Pickley's Duel Practice

"Start!"

Gravis immediately retreated a considerable distance, his steps agile and his torso remaining stable throughout the rapid movement. After all, he was someone who could face the Fire Dragon head-on through sheer athleticism, and his movements were extremely swift.

In this practice session, he planned to maintain a safe distance and then use a variety of spells and Transfiguration to show his friend, who was three years younger than him, what a real duel was like.

However, once Gravis had taken his position, he looked up and saw that the person opposite him had also taken a few steps back, increasing the distance between them to nearly 30 feet.

Gravis narrowed his eyes slightly. This distance required even greater precision in the spell. During the casting process, even a slight deviation of the wand, landing 30 feet away, was already a huge error.

It seems this new friend doesn't know any dueling basics. The magical levels of the two duelists are too different, so they can only rely on close combat to find an opening.

"Alright, let's show them the ingenious combination of spells first..."

Gravis, contemplating teaching his new friend a lesson, quickly raised his wand: "[Three Feet Retreat]"

Loren's eyelids twitched slightly, and a dim, crystalline blue light appeared in his eyes. He saw that the Magic Power on Gravis's body was already flowing quietly, and the speed of casting spells was faster than most 17-year-old wizards he had ever seen. It was not just a Repelling Charm; more spells were already connected after the first spell. Whether he dodged or met it, the second and third attacks followed closely behind.

He was positioned in the direction the staff was pointing, and he felt the movements of the people around him and the flow of Magic Power on his opponents slow down. A tranquil and wondrous perception spread from his mind, silently expanding in all directions.

He could clearly see the emerald green light of the Repelling Charm gradually accumulating, and he could even see the spell's landing point, slightly below his left rib.

A strange feeling rose in Gravis's heart. His new friend was too slow. He didn't offer any resistance or dodge until Grevis finished casting the spell.

You wouldn't be thinking of just giving up if you can't win anyway, would you?

"Call out!"

The air around the tip of the staff vibrated slightly, and the magical light shot forward.

To his surprise, the spell that was supposed to hit his opponent, knock him back, or even knock him over didn't hit its target at all. Instead, it went straight into the tip of the wand opposite him and hit an invisible, smooth, transparent wall. Not only did it fail to work, it even bounced back.

"[Protego]"

"Shield Charm!"

Gravis's pupils contracted, and he chose to use his strong body to withstand the attack.

As Champion of Ilvermorny, his body is capable of withstanding the pounding of a dragon's tail.

"Bang!"

A dull thud.

Gravis was knocked back a step by his own spell. He wanted to abandon defense and dodge, take the spell head-on and take the opportunity to counterattack, but when he was about to open his mouth to chant the spell, a faint green light flashed before his eyes, followed by countless soft whooshing sounds.

Before he could observe carefully, he saw a continuous barrage of dense, almost invisible Repelling Charm attacking him.

There was simply no time to react.

Gravis had just been knocked back and hadn't regained his footing yet. His center of gravity was unstable and he had nowhere to put his weight on, so he could only protect his head with his hands and turn his body to the side to reduce the area that would be hit.

"Thump thump..."

A series of dull thuds echoed.

In the blink of an eye, Gravis completely lost his chance to defend and counterattack. These fine Repelling Charm were not very powerful, but the continuous attacks, like spring rain, forced him to retreat. Each time he was knocked back a few inches, the leather soles of his shoes hissed as they rubbed against the floor.

The Champion's physique was indeed robust; he only felt slight pain from such an attack and was not injured at all.

When he came to his senses, his back was already pressed against the stone wall at the back of the classroom, with nowhere left to retreat.

Gravis lowered his hands, rubbing his aching arms, and glanced at Headmaster Fontana with a complicated expression.

Headmaster, there's a significant difference in teaching standards between Ilvermorny and Hogwarts.

Headmaster Fontana remained silent for a moment, then glanced at Professor McGonagall with a similarly complicated expression.

The three young wizards standing beside them had tense little faces, and the slight twitching of their lips suggested that they were trying hard to suppress their laughter.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward and patted Gravis's robes with a gentleness rarely seen in Hogwarts students. She cleared her throat. "Morgan's experience is very special. His Magic Power is stronger than that of other young wizards his age, and he has a great talent for spells, so he learned many advanced spells ahead of time. Pickley, you were a bit careless and got caught off guard..."

Gravis remained silent.

Thank you, Professor. I feel comforted.

"..."

Loren clicked his tongue silently. Professor McGonagall was so biased; her own student was named Morgan, while other people's students were named Pickley.

"It wasn't carelessness, it was arrogance and underestimating the enemy." Headmaster Fontana patted Loren on the shoulder as if to commend him, as if Loren were Ilvermorny's student. "You thought Loren was younger than you, so you assumed you were sure to win, that your Magic Power was stronger and your magical skills were more advanced. As a result, you were beaten so badly that you couldn't even lift your head."

"You've learned your lesson, haven't you, Pickley?"

"Yes..."

Gravis was so ashamed that he couldn't lift his head.

Headmaster Fontana looked at Professor McGonagall: "For the next match, shall we have the two Champion, Harry and Pickley, demonstrate? Is that alright, Professor McGonagall?"

"Of course," Professor McGonagall nodded and smiled.

Harry scratched his head, gripped his wand, stood in the center of the classroom, in front of the rested Gravis, raised his wand, and prepared to practice.

Headmaster Fontana instructed Gravis: "Duel practice in a narrow space is a contest of speed, casting speed, reaction speed, decision-making speed... Excluding the unexpected factors of sneak attacks and group attacks, Pickley, as long as you can concentrate and control when to cast spells and when to defend and dodge, you will basically control the rhythm of the battle, which means victory is within your grasp."

"When you're locked in a stalemate with him, your age advantage becomes your Magic Power advantage; as you constantly exchange offense and defense with him, you can use spells he hasn't learned yet... even basic Transfiguration, and you'll have more experience in applying them."

Gravis nodded solemnly, indicating that he understood.

Headmaster Fontana finished speaking, he looked at Professor McGonagall, hoping that she would also share some dueling experience with Harry.

Professor McGonagall nodded with satisfaction and said in a deep voice, "Headmaster Fontana is right."

"..."

Did I ask you to say this?

Fontana's eye twitched slightly.

"Start!"

The onlookers behind them suddenly became excited; if the two professors hadn't been there, they might have cheered.

Ron stood at the front, eager to see the Champion opposite him knocked over by the Disarming Charm.

In the center of the classroom, Gravis had already quickly accumulated his first spell. His casting speed was very fast, and with his high concentration, he almost shouted out the spell right before the command.

"[Three Feet Retreat] "

The battle must end cleanly and beautifully!

Gravis silently resolved that the humiliating incident of being utterly defeated due to underestimating his opponent must never happen again.

They don't use fancy spell combinations or show off their Transfiguration; they play steadily and methodically, going back and forth.

In the blink of an eye, the emerald green Repelling Charm had been launched.

Regardless of whether the opponent counters with spells, dodges, or takes the hit head-on, Gravis has already prepared a response plan.

None of the expected scenarios occurred; instead, the opponent unleashed a powerful Disarming Charm.

"[Expelliarmus] "

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The emerald green light collided with the crimson beam of light. The Disarming Charm trembled violently for a moment, but it still crushed the Repelling Charm and shot towards him.

Gravis felt a chill run down his spine. He had clearly charged up his power beforehand and activated the spell first, only to have it completely shattered by the opponent's hasty counterattack with a disarming Disarming Charm. Was Ilvermorny's teaching really flawless...?

Seeing the red light coming towards him, Gravis quickly composed himself and hurriedly dodged to the side.

"Bang!"

The Disarming Charm struck the wall behind them with a dull thud.

Headmaster Fontana frowned slightly and reminded him again, "Pickley, don't underestimate your opponent."

Gravis's expression was blank. "I really didn't."

"..."

After a brief rest, Gravis launched another attack. As an outstanding student representative of Ilvermorny, he was proficient in most of the spells in the textbook and had a strong and agile body. He could even occasionally withstand one or two spells in exchange for an opportunity to attack. However, all of these were useless in the face of the unreasonable Disarming Charm.

"[Stupefy]"

"[Expelliarmus] "

"[Viperous Venom]"

"[Expelliarmus] "

"..."

Ten minutes later, Gravis's face grew serious. He had thought that such a powerful spell would be very exhausting, and he had tried to drag it out until Harry was mentally exhausted and made a mistake. But now that the battle had gone on for so long, he didn't know if Harry was tired, but he felt that he was about to give up.

Apply a Disarming Charm to finish him off before he loses his fighting ability!

Gravis made up his mind. Facing the oncoming thick red beam of light, he no longer dodged, but instead swung his staff forward and shouted in a deep voice, "[Petrificus Totalus]!"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he could already see his wand slip from his hand, and Harry opposite him petrified and unable to fight.

"Bang!"

The moment the curse struck, Gravis felt a powerful impact, as if a bison had rammed into him, sending him flying. He crashed into the stone wall behind the classroom and landed with a thud, even bouncing on the ground.

"Cough cough..."

Gravis coughed as he struggled to his feet, taking the wand Harry offered with a dazed expression, and muttered unconsciously, "What kind of spell is this?"

Harry paused for a moment. "Disarming Charm."

"This is Disarming Charm?!"

"Expelliarmus, that's right, it's Disarming Charm."

"..."

Gravis looked at his headmaster with a bewildered expression. From his blank look, it was clear that this Champion of Ilvermorny was now having some doubts about life.

Headmaster Fontana remained silent.

Professor McGonagall also fell silent.

Only Ron grinned foolishly.

He even went so far as to offer Gravis a few words of comfort, sharing his experience in resisting the Disarming Charm, and praising his robust physique, saying that after being hit by such a severe Disarming Charm and slamming into such a hard wall, he could get up after just a couple of coughs, whereas he himself would have been lying there for more than ten minutes.

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because as soon as he brought it up, Gravis clutched his stomach and turned pale.

To prevent Ron from aggravating the injuries of the Champion from their rival school, Loren quickly stopped him from continuing to speak.

Professor McGonagall then proceeded to explain the two duels that had just taken place. She was quite certain that Gravis had suffered from not knowing his opponents, and that the reason for today's unfavorable start was mainly because Loren and Harry were different from ordinary young wizards. She said that they would adapt after a few more practices.

Loren didn't know how much Gravis believed, but his expression had improved considerably by the time he left class.

Leaving the Abandoned Classroom, it was already dark outside. A moon hung on the top of the tower to the north, its light cold and clear, amidst sparse stars and a moonlit night.

With some time before lights out, Harry and Ron returned to the Common Room, while Loren and Hermione went to the North Tower for Astronomy lessons.

A cool night breeze blew across the platform at the top of the tower. A boy with black hair and black eyes sat by the wall, his legs hanging down naturally over the edge, swaying gently in the wind.

A pretty girl lay beside him, her head resting on his lap, her clear eyes shimmering with starlight.

"Actually, I think Gravis is already very good, and Harry's Disarming Charm is also very powerful. Even with you practicing with me all the time, I think my dueling ability is only slightly better than theirs, and... I might not be able to beat them soon."

In the cool night breeze, the little Witch's voice was tinged with melancholy. "Loren, I guess I really am just a bookworm who can only memorize things by rote..."

"Granger," the boy's voice was solemn and serious, "Being able to read and recite the knowledge in the book is an incredibly impressive ability. It's not about rote memorization, and it certainly doesn't make you a bookworm!"

"But my dueling skills are just average. I've practiced for so long and I'm only slightly better than them."

"I will always practice with you, and you will always be better than them."

Hermione gazed quietly at his lower face, the Starry River in her eyes beginning to ripple, and a hint of pleasure crept onto her lips.

"Professor Morgan is really reliable..."

Hermione turned slightly to the side and buried her face in his stomach, wrapping her arms around his waist from the sides and tightening them. As she breathed slowly, she could smell the laundry detergent on his robes, and she could still feel his warm body temperature on her forehead and cheeks.

Loren felt a slight itch on his stomach, but he didn't move.

A soft sound arose, blending into the not-so-dark night, and drifting away on the wind:

Do you think Gravis will be unable to sleep tonight?

"It's better if you can't sleep."

"Um?"

"I'm worried that he'll dream of Disarming Charm when he's asleep."

"..."

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle, but then realized that making jokes about someone behind their back was a bit offensive. She couldn't become as wicked as him, so she pursed her lips and gave him a tight hug.

There was silence for a moment.

A gentle breeze dispersed the clouds and mist, making the starry sky outside the tower even more brilliant, and the moon full.

In the quiet night, it seems that the happiest thing is for two people to sit or lie here in silence.