The vicious Severing Charm swept past almost flush with the soles of Douglas's feet.
The fierce rush of the spell even lifted the hem of his robes.
In midair, Douglas twisted again at an angle that defied physics, as light as a weightless feather.
The Golden Scaled Sword in his hand blazed with light.
The golden radiance flowing along its blade gathered at the tip, as though it would turn into thunder in the next second and deliver a fatal blow to this off-balance fortress of war.
The students in the stands had their hearts in their mouths.
The fierce sword light was reflected in Moody's good eye.
He forcibly twisted his body, deep blue light surging from his wand as he prepared to take this earth-shattering strike head-on.
Yet the sword did not fall.
Douglas's lips moved silently.
That seemingly all-cleaving display of power was merely an elaborate feint.
Two almost imperceptible streams of magic split off from his raised sword tip, shooting precisely toward the two golden monks still struggling in the quicksand below.
"Screee!"
Two piercing crane cries, like metal scraping against metal, suddenly rang out!
The golden monks in the mire elongated and transformed in an instant.
They became two elegant cranes cast entirely from pure gold.
The golden cranes abruptly spread their broad wings. Each beat stirred a golden gale, allowing them to break free of the muddy quicksand with ease.
Without the slightest pause, they stretched their long necks, their sharp, blade-like beaks darting like lightning at Moody from either side just as he raised his Shield Charm!
A flicker of anger at being toyed with crossed Moody's face.
Without the slightest hesitation, he followed the tilt of his body and lay straight down against the quicksand.
Though undignified, this position just avoided the