly into the silver sword!

With the blessing of magic, Neville's silver sword was completely submerged in the clear light, as if Neville were holding a bright moon in his hands!

Boom!

It's hard to describe the brilliance of the moment when silver and blue light collide.

Umbridge's ferocious expression froze the moment she met the slash, her eyes, hidden behind swollen eye bags, revealing terror.

In that fraction of a second, she could feel an overwhelming force that was absolutely impossible to resist shatter her magic.

Moreover, the power remained strong even after her magic dissipated; she could feel it rushing into her wand, which transmitted pain and groans to her.

Snapped!

Umbridge watched helplessly as her wand shattered inch by inch under the impact of the silvery light. Before she could even let out a cry of pain, she was thrown away by the powerful shockwave from the explosion, tumbling and crashing into a giant pillar in the Great Hall.

Dumbledore suddenly raised a finger, and Umbridge's body, which was violently slamming into the pillar, suddenly hovered in mid-air.

Fear and an unspeakable sense of shame gnawed at his soul like venomous tongues. Umbridge glared venomously at Blaine and Dumbledore at the front of the Great Hall, then rolled his eyes and forced himself to faint.

The young wizards watched helplessly as Umbridge slowly descended to the ground, where she lay motionless.

The seemingly eternal silence was suddenly shattered, and every young wizard cheered and roared, even the faculty and staff applauded and cheered for the three young wizards.

"This is absolutely a spectacular duel!"

Professor Flitwick jumped onto the stage, raised his hands high, and cheered in a shrill voice.

"Wow, that's amazing! Such perfect teamwork! Even I would have had a hard time handling that when I was younger. Oh, well done, Luna!"

"He shouldn't have meddled!"

Harry yelled,

“She should have run into it, let her stay in St. Mungo’s for a few more months. Oh, that was a beautiful strike, I’m impressed with you, Neville!”

Shouting, Harry even showed Fred and George the watch on his wrist.

"Less than ten seconds! Did you see that? I knew it all along!"

But Fred and George ignored Harry and joined the young wizards as they rushed onto the stage to hug Neville, Hermione, and Luna!

"It's amazing!"

Professor McGonagall happily wiped her eyes.

“Mr. Longbottom, that final sword strike was incredibly powerful. In my opinion, it had the flair of Gryffindor. I want it! Is it against the rules to award points now?”

At least two hundred young wizards rushed onto the stage, surrounding Neville, Hermione, and Luna, cheering loudly and praising them. It was a truly rare sight.

"Do you see that, Professor Blaine!"

Surrounded by the crowd, Neville held the sword of Gryffindor aloft. He tiptoed over the throng of heads and called out to the smiling man at the faculty and staff dining table.

“I can control it, Professor!”

But the young wizards surrounding Neville couldn't hear what he was shouting at all; they happily lifted him up and tossed him into the air.

So you see—

Dumbledore turned to Amos Tower and asked softly,

"The sword in Mr. Longbottom's hand came from you, Amosta?"

"Oh, the spoils from exploring ruins back in the day were a complete waste in my hands, but I unexpectedly discovered that Mr. Longbottom seemed to have a talent for it, so I encouraged him to try following in Godric Gryffindor's footsteps."