For Real: Punching a Face Swollen

"A duel is taking place!"

Someone shouted from the side of the Entrance Hall, and the students who were having dinner rushed towards the Entrance Hall out of curiosity, wanting to see what had happened.

"What's going on?" Albert, holding a homemade sandwich, followed the Weasley Twins and the crowd to the entrance Entrance Hall.

"On the lawn near the Black Lake, Hufflepuff is dueling with Ravenclaw students."

Albert quickly realized what had happened. The duel between Truman and Ravenclaw Prefect Nott had been brought forward? By the time everyone ran towards the lawn, the duel was already over.

Ravenclaw Prefect Nott was knocked to the ground, his face bearing the marks of a beating. Truman, the victor, stood before Nott, reciting something.

When Albert and his friends rushed over, the last thing they saw was Truman crouching down and stuffing a Chocolate Frog Card into Nott's lips, before leaving victoriously surrounded by several Hufflepuff students.

"What happened? What on earth happened?" Fred asked the people around him for information and quickly found out what had happened.

During the duel, Truman struck first, using Full Body-Bind Curse to attack Ravenclaw's Prefect. After succeeding, he put away his wand, raised his fist, and gave Nott a good beating, swelling Noch's face.

Before leaving, Truman held up a Chocolate Frog Card, read a passage about Bridget Locke, and mentioned that this famous 13th-century Arithmancy Diviner came from Hufflepuff.

The reason for the duel was quickly understood: the two sides were arguing about whether Bridget Locke graduated from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, which eventually led to a duel to resolve the issue.

"That's satisfying! Not all famous experts come from Ravenclaw!" A senior Hufflepuff girl boldly waved her fist to express her opinion. "Nott definitely knows Bridget Locke is from Hufflepuff. He knows he's wrong but he's still unrepentant. He deserves to be slapped in the face."

Of course, some people are also talking about Truman's sneak attack.

"Nott, a Prefect, has the nerve to duel with a third-year student." Many people didn't really care about Truman's sneak attack on Nott.

After all, the duel was unequal in itself. If he didn't fight back, was he supposed to just stand there and take a beating? Especially after learning the reason behind it, more people cheered and applauded Truman for slapping Nott in the face.

"That bastard, that despicable fellow!" Nott, whose body was unbound by the Full Body-Bind Curse, scrambled to his feet and cursed loudly. The Ravenclaw Prefect trembled with rage, took the Chocolate Frog Card from his mouth, and tore it to pieces.

Yes, it's not hard to see that Nott didn't care whether Bridget Locke graduated from Hufflepuff. His duel with Truman was solely due to Truman's assertion of correctness and Truman's repeated provocations.

However, he was ambushed and beaten up, his cheeks swollen and painful.

The students watching all knew why this guy had been beaten, and their mocking and gloating glances only fueled Nott's anger.

He was wrong but refused to admit it, and even tried to bully others because of his age. He deserved to be beaten, at least that's what many people think.

Before Nott could vent his anger, he was taken away by Professor Flitwick, who had rushed over.

"That's so cool! This will keep us talking for years!" Fred looked excited, his expression practically screaming, "Why wasn't it me who went up for the duel?"

"But I'm more curious about why their duel was brought forward?" Albert ate his sandwich and muttered to himself, "Truman told me that his duel with the Ravenclaw Prefect is this weekend."

"How did you know?" The three of them looked at Albert in unison, their voices filled with surprise.

"Truman told me about him when I last met him at the library, and he even invited me to come and watch the duel," Albert explained.

"You didn't even tell us," George complained.

"There are still a few days left!" When Albert and the others returned to the restaurant, everyone was talking about this, especially Truman's last actions.

As for whether the two would be severely punished for resolving their issues through a private duel, no one cared.

Anyway, as long as I'm not the one being punished, that's fine.

On Friday night, Albert ran into Truman in the library; perhaps the guy was waiting for him there on purpose.

"Nott was put in solitary confinement for a week by Professor Flitwick," Truman announced happily to Albert. "I was supposed to be put in solitary confinement for a week. However, Professor Sprout only gave me a slight warning and gave me a box of Coconut Ice."

As he spoke, Truman took two packaged Coconut Ice from the pocket of his robe and placed them in front of Albert, clearly intending to share this treat from Professor Sprout with Albert.

Truman seemed quite excited when he talked about it, so... he was eventually kicked out of the library by Mrs. Pince with a feather duster.

Watching Truman's retreating figure, Albert suddenly felt like laughing.

Under Mrs. Pince's watchful eye, he immediately stuffed the two Coconut Ice into his pocket, pretending nothing had happened, and prepared to continue doing his homework.

However, Mrs. Pince doesn't seem to have any intention of letting Albert off the hook.

Ultimately, under the librarian's watchful eye, Albert could only helplessly pack his things and leave the library. At least, he wasn't kicked out with a feather duster.

"Really." Albert stood in the corridor outside the library, took out Coconut Ice from his pocket, unwrapped it, and took a small bite. It was very cold and had a strong coconut flavor. It felt a bit like the Ice Mice sold by Honeydukes, only not as cold, and... it tasted good.

"You gave him the idea?" Suddenly, a voice came from the side. Albert turned his head and saw a red-haired girl standing next to him.

"Good evening, Isobel." Albert greeted the redhead; since they were in the same club, the two were actually quite familiar with each other.

"Gabriel Truman claims he was just looking for an argument with Nott," Isobel said, raising an eyebrow. "However, it seems you were the one who gave him the idea."

"Here, this tastes good."

"Are you trying to bribe me?" Isobel looked at the Coconut Ice being handed to him, his expression turning very strange.

"If you insist on believing that," Albert said with a smile, not really wanting to talk about the topic, "I just told Truman, never try to wake someone who's pretending to be asleep unless you use your fists."

After saying that, Albert turned and left.

"Unless I use my fists?" Isobel stared at the Coconut Ice in front of him, slowly unwrapped it, put the Coconut Ice in his mouth, and only after finishing the dessert did he walk towards the library.