Final Battle with Harry

The chaos of the duel had reached such a point that Snape and Lockhart knew it could not continue. Lockhart therefore suggested that Neville Longbottom and Justin Finch-Fletchley take the stage for a demonstration duel.

"That is not a good idea, Professor Lockhart." Snape glided lightly across the stage like a vicious great bat. "Longbottom can cause destruction even with the simplest spell. We will be sending Finch-Fletchley's remains to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Snape continued with a cruel grin, "What about Malfoy and Potter?"

"Wonderful!" Lockhart gestured for Harry and Draco to step into the center of the Great Hall, and the crowd backed away to make room for them.

Snape shook his head. "Draco, I did not mean you when I said Malfoy. Skylar, come here!"

Skylar had not expected to be called. After a brief moment of surprise, he shrugged and slowly walked onto the stage. A hint of anticipation rose within him as well. Fine. Let me see just how capable this Savior Harry is now. Snape probably saw how easily I defeated Ron and wants to use me to crush Harry.

Harry's expression did not look very good either. Although Skylar had kept a low profile last semester, everyone knew that he excelled academically—especially in the two major subjects of Transfiguration and Charms, where he had received exceptional attention from Professors Flitwick and McGonagall. It was obvious that Skylar was far stronger than his loudmouthed brother.

A familiar saying from Britain's Muggle world drifted unbidden through Harry's mind—quiet dogs bite hardest—and he immediately felt a crushing weight settle on his heart.

Skylar and Harry stood on opposite sides of the stage. Lockhart whispered to Harry, seemingly imparting some combat tips, while Snape said nothing and simply let Skylar do as he pleased. Dissatisfied voices rose from the Slytherins below, and whispers complaining about the unfairness came one after another.

Skylar gave Harry a polite smile and performed an exceedingly solemn dueling salute. It was completely different from Lockhart's flashy routine. His movements flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, filled with a sacred, dignified air. Few people still knew that this was an ancient dueling salute mentioned only in the records of old families.

Having grown up in a Muggle household, Harry naturally knew nothing of ancient dueling etiquette. He looked lost, unsure how to respond. Skylar smiled. "Don't be nervous, Harry. This is only an ordinary practice duel. It has nothing to do with any personal grudges. Let us agree to stop at the proper point and not deliberately hurt one another. How does that sound?"

Harry nodded. As for what he was thinking inside, Skylar neither knew nor cared to guess.

Harry was the first to fire a Full Body-Bind Curse. To Skylar, Harry's spellcasting was crude and inexperienced. The curse flew in an overly obvious straight line, and the casting speed was far too slow. With Skylar's physical ability, he only needed to lean slightly to the left to evade Harry's attack with ease. As he dodged, Skylar flicked his wand upward and shouted, "Quad-Enclosure!"

Four transparent magical barriers suddenly rose from the ground around Harry—a Barrier Curse. Like a box, they tightly trapped Harry in the middle. Skylar had learned this spell from his family's collection of books, and it was not taught at Hogwarts, so Harry did not know how to break it.

Seeing that there was nowhere to run, Harry decisively fired a Fire-Making Spell at one of the barriers. Skylar nodded in approval at Harry's ability to react, but with Harry's pitifully meager magical reserves, the weak flames he cast merely burst into scattered sparks upon striking the barrier and could not affect it in the slightest.

It is over, Skylar thought. He swiftly drew a cross with his wand. Without uttering a single incantation, a dim, obscure white light shot from its tip and flew toward Harry's face in a tricky curve. Several girls screamed below the stage, with Hermione and Ginny's cries the loudest.

Even Snape's expression changed. Just as he drew his wand to intervene, Skylar, who had everything under control, curled his lips slightly and gave the hand holding his wand a gentle shake. Less than ten centimeters from Harry's forehead, the white light abruptly vanished without a trace.

Although Harry did not think Skylar would use lethal magic in front of so many people, having this mysterious, unknown magic forced right before his eyes still made him freeze in fear.

"I concede the honor to you!" Skylar displayed no pride in victory. His expression was as calm as though winning had been only natural. He performed that ancient, solemn dueling salute to Harry once more, then politely bowed to the two professors on the stage in thanks. With elegant steps, he slowly walked off the platform and drifted away without looking back.

The entire hall was stunned!

Skylar had gained a little fame in his first year because of his excellent academic performance, but his opponent was Harry Potter, the famous boy who had defeated Voldemort as an infant! Moreover, at the end of last year, Harry and his friends had passed through the forbidden area on the fourth-floor corridor, overcome the professors' many obstacles, and finally defeated the dark wizard Quirrell, who had infiltrated Hogwarts under the guise of a professor! These stories had all been confirmed—Dumbledore awarding Gryffindor a full 170 points at once was the best proof.

Before this, apart from a handful of people such as Draco, Daphne, and Meredith, none of the young wizards had imagined that the famous Harry would lose to a student in his own year. They had imagined even less that it would be such a crushing defeat!

The entire hall was silenced by the overwhelming presence Skylar had displayed.

Only some time after Skylar had left the Great Hall did people begin asking about his identity. Naturally, there were also plenty of starry-eyed girls sighing over Skylar's appearance and strength.

Skylar had been born into the noble House of Malfoy. His appearance and bearing already possessed an aristocratic dignity and coldness, and his extraordinary strength made that aura seem all the more valiant and remarkable. Combined with the ancient dueling salute he had performed twice, he appeared graceful, refined, and courteous. It was no wonder he had so easily won the favor of many girls present.

Draco proudly introduced Skylar's identity to everyone, while also making sure to mention that he had always been Skylar's sparring partner at home, as though Skylar's strength were somehow Draco's achievement.

Hermione covered her little mouth with both hands and exclaimed in disbelief, "Oh my God! Non-verbal Spellcasting! That is N.E.W.T.-level magic, and one of the more difficult parts at that! I heard that not even every upper-year student can master it. He is only in his second year—how did he do it?"

Ron stood beside her with a deeply unconvinced expression, but his best friend Harry had been openly and honorably defeated in front of everyone. No matter how dissatisfied Ron was, he could not argue against the facts.

Harry looked terribly bitter. For the first time, he felt how ordinary he was. All this time, he had felt that he was different from everyone else. Even when people had mistaken him for Slytherin's heir, though he had been angry, there had been a trace of secret delight deep down. After this duel, Harry realized that there was actually nothing special about him. The attention he received was only because of the scar on his forehead.

Lockhart remained onstage, prattling on about how he could have countered Skylar's magic, but at that moment, only a few young girls below the stage were still listening.

After witnessing the battle between Harry and Skylar, more people recognized the gap between themselves and the very best. They felt an even stronger desire for power and quietly lost themselves in recalling every detail of the earlier duel, paying no attention at all to Lockhart's endless chatter.

Snape still wore his poker face as he stood silently, giving no clue as to what he was thinking.

Some outstanding older students, such as Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff and Penelope Clearwater of Ravenclaw, had gained insight from the duel as people who knew quality when they saw it. They were full of admiration for the rapid-casting techniques and Curve Shooting techniques Skylar had displayed, carefully considering how they might apply them in real combat.

Three days later, the first half of the school year came to an end.

The third attack did not occur as it had been described in the original story.

After giving it some thought, Skylar understood that it was a butterfly effect caused by himself. Because he had taken Draco's place in the duel against Harry, Draco had not summoned a magical black snake to attack, nor had the subsequent incident occurred in which Harry used Parseltongue to stop the snake from attacking Justin. As a result, Justin had not become afraid of Harry, hidden alone on the fifth floor, and been attacked by the Basilisk there.

Given Hogwarts's current situation, most young wizards chose to go home for Christmas. The castle was as heavy and silent as the snow piled upon the ground.

Before the holiday, after much pleading and persuasion, Daphne and Meredith obtained Skylar's notes on spellcasting techniques. They included Voldemort's Spellcasting Technique, as well as techniques Skylar had developed himself, such as rapid casting and Curve Shooting. The two girls had been ordered by their families to return home for the Christmas break, and they intended to study Skylar's spellcasting techniques diligently over the holiday so that their strength would not fall too far behind.

On Christmas morning, Skylar woke early and was surprised to see his bed surrounded by gifts.

After spending the whole morning unwrapping them, he realized that he was far more popular than he had imagined. Draco had given him a notebook; Daphne and Meredith had each given him a magical book treasured by their families; Dobby had given him a set of new socks; even Kreacher had not forgotten to give him a bag of homemade pickled snacks.

What delighted him most was a black, silver-glinting broad-shouldered cloak sent by his mother, Narcissa. The cloak had a rather romantic name: Night Star. It was a shoulder cape cut from ancient dragon hide that had been dyed black. The tiny glowing silver specks on it came from a famous ancient alchemist, who had used alchemy to fuse powdered magical crystals into the dragon hide. As such, it possessed powerful physical and magical defenses. This crafting technique had long been lost in modern times, making the cloak all the more precious.

Mother must be worried that I will get caught up in the Chamber of Secrets incident and be hurt, so she specially sent me protective equipment to save my life. Skylar immediately understood his mother's feelings. While touched, he could not help thinking that she probably had not considered that he might very well be the safest student at Hogwarts right now.

["Night Star" Cloak acquired!]

Of course, Skylar did not forget to return gifts to his friends one by one. He gave Draco a set of Broomstick maintenance tools; Daphne a beautifully designed sleeve guard with a concealed pocket sewn into it for storing a wand, allowing her to draw it more quickly; and Meredith a Mokeskin suitcase whose interior space had been expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm...

Besides the gifts mentioned above, there were more than forty others remaining, all from female classmates he did not know. Most were younger Slytherin students, though a small number came from girls in other houses. The gifts included all manner of chocolates, gloves, scarves, and more.

Only then did Skylar realize just how popular he was among the girls of Hogwarts. His outstanding performance at the Dueling Club had probably left a deep impression on his classmates. Even with his steady temperament from having lived two lives, he could not help feeling a little pleased with himself.