Three bolts of black lightning struck at Harry and the other two. All three had seen a single bolt shatter Tris's shield, then watched another hit him, leaving his fate unknown. None dared hesitate, and each immediately moved to defend themselves.
Their responses instantly revealed the differences between them.
Ever since the previous summer, Tris had dragged Harry through all sorts of high-intensity training, giving him extraordinary reflexes. The moment he saw the lightning coming, he twisted sideways and leaped out of the way.
Though swift, the black lightning was magic, not actual lightning. Harry dodged as soon as he saw it coming and, after a close call, narrowly escaped.
On a Flying Broomstick, Krum was arguably the most agile person in the Wizarding World. On the ground, however, nimble as he was, he could not match Harry.
His judgment was undeniably precise. He recognized that immediately, so instead of dodging, he rapidly swung his wand and sent two powerful spells up to meet the bolt, barely canceling it out.
Pheobe took a different approach. She was certainly slower on her feet than Krum, but her casting speed was astonishing.
Losing to Tris several times had driven her to work especially hard over the past few years. Combined with her exceptional talent and the unusual affinity for magic granted by her bloodline, that made her casting incredibly fast.
Rather than use powerful magic, she fired off five of the most basic Impact Curses in succession, finally managing to barely stop the black lightning.
But just as the three of them scraped through those bolts, more lightning began brewing in the dark clouds. Amid rolling thunder, six bolts fell from the clouds at once.
At that moment, despair crept onto the faces of both Champions other than Harry. They had barely