HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

“I’ve heard that Miss Nikia has many suitors, but you yourself seem indifferent to them…” He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice, “Perhaps… I may call you Veris?”

“I think it is quite appropriate for you to call me ‘Professor Nikia’.” Nightingale’s voice remained calm, revealing no emotion.

"So, you're determined to refuse? Even if you have to be the only loser today?" Bafferos's smile froze instantly, his tone becoming threatening. "Professor Nikia, you need to know that you represent the entire Beauxbatons right now, not just yourself."

“No need for the professor to trouble himself…” Nightingale replied calmly, “but please allow me to remind you that Professor Greengrass just told me that every word we say here before the venue is chosen will be clearly heard throughout the entire venue.”

Bafferos was suddenly stunned.

He whirled to the audience—where Karkaroff was staring at him, his face ashen, his gaze like an icicle. The young wizards from the three schools were also giving him strange looks.

“You…!” He swallowed hard, squeezing out a single syllable.

“Professor,” Nightingale spoke up at the opportune moment, calmly reminding him, “I hope that what you are about to say is the result of careful consideration.”

“Heh…” Baffroth forced a laugh through gritted teeth, his cheek muscles twitching. He suppressed the surging shame and embarrassment and said in a dry voice, “It was just a joke… I hope Professor Nikia won’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” Nightingale said with a smile. “After all, it is indeed very funny.”

That stunning smile vanished in an instant, but Bafferos no longer had the heart or the energy to appreciate it.

He just wanted to defeat the woman in front of him who had made him lose face as quickly and ruthlessly as possible, and then leave this hellish place that made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

The two quickly selected a random scene, and the light and shadow on the stone tablet flowed, eventually stopping at the "shallow swamp" option.

As the stone tablet slowly sank into the ground, the entire arena instantly twisted and deformed.

A damp mist rose up, and putrid bubbles kept rising from the swamp, emitting a pungent sulfurous smell.

The murky water reflected Bufferos's distorted face—shame and indignation had completely ignited his twisted pride.

He wanted to make the woman who had humiliated him pay the price.

"Crushed to pieces!"

Buffalo practically roared as he swung his wand, sending a blinding crimson beam hurtling straight toward Nightingale’s face.

Gasps of surprise erupted from the audience, and even the young wizards of Beauxbatons stood up in alarm.

However, the nightingale didn't even flinch, nor did she make the exaggerated waving motion that people expected.

The ornate wand in her hand merely drew a lazy arc, and then the scarlet shattering spell was precisely intercepted by a pure ice-blue beam of light, instantly vanishing without a trace.

Then Nightingale waved her wand again, and visible frost instantly condensed in the air, and a chill surged toward Baffroth like a tide.

Bafferos was forced to stop halfway through his incantation as a beam of lake-blue magic light shot toward him.

"Armor protects you!"

The Durmstrang professor displayed astonishing reaction speed. He raised his hand and cast a near-perfect protective spell, which, though somewhat hastily, successfully deflected the spell's light towards the ground.

However, the instant the spell light touched the ground, Nightingale decisively and swiftly thrust out her wand—

"Ice Blast!"

boom!

A terrifying explosion erupted from the point of impact.

The swamp was instantly blasted into a huge crater, and the mud and sewage froze instantly, forming a ring of radiating, menacing ice spikes around the edge of the crater.

The young wizards in the audience were startled by the sudden, massive explosion.

At the bottom of the pit, a blue ice sculpture exuding a chilling aura stands tall.

The ice sculpture perfectly captures Baffroth's狰狞扭扭的 (zhengning niu, meaning ferocious and twisted) expression and the posture of swinging his staff just a second ago. It is so lifelike that you can even see the lingering shock and disbelief in his eyes.

His entire body, along with his Durmstrang fur cloak, was completely frozen in ice harder than steel, not even a single hair showing.

Sunlight shines on the ice sculpture, reflecting a cold and dazzling light.

The ice slowly and steadily eroded Baffroth inside the ice sculpture, and just before he was about to be defeated, Nightingale lowered her wand.

"Professor Bufferos seems to be the only loser today."

As she spoke, she turned and bowed gracefully to the audience. Just as she straightened up, a white light shone on Bafferos.

The stone tablet rose from the mud, and as the light shimmered, the nightingale had already turned and left.

She didn't even glance at the match results displayed on the stone tablet.

The audience erupted in cheers!

The students from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons were the first to react, jumping up from their seats.

Applause, stomping, whistling, and shouts of excitement that cracked their voices merged into a frenzied torrent!

Even some Durmstrang students waved at the Nightingale. Because at Durmstrang, the strong are always respected.

The young wizards cheered loudly, while Mrs. Maxim gave a reserved smile and explained to the reporters who were constantly taking pictures:

"Nikia, as the Potions professor at Beauxbatons, is exceptionally capable in all aspects. In less than a year, she has significantly improved her students' Potions grades..."

Karkaroff, whose already unpleasant expression turned even more grim, didn't stay to wait for Dumbledore to announce the results of today's match. Instead, he got up and left the dueling arena.

The young wizards were very excited, and both boys and girls were discussing the nightingale enthusiastically.

"Merlin's beard! Just one move! Just one move!" Ron was so excited he was incoherent, not even noticing that half of the pumpkin juice in his hand had spilled.

"That big guy from Durmstrang is just humiliating himself..." Hermione was also unusually agitated, her eyes sparkling with an unusual light.

“Who says otherwise!” Neville’s voice was unusually loud. “After all, he was instantly killed by Professor Nikia!”

"He said before the duel that Professor Nikia had many suitors?"

“That’s not surprising! Because I’m one of them now!” A seventh-grade student’s eyes lit up, and a burst of laughter suddenly erupted around him.

“Count me in,” George leaned over and added with a grin.

“Count me in too…” Fred immediately followed, conjuring up a large bouquet of singing red roses, “and while you’re at it, sign up Percy and Ronnie too.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Fred!” Percy said seriously, his face flushed.

"Hey, count me in too," the kestrel surprisingly stuck its head out and added with a big smile.

Harry and Ron were still cheering at the Nightingale's retreating figure, while not far away, Hermione excitedly put away her book and secretly gave the Nightingale a thumbs-up.

Chapter 136 The Exhibition Match Ends

Dumbledore stood up and announced the results of the exhibition match amidst thunderous cheers.

When the professors' exhibition match officially came to an end, no one noticed when Bufferos quietly left—the entire auditorium was immersed in a frenzy of joy.

Reporters sniffed around like they'd found a gem, not missing a single shot, causing the lights of their magic cameras to flash incessantly.

Sure enough, that afternoon, the front page of the Daily Prophet's urgent edition was dominated by the "Frost Queen," while the four Hogwarts professors were relegated to a corner, occupying only a small section of the page.

Professor Bufferros of Durmstrang, who was the one who was instantly defeated, was mentioned repeatedly in the article, but there was clearly nothing good about him.

"Frosty Trial: Professor Nikia Instantly Kills Durmstrang Duelist, Shocking All Three Universities!"

A single ice spell sparked heated debate in the wizarding world, and Principal Durmstrang stormed out of the room.

By Festak Moore

When Durmstrang's "Iron-Blooded Professor" Baffroth stepped into the dueling arena with his signature flippant smile, he probably thought he was facing just an ordinary Potions teacher.

However, thirty seconds later, the ancient castle of Hogwarts witnessed a moment destined to be recorded in the annals of dueling history—Veilly Nyxia, the Frost Queen of Beauxbatons, raised her wand and with a single spell, turned the arrogant dueling master into a stunned "Durmstrong Ice Sculpture".

It is worth noting that before this duel, Professor Bafferos said something to Professor Niksia that caused Principal Karkaroff of Durmstrang to storm off after the duel.

According to sources, this is related to Durmstrang's long-standing culture of sexism.

“He deserved it!” a Hogwarts girl who wished to remain anonymous told our reporter. “Professor Nikia gave him a resounding slap in the face in the most elegant way.”

Indeed, the moment Professor Buffalo was frozen in time is one of the most breathtaking duel scenes in the history of magic.

His angry expression, his raised wand, even the lingering astonishment in his eyes, were perfectly sealed within the crystalline ice. His perpetually upturned lips were now frozen into a comical question mark, reflecting the most ironic light under the sunlight.

During Professor Bufferos's most humiliating moment in his career, the president of the International Duel Federation sent a brief comment via owl: "This is absolutely the most exquisite practical application of ice magic in the last decade!"

……

“I’ve said it before, Professor Nikia’s abilities go far beyond potions,” Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons proudly declared in an exclusive interview with this newspaper. “She was the youngest Auror trainer ever invited by the French Ministry of Magic, but declined the honor due to a conflict with her teaching schedule.”

“That’s why I insisted on inviting Professor Nikia to this exchange,” Mrs. Maxim said. “She proved to everyone that Beauxbatons represents not only elegance, but also power.”

……

(Continued on page 3: "Tracing the Origins of Ice Magic: Analyzing the Types of Spells Used by Professor Nikxia Through Runic Magic")

The newspaper included four pictures:

Figure 1: The shocking scene of Professor Buffalo frozen completely in the center of the dueling arena.

Figure 2: A close-up of Professor Nikia gracefully swinging her cane.

Figure 3: The awkward moment when Principal Karkarov stormed out of the room.

Figure 4: The unprecedented scene of students from the three schools cheering wildly.

Fueled by a series of reports, the name Nightingale swept across Europe in a single day.

……

Before the cheers for the exhibition match had even subsided, Hogwarts was already in full swing.

With careful recommendations from professors and enthusiastic self-nominations from students, eight elites were finally selected to shoulder the glorious mission of representing Hogwarts in the Tri-Schools Duel Tournament.

Two of them are Ravenclaw: Penelope Crivart and Oris Alc.

Hufflepuff duo: Cedric Diggory and Gabriel Truman

The two Slytherin members: Terence Higgins and Charlene Avery

Two Gryffindors: Percy Weasley and Elois Dufresne

This list immediately became the new focus of discussion within the castle.

Apart from Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff, who is known for his composure and strength beyond his grade (he is only a fourth-year student), the other seven are all top students from the fifth year or above.

Half of them are male and female class leaders. Although their dueling badges were only recently approved, they are all ranked quite high in actual combat within the academy and even the school, and their strength should not be underestimated.

As the top fighting force among the current students of Hogwarts, they are about to step onto the stage of the tri-school joint duel to compete against the elites of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.