A Perilous Duel

"Amosta Breen?"

The easygoing expression usually on Bill Weasley's handsome face had vanished. So shocked was he that when he climbed down from the Nimbus 1700, his Wizard Robe caught on a broken stump and he nearly fell.

"When Philoya told me you'd killed Prian, I thought she was just playing an interesting little joke on me."

Bill's eyesight was limited. He could only see the crimson ground beneath Prian, who lay sprawled facedown with his bare back exposed, but he could not tell whether he was alive or dead.

"I can hardly believe it, Breen. Were you secretly planning to massacre Hogwarts?"

Bill's gaze swept over the Gryffindor players who had fallen unconscious from the sky, his expression gradually twisting. When he saw Charlie lying silent amid a clump of bushes, the shock vanished from his face, replaced by hysterical fury. Without hesitation, he drew his wand and pointed it at Amosta.

"Tell me, you bastard, what did you do to Charlie?!"

Though the children of the Weasley family occasionally got on each other's nerves, whenever an outsider harmed one of their own, their solidarity was exemplary.

"Stop shouting, Bill Weasley," Amosta said impassively.

"Get them back to the castle first. I'll explain to the headmaster and the Heads of House what happened in the Forbidden Forest, but I can't be bothered explaining it twice. If you're curious, you can apply to sit in later."

"Don't move!"

The tip of Bill's wand trembled as he barked the warning.

"Philoya has gone to notify Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. Headmaster Dumbledore will be back from outside the school soon. Until they arrive, you're not going anywhere!"

The cold wind brushed against their faces, and leaves rustled. Dawn was still some time away. A fierce killing intent lurked within the thick darkness, waiting for its chance.

Amosta glanced thoughtfully toward the depths of the Forbidden Forest, one brow twitching. He could not determine the source of that sudden sensation of being watched. Considering that Acromantulas were not solitary creatures, remaining here was not a good choice.

"It isn't safe here, Weasley. Let's return to the castle first."

Amosta repeated himself calmly.

"The greatest danger here is you, Breen. I'll say it again: don't move. And hand over your wand!"

Bill was highly vigilant. His eyes were wide as he stared fixedly at Amosta's wrist, every nerve stretched to its limit as he prepared to strike at any moment.

Amosta frowned slightly and looked again into the pitch-black Forbidden Forest. The faint yet unmistakable unease permeating the air stuck in his throat. He could almost be certain that something had set its sights on him in secret.

"I'll repeat myself too, Weasley."

Amosta stressed his words. "This place isn't safe. We're going back to the castle first!"

Bill's eyes instantly sharpened. To him, Amosta's words were a signal that he intended to flee. He hesitated no longer and abruptly swung down his wand!

Swish, swish, swish!

As one of Hogwarts' most outstanding students, Bill Weasley possessed exceptional combat ability. In an extremely short time, he sent three dazzling red beams at Breen, sealing off every route of escape.

But to Amosta, that was hardly a threat.

Since Bill Weasley refused to leave, Amosta would simply render him unable to resist and take him back with the others. Taking five people instead of six made no difference. He had already exposed too much tonight; he did not care if he exposed a little more.

Amosta flicked aside the Stunning Spell aimed directly at him with a backhanded sweep of his wand. His wrist moved lightly as he spoke the incantation in his mind.

"Incarcerous!"

Bill raised his brows. At last, he was certain that this obscure Amosta Breen from Slytherin House truly possessed strength far beyond that of an ordinary young wizard.

"Protego!"

But Bill Weasley had confidence of his own. Faced with the incoming spell-light, he did not panic and swiftly cast a defense before himself.

Crash!

A powerful gust slammed into him head-on. The immense magic shattered the Protego barrier at once. Bill's previously calm and confident expression froze in an instant. Before he could recover, he suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath his feet. Just before chaos swallowed his consciousness, a sickly green beam of magic made his pupils contract sharply. The hidden observer had finally revealed her fangs.

"Watch out!"

At the very last moment, Bill Weasley still managed to warn Amosta.

Boom!

The instant the Avada Kedavra struck the ground, a cluster of emerald magical flames rose into the air. Its ominous aura was like the Death God dancing within the fire.

Amosta, who had rolled aside to evade the killing light, slowly climbed to his feet. Though he had been prepared, being ambushed by an Unforgivable Curse for the first time still left him shaken.

That instant had been the closest he had come to death since entering the magical world!

Around twenty years old. A woman.

From the hand gripping the wand, exposed beneath the black cloak, Amosta judged the ambusher's gender and age.

The oppressive silence gnawed at Amosta's mind. The all-pervading danger made every cell in his body tremble. Under the twin influence of fear and excitement, the magic within him surged with unprecedented fervor, as though it had long awaited this life-or-death crisis.

"Whoever you are, whatever your purpose,"

Amosta stared fixedly at the face hidden beneath the attacker's hood, its features impossible to discern, and said coldly,

"Breaking into Hogwarts, attacking an underage wizard with the most dangerous of the three Unforgivable Curses right under Headmaster Dumbledore's nose—I have to say, I admire you. You have guts."

The woman did not speak. She merely gave a contemptuous snort, as though she could not be bothered to respond.

"Dumbledore and the school professors will be here within five minutes at most. If you run now, you might still make it."

The wand in the woman's palm remained steady, without the slightest tremor. Amosta's heart sank. He understood that she had likely resolved to take his life.

But why?

Since entering Hogwarts, he had never offended anyone. His only dealings with wizards outside the school had been selling Potions through owls. Could it be that one of his Potions had killed someone, and their family had come for revenge?

Of course that was impossible. Amosta had complete confidence in his craft. Such a tragedy could never happen.

Amosta could not understand it, and the ambushing woman would not give him enough time to think. She knew that Amosta's earlier words had not been a bluff. Dumbledore and the school professors truly were about to arrive.

Tonight, the most perilous duel had begun!

The green light that once more illuminated the Forbidden Forest sounded the horn for a contest of life and death.

Amosta's expression was more solemn than ever. He raised his wand high, then slashed it down like a king wielding a sword. The faintly glowing wand tip became like a collapsing dam, spewing an endless torrent of magic. Beneath the black night sky, that magic transformed into a silver river of stars and struck the earth with overwhelming force.

Rumble—

The ground shook violently. The massive boulders between them were instantly crushed to powder, while the rustling of tens of thousands of frost-covered leaves sounded all at once, chilling to the soul.

When the dust settled and the spell-light faded, a horrifying fissure seventy or eighty feet long had appeared in the soft earth.

This spell was Amosta's answer to the woman's use of Avada Kedavra!