Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 227 The Battle of the Mysterious Affairs Department (Part 3)

Having visited several times, Ike was already very familiar with the environment of the Department of Mysteries. After Lucius left, he turned around and went straight back to the Hall of Prophecy, walked to the right, and opened the door there.

He casually closed the door, then took out a small box from his pocket. With a light wave of his wand, various clocks, watches, and hourglasses on the surrounding shelves flew up and fell into the box one after another.

Before long, only the tall glass dome at the very back remained, and the little bird was still moving up and down, sometimes turning into an egg and sometimes back into a bird.

"I knew you'd be here."

A voice sounded behind him, but Ike didn't turn around, still looking at the strange sight before him.

"Isn't it amazing, the power of time..." he said. "How fascinating!"

"Yes, it's fascinating... but I still can't understand why you're so obsessed with this dangerous power." Hermione came over and watched the endless cycle of the scene with Ike. "You told me to calmly deal with the power of time, but your notes are full of longing for it."

Hermione pursed her lips, her eyes filled with doubt and confusion: "You can at least give me an answer, right?"

"Because this is the ultimate..."

"Ultimate?" Hermione didn't understand, but Ike didn't intend to say anything more. His hand landed on Hermione's head, tracing her hair and stopping at the back of her head. He lowered his head slightly, and his lips landed on her forehead.

"Alright, it's time for us to catch up." Ike smiled and took a few steps back, creating a distance of about five or six meters. He simply put his left hand behind his back and held his wand upright in front of his chest with his right hand, then bowed slightly.

"Shall we begin, Hermione?"

Hermione closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with determination. After demonstrating the perfect dueling etiquette, she and Ike simultaneously raised their wands, pointing them at each other, and softly said, "Begin..."

The next second, a red light suddenly shot out, causing the silver shield that Ekko had casually used to tremble for a while.

"I don't want you to let me have it!" Hermione kept waving her wand, casting spell after spell, but this time the silver shield didn't budge, not even a flicker of light.

"There's been progress, but it's not enough," Ike chuckled softly, then extended his left hand and clenched it into a fist, causing cracks to appear on the shield. With a crisp "crack," it shattered into tiny fragments, which remained suspended in mid-air.

Without another word, Ike slightly tightened his grip on his wand, then pointed forward, and the countless silver fragments shot towards Hermione like bullets.

Hermione remained calm, raising her wand high from bottom to top and then slamming it down, creating a pale blue, water-like band of light. The fragments falling into it were like falling into water, their speed visibly slowed until they remained motionless inside.

"Pop..."

Like bursting bubbles, the silvery-blue water curtain vanished with a wave of Hermione's wand. But it wasn't over yet. The instant the water curtain disappeared, Hermione swung her wand sharply, and a dazzling white light suddenly flashed.

"Snapped!"

"Bang!"

Two spells struck Ike almost simultaneously, one after the other, but at different locations—one on his head, the other on his ankle. However, without exception, Ike blocked both.

"That's getting interesting." Ike chuckled, cracking his knuckles before assuming the standard dueling stance once more. "Want something a little more difficult?"

The wand was raised high and then plunged straight into the ground. Countless dazzling golden threads suddenly appeared, filling the entire room. They passed through the shelves that held the clocks, causing the shelves to immediately disintegrate and scatter, only to be cut into even smaller pieces by the golden threads.

Hermione held her wand horizontally in front of her, and countless silver threads bloomed from its tip like flowers, weaving around her into a silver sphere. The gold threads fell onto it with a crackling sound, and the silver threads shimmered, but ultimately blocked the light.

"My turn!" Hermione snorted, keeping her right hand still to hold the silver ball, while her left hand kept waving, sending spells flying through the gold threads toward Ike.

"Bang! Boom! Crack! Bang!"

Ike's fingers twitched slightly, and the golden threads in front of him rapidly shifted positions, dazzling the eye, yet each one blocked Hermione's attacks. He smiled, and this time all the golden threads in the room began to move, vying to fly towards the silver ball opposite.

"Splash..."

The Time Hall was completely destroyed in the magical duel between the two. Shelves, tables, and the only remaining glass dome were all reduced to fragments, scattered across the floor. The only exception was the glass dome, which, under the influence of time, returned to its original state, only to shatter again the next second.

And so it goes, over and over again...

"what!"

Just as the two were locked in fierce combat, a door opened, and a girl with long, dark golden hair rushed in. She barely had time to let out a scream of terror before being struck by a red spell and collapsing to the ground.

"Luna!" Hermione shouted, but before she could say anything more, two Death Eaters rushed in.

They weren't so lucky. The moment they stepped inside, they were pierced by more than a dozen golden threads, stopping them in their tracks with disbelief and terror in their eyes.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and before he could utter a sound, flames suddenly erupted from his body, turning him into a pile of black ash in the blink of an eye. A golden thread flashed, but not even ash remained.

Unconsciously, Ike's body paused, a fleeting look of struggle crossing his face. Hermione didn't see this; her attention was fixed on the person lying on the ground.

"What have you done!" Hermione shouted hysterically, the spell's speed suddenly doubling. Ike remained calm, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't speak. However, the golden thread's movement speed also doubled and continued to accelerate.

Gold, white, and red hues intertwined like rain. Hermione used all her strength, even exceeding her usual limits, effortlessly casting the Silent Charm and the Staffless Charm, her spellcasting speed surpassing most people's imagination. However, her opponent remained as immovable as a mountain, standing firm amidst the raging storm.

Gradually, Hermione's casting speed slowed down, and she couldn't even maintain the silver orb. Finally, the silver orb dissipated, but Hermione seemed oblivious, continuing to cast various spells without pause. Her only goal now was to defeat the guy in front of her.

Being so focused, she didn't notice that the golden light filling the room also vanished the instant the silver ball disappeared.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sounds of clashing spells echoed incessantly. Hermione was already gritting her teeth and enduring it all, her body unconsciously covered in sweat, and a feeling of weakness washed over her like a tidal wave.

"Luna!"

Ginny's voice suddenly rang out, but Hermione seemed not to hear it, maintaining her original rhythm, even speeding it up slightly.

Ike's expression remained calm, but his brow furrowed involuntarily. Suddenly, he abruptly increased the speed of the spell's release, and in the blink of an eye, he had firmly suppressed Hermione.

"Disarming Charm!" Harry suddenly cast a spell on Ike, but Ike simply extended his left hand and blocked the disarming spell. At the same time, his right hand didn't stop, but instead swung down fiercely. A flash of red light, and Hermione was caught off guard and hit directly, her body stiffening as she fell straight to the ground.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted, but before he could cast a spell, he saw a flash of white light and his body was thrown into the air uncontrollably before crashing heavily next to Hermione.

"Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Several more muffled thuds followed, and Ron, Neville, Ginny, and the unconscious Luna all fell to the side. Ron cried out in pain, the fall exacerbating the pain in his leg wound.

"Overestimating yourself." Ike, wand in hand, slowly walked up to Harry. "Give it to me..."

Harry stared defiantly at Ike, his eyes filled with hatred and defiance, while his left hand gripped his pocket tightly.

Naturally, Ike's gaze fell upon it. With a soft chuckle, he flicked his wand, and the prophecy orb flew from Harry's pocket…

"Disarm you!"

Before the prophecy orb could even land in Ike's hand, a beam of red light suddenly shot from his side. Ike immediately turned to block it, but without the magical pull, the prophecy orb fell directly to the ground.

It didn't actually fall to the ground; Harry caught it by lunging forward.

"Get out of here!" a hoarse voice rang out, and Harry then noticed who had interrupted Ike.

"Mad-Eye Moody!" he shouted excitedly, but Moody replied sternly, "Get out of here!"

Moody's wand pointed directly at Ike, who obediently remained still, watching as two more people ran out from behind Moody, picked up Luna and Hermione, and then, together with Harry and the others, pushed open the door behind them.

"You guys came very quickly..." Ike said calmly, his hands naturally folded in front of him.

"It's too late, otherwise you wouldn't even have had that chance!" Moody said coldly, his demonic eye remaining still, staring intently at Ike.

"Heh..." Ike chuckled, a sudden upward turn of his lips.

"Really? Then let's give it a try..."

(End of this chapter)