Gilderoy Lockhart

Eli paused, looking at the courteous boy before him.

He remembered Cedric vividly from the films he had watched in his previous life. Cedric's charm had made him popular in Hufflepuff, but he had died tragically at the hands of Peter Pettigrew.

The Killing Curse had taken his young life.

Eli hesitated only a moment before coming back to himself. The two exchanged the customary dueling bows.

Eli did not overwhelm Cedric at once. If he kept doing that, the Dueling Club would lose its purpose.

Cedric remained composed. Rather than attack immediately, he cast a Shield Charm on himself.

Eli nodded. Cedric had better combat instincts than most. At least he knew to protect himself before trying to defeat someone else.

Eli cast a Shield Charm on himself too, out of respect for his opponent.

Cedric was nervous. He knew how formidable Eli was and that he had no chance of winning. He had not come to win, though. He wanted to learn Eli's fighting techniques.

His attacks were steady. He never struck at Eli without making sure he was protected first.

He was cautious!

They fought for several minutes before Eli fired a Disarming Charm. Cedric did not try to counter it. Instead, he ducked swiftly beneath the spell.

As he ducked, he sent a spell straight toward Eli.

Eli frowned. The spell seemed to have gone wide.

But Eli had no intention of making things easy for him. He fired another Disarming Charm.

Cedric raised a Shield Charm to block it.

The earlier spell struck a wooden board beside Eli and shattered it.

As Eli pressed his attack, Cedric pointed his wand at the fragments.

The fragments turned into ropes and shot toward Eli.

Eli's eyes sharpened. He pulled back his wand and swept it across the