Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 155 Duel Practice and Ron's Letter

"[Armor Protection]"

"Clear water like a spring"

Loren used the Ironclad Charm to block the oncoming green magical light, leaving a puddle of water in his wake. He then dodged the white light of the Petrification Charm.

Flamel, disguised as Loren, waved his wand incessantly, using rhythm to suppress Loren, forcing him to dodge and defend, with no chance to retaliate.

Petrification spell, knockback spell, and stun spell—being hit by any of these spells will instantly render you unable to fight.

"[Armor Protection]"

An Ironclad Charm deflected the white light of the Petrification Charm, and taking advantage of Flamel's sidestep, Loren used Polymorph to turn the water into a white mist.

Flamel instantly lost track of Loren and dared not make any rash moves, for he would lose face if he were caught off guard.

If Loren hadn't been there, he could have used Whirlwind to instantly clear away the fog, but there would have been a slight stiffness at the connection between the spells, and the Ironclad Spell would have revealed a gap.

He is currently fighting at the level of Loren's magic and cannot use abilities beyond Loren's own.

Despite numerous restrictions, the situation has reached a stalemate.

Flamel, wand in hand, slowly backed away in the approximate direction where Loren had disappeared, saying loudly, "I know you can now cover your entire body with the Armor Charm, so I can use the full-body Armor Charm too, right?"

He was just bluffing Loren. In his actual combat during the holidays, Loren always preferred to use the Iron Armor Charm, which could control the direction of the mirror, rather than applying armor to his entire body.

Flamel didn't understand why Loren had such a strange obsession with parrying, nor did he know what the so-called "Souls-like player's persistence" was.

But from needing three to five seconds to prepare before releasing the Ironclad Spell, to now being able to summon the Mirror with a simple wave of his hand, he was certain that Loren's mastery of the Ironclad Spell was now sufficient to protect his entire body.

But the fog remained still and pervasive, and Loren did not answer.

Flamel pretended to cast an armor spell on himself, then quickly blew away the fog, but his attention remained focused on the fog.

"【armor--"

Before the incantation was finished, a white shadow suddenly shot out from the mist to the left, aiming straight for his brow. Flamel had anticipated this and instantly stopped his feigned incantation. He twisted his foot and slid a few steps to the right, dodging the approaching white shadow.

Whoosh!

A jet of water splashed onto the ground, wetting it.

Oops!

Flamel's expression changed, but due to inertia, he couldn't fully control his body, and his steps continued to the right.

"【The Unseen Blade】"

An invisible force shot towards him, and Flamel needed to take a small step to stop himself. That small step felt as if he had deliberately run into the Divine Sword Shadowless Curse.

The energy passed through his left chest, between his third and fourth ribs. Flamel stopped in his tracks, his body shimmering with light, and he transformed back into his silver-haired, silver-eyed form.

He recalled the carefully planned, deceptive, and interconnected battle, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face as he exclaimed, "In terms of combat thinking, you've already surpassed me."

Loren dispelled the illusion spell, stepped out of the white mist, raised his wand and pointed it behind his head to dispel the mist.

He complained, "Your defeat animation is so perfunctory! It doesn't give me any sense of satisfaction from defeating a boss."

Flamel was used to the strange things that always came out of his mouth, so he just ignored them and paid no attention to them.

"Now, let's talk about your shortcomings and mistakes in this battle." Flamel changed the subject, projecting the image of the battle in the air.

"Wow, true naked-eye 3D..." Loren watched the battle carefully and said with great pride, "Positioning, parrying, not a single mistake, full health clear, even Sekiro would say it's great."

Flamel zoomed in on the scene where Loren left water stains and white mist rose: "The illusion spell combined with the white mist to hide myself and interrupt my casting rhythm is a good idea. Leaving a column of water to attract my attention is also brilliant."

"I think so too!" Loren said smugly.

Flamel glanced at him and said calmly, "But this also exposes your weakness of insufficient spell reserves. These complicated steps can be easily replaced with a weather spell. Change the white mist to cloud mist, and change the attack method from water columns to lightning from the weather spell. Then, whether I dodge or not, it won't affect the outcome of the battle."

If Flamel hadn't dodged the water jet and had let it drench him while he finished deploying the Ironclad Charm, the outcome might have been different.

Loren's smile faded, and he accepted it.

"Next is the last one."

The scene then shifts to Loren's body being pierced through the heart by the Divine Sword Shadowless Curse.

Although he had just been complaining that the defeat animation wasn't enough, Loren saw the astonished expression on his face and thought that it would be even more unpleasant to have his own image used to finish the defeat animation.

Flamel pointed to the wound: "Why insist on having it pierce the heart? A bigger spot would have been better."

Loren grinned: "I've been reading a lot of anatomy books lately, and the description of the heart being located between the second and fifth ribs just popped into my head, so I aimed for that spot."

After he had mastered a few second-year spells, Hermione stopped tutoring him and strictly forbade him from disturbing her. Loren could only take walks with Hermione after dinner and exchange some spell-related insights.

With some free time, Loren began to study anatomy again, learning about the structure of the human body and the functions of its various parts.

He wasn't sure about the progress of the Philosopher's Stone, but whenever he sparred with Flamel, he always made a habit of attacking those areas.

"Don't fixate on hitting a specific point; do whatever is most convenient. If the spell is powerful enough, as long as it hits the target, the battle will be over." Flamel didn't delve too deeply into this point.

He then switched the screen, and as he swiped his finger, the screen froze.

In the video, Loren is using his wand to flick back a petrification spell. He is bent over, his feet shoulder-width apart, one in front of the other. As he casts the Ironclad Spell, he is already preparing to dodge the next spell.

"Here, you could have easily dodged, and in the time it took to cast the Ironclad Charm, you could have attacked me with other spells and disrupted my rhythm. This kind of mistake happened four times during the battle."

The video continued playing, showing Loren bending down and catching a dimly lit knockback spell with an armored charm, much like catching a badminton shuttlecock, and bouncing it back.

Flamel took the dimly lit knockback spell head-on with his body, only frowning slightly without any further reaction.

"And here, this knockback spell is too low; you can dodge it by taking a step back. Besides, this spell was hastily cast to maintain control, so its light is dim and its power is insufficient. Even if it hits your foot, it will only hurt slightly and won't affect your combat ability."

At this point, Flamel looked exasperated. "Why are you so fixated on parrying? Because these parries extend the fight by at least half."

Loren glanced left and right, refusing to look up at the mistake on the screen, and began to change the subject: "I've already defeated the version of you I became, so how will we practice from now on?"

He can't possibly say that he does all these unnecessary actions in order to achieve a full health clear, and his obsession with parrying is also an example.

Flamel's breath hitched. So you're not planning to change?

He laughed in exasperation and said in a gruff voice, "Fine, fine, it seems I'll have to teach you a lesson in real combat before you'll change your ways."

The image in mid-air in the dueling practice room flickered and disappeared, Flamel also vanished from his spot, and Loren's consciousness was ejected from the Book of Fantasy.

"In future practice, I will select some despicable dark wizard images from the database. If you continue with this fighting habit, you will be met with the Cruciatus Curse!" Flamel's voice came from the book, tinged with hidden anger.

"I'll change it. I only dare to fight like this in practice. If it were a real duel, I'd definitely want to go as fast as possible..." Loren muttered, slowly drifting off to sleep.

On the morning of August 6th, a bright and sunny day, Loren was awakened by the sound of an owl tapping on his windowpane.

This is an owl with withered feathers and droopy eyelids; it is very old. Its yellowed claws carry a package, and its beak keeps tapping against the window.

Boom!

dong dong!

Loren thought that if he kept hitting it, the owl's beak might break from its age. He quickly opened the window, let the owl in, and grabbed a handful of nuts from the chubby snack bin, scattering them on the table.

The old owl placed the package on the table, turned to look at Nuts, then turned back to look at Loren, his expression sorrowful and helpless.

Loren hesitated for a moment, then gave it a piece of soft bread, which the old owl slowly began to peck at.

Upon opening the package, one finds a cardboard box and a letter. Even without reading the contents, the flamboyant handwriting on the envelope indicates that it is a letter from Ron.

[

Loren:

Happy Birthday! George and Fred (a big ink stain) asked me to give you their greetings. Birthday presents are enclosed.

Just in case, I deliberately sent the letter a day early. I hope Errol didn't arrive early or miss your birthday, because eccentric Percy uses his owl all holiday, and I had to ask Errol for help; he's too old, and I don't know if he can deliver the letter. Don't reply immediately; let Errol rest.

We cordially invite you to our humble abode. My parents want to thank you properly, and George and Fred even want to give you a belated birthday celebration; they claim to have learned how to make a cake from Mom's cookbook. But I must remind you: do not eat anything they offer you.

I haven't received a reply to the letters I wrote to Harry. If you can get in touch with Harry, could you please check if he's having any problems?

Your best friend: Ron

]

Loren silently folded the letter, making a bet with a copper coin that Ron's quill pen must be too old to work, otherwise there wouldn't be such a large ink stain on the letter.

Let's talk about replying tonight; this old owl named Errol really deserves a good rest.

Not eating George's and Fred's food—isn't that one of the unspoken rules of Hogwarts that young wizards should know before even entering the school?

Loren wasn't in a hurry about Harry; the Weasley brothers should be picking him up in their flying car and taking him to the Burrow in the next few days.

As for Ron's invitation, although he was very interested in the Burrow, Loren decided to decline it because he thought about how bored Grandpa Bates was, who spent his time cultivating land in his backyard and learning to bake from TV.

Grandpa Bates is so bored, yet he still patiently spends the summer with him. We can't just abandon Grandpa Bates and let him become an empty nester.

He placed an apple next to Errol to keep him from getting thirsty. Loren tucked the letter under a well-worn book, then turned to change and wash, beginning his birthday day.

Morning light streamed through the window and shone on the cover, the words "Gray's Anatomy" covered by plastic film reflecting a faint glow.

"Happy birthday, Loren! Come and try my cake!" Bates had already gotten up and was busy in the kitchen. As soon as he saw Loren come downstairs, he called out to him, his face full of joy.

Because he was so bored, Bates first started planning to green his backyard, excitedly planning what trees and flowers he would plant, and even asking Loren what he wanted to see, promising that he could grow it.

After he repeatedly plowed and loosened the hardened clods of earth in the courtyard behind the house, Loren finally understood the scribbles on his drawings, which represented plane trees, chestnut trees, and cherry trees.

"The best month to transplant most of these trees is November." This statement delayed Bates's dream of a garden by three months.

After giving up on houseplants, Bates started learning baking from cooking shows on TV. But sometimes, baking is like a quantum experiment; the oven is Schrödinger's black box—you'll never know what you'll make until you open it.

Loren stared at the dark mass in front of him, lost in thought.

"Is this... a chocolate cake?" he asked hesitantly.

"No, this is a mulberry cake," Bates said with a smile. "If you want a chocolate one, I can make that too."

"It's mulberries..." Loren nodded. Mulberries are purplish-red, so it's normal for them to turn a little black if too many are added.

"Try it quickly, today's breakfast is cake and milk!" Bates couldn't wait to taste the fruits of his labor.

When Loren came out of the bathroom after washing up, Bates had already cut the cake and put it on a plate.

"Hurry up and try it! I got up early this morning to make this cake. I checked the recipe repeatedly, and it's perfect. The oven time is the same as the one shown on TV, and it turned out just like the ones on TV..." Bates said with a smile, explaining the cake-making process.

Loren cut a small piece of cake, the cake scraping against the knife with a crackling sound. Something felt off about the texture; Loren's heart sank, but he calmly put the cake in his mouth.

"How was it? Did everything go smoothly this time?" Bates waited expectantly for his evaluation.

"Mmm, the aroma of mulberries is coming out, it tastes great!" Loren kept chewing, but he just couldn't swallow it.

"Really? I tried a piece, and it seems a bit burnt. So you like it a little burnt? I guess that's how you like roasted meat too." Bates said thoughtfully, looking at the cake on the plate.

"Pooh!"

Loren's attempt to trick Bates into eating it failed. With a pained expression, he spat out the cake. "You tasted it! Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

(End of this chapter)