HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

Then her gaze gently swept over the two students from her school, her eyes filled with encouragement.

Dumbledore looked calmly at Alker in the center of the arena, a gentle smile on his face. "Every student who steps into the ring deserves praise."

“Of course you would say that!” Karkaroff replied sarcastically, his smile somewhat sarcastic. “Because Hogwarts only has one student left. If you lose another one, it means you’ll all be eliminated.”

Dumbledore did not immediately refute, but calmly shifted his gaze from the field to Karkaroff, his gentle smile undiminished.

“Igor, things can change in an instant in the arena, and it’s unwise to jump to conclusions. Besides…” He paused, his gaze sweeping meaningfully over Professor Buffalo of Durmstrang, “Compared to Hogwarts, Durmstrang is the one that needs to win the most right now.”

Karkaroff's smug expression froze for a moment, as if Dumbledore had struck a nerve.

He snorted, crossed his arms, and leaned back heavily in his chair, but his eyes remained fixed on the direction of the Hogwarts contestants, muttering relentlessly, "Just you wait, Albus, we'll see soon... soon."

The pace of the next match noticeably quickened.

A seventh-grade boy from Durmstrang strode onto the field; he was large and had sharp eyes. His opponent was a slightly nervous sixth-grade boy from Beauxbatons.

The battle was almost without suspense—the Durmstrang students' attacks were extremely oppressive, powerful, and cunning.

Despite the students of Beauxbatons' efforts to hold on and construct several layers of armored spells, they were still forced to retreat under the relentless onslaught of their opponents. In less than three minutes, they were struck by a precise "Sandstorm" and were defeated.

“The gap is too big,” Red Falcon shook his head, leaned closer to Sagrais and muttered in a low voice, his gaze still fixed on the Durmstrang students who had just stepped off the stage. “They all seem like seasoned veterans who have just crawled out of the dueling arena.”

“Hmm.” Sagres’ voice was steady, his gaze fixed straight ahead. “Because of the school’s atmosphere, students from Durmstrang are all ruthless in their actions.”

"I heard you were the strongest one there back then?" Red Falcon's curiosity was piqued, and he tilted his head to look at Sagrais. "And your grades were outstanding too?"

“That’s different.” Sagres finally withdrew his gaze, looking at the Red Falcon expressionlessly, his eyes calm and unwavering. “Just like you, graduating with perfect scores in all subjects, shining brightly.”

"Uh... what do you mean?" The red falcon blinked in confusion, not following this leap in thought.

“What I mean is, no matter how impressive your report card is,” Sagres said in a flat tone, “it won’t stop you from getting beaten up in the dueling arena.”

Red Falcon's face instantly fell, like a balloon punctured by a needle: "So... you mean, even if you have good grades, you're actually not good at dueling... um, not good at it?"

“No!” A slight smile played on Sagras’s lips as he spoke matter-of-factly. “What I mean is, even if I get a ‘monster’ grade in every subject, it won’t stop me from holding onto my position as the top duelist.”

"What? You're saying you're terrible at everything?"

“No, that’s not it,” he said casually. “When I was in school, I always got full marks in all subjects.”

The kestrel opened its beak, seemingly confused by Sagres's words.

"So you mean..."

"Exam results and dueling ability," Sagrais said succinctly, "are two different things."

The kestrel wanted to retort, but when it reached its lips, it remembered its own situation and swallowed its words, ultimately only letting out a breathy sound of unclear meaning.

Chapter 140 The Unforgivable Curse

Just then, another tall figure wearing a Durmstrang fur-trimmed cloak stepped onto the ring. He walked with a steady gait and a large frame, looking like a bear surveying its territory.

Almost simultaneously, Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts also stood in the position opposite him.

The match had barely begun when Cedric was met with a barrage of attacks from his opponent.

Durmstrang's students' spells were swift and deadly; red stun spells and blue petrification spells rained down on Cedric like hail.

Cedric initially appeared somewhat passive, his various defensive spells teetering on the brink of collapse under the onslaught of the opponent's violent magic, like a small boat in a storm.

"Merlin, he'll be torn to shreds!" Astoria clutched the edge of her robe in alarm, her teeth chattering.

“But it’s not as bad as it looks…” Luna said nonchalantly. “He’s finding his own rhythm.”

"what?"

As if to confirm Luna's words, Cedric's eyes suddenly became incredibly focused after he narrowly dodged a cutting curse that almost grazed his ear.

He no longer used the Ironclad Charm to defend against attacks, but instead used agile movement to dodge the most fatal attacks, while his wand struck out one after another like a venomous snake.

One, two, three... He continuously fired precise and rapid disarming and obstruction spells, not to knock them down directly, but to disrupt, slow down, and compress their space.

Durmstrang student's powerful spells began to miss, or were guided to strike the arena's protective shield, sending up blinding sparks. He was like an enraged but hampered beast, full of power but with nowhere to vent it; soon his steps became erratic, and the accuracy of his spells began to falter.

At that moment, Cedric abandoned his defense and launched a full-scale attack, leaving his opponent scrambling to react.

Cedric seized upon a slight moment of stiffness in the opponent caused by the over-force of the spell, and sharply pointed his wand forward.

A condensed red light pierced precisely through the edge of the armor spell the opponent had just removed, and then struck the man squarely in the chest.

The fierce look on the Durmstrang student's face froze instantly. He fell backward like a felled giant tree, his heavy body crashing onto the ring with a dull thud.

The young wizards at Hogwarts cheered immediately, and even Red Falcon was so excited that he almost jumped out of his seat.

She looked at Sagrais, who remained expressionless, only nodding almost imperceptibly, as if everything was as expected.

"A beautiful counterattack," he commented softly.

……

Finally, after fierce competition, six finalists were selected.

Hogwarts had only one student, Cedric Diggory, advancing to the next round; Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had two witches successfully advance; and Durmstrang had a total of three students.

Time quickly passed to the final day of the competition, and the air was filled with an even stronger smell of gunpowder than in the previous days.

Six highly anticipated matches are about to unfold – the first three are brutal elimination rounds of 6 to 3, while the latter three will determine the final rankings of the top three.

This time, Fleur de la Cour was the first to appear, and her opponent was a sixth-grade student from Durmstrang.

Fleur wielded her wand with effortless grace, her spells precise and swift. After a few nimble dodges, she seized the slight opening in her opponent's spellcasting, unleashing a precise "Expelliarmus!" that sliced ​​through the air, sending her opponent's wand flying from their grasp.

The victory came cleanly and decisively.

The second match was between Krum and Beauxbatons' seventh-grade girls. As if to return Beauxbatons' recent victory, Krum displayed his signature aggressive style of play as soon as the two faced off.

He barely hesitated, his wand flashing, his spells powerful and direct, pressing forward relentlessly.

Despite her valiant resistance, unleashing several dazzling defensive spells, her defenses shattered layer by layer under the overwhelming magical impact of Krum.

Finally, a powerful "stun" strike landed precisely on her chest, and the girl staggered a few steps before collapsing to the ground.

Krum's victory was equally swift, requiring little effort.

Then, the third event, which was highly anticipated by the Hogwarts teachers and students, arrived.

Cedric stepped onto the dueling ring, his opponent being a seventh-grade boy from Durmstrang named Paro Karpov.

Karpov was unusually burly, and although only seventeen years old, he sported a thick beard. His gaze toward Cedric was fierce and contemptuous, as if he were sizing up an insect that had strayed into the dueling arena.

"Random scenarios?" Karpov asked with a hint of disdain.

Cedric nodded.

Just then, Karpov pointed his wand sharply: "Faint!"

A blinding red light shone directly into Cedric's head.

It was only through instinct honed through countless Quidditch games that Cedric managed to turn his head and dodge the vicious sneak attack.

The red light whistled past his ear and slammed into the protective barrier, producing a piercing hissing sound.

"Despicable!" Ron roared.

"He fouled! That was a sneak attack!" Hermione was so angry her hair seemed to explode.

Ernie McMillan was the loudest, hurling insults from the stands, his spittle almost landing on the faces of the Durmstrang students in the front row: "Shameless! Vulgar! Is this what Durmstrang teaches?!"

Karkaroff's face turned ashen, but fortunately Sagles stopped Ernie in time.

“This is a game, Mr. McMillan,” Sagles said in a calm and steady voice. “A nod means the game begins. And if he’s not ready, he shouldn’t nod.”

"But Professor, aren't their methods a bit too despicable?" Ernie said, somewhat unconvinced.

“Morality is for self-discipline,” Sagres said without turning his head. “You can’t pin your hopes on the moral standards of your ‘opponents’.”

“Professor Greengrass, do you mean... we should do the same?” Hermione asked, somewhat incredulously.

“It’s not ‘should,’ it’s ‘can!’” Sagres withdrew his gaze and glanced at her. “The other side has given you a vivid lesson for free. Whether it’s defense or offense, you can learn something useful from it.”

After he finished speaking, he refocused his gaze on the ring.

Karpov grinned maliciously as he pressed closer: "Crush to pieces!"

A devastating shattering spell blasted towards Cedric's foothold.

Cedric tumbled and rolled to avoid the falling rocks, which rained down on him.

He endured the pain and tried to fight back: "Except for you, Wu—"

Before he could finish the incantation, Karpov used a swift and silent barrier spell to send Cedric flying backward. Cedric crashed heavily onto the cold table, his internal organs feeling as if they had shifted out of place.

"Get up, little brat!" Karpov mocked in heavily accented English. "Is Hogwarts out of people? Sending a fourth-year brat to embarrass themselves?"

Cedric was in pain all over, but Karpov's humiliation did not make him lose his temper. He knew that the other man was deliberately provoking him, and after realizing this, he strangely calmed down.

He quickly got up and, despite the pain, kept moving his feet.

Karpov was clearly surprised that Cedric stood up so quickly and even dodged another of his spells.

Somewhat enraged, he raised his wand again: "Crushing Heart—"

"Stop!" Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout shouted almost simultaneously from the judges' stand, their voices filled with shock and anger.

The Unforgivable Curse is absolutely forbidden!

Chapter 141, First Three

Even Cedric was startled by the creepy prefix of the spell!

A curse that pierces the heart and rips out the bones—that's an unforgivable curse!

But Karpov was merely making a very insidious feint; he had no intention of actually using the spell.

"Thunderous explosion!"

A blazing yellow light roared and pounced on Cedric!

The Hufflepuff boy's mind was still stuck on the terrifying syllables of the Unforgivable Curse, and his body was a beat slow to react.