"Expelliarmus!"
"Stupefy!"
Beams of light shot past each other, striking the stone walls and scattering rubble—but hitting no one.
The two newcomers were Lucas from Beauxbatons, his robes were still scorched with traces of fire; and Seraphina from Ilvermorny, uninjured but covered head to toe in dirt, looking utterly disheveled.
The air was heavy with dampness, carrying a faint sense of oppression. They both eyed each other warily and moved with slow caution.
"Two people have already gone ahead," Lucas suddenly said. "They could strike at any moment."
"You're right," Seraphina replied tiredly.
Lucas continued, "Before we find a golden egg, I think we should work together for now. What do you say?"
"That sounds reasonable," Seraphina agreed.
"Then… how about I count to three, and we both lower our wands together?" Lucas suggested cautiously.
"Alright," Seraphina answered briskly, though her wand remained firmly leveled at him, and each of her steps was slow and deliberate.
Lucas: "…"
His smile stiffened slightly. Drawing a deep breath, he said, "One… two… three!"
A gust of wind swept through, stirring dead leaves. Neither wand moved an inch.
Wade quietly enlarged his mirror, and watched the scene unfold with relish.
"You didn't lower your wand."
"Neither did you."
"How about this then…" Lucas said with a forced smile, offering a new idea. "Since we can't trust each other, why don't we each pick a different passage and explore separately?"
"Fine. You go first." Seraphina agreed easily.
Lucas: "…"
How could he possibly expose his back to her?
"Together," he said. "We'll walk at the same time."
And so, the two of them edged slowly toward the tunnel entrances, each keeping the other in sight, scuttling sideways like crabs.
Suddenly, Lucas's eyes caught a faint glimmer of reflected light just behind Seraphina's side. Because she was focused entirely on him, she hadn't noticed it.
His lips curled briefly in a quick smirk, then darted his gaze away, worried she might catch on.
It was only a fleeting expression—but Seraphina had been staring at him the whole time. Though she didn't see the detail clearly, her instincts screamed that something was wrong.
Her brows knit sharply. Without hesitation, she swung her wand. "Stupefy!"
Lucas had just been waiting, expecting something to happen as Seraphina neared the tunnel. But in that split-second of distraction, the red jet of light was already flying at his chest.
He dove to the side with a jolt—but Seraphina pursued relentlessly.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"
The Stunning Spell was her specialty—one she could cast without a thought.
The final spell struck Lucas squarely. He lost consciousness instantly and collapsed rigidly onto the ground.
Seraphina let out a breath of relief, quickly added a Binding Charm for good measure, then frowned as she turned to look back at the passage she had been about to enter.
Lucas's reaction just now proved he had definitely seen something.
But by the moment she turned around, Wade had already whisked his mirror away.
A few detection spells lit up the entrance, and faint glimmers revealed the traps hidden in the floor.
Once she pinpointed the problem, Seraphina's tightly furrowed brows loosened—yet after a moment's thought, her expression darkened again.
The traps had required a detection spell for her to uncover them, but Lucas had spotted them with the naked eye at such a distance. That alone showed the huge gap between them.
If he hadn't suddenly let his guard down, the one lying defeated would have been her.
The thought weighed heavily on Seraphina. The rush of accomplishment she had felt from making it past the dragon so smoothly dissolved into nothing in an instant.
At Ilvermorny, she had always been considered outstanding. Yet leaving school, she realized—in the wider world, there were far too many people more talented than herself.
For a moment, she felt disheartened. Then she pressed on, and her determination to win burned even stronger.
She still chose the same passage as before.
There was an ambush here—but what of the other passage? And as she had already uncovered the trap in this one, then relatively speaking, this path was the safer option.
…
Seraphina could not hear it, but in the stands a ripple of sharp intakes of breath had spread. Her headmaster, Agilbert, let out a quiet sigh.
As Ilvermorny's headmaster, he understood her thoughts completely—after all, she was a student he had watched grow up. He also knew her choice was not wrong. But unfortunately…
The wizard's fingers drummed against his leg as he stared at the girl in the Streaming Mirror with a heavy gaze.
Karkaroff glanced at Agilbert with a trace of schadenfreude on his face. In a syrupy tone, he said:
"The young lady's spells are impressive, but luck is part of strength too, isn't it, Agilbert?"
Agilbert gave a cold snort, leaned back in his chair, and shot Karkaroff a look of utter disdain.
"Karkaroff, as far as I know… your reputation at Durmstrang is far from stellar. Viktor Krum is excellent, yes—but is his excellence something you taught him?"
He looked Karkaroff up and down, letting out a derisive laugh. He didn't speak the words aloud, but his eyes clearly said: You? You're not worthy.
Karkaroff nearly choked with rage.
…
"Expelliarmus!"
Almost the instant she heard Wade's voice casting the spell, Seraphina was struck by a beam of light. Her wand flew from her hand, and she staggered back several steps, slamming into the wall before stopping.
She lifted her head in shock and finally saw Wade stepping out from the shadows.
"Wade Grey?" Seraphina forced a smile onto her face. "I thought we had a pretty good relationship? You're not going after the golden eggs?"
Even as she spoke, her eyes darted about, searching for any chance to turn the situation around.
But Wade didn't waste words on her. He gave his wand a sharp flick: "Stupefy!"
The instant he opened his mouth, Seraphina made a decisive leap toward him, trying to snatch his wand—or at least knock his spell off target.
But while casting, Wade had already taken a step back. Seraphina lunged forward, only to suddenly stumble mid-stride, as if she had tripped over her own shoelace.
Her body pitched forward, her face twisted in alarm, and in the next moment the Stunning Spell struck her. Her body went limp and she collapsed instantly.
From near her feet, a beetle-shaped magic doll crawled out. Wade waved his hand, and seven or eight more dolls gathered. Like ants hauling away prey, they hoisted Seraphina into the air and carried her deeper into the passage—where they tossed her directly into a trap.
A massive spider slowly crawled forward, "eyeing" the prey that had landed in its web. After a moment of hesitation, it began winding translucent strands of silk around her body, cocooning her layer by layer.
Wade glanced in that direction, then returned to his corner and sat quietly, waiting.
The champions did not face the fire dragon in groups; each one entered the field as soon as the previous had failed or advanced to the next stage.
Which meant it wouldn't be long before another victim dropped down from the compass above.
…
By the web, two invisible Aurors were conversing in voices only they could hear:
"Should we take Seraphina Picquery and Lucas Barreau out of the field?"
"Were they fatally injured?"
"Of course not."
"Then leave them. The 'remains' of fallen champions are part of the stage decoration."
"But at this rate, won't Wade Grey end up walking away with half the golden eggs? I just saw that scorpion doll—he's about to secure a fourth one."
"…That's the result of his own skill. We shouldn't interfere."
"Really? Because I doubt the higher-ups want to see things end that way."
"…I'll ask for instructions."
…
Wade opened his eyes, took the fourth golden egg from his doll's grasp, and the corner of his mouth curved into a faint, elusive smile.
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- 200+ Chapters
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