Midnight Duel (Part 2)

Zhang San looked at Harry and Ron. Harry and Ron turned to look at Zhang San at the same time, while Hermione stared brightly at the "three of us" before her...

And just like that, the situation became unbearably awkward. If they could not deal with Hermione Granger, it was hard to say whether tonight's duel could even go on.

That girl had an exceptionally stubborn temperament. In the few remaining memories Zhang San had of the original story, Hermione had once taken down Neville Longbottom, who had tried to block her path, with the Full Body-Bind Curse.

If Hermione pulled out her wand and launched a sneak attack while Harry and Ron were heading to the Trophy Room... Harry and Ron might not be able to withstand the top student's magical assault.

So how were they supposed to deal with Hermione?

The three of them looked at one another, but none knew how to handle the stubborn girl before them. The ancient sages of the East had said thousands of years ago, "Women and petty men are the hardest to deal with." If Hermione really held a grudge against them, their days ahead would be truly miserable.

After a long silence, their savior finally broke the dead stillness.

"Hermione, we've already agreed to a wizard's duel with Malfoy. All of Gryffindor is waiting for news of our victory. You can't stop us," Harry tried to persuade her calmly.

Hermione said firmly, "You have already seriously violated Hogwarts rules. Any activity in corridors, common areas, and other places at night is forbidden without a professor's permission. Violators will face punishments such as house-point deductions and detention. I can't let you dock all of Gryffindor's points!"

Zhang San gave a dark chuckle.

You thought this was Gryffindor? No, this was Points-Less-dor.

Harry Potter had no good way to talk Hermione around either. He took half a step back and handed the situation over to Zhang San.

After several days together, Zhang San had become the strategist of the trio—Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Zhang San. Zhang San handled the thinking, while Harry and Ron carried out the plans.

"Fine, fine. Since talking things out hasn't worked, we can only settle this the hard way." Zhang San sighed helplessly, and his eyes, once filled with lifeless gray-white, turned a ghostly green.

Under the glow of that green light, the castle corridor was shrouded in an eerie and terrifying atmosphere. The temperature around them suddenly plummeted, chilling the lightly dressed group to the bone.

Whoosh...

Zhang San's ghostly figure suddenly vanished. In the next instant, Hermione Granger's body jolted.

"Let's go, boys!" In the stunned, ghost-struck gazes of Harry and Ron, Zhang San's voice came from Hermione Granger's mouth.

"Siri? Is that you?" Ron asked weakly.

Hermione Granger nodded. "That's right. I've taken control of her body. Now no one can stop us... and the beautiful Miss Know-It-All will be joining us in this glorious wizard's duel."

Harry and Ron silently moved away from the Hermione Granger before them... or rather, away from Zhang San. Forcefully controlling someone was simply too sinister, and the two sheltered children shuddered with fear.

"Don't be afraid. This is just a small trick of ghost cultivation—possession," Zhang San explained. "Good thing I've been cultivating diligently these past few days, or I really wouldn't have been able to control Hermione."

After becoming a ghost cultivator, Zhang San had naturally mastered three skills: possession, ghostly blindness, and ghost walls.

Hermione Granger was an underage girl. Her body carried heavy yin energy, and her soul was weak. In the eyes of a ghost cultivator, she was an easy possession target.

European exorcists surely understood this deeply. Of their upcoming jobs, eight out of ten would involve little girls possessed by demons... while the other two would be sickly little boys.

Boys possessed stronger yang energy. With his still-shallow cultivation, Zhang San could not yet control boys who were fully conscious.

Luckily, Hermione Granger had not yet entered magic's rapid-growth phase—puberty. Otherwise, Zhang San would not have found her so easy to control.

In any case, Hermione Granger was now under Zhang San's control. Three people and one ghost headed toward the Trophy Room in a triangular formation—Zhang San in front, Harry and Ron bringing up the rear.

After being toyed with by the stairs for a while, they finally arrived at the Trophy Room on time before midnight.

"You came?" Malfoy said arrogantly.

Harry nodded. "Enough nonsense. Let's begin."

Before either side made a move, Zhang San controlled Hermione Granger and loudly declared, "First, never act on impulse; second, never overlook a single evil deed; third, judge with absolute fairness and grace. I'll be the referee for tonight's match!"

Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe: ...

Harry, Ron, Hermione: ...

Possession was not body-snatching. After being possessed by Zhang San, Hermione could still sense everything around her.

Malfoy said discontentedly, "A referee? How does a Mudblood like you deserve to referee for great pure-blood wizards?"

Zhang San sucked in a sharp breath. Young Master Malfoy really had a filthy mouth. Though he had insulted Hermione Granger, Zhang San was the one controlling her.

Even a clay figurine had some temper. He could not stomach being called a Mudblood from the first-person perspective.

I crossed oceans to learn the enemy's techniques and use them against them. First I got instantly killed upon arrival, and now I was being insulted like this... Were those brats from South Village bullying this ghost because he was weak, because he had no body and could not beat Zhen Guanxi to death with three punches?

When I had no body, I didn't bother arguing if you called me a wandering ghost. But now I'm piloting a Gundam.

Do you understand what it means to hold a physical body and own the world? Do you understand the value of being first in physical arts among my generation at Mount Longhu? I wouldn't even need to attack—just my footwork would exhaust you, Malfoy, and you still wouldn't hit a single hair on me!

"Harry, I'm taking this duel... you be my assistant." Zhang San stretched Hermione's limbs.

Though a little girl's flexibility was quite good, Hermione had never practiced dancing, so she definitely had not endured the grueling work of splits and stretching.

If Zhang San pushed Hermione's body too hard tonight, once the night was over, Hermione would hurt so badly she would not even be able to climb out of bed.

That would be a serious grudge!

Malfoy burst into laughter. "Potter, Potter, I never thought you'd have a Mudblood girl fight in your place... Are there no men left in Gryffindor?"

"That's the second time... Enough nonsense. Get on with it." Zhang San drew the wand at Hermione's waist and tested its feel. A wizard's duel ultimately came down to magic. Wizards were not allowed to touch their opponent's body.

"Since you're so eager to die first, I'll grant your wish..." Malfoy drew his own wand and stepped forward.

Since this was not an official duel, they naturally skipped the bow. Once the two sides had put some distance between them, Malfoy immediately opened with Serpensortia, launching a fierce attack.

A bright green cobra shot from the wand, streaking toward Hermione like lightning.

"Bombarda!" Hermione flicked and snapped her wand, rapidly chanting the spell. The magical blaze erupting from her wand struck the incoming cobra in an instant.

Bang!

The cobra exploded on the spot, spraying flesh and scales indiscriminately across the entire Trophy Room.

Everyone present was within the blast radius. Snake fragments splattered their bodies, faces, and robes.

Harry was dumbfounded by the scene before him. This was wizard dueling? If a spell that dangerous hit someone, wouldn't they explode on the spot?

Zhang San did not stop immediately. With a backhanded "Muscle Relaxation," he pinned Malfoy in place, then cast another "Levicorpus," suspending him in midair.

The smooth little combo left Malfoy stunned. He struggled nonstop in the air, only to discover that, restrained by magic, he could not break free at all.

Controlling Hermione, he walked up to the upside-down Malfoy and sneered. "Young Master Malfoy, was it? I heard you were pretty bold!"

"You filthy Mudblood, I'll write to my father..." Malfoy stubbornly threatened.

"That's the third time... Third strike, and you're out." Zhang San shook his head with a dark chuckle.

This guy really had that hilarious "my father is Zhang Erhe" energy. Unfortunately, his mouth was too foul and needed cleansing.

"Aguamenti." Zhang San chanted the spell with practiced ease. A watermelon-sized ball of water then formed at the tip of Hermione's wand.

A novice using Aguamenti could only make water flow all over the floor, but an expert could manipulate its shape at will.

Zhang San slipped the water ball over Malfoy's head, and his stream of threats instantly turned into repeated gurgles.

"See? Isn't the world much quieter now?" Zhang San said with a satisfied look.

Malfoy: "Gurgle gurgle..."

Seeing their boss treated this way, Goyle and Crabbe immediately tried to use their physical advantage to rescue Malfoy from the water.

Hermione held her wand steady, keeping Malfoy's head wrapped in the water ball. At the same time, her lower body rose into the air, and her slender legs lashed out like steel whips at Goyle and Crabbe's faces.

Bang! Bang!

Two heavy thuds rang out as Hermione kicked Goyle and Crabbe flying.

Those two kicks shocked Ron and Harry even more than the earlier explosion. They had seen plenty of magic, but this was their first time seeing martial arts.

So this was Chinese kung fu? Were people in China really all Bruce Lee?

Zhang San felt that the time was about right. Seeing that Malfoy was nearly suffocating, he moved his wand aside and allowed Malfoy to breathe again.

"Gasp... gasp..." Malfoy's eyes were nearly rolling back. Tears, snot, and spring water ran down his face and dripped onto the floor.

"Spare me... I was wrong..." Malfoy begged miserably. "I have money! I'm willing to pay! Just name your price!"

Zhang San dispersed the water ball at the tip of the wand and lightly nudged Malfoy's cheek with a little leather boot. "Noble Young Master Malfoy, I still preferred that unruly look you had just now."

This time, he said it in Hermione Granger's voice. The shrill female voice made Malfoy tremble all over.

A demon!

This woman was practically a demon!

The physical and mental pressure of suffocation had long since shattered Malfoy's psychological defenses. Right now, he only wished he had eight legs so he could flee from this woman, flee from Gryffindor... even flee from Hogwarts.

"Malfoy's wallet, come here." Zhang San flicked his wand and cast the Summoning Charm. The wallet in Malfoy's pocket flew uncontrollably into Hermione's hand.

"I'll take this bit of money as compensation for my emotional distress. You should know that Mudblood is an extremely insulting term in the wizarding world, and you said it to me three whole times!" Zhang San righteously tucked the wallet into Hermione's pocket.

"Get lost." Hermione had just snapped her fingers when Malfoy was released from his upside-down position.

Pale-faced, streaming with tears and snot, and looking utterly miserable, Malfoy fled in panic with his two henchmen, whose faces had been kicked into pig heads.

Too terrifying. Tonight would become a nightmare that would haunt Draco Malfoy for the rest of his life.

Harry and Ron were full of admiration. "Siri, you're incredible."

Zhang San took out the wallet. "At last, the exciting settlement phase. Let's see how many gold coins Young Master Malfoy dropped this time."

Given how rich Young Master Malfoy was, Zhang San felt he would have no face to show anyone if he did not carry at least fifty Galleons in his pocket. This kid even had custom-made robes and cauldrons. How could he survive a term without eighty or a hundred Galleons in spending money?

Though the spoils had to be divided among three people and one ghost, everyone could easily pocket more than ten Galleons.

Compared with beating Malfoy up, Zhang San preferred this moment. Who did not like shiny golden things? Ghosts liked them too, all right? Otherwise, why were so many paper gold ingots burned every Ghost Festival?