Arena Duel

"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 collided in midair like crossed swords.

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart shouted. "When I count to three, begin casting spells 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 begun casting at "two." His spell struck Harry, making him feel as though he had been smashed over the head with a long-handled pot. 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 viciously onto the floor. Harry's body drew an arc through the air before his back crashed against the floor with a dull thud. His glasses flew off and skidded beneath the crowd's feet.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart shouted a warning over the chaos as Malfoy prepared to cast a third spell. His voice was shrill and urgent, 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 more yards. He rolled twice before collapsing onto the floor with a pained groan, one arm 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 all right. Malfoy looked around at the same time.

Neville was hanging from the chandelier, panting for breath. His legs kicked wildly in the air while both hands clung to the chandelier's chain. His face was flushed red, and he kept shouting, "Let me down!" Theodore stood beneath him, looking up calmly without the slightest 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 rapid succession. Hermione learned seriously, beads of sweat gleaming on her forehead in the candlelight. Her lips moved faintly as she silently repeated the pronunciation of each spell. Light flashed from her wand tip from time to time. It was still unstable, but much better than before.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Lockhart said, hopping through the crowd as he looked at the results of the students' duels.

"You get up, Weasley... watch out, Miss Granger... pinch it tightly, Boot, the bleeding will stop soon... I think I'd better teach you how to stop unfriendly magic." Lockhart stood in the center of the Great Hall, looking flustered as his eyes darted everywhere, unsure where to look.

Then he fixed his gaze on Professor Snape, whose black eyes flashed as he swiftly swept them around.

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

"A dreadful idea, Professor Lockhart," Professor Snape said, gliding forward like a large, malicious bat. "Theodore knows a great deal of Dark magic. We will have no choice but to send Neville's remains to the Hospital Wing."

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

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

"Excellent 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 tide, leaving a wide open space in the middle.

But at that moment, Professor Graves stepped forward. He looked at Su Yu and asked elegantly, "Student Su Fuli, would you care to come up and give Harry and Malfoy a demonstration with me first?"

Everyone's eyes turned toward Su Yu.

Su Yu leaned against a pillar with the Nine-Tailed Fox in his arms. He raised his head and looked at Professor Graves.

"My dear professor, I am most honored, am I not? I accept your request, but..." Su Yu paused. "Is there any stake involved?"

That manner of speaking, and the sudden shift into that of a street thug, nearly threw Professor Graves' back out. His expression paused, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly before he began to laugh.

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

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

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

In an instant, the Nine-Tails Cloak covered Su Yu's entire body. Golden chakra surged from within him like a suit of burning armor, enveloping him from head to toe.

Professor Graves' 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 beneath the Fiendfyre.

Su Yu raised his wand and suddenly vanished from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was already behind Professor Graves. He cast an ordinary Fiendfyre spell at him as well—a stream of red flame burst from his wand tip and shot straight for Professor Graves' 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, curving through the air and circling around his body once before being absorbed into his blue flames. Then that mass of fire shot back at Su Yu.

Su Yu landed and hurriedly dodged aside. The blue flames brushed past his ear and struck the wall behind him, leaving behind a charred crater.

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

Graves simply reached out and caught Su Yu's punch with one palm. His hand pressed steadily against Su Yu's fist without moving in the slightest, as though he had caught a tossed pebble.

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

Not only did Su Yu's expression change on the platform, but the Slytherins below stared at Professor Graves as though he were a monster. He had taken the chief's punch head-on? Sister Fa finally understood why Su Yu had been staring at that old monster all this time.

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' eyes widened. He released Su Yu's fist and tried to retreat, having already seen Su Yu's eyes begin to change.

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

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

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

The young wizards below began gasping sharply again. Was this not supposed to be a duel? Had the rules changed to a fight to the death? Harry suddenly did not hurt anywhere anymore—compared to Su Yu, Malfoy looked like a kind old landlord. At the very least, that landlord Malfoy had not wanted to kill him.

Just then, Graves' body suddenly turned into a mass of blue flames. His body melted like a candle, becoming a flickering cluster of icy blue fire that instantly wrapped around Su Yu. The flames surged over Su Yu's body as if they intended to devour him.

The young wizards cried out in alarm again.

But Su Yu absorbed every last flame through his palms. His hands were like two whirlpools, drawing all the blue fire into them. Graves' figure emerged at one side, his clothes without a single wrinkle and his hair still perfectly neat.

"Very impressive, little Su Fuli," Professor Graves said with sincere admiration in his voice. "I truly like you more and more. Shall we end it here today? If we keep fighting, this space will not be enough."

Su Yu withdrew the Nine-Tails Cloak as well, and his eyes returned to normal. He bowed and replied, "I agree with you completely. Let us call it a draw today, and we can do this again another time."

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

The young wizards below could not make sense of it, but that did not stop them from finding it exciting. They applauded one after another. The Slytherins were still cheering for Su Yu! Malfoy even put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle.

Next came the duel between Harry and Malfoy.

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 quickly raised his wand and roared, "Serpensortia!"

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

Harry was frozen with fear. His face had gone white, his lips trembling. The crowd quickly backed away, with occasional screams ringing out as shoes scraped chaotically across the floor.

"Don't move, Potter," Professor Snape said lazily. He clearly enjoyed watching Harry stand motionless, face to face with the enraged 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 vanish. Instead, it was hurled ten feet into the air before crashing back down onto the floor with a tremendous thud. The floor shook from the impact, and the snake's body writhed several times.

It was enraged. Hissing violently, it slithered straight toward Justin, reared up, bared its fangs, and prepared to attack.

Harry had no idea what made him do it. He did not even have time to think. All he knew was that his feet carried him forward mechanically, as if they had wheels attached to them, and then he stupidly shouted at the snake, "Leave him alone!"

Miraculously, unbelievably, the snake fell back onto the floor, as tame as a lamb. Its head lowered, its body coiled up, and the hissing stopped.

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

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

"What do you think you were doing just now?" Justin shouted. Before Harry could say anything, Justin had already turned and rushed out of the Great Hall. His footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing farther and farther away.

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 once before dispersing, leaving nothing behind.

Professor Snape also looked at Harry with an expression of surprise, but it was a sly expression, and Harry did not like it at all.

Harry vaguely heard ominous, dangerous murmuring all around the walls. Then he felt someone tug at the back of his robes.

Ron pulled him out of the Great Hall, with Hermione hurrying after them. As they passed through the doors, the people on both sides made way, as though afraid of catching something.

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

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

Su Yu watched his retreating back for a long time.

This was getting more and more interesting. The vanished diary, the continuing petrification incidents, and now that old bastard Grindelwald—why had he appeared too? Was Dumbledore reminiscing about old love? Second-year life had clearly strayed beyond the movies. He smiled and shook his head. The first Dark Lord against the second-generation village bully? This show will be worth watching.

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