The two had barely stopped when a tremendous crash rang out.
Above Zhang Xiao, the classroom's enormous candle chandelier swayed twice, then came crashing down.
At the same time, behind Moody, a cabinet that had been secured to the wall broke loose and hurtled straight toward the back of his head.
Both stepped back and raised their wands again, but this time, they weren't attacking each other.
Zhang Xiao steadied the cabinet behind Moody, while Moody used Slow and Cushion to halt the chandelier above Zhang Xiao.
"How could this happen?"
Ron clutched his head and shouted:
"It was just getting to the best part! Why did the cabinet and chandelier have to fall? I wanted to keep watching!"
Ron wasn't the only one. Many of the young witches and wizards voiced similar complaints. What rotten luck! Why would perfectly sound fixtures suddenly fall down?
Neville's eyes suddenly widened in surprise. Combined with his round face, it made him look rather comical.
"Zhang and Professor Moody... I think they did it on purpose!"
On purpose?
Harry had already had a vague feeling that something was off. Neville's remark made everything click.
Neville was right!
The cabinet and chandelier weren't an accident. They'd done it deliberately.
"Do you think..." As Harry gradually worked out the secret behind it, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
His body trembled slightly, from both the excitement of his sudden realization and the shock of seeing a more advanced approach to combat.
"If Professor Moody and Zhang kept increasing their speed like that, no matter how fast they got, they'd eventually reach a limit.
"Just like what happened a moment ago. They ended up evenly matched, and neither could get the better of the other. What would they do then?
"Just stay locked in that stalemate