Dueling Match

"Face your partners!" Lockhart called, returning to the podium. "Bow!"

Harry and Malfoy stared each other down, both with their chins raised high, their gazes clashing in midair like crossed swords.

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart shouted. "When I count to three, cast a spell to disarm your opponent—just disarm them—that's all. We don't want any accidents. One... two... three..."

Harry swung his wand up over his shoulder, but Malfoy had already started casting at "two." His spell struck Harry, making him feel as though someone had smashed him over the head with a long-handled cauldron. He staggered back two steps, his vision going dark.

Then Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry again, yanked him into the air, and slammed him brutally onto the floor. Harry's body traced an arc through the air before his back hit the ground with a dull thud. His glasses flew off and skidded beneath the crowd's feet.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart warned loudly over the melee as Malfoy prepared to cast a third spell. His voice was sharp and frantic, but Malfoy did not even glance at him.

Harry crawled painfully across the floor, trying to find his glasses.

Then Malfoy cast his third spell. A blue-violet beam shot from his wand tip and struck Harry in the chest, sending him flying several meters. He rolled twice before collapsing onto the floor with a painful groan, clutching his stomach as his body curled into a ball.

"Stop! Stop!" Lockhart cried, but Professor Snape had already rushed to Harry's side.

"How are you, Harry?" he shouted.

Harry slowly shook his head, indicating that he was still alright. Malfoy looked around at that moment as well.

Neville was hanging from a chandelier, gasping for breath. His legs kicked wildly in the air while both hands clutched the chandelier's chain. His face was bright red as he kept yelling, "Let me down!" Theodore stood below him, looking up with a calm expression and absolutely no intention of letting him down.

Ron lay motionless on the floor. Blaise was using his body as a cushion, sitting on Ron's back with one leg crossed over the other.

But Hermione and Daphne were still going. Daphne was not using her full strength; she was teaching Hermione how to cast spells in succession. Hermione learned earnestly, beads of sweat gleaming on her forehead in the candlelight. Her lips moved faintly as she silently practiced the pronunciation of every spell. A flash of light occasionally flickered from her wand tip. It was still unstable, but much better than before.

"My goodness, my goodness," Lockhart muttered, hopping around the crowd as he surveyed the results of the students' duels.

"You, get up, Weasley... Watch out, Miss Granger... Pinch it hard and the bleeding will stop soon, Boot... I think I'd better teach you how to stop unfriendly magic." Lockhart stood in the middle of the Great Hall with a panicked expression, his eyes darting everywhere as though he had no idea where to look.

Then he fixed his gaze on Professor Snape, whose black eyes flashed as he quickly swept his gaze around the room.

"Who would like to come up and demonstrate with their partner? Neville and Theodore, how about you two? What do you say?"

"A terrible idea, Professor Lockhart," Professor Snape said, gliding forward like a large, malicious bat. "Theodore knows a great deal of Dark magic. We will have to send what remains of Neville to the Hospital Wing."

Neville's round pink face turned even more terrified. He swayed from the chandelier, crying, "I don't want to! I don't want to!"

"How about Harry and Malfoy?" Professor Snape said with a twisted smile.

"Good idea!" Lockhart said. He motioned for the crowd to step back and make room, then called Harry and Malfoy to the center of the hall. The crowd retreated to either side like a receding tide, leaving a large open space in the middle.

But at that moment, Professor Graves stepped forward. Looking at Su Yu, he asked elegantly, "Mr. Su Fuli, would you be willing to come up and demonstrate with me first, for Harry and Malfoy?"

Everyone's eyes turned toward Su Yu.

Su Yu leaned against a pillar, Kurama cradled in his arms. He raised his head and looked at Professor Graves.

"My dear professor, I am deeply honored, am I not? I accept your request, but..." Su Yu paused. "Is there anything at stake?"

That way of speaking, along with the abrupt shift into a street thug's manner, nearly threw Professor Graves off balance. His expression froze for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly before he began to laugh.

He looked at Su Yu, the smile on his face growing wider. "Interesting little fellow. Very well, as you wish."

With that, the two of them stepped onto the dueling platform.

Like a clown, Lockhart shouted excitedly from the side, "One... two... three!"

In an instant, Su Yu was covered by the Kurama Cloak. Golden chakra surged from his body like a layer of burning armor, enveloping him from head to toe.

Professor Graves's Fiendfyre had already struck Su Yu. Blue flames lunged at his chest like a venomous snake. Su Yu was hit and took two steps back, the golden chakra over his chest sizzling as Fiendfyre burned against it.

Su Yu raised his wand and vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already behind Professor Graves. His ordinary Fiendfyre spell shot toward his opponent—a stream of red flame bursting from his wand tip and racing for Professor Graves's back.

But Graves did not even turn his head. He casually extended an arm behind him and gave it a light wave. Su Yu's Fiendfyre seemed to be drawn by something. It curved through the air, circled his body once, and was absorbed into his blue flames. Then that mass of fire shot back at Su Yu.

Su Yu landed and hurriedly darted aside. The blue flames grazed his ear and struck the wall behind him, leaving behind a scorched black crater.

Su Yu abandoned magic outright and threw a punch at him. His fist was wrapped in golden chakra, cutting through the air as it drove straight for Professor Graves's chest.

Graves simply held out his hand and caught Su Yu's punch with his palm. His hand rested steadily against Su Yu's fist without moving an inch, as though he had caught a tossed pebble.

"Little fellow, that punch was rather heavy," Professor Graves said calmly, still in the mood to joke. "If these old bones of mine couldn't take it, I'd have to lie in the Hospital Wing for at least half a month."

It was not just Su Yu on the platform whose expression changed. The Slytherins below stared at Professor Graves as though he were a monster. He had taken their leader's punch head-on? Fa-jie finally understood why Su Yu had kept his eyes on this old monster.

Professor Snape's hand had already clenched tightly around his wand, his black eyes fixed on the platform.

Su Yu suddenly smiled. "You fell for it!"

Professor Graves's eyes widened abruptly. He released Su Yu's fist and tried to retreat, but he had already seen Su Yu's eyes beginning to change.

"At this distance, you still dared look directly into my eyes?" Su Yu smiled at Graves, who had already fallen under the illusion. His eyes changed again.

A long black rod slowly appeared in Su Yu's hand as he said, "Banshō Ten'in!"

Graves was dragged back toward Su Yu. His body flew uncontrollably forward, and the black rod pierced into him.

The young wizards below sucked in breaths again. Was this not a sparring match? Had the rules changed to a death match? Harry suddenly felt no pain anywhere in his body—compared to Su Yu, Malfoy was practically a kind-hearted landlord. At least that landlord Malfoy had not tried to kill him.

Just then, Graves's body suddenly turned into a mass of blue flames. His body melted like a candle, transforming into flickering ice-blue fire that instantly wrapped around Su Yu. Flames surged over Su Yu's body as though they intended to devour him.

The young wizards erupted into startled cries once more.

But Su Yu absorbed every flame through his palms. His hands were like two whirlpools, drawing all the blue fire inside. Graves's figure appeared to one side, without a wrinkle in his clothes or a strand of hair out of place.

"Very good, little Mr. Su Fuli," Professor Graves said with sincere admiration in his voice. "I really am growing fonder of you. Shall we stop here for today? If we keep going, this venue will not be enough."

Su Yu withdrew the Kurama Cloak as well, his eyes returning to normal. He bowed and replied, "I agree with you completely. Let us call it a draw today. We can continue another time."

Lockhart finally recovered from his shock. His face was still pale and his lips still trembled, but he forced out a smile. "Oh, everyone, please applaud! Thank you both for that wonderful demonstration!"

The young wizards below could not understand what had happened, but that did not stop them from finding it thrilling, and they applauded one after another. Slytherin students were still cheering for Su Yu! Malfoy even put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle.

Next came Harry and Malfoy's duel.

Professor Snape walked over to Malfoy, bent down, and whispered something in his ear. Malfoy's eyes lit up, and he curled his lips into a smug smile.

"One... two... three!" Lockhart shouted.

Malfoy swiftly raised his wand and roared, "Serpensortia!"

The end of his wand exploded, and a black snake shot out before landing heavily on the floor. Its body was thick and long, its black scales gleaming with an oily sheen under the candlelight. It raised its head, flicked its tongue, and hissed as it prepared to attack.

Harry froze in terror. His face went white, his lips trembling, while the crowd quickly backed away amid occasional screams and the chaotic scrape of shoes against the floor.

"Don't move, Potter," Professor Snape said lazily. He was clearly delighted to see Harry standing motionless, face-to-face with the furious snake. "I'll get rid of it..."

"Let me!" Lockhart shouted. He waved his wand at the snake, producing a series of loud bangs. The snake did not disappear. Instead, it rose ten feet into the air before crashing back onto the floor with a tremendous boom. The floor shook from the impact, and the snake's body twisted a few times on the ground.

It had been enraged. Hissing furiously, it slithered straight toward Justin, raised itself upright, bared its fangs, and prepared to attack.

Harry did not know what made him do it. He did not even think. All he knew was that his feet carried him forward mechanically, as if they had wheels attached, and then he stupidly shouted at the snake, "Leave him alone!"

Miraculously, unbelievably, the snake fell back to the floor, tame as a lamb. Its head lowered, its body curled into a coil, and its hissing stopped.

It looked at Harry, and Harry felt that it was drowned in fear. He knew the snake would not attack anyone now, though he could not explain how he knew.

He looked at Justin and grinned, hoping to see relief, confusion, or gratitude on Justin's face—certainly not anger and fear.

"What did you think you were doing?" Justin yelled. Before Harry could say anything, Justin had already turned and run out of the Great Hall. His footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing fainter and fainter.

Professor Snape stepped forward and waved his wand a few times. The snake turned into a wisp of black smoke and vanished. The smoke spiraled through the air briefly before dispersing, leaving nothing behind.

Professor Snape looked at Harry with a surprised expression as well, one that was sly and calculating. Harry did not like it one bit.

Harry vaguely heard ominous, dangerous muttering from around the walls. Then he felt someone tugging at the back of his robes.

Ron pulled him out of the Great Hall, with Hermione following closely beside them. As they passed through the doors, people on both sides made way, as though afraid of touching something contaminated.

The students gradually dispersed and returned to their respective common rooms.

As Professor Graves left, he winked at Su Yu. Then he turned away, slipped both hands into his trouser pockets, and strolled unhurriedly out of the Great Hall.

Su Yu stared at his retreating figure for a long time.

This was getting more and more interesting. The vanished diary, the continuing petrification incidents, and now that old man Grindelwald—why had he appeared too? Was Dumbledore reminiscing about old feelings? Second-year life had clearly drifted away from the movies. Su Yu smiled and shook his head. A first-generation Dark Lord fighting a second-generation village tyrant? This would be quite a show.

Then he turned, took Fa-jie and Ka-jie by the hand, and led the Slytherins back to their common room.