An Unexpected Duel

Seeing Wentworth walk to the center of the arena and stand opposite Vane, everyone present finally confirmed that the first person to represent Hufflepuff was indeed Wentworth!

In the stands, students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw erupted into a clamor; some were in disbelief, some wore mocking expressions, and others looked thoughtful.

"Green! What are you doing? I told you long ago that I would go first! Our Slytherin lineup was supposed to go from fifth year down to first year! You actually let a first-year freshman take your place?! Are you afraid!"

Seeing that the person standing before him was not his old rival Green, but a Hufflepuff freshman, Vane felt instantly humiliated and couldn't help but shout toward the Hufflepuff side.

Green, however, acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, continuing to chat with Cedric beside him and ignoring Vane entirely.

Instead, Professor McGonagall, seeing this order of appearance, kindly reminded them:

"Green, did you get your Hufflepuff lineup backward? Did you forget to arrange it from fifth year to first year? If so, I can take the liberty of letting you adjust the order now."

Although he could ignore Vane, he had to respond to Professor McGonagall.

Green turned around and said quite respectfully to Professor McGonagall:

"Professor McGonagall, that won't be necessary. According to our prior agreement, once the list is handed to Professor Ilona, it cannot be changed! This is a rule we Hufflepuffs proposed ourselves, so we naturally must abide by it, lest some people refuse to honor their losses!"

As Green spoke, he rolled his eyes in Vane's direction, which made Vane grind his teeth in anger, but he was helpless and could only cast his gaze toward his own Head of House, Professor Snape.

But Snape didn't even notice Vane's gaze; at that moment, Snape was busy "exchanging glances" with Dumbledore.

Snape: Dumbledore, could Wentworth be so confident that his spellcasting level has already surpassed that of a fifth-year? That's impossible! Even if he has mastered spells, he's only 11 years old! He couldn't possibly have that much magical power!

Dumbledore: Why are you looking at me? How would I know?

Snape: Can't you use Legilimency to take a look?

Dumbledore: If I could use Legilimency, I would have done it already! This boy, Wentworth, has learned Occlumency!

Snape: ...Only 11 years old. Although I have been constantly raising my estimation of him, I didn't expect to have underestimated him still.

Dumbledore: Let's just watch and see.

On the other side, Vane, seeing that his own Head of House, Professor Snape, hadn't even glanced at him, hurriedly turned to look behind him at a tall, thin wizard—the third-year representative for Slytherin chosen by Snape.

"Hey, Hufflepuff likely got their list backward. This means you third-years are very likely the key to our victory. Do you have confidence?"

The boy looked toward the Hufflepuff side, wore a conceited smile, and said confidently:

"Don't worry, Prefect. Aside from two peers in Ravenclaw, I am confident that no one in the third year is my match. Hufflepuff? They are even less of a threat!"

Hearing his teammate's reply, Vane finally felt at ease. He turned to look at Wentworth and sneered:

"Wentworth, it's your bad luck to run into me. Don't worry, this senior won't use any dark curses on you, but if you get hurt after being knocked back by the force of a spell, don't blame me!"

Wentworth, however, said with an indifferent expression:

"Senior Vane, if you can manage that, then by all means, go ahead. The prerequisite is that you have to be able to hit me!"

Seeing that both sides had no further objections to the dueling list, Professor Ilona stood in the center of the arena and said:

"Since both sides are prepared, the duel now officially begins! Both sides, bow!"

As Professor Ilona's words fell, Wentworth and Vane each bowed to one another. Then, they held their wands up to their faces, keeping them vertical in the center, before abruptly lowering them.

Once the wands were lowered, Wentworth and Vane each turned and walked toward their respective ends of the arena, waiting for Ilona's final instruction.

The atmosphere at the scene gradually grew oppressive. Even the most boisterous Weasley twins from Gryffindor were holding their breath, watching both sides nervously.

Dumbledore, Snape, and even Professor McGonagall were staring at Wentworth without blinking, wanting to see every one of his movements clearly.

Seeing Vane and Wentworth about to reach their respective ends of the dueling ground, Professor Ilona shouted:

"Begin!"

Following Professor Ilona's command, Vane spun around abruptly, raised his wand, pointed it at Wentworth, and shouted:

"Expelliarmus—"

However, unlike Vane's performance, Wentworth, without even looking back, very calmly raised his hand and said:

"I concede!"

The scene erupted in an uproar. Boos rang out instantly from the Gryffindor and Slytherin students.

Dumbledore and Snape exchanged a look, staring at each other in dismay, their expressions turning grave.

They were thinking the same thing: They never expected that even in such a situation, Wentworth would still refuse to reveal his true strength. It showed just how many secrets Wentworth was hiding!

Vane, who was dueling Wentworth, nearly choked on his own saliva. Although he had achieved victory in the duel, it felt so incredibly dull!

Seeing Wentworth about to step off the dueling ground, Vane gritted his teeth. He did not stop the spell he had already begun to cast; instead, he followed through!

"Expelliarmus!"

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Seeing Vane continue his attack after Wentworth had surrendered, another gasp rippled through the crowd, especially since Wentworth was currently facing away from Vane.

"Finite Incantatem!"

But at that moment, another spell arrived first, colliding with Vane's disarming charm in mid-air and dissipating it into nothingness. The one who had cast it was one of the referees for the duel, Professor Ilona.

Hearing the sound behind him, Wentworth turned halfway around with calm, expected indifference, glanced back at Vane, and flashed a mocking smile.

"I told you, Senior Vane, you have to be able to hit me first!"

With that, without waiting for Vane to react, Wentworth turned and walked back to the Hufflepuff camp.

Unlike the boos from Gryffindor and Slytherin, as Wentworth walked back to Hufflepuff, the Hufflepuff students erupted into enthusiastic cheers.