Courting Humiliation

Harry was utterly bewildered, but at least he had gotten the answer he wanted. It was just that those Ravenclaws did not seem particularly friendly toward him.

Of course, he did not care about that. What mattered was that he had learned about the key item, the Philosopher's Stone. He decided to investigate what exactly it did, then ask Hagrid about it properly.

Harry acted as soon as he thought of it. He immediately dragged Ron back to the Gryffindor section and grabbed something to eat.

After chatting with Noah and the others for so long, he had been hungry for ages. This time, he had also truly felt just how absurdly vast the gap in knowledge between himself and Noah's group was.

Noah had no idea what Harry was doing, nor did he have the time to care.

All six members of the Mage Alliance were busy beyond belief. After Noah thoroughly explained the mysterious man and everything that had happened today to Hermione and Ernie, they were frightened out of their wits, but soon began to display unimaginable enthusiasm!

Indeed, Voldemort, that mysterious man, possessed an unimaginable reputation in the British magical world.

But he was only infamous in Britain. Back then, Professor Dumbledore had faced Grindelwald, who had swept across all of Europe and even the United States!

So, with Dumbledore protecting them, they would basically be fine. Of course, if that was all they thought, Noah would truly have to reconsider whether he had chosen the wrong people.

Without Noah needing to say anything, they immediately realized that Professor Dumbledore's protection did not mean they could relax!

If they continued working hard and improving, perhaps they, too, would become heroes in the future!

"You know, relying on others is worse than relying on ourselves. So let's work hard. Maybe when the time comes, we can deal with that guy ourselves!"

It had to be said that once this thought appeared in Kate and the others' minds, their blood began to boil.

If it had been before, they would probably have thought they had gone mad. But things were different now. They had unimaginable advantages, as well as relatively ample time.

On top of that, Noah had discovered a way to increase magical power and mental strength—though they did not dare be certain yet, seeing how powerful Noah had already become left them with no choice but to believe.

So long as they worked hard enough, their futures would absolutely be bright!

"By then, our Mage Alliance will definitely continue expanding. Maybe we'll even become the main force fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters!"

Having thought things through, Kate and the others became even more proactive. The Room of Requirement was now filled everywhere with little wizards battling enormous magical creatures!

It got to the point where Noah could not even find a place to read. In the end, he could only make some arrangements.

"You'll go one at a time! After a while, I'll see whether this place can be expanded. Or you can try sparring in pairs! If that doesn't work, summon an actual professor to spar with! Stop taking up the entire place!"

Noah's suggestion was not particularly good, but it at least won the little wizards' approval.

After discussing it, they decided to find a professor to spar with. Before that, however, Noah had to demonstrate first so they could see what a wizard's duel was really like.

Noah did not refuse. He also wanted to test how strong the professors summoned by the Room of Requirement were.

If they were too strong, Noah would most likely abandon the idea, because it simply was not suitable for people their age.

Noah walked to the center of the room and pulled out his wand, pondering what kind of opponent he should face.

After hesitating for a moment, Noah gritted his teeth and decided to find himself a stronger opponent—a professor he was not a match for anyway: Professor Snape!

"Summon Professor Snape for me. I want to fight Professor Snape."

Professor Snape could be considered one of the professors at Hogwarts who excelled at combat. The Sectumsempra Noah had mastered had originated from him.

So Noah decided to go straight for him. As for why he did not consider Dumbledore?

Forget it. That old man could probably finish him with a single spell. Better not.

Soon, a stream of black smoke appeared opposite Noah. The dark mist slowly condensed, eventually gathering into a human figure!

The man wore a pitch-black robe. His medium-length hair looked extremely greasy. He stared expressionlessly at Noah and drew his own wand as well.

"Sectumsempra!"

Noah took a deep breath, gathering his magical power before striking without any warning!

This was not a duel. Noah treated it entirely as real combat. Since that was the case, he naturally would not bother with nonsense like wizard dueling etiquette. The key was how to defeat the enemy as efficiently as possible!

Noah's sudden attack did not surprise the summoned Professor Snape in the slightest. The spell Noah had used was Sectumsempra, something Professor Snape was exceedingly familiar with.

Therefore, this Snape struck almost at the exact same moment Noah did.

It was also Sectumsempra, and he cast it at a speed that completely crushed Noah's!

Two silver flashes collided in midair, scattering a great deal of ash.

It looks like this "Professor Snape" is at his peak. That casting speed is terrifying!

Noah considered this silently, but his hands did not stop. He immediately layered multiple defensive spells over himself.

Noah's choice was not wrong at all. Just after he finished setting up those defensive spells, Professor Snape's magic came hurtling toward him!

In the blink of an eye, Noah felt his body stiffen slightly! Noah knew that it had to be that damned Petrificus Totalus!

Professor Snape was powerful enough to fight with Nonverbal Spells. Clearly, the Professor Snape before him was using Nonverbal Spells right now!

Nonverbal Spells were an extremely impressive magical technique, but a wizard had to reach the third tier before they could use them smoothly.

Professor Snape was fifth tier, and the summoned Professor Snape had inherited his strength. This was exceedingly unpleasant for Noah!

"Damn it, I really am a masochist. This is way too terrifying! You know, this guy hasn't even used an Unforgivable Curse yet!"

Cold sweat covered Noah's forehead. His defensive spells had actually been broken through by a simple Petrificus Totalus!

This forced Noah to spend even more energy and magical power preparing new defensive spells. It could basically be considered that Noah had already fallen into a passive position.

Offense always held the advantage over defense. If Noah kept using magical power to reinforce his defenses, something would go wrong sooner or later.

Meanwhile, Professor Snape effortlessly kept using offensive spells against Noah. Even the least damaging offensive spells would disrupt defensive magic to a certain degree.

It was easy to foresee that Noah probably would not last much longer.