Snape vs. Voldemort

"You shouldn't have done that, Quirrell."

At the table, Flitwick said worriedly, "I know you were protecting Percy, but you went too far."

The wise head of Ravenclaw had already deduced why Voldemort had suddenly lost his temper.

If he hadn't done that, the students would now be talking not about Professor Quirrell suddenly attacking someone, but about Percy's remark: "Damn Slytherins."

A fifth-year like Percy Weasley couldn't withstand the hostility of an entire House.

And now...

"I chose my own assistant. It's only right that I protect him, isn't it?" Voldemort said as he chewed his steak.

"Yes, but..."

Before Flitwick could finish speaking, a furious roar interrupted him.

"Quirrell, how dare you do that?"

It was Snape. Dressed in black wizarding robes, he swept into the Great Hall like a huge bat, and his first words were a challenge to Voldemort.

"He failed to follow the classroom rules. The fact that I didn't take points from Slytherin was already an act of mercy," Voldemort said, refusing to back down.

"And that gives you the right to attack a student with magic?"

Snape had reached the middle of the hall. He drew his wand from his waist. "Let's see what you can do. Or are you only capable of pointing your wand at eleven-year-olds?"

"Oh, Snape, calm down. Don't..."

Flitwick tried to intervene, but Voldemort cut him off with his actions.

"Come on, Snape. I'd like to see what you can do, too."

Voldemort leapt straight off the dining table. The instant he landed, his wand was already in his hand. He'd been wanting to test his own abilities, and Snape was a worthy opponent.

"Expelliarmus!"

Snape gave Voldemort no time to steady himself. He immediately swung his wand. He didn't use a Silencing Charm, which proved that even in his anger, he was still thinking clearly.

The experienced professors understood Snape's intentions at once, so none of them interfered with the duel. Instead, they quickly cast wide-area protective spells in front of the students.

The spell was about to hit Voldemort. The stunned students gaped, but Voldemort's body kept moving as he landed, and a sideways roll let him neatly dodge the Disarming Charm.

"Expelliarmus!"

As he got up, he thrust his wand like a sword, pointing it straight at Snape from across the room.

"Crack!"

Snape didn't move from where he stood. He simply flicked his wand, swiftly redirecting Voldemort's Disarming Charm to the side. It was an exceptionally advanced Shield Charm technique, combined with a Silencing Charm.

"Barrage of Spells!"

Snape followed up with a second spell while maintaining his own defenses.

"Protego!"

Voldemort chose to defend himself. A transparent suit of armor appeared in front of him. This was the hallmark of a powerful Shield Charm; an ordinary Shield Charm couldn't produce such an image.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

A series of impacts rang out, and the powerful Shield Charm gradually dissolved into nothing.

"Stupefy!"

"Expelliarmus!"

This time, both of them pointed their wands at each other. Their spells collided in midair and burst apart almost instantly.

Snape's spell continued forward for another three meters after breaking through Voldemort's spell before dissipating. It seemed Snape had the upper hand.

After that exchange, neither of them attacked again. They simply watched each other warily.

Voldemort considered his strategy. He realized that Quirrell's magic lacked both the strength and depth of Snape's.

Snape, meanwhile, realized that Professor Quirrell wasn't as easy to deal with as he'd imagined. He needed to adjust his mindset and take the challenge he'd initiated more seriously.

For Snape, this was a battle to restore Slytherin's reputation.

He couldn't let anyone hurt Slytherin's students or tarnish the House's reputation. Snape had already realized that Percy's remark couldn't be punished now. The only way he could restore Slytherin's honor was by defeating Quirrell.

"Our head of House has the advantage. That last exchange of spells proved it."

"I've never seen our head of House this angry. Slytherin will win."

"Professor Quirrell went too far. Our head of House is right to step in."

The Slytherin students chattered among themselves. They were obviously on their head of House's side, and they were trying to sway Voldemort with their words.

But the students at the other three Houses' tables felt the exact opposite. Most supported Voldemort, including the Weasley twins.

They might have hated their brother's strictness, but he was still family. And Professor Quirrell had stood up for their brother. They could put their grievances aside for now; at this moment, they had to support Professor Quirrell.

As for the other students who supported Professor Quirrell, their reasons were even simpler.

Snake House was deeply unpopular, and Snape had a bad reputation, too. There was no reason not to side with Professor Quirrell.

The two silent men paid no attention to the students. They simply stared each other down, preparing for the fight to come.

It was unclear who made the first move, or whether they acted at the same time. In any case, spells suddenly flew through the air.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

"Bang, bang..."

Both men used silent spells, and the duel instantly grew more intense.

Snape's magic was stronger, but Voldemort had the battle experience of Voldemort's Soul Fragment to draw on, so he held his own for the time being.

As they cast spells, both men pressed toward each other, steadily shrinking the space between them and making the duel more difficult.

Either of them could be hit by a spell with the slightest mistake.

But this seemingly reckless move only underscored just how formidable they both were.

The younger students couldn't yet understand what it meant, but the older students and professors stared in amazement.

The distance between the two kept shrinking until they were about five meters apart, whereupon it began to close more slowly.

"At this range, spells arrive in the blink of an eye, leaving almost no time to react. But Professor Quirrell is clearly the better duelist. His technique is precise, his footwork nimble..."

Lee Jordan, the dormmate of the Weasley twins, actually rolled up a book and began acting as the live DJ at this tense moment, drawing laughter from countless students.

Miss Know-it-all had been nervously clutching the hem of her robe. Now she looked at her older Housemate in surprise.

Harry, absorbed in the duel, also looked at Lee Jordan in astonishment.

"Brilliant, Jordan. You're right." Ron was the first to agree, speaking up to praise him before his twin brother could.

"Thump."

A dull thud rang out, and Lee Jordan's voice abruptly stopped. It wasn't because someone had interrupted him. Professor Quirrell had fallen to the ground.

That was right.

After several seconds of exchanging spells at a distance of five meters, Voldemort finally began to falter. His weaker magical reserves and less complete understanding of silent spells meant his defeat was inevitable.

"Stupefy!"

Taking advantage of the opening, Snape abandoned silent spells and poured more magic into his spell, hoping to win in one decisive move.

The instant the spell hit him, Voldemort glanced toward the lower-left corner and activated a skill—not [Darkest Hour], but [Lin Zuo Moment].

"Obstacle Charm!"

Voldemort didn't even get up. He simply fired the Obstacle Charm while lying on the ground.

The spell, glowing blue-green, met Snape's Stunning Spell. After canceling it out in midair, it continued to hover there, its light only slightly dimmer.

Snape's gaze sharpened as it settled on the suspended spell.