Hogwarts: Please, Just Graduate Already!

In the end, Malfoy chose the sturdier Crabbe to go with him.

That way, he would not be at a disadvantage in close combat either.

Wayne did not know that, because of his little speech, Malfoy had changed as well. His crafty nature remained, but whenever so-called family honor was involved, he became like a different person.

His original plan to set Harry up had vanished too. This time, the two of them were going to have a real fight.

Even if Wayne had known, he would have only found it amusing.

After chatting with Cho for a while longer, Wayne saw her friends coming over. After saying goodbye, he returned to the common room.

Toby and Norman were playing Wizard's Chess with the Iron Hat King, while the dormitory was empty. Wayne went to the bathroom, took a shower, then washed his face three times until it could not possibly get any cleaner before opening the system's lottery page.

"System, draw cards. Start with ten draws and let's test my luck."

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Manaflow Band, Aegis Shield, Dynamic Perception!

Ten black cards appeared at once, blooming with their own light at Wayne's command.

Six white, three blue, and one purple.

There was nothing particularly good among the white cards. The most basic reward was one Galleon, followed by various basic Potions ingredients.

The quantities varied according to their value.

But they were all materials that could easily be bought on the market, so Wayne skipped over them.

The three blue cards were not bad. They were all Charms: Protego, Thunderclap Explosion, and Flying Sand and Rolling Stones.

Wayne had already mastered all three Charms. After merging them with his thoughts, he found that his understanding of them had deepened further.

When he checked the panel, all three had reached Advanced. Above that, there was only Master level.

Of course, reaching Master level did not mean a Charm had reached its limit. Harry using nothing but Expelliarmus to trade spells with Voldemort throughout their fight, with far greater power than anyone else, was the best example.

The path of magic was long, and there was never such a thing as an ultimate limit. Finally, it was time for the purple card.

As the purple glow faded, Wayne saw its contents and could not help looking rather strange.

Talent Magic: Manaflow Band. Manaflow Band?

Wasn't that a skill from League of Legends? He could draw that too? He then looked at the skill description.

Manaflow Band: Sorcery branch, passive talent. For every type of magic that reaches Advanced level, your total magic power and magic power recovery speed will permanently increase by a small amount.

What a great item! Wayne beamed.

Magic power was a vague thing, yet it objectively existed.

To this day, the Wizarding World had found no method to increase one's magic power. It could only grow naturally with age and time.

Put simply, it still came down to talent.

Some wizards lived long enough, but if their talent was lacking, their total magic power would not improve much.

Barty Crouch Jr., while disguised as Moody, had said the same thing. Even if those lower-year students cast Avada Kedavra on him, at most they would give him a nosebleed.

Wayne's magic power talent was SS-rank. His current magic power was already no weaker than that of most seventh-years about to graduate.

But who did not enjoy Ultra Rapid Fire?

After merging the talent, Wayne instantly felt his magic power increase by another noticeable amount.

As more and more types of magic reached Advanced level, the benefits Manaflow Band provided would continue to grow.

Its potential was practically limitless.

A purple card could have such an effect. He had really struck it rich. "Keep drawing!" Wayne ordered happily.

Another ten cards appeared. This time, the purple reward was Cruciatus Curse, one of the Three Unforgivable Curses. It was useless.

On the third ten-draw, he got an extremely powerful defensive Charm: Aegis Shield, also known as Zeus's Shield.

In Ancient Greek mythology, Zeus possessed a shield made from the hide of the goat Amalthea. Crafted by the god of fire Hephaestus, it not only contained Zeus's divine power, but later had the head of the Gorgon Medusa added to it.

When Athena was born, Zeus gave her the shield, and it accompanied her in battle across the world.

Since this Charm dared to use the name from mythology, its power could not be underestimated. Ordinary Protego could block most Charms, but it could not defend against the Killing Curse. If the opponent's magic power was too strong, it could even blast the caster away.

But Aegis Shield could even block the Killing Curse. So long as the caster had enough magic power, they would remain undefeated.

With this Charm, Wayne's safety was guaranteed as well.

The fourth ten-draw gave him the Weather Spell, allowing him to command wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. The fifth ten-draw gave him an advanced Potions formula, Potion of Thought, which could increase thinking speed and mental activity.

It was similar to Buffering Brain Potion, but more effective, and it did not have the side effect of mental exhaustion after the potion wore off.

However, Wayne's expression darkened. "It really took the pity guarantee to get gold."

He had been more than sixty draws away from the guaranteed gold reward before. During the summer, he had drawn once, then played around with two more draws after school started. He was about to reach one hundred draws. "System, another ten-draw."

A golden light filled the entire screen before dimming. Among the other nine cards, there were two purple ones and three blue ones. Wayne eagerly opened the golden card.

Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the advanced reward Observation Haki. After localization and optimization, it has been changed to: Dynamic Perception.

Dynamic Perception: Allows you to sense the auras of living beings around you, greatly enhancing your perception. Once cultivated to Master level, it allows you to briefly foresee the future.

It was not some overwhelmingly powerful Charm, nor was it a template that could improve his talent.

It was an ability geared toward support.

But Wayne felt this magic was no worse than an advanced template. Wizard duels were not as simple as standing still and firing Charms at each other. Dodging or responding to an enemy's Charms depended on experience and reflexes.

With Dynamic Perception, he could always anticipate his enemies' moves. Even their smallest movements would be crystal clear to him.

Even Voldemort would be a Muggle if his Charms could not hit anyone. If he could not win, could he not simply tire him out?

Closing his eyes, he accepted the information related to Dynamic Perception.

It was a state-type magic, similar to the Lightness Charm. It consumed little magic power, but was extremely difficult to learn.

Thanks to the system's direct infusion, Wayne's proficiency in this magic immediately reached Intermediate level.

But to raise it to Advanced, he would have to practice it slowly himself.

After casting Dynamic Perception on himself, Wayne could clearly sense the direction of the wind outside the skylight and the noisy voices of more than a hundred students in the common room. He could even see an insect perched on Toby's suitcase beating its wings. His eyesight, hearing, insight, and sixth sense had all improved across the board.

In a Wizarding World where most wizards needed to chant to cast Charms, his perception was practically no different from seeing the future.

"I've struck it rich."

Wayne muttered, deliriously happy, only then remembering that he had not opened the other cards.

Of the two purple cards, one gave him a bottle of Liquid Luck, while the other was another Dark Arts spell, Fiendfyre Curse.

After sixty draws, his strength had improved considerably.

More than a dozen Charms had reached Advanced level. Manaflow Band's passive effect had activated, increasing his total magic power by quite a bit.

He had also learned several advanced Dark Arts spells and Zeus's Shield, broadening his arsenal, along with the final Dynamic Perception.

Wayne was eager to test it and see just how much his strength had improved. His eyes shifted, and he thought of a perfect testing ground.

The Gryffindor dormitory.

It was already half past eleven at night.

Hearing Seamus and Dean snoring, Harry opened his eyes and asked softly, "Ron, are you asleep?"

"Of course not. I've been thinking about how to deal with Malfoy later." Ron's voice came from nearby, accompanied by the sound of him changing clothes. "What if we wait until his Charm stops working, then punch him in the nose?"

"Why not down there? I'll give him a hard kick."

"You're vicious. Old Malfoy will kill you for that."

Harry was changing clothes too. The two of them kept their voices as low as possible, not disturbing their other two roommates as they made their way to the common room.

The usually lively common room had become utterly quiet. Only the crackling of burning logs in the fireplace could be heard, giving off faint warmth and light.

There was no one in the common room, which made the two of them breathe a sigh of relief as they walked out the door. "Neville, why are you here?"

In the corner, a figure was curled into a ball, startling Harry and Ron so badly that they nearly retreated inside.

They stopped backing away only after seeing who it was.

"Thank goodness, did you realize I wasn't in the dormitory and come looking for me?" "I forgot the common room password and got locked outside."

The chubby boy on the floor climbed to his feet with tears in his eyes. What he said made Harry and Ron freeze.

Sorry, we really had not noticed.

"The password is Pig Snout, but Neville, you don't need it now." Harry turned and pointed to the empty portrait frame.

"The Fat Lady probably went out for a stroll. Even if you know the password, you can't get in."

"Then what do I do?" Neville immediately panicked.

"Come with us." Ron stepped forward. Malfoy had two lackeys. If he ignored the rules and brought both of them, Neville could at least be an extra helper.

Though Ron seriously doubted Neville's skill with Charms, he was at least qualified to be a human shield.

The chubby boy asked blankly, "Where are you going?"

"No time to explain. If we don't leave now, we'll be late." Harry hurriedly grabbed Neville and headed downstairs.

Along the way, when Neville heard they were going to duel, his mouth opened wide enough to fit Trevor inside.

"This is against school rules! I can't let you go! You'll be expelled!"

Harry had not expected the usually honest and dull Neville to erupt now, and his steps halted.

He suddenly remembered something he had once heard Wayne say to Hermione, and Harry cleared his throat.

"Neville, you wouldn't want your grandmother to be disappointed, would you?"

Neville obediently followed behind the two of them. Compared to breaking school rules, what Neville feared most was his grandmother.

By the time they reached the Trophy Room, Malfoy had already been waiting for a long time with Crabbe.

Seeing that three people had shown up, Malfoy's expression changed slightly. "Potter, you have no honor. We agreed you'd only bring one assistant!"

Because they had walked so quickly, Harry had to take two deep breaths before saying, "We ran into Neville on the way. Ron is my assistant."

Hearing that, Malfoy's expression eased considerably.

Then the atmosphere became even tenser as both boys drew their wands.

"I'll count to three, two, one. Only then can you cast your Charms, understand?"

Ron had recently read quite a few books about dueling and was familiar with the process, so he temporarily acted as the referee.

"Three!"

The moment a number left his mouth, Ron could not continue. Harry and Malfoy both twitched as they raised their wands at each other, as if they shared the same thought. "Densaugeo!"

"Rictusempra!"

Both of them performed beyond their limits, and their Charms struck each other perfectly. Malfoy's front teeth immediately pushed past his lips and grew all the way down to his neck. Harry laughed so hard he could not straighten his back, much less keep chanting.

But both of them had too little magic power, and the effects of the Charms vanished in less than a minute.

Harry recovered first. Before Malfoy had returned to normal, Harry swung his wand aside, charged forward, and viciously kicked him between the legs.

"Ahhh~!"

Malfoy let out a soul-stirring cry and slammed his head into Harry's chin, making Harry bite his tongue.

The scene descended into chaos. The magical duel was over, and a fierce fistfight began.

Afraid that Harry would be at a disadvantage, Ron took the chance to kick Malfoy twice. Crabbe saw it, so they began fighting too.

Crabbe was twice as large as Ron. Fortunately, Neville tearfully rushed in to help later, using his weight to pin Crabbe down so he could not get up.

The five of them became tangled in a brawl, screaming nonstop. No one could tell whose tears were whose, or whose sweat belonged to whom.

Then Filch's voice suddenly rang out. "Who's there?!"

Hearing that voice, all five of them jolted.

Harry hurriedly pulled his hand out of Malfoy's mouth and staggered to his feet. "Ron! Neville, run! Filch is here!"

Malfoy no longer had time to trouble Harry either. He shoved open the door and bolted outside.

One group ran upstairs, while the other ran downstairs. Filch shouted, "Stop running! I've already seen your faces! Stop right now and I'll show leniency!"

Not one of them listened. After hesitating for a moment, Filch still chose to chase the group heading upstairs.