The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 558 Astoria's Thoughts

"Professor Dumbledore has arrived."

Shouts came from the crowd, and the students automatically parted to make way.

Dumbledore and Grindelwald walked over one after the other, followed by Gump and the two Ministers of Magic.

"We are here to bear witness."

Dumbledore looked at Gump and asked, "Would Mr. Gump like to join us?" He then gave up the center position, appearing very polite.

Gamp laughed and shook his head: "I'm only responsible for scoring. As long as I see the little wizards, it doesn't matter where they're standing."

Dumbledore turned to Lionheart and Knight Lancelot, "Gentlemen... I will witness this duel."

Lionheart remained in his position and shouted, "Mr. Gump, I risked my life to duel with Knight Lancelot, and you know my reasons are just and true."

Knight Lancelot also shouted, "Mr. Gamp, I stand by what my ancestors said."

"Very well, you stubborn fool," Lionheart said bitterly, "Then let Death decide. The loser goes to hell!"

Lionheart unleashed the hatred accumulated over generations, his golden eyes no longer able to conceal his scarlet killing intent.

Resentment, like a raging dragon, drew upon the magic of a lion's heart and poured into the sword in the lake, reflecting a red light across its gleaming blade.

A commotion erupted in the crowd. Lionheart's magical outburst made people forget that both Lionheart and Knight Lancelot were speaking to Gump—even though Dumbledore was the witness.

Knight Lancelot's approach was simple and direct. She adhered to medieval chivalric principles, which, of course, meant ignoring her gender, as there were no male members left in the family.

"Full Armor and Mighty Attire!"

A suit of silver-white armor appeared on Knight Lancelot's body, including the body armor, skirt, helmet, face shield, and boots, all gleaming brightly.

A hint of disdain flashed in Lionheart's eyes; he could summon knight armor too.

"When did summoning armor become a form of magic? Heh."

A flash of golden light appeared, and when the light faded, Lionheart was already wearing a golden suit of armor, identical to Knight Lancelot's except for the color.

Lionheart held the sword in the lake in his right hand and a huge golden shield in his left.

Some students familiar with the rules of medieval knightly duels whispered, "Thanks to Merlin, we'll be witnessing a fierce duel today."

In reality, Lionheart and Lancelot's current attire is still quite a distance from a true knightly duel.

If they were riding a white steed and wielding a spear that was as tall as two people combined, instead of a sword, it would be even closer to the Middle Ages.

In those days, knights would create a wide distance between themselves on horseback, then charge and use lances or axes to stab their opponents off their horses.

If one charge isn't enough, try again until the enemy rolls off their horse.

It's definitely a turn-based game.

Then they fought each other with rapiers or short blades until a winner was decided.

However, times are changing. As members of the Pendragon and Lancelot families gradually awaken their magical powers, they also incorporate magic into their duels.

Horses only hampered duelists in the face of magic, leading to the abandonment of lances and horses as the mainstream choice.

In Europe, a land supposedly dedicated to chivalry, the Pendragon family has raised their wands and wielded magic; who would still cling to rigid rules?

"Revenge! Revenge..."

Lionheart raised his sword in one hand and his shield in the other, shouting angrily, his momentum reaching a peak.

Knight Lancelot watched coldly.

Seeing them like this, Jericho whispered, "If this Lancelot were a man, I have no doubt Lionheart would tear his manhood off."

"kill!"

Lionheart suddenly charged toward Knight Lancelot, and the Lake Sword cleaved down from above, unleashing a devastating, wave-like blade that struck Lancelot.

"Round Table Guardians"

The female knight held her sword horizontally across her chest, one hand gripping the hilt and the other pressing on the tip.

A giant round table appeared in the air, and sword blades that struck it were deflected. Then the table began to spin like a top.

"You dare call yourself a Knight of the Round Table?!"

Lionheart's rage erupted like a volcano, and the red light on the sword in the lake shone ever brighter.

"In the name of the King, divide!"

The sword thrust out from the lake, and the female knight's round table was instantly divided into 12 pieces, like a large cake being sliced ​​open.

The female knight twisted her wrist, changed the direction of her sword, and Lionheart was already in front of her, bringing down a powerful and heavy slash.

"clang!"

The female knight blocked with her sword, and her wand in her left hand drew an arc from bottom to top, the tip of the wand in Lionheart's eye growing larger and larger.

"Pfft—"

A dazzling red magical light emerged, and the surging magical power formed a thick pillar of light.

Lionheart's hair stood on end. He raised his great shield, and magical light surged onto it, like a giant's hand, pushing Lionheart backward.

The red beam of light resembled a red dragon, radiating intense heat. The onlookers hurriedly retreated, leaving only a handful of people standing still.

"Ah!" Lionheart roared and slashed down at the pillar of light with the sword in the lake, severing the female knight's magical output.

Upon seeing this, Moriarty narrowed his eyes, and the sword in the lake was imbued with a magic-dispelling effect.

Gamp shook his head slightly. Lancelot's growth was inseparable from the support of the Gamp family, but her use of magic was obviously somewhat crude.

"The duel is over!"

Gamp raised a fist and shouted loudly.

Lionheart and Knight Lancelot both shuddered simultaneously.

Lionheart, his initial rage subsided, and he sheathed his armor and shield. The female knight did the same.

Dumbledore gave Gump a questioning look, while Gump smiled broadly: "Mr. Lionheart has already demonstrated considerable strength, and I have already given him a score."

Knight Lancelot added at the opportune moment: "Lionheart has passed my test, and I also believe that my duel with him can now end."

Lionheart snorted heavily, turned and walked away.

The parties involved stopped fighting, and their reasons were reasonable. Dumbledore was helpless in the face of this.

"Shall we proceed to the next round?"

Dumbledore looked at Moriarty.

"Of course, no problem," Moriarty smiled. "Does Sir Lancelot need a rest?"

"Yes, I need ten minutes." The female knight said without any politeness.

After speaking, he walked to the side, deactivating the full armor. Knight Lancelot dared not underestimate Moriarty in the slightest.

Moriarty walked slowly toward the dueling arena, and all eyes were on him.

No one noticed that Astoria Greengrass, standing in the back row, was gazing at Moriarty, Gamp, Lancelot, and the receding figure of Lionheart.

Astoria gently lowered her tiptoes and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

There were so many people that it was quite difficult to see clearly.

Daphne Greengrass exclaimed in surprise, "I didn't realize you were interested in knightly duels!"

Astoria gave her sister a shy smile, perfectly portraying the image of a well-behaved child.

She wasn't actually interested in the duel; what interested her was the age-old feud between the Arthurian and Lancelot families.

The British knew about the mess between the two families, but Astoria relied on snippets of information revealed in the conversation between Lionheart and Knight Lancelot.

She analyzed that the feud didn't seem to be as people had said.

Astoria believed that the unknown details would be important intelligence for Gamp's faction.

She wanted to uncover it and then reveal it to Moriarty.

Astoria made this decision after careful consideration.

Young wizards from pure-blood families have begun to show their talent in recent years.

Neville was taken in by Moriarty, Harry entered Slytherin, Draco, though dull, found friends in Quidditch, Sabine followed Ralph to gain influence, Pansy, though mean-spirited, had a strong sense of family honor, and Ginny, though quiet, had her own ideas.

As for Ron?

I'm sorry, but because he was hospitalized for so long, the students almost forgot about him.

Daphne of the Greengrass family, however, was unremarkable and simply went with the flow.

Of course, this is largely related to the family's bloodline curse. Members of this family have never had high demands; if they could live a few more years, they would want to worship all the gods in the world.

In Astoria's view, the Greengrass family's choice of Gamp this time was foolish.

Gamp's trusted confidants, old Pilivik and old Ollivander.

There are also the mysterious "Little Red" and "Tom Pig".

These were all Gamp's confidants.

The Greengrass family clearly had no advantage, and Gamp hadn't been able to remove the curse on their bloodline—or rather, Gamp simply couldn't remove it, otherwise he would have done so long ago.

So why not choose Moriarty?

An amazing plan was brewing in Astoria's little head.

She's trying to save her family through a roundabout approach!

"I will break the curse of the Greengrass family."

(I'll be very busy tomorrow, no updates. Updates will begin on Friday.)

(End of this chapter)