When Neville drew the longsword Senior Brother Gu Ying had given him, even Rodolphus, who was already nearly insane with rage, went blank for a moment.
A sword? A longsword?
Rodolphus, a lunatic himself, actually wondered whether he ought to bother taking this young wizard seriously.
Who but a madman would dare face him with a longsword pulled out of goodness knew where?
Who did he think he was? Godric Gryffindor?
But then Rodolphus remembered what this lunatic of a young wizard had done.
He had dared insult the great Lord Voldemort. Right, what had the boy said his name was?
"Longbottom?" A cruel smile rose on Rodolphus's gloomy face.
"Longbottom... Now, that was a wonderful night. I-"
Before he could finish, the round-faced young wizard opposite him suddenly swung his longsword and charged.
Neville felt as though the whole world had fallen silent. The other young wizards' worried cries and Justin's screams seemed to have vanished.
Who said he had to wait for someone to finish speaking before attacking?
He was a member of the Duelling Club too. Over the past two years, he had also been learning all sorts of things and training to handle all kinds of situations.
Neville thought he was slow, and being slow meant he needed more time, approaching every little thing he learned with devotion.
His heart pounded fiercely, as though someone were beating a war drum beside his ears.
Was I nervous? I must be. This wasn't a practice match in the club.
He watched Rodolphus raise his wand. Without an incantation, the dazzling blue light of dark magic illuminated Rodolphus's hideously twisted face.
The five or six meters between them vanished in an instant. Neville's forward rush suddenly checked, his footwork changed, and he moved as gracefully as a dancer. With