The Killing Curse, hailed by wizards as the most dangerous Charm in history, ranked first among the three Unforgivable Curses, and regarded as Voldemort's signature Charm, naturally has its own unique qualities...
First, the greater the malice and magical power behind it, the greater the power it unleashes.
Second, the almost irreversible death it causes has made it the very embodiment of the Grim Reaper in the wizarding world.
Third, there is virtually no effective way to defend against that deadly green light.
Simply put, this is a profound Charm whose upper limit is determined by the upper limit of the wizard casting it.
"Avada Kedavra!"
It might not even be faster than sound, but that thick green light, like an enormous serpent, still made Ginny and Luna go pale as they faced it head on.
It was as if some terrifying beast had locked onto them.
Death on contact.
Those four words were all the world really knew about the Killing Curse.
"Draco!!"
"Watch out!!"
Even if it was not especially fast, and even with the incantation spoken the instant it was cast, that brief window should have been enough for someone to dodge.
But the surging malice and green light seemed to stiffen the limbs and stop the mind from thinking, leaving them unable to move.
Perhaps that feeling of being locked onto like prey was exactly why the Killing Curse inspired such terror among wizards.
Any wizard whose will was not strong enough would find it almost impossible to dodge a Killing Curse like this.
It was the kind of feeling where your mind knew what to do, but your body simply would not listen.
Just as Ginny and Luna watched helplessly as the serpent-like green light rushed before their eyes, a glimmer of hope suddenly flashed through their vision.
A silver light that was not blinding at all.
That was...
"Expecto Patronum!!"
Roar!!!!
A half-transparent yet solid silver dragon appeared right in the middle of the battlefield.
The moment the silver dragon appeared, everyone seemed to hear a silent dragon's roar echo through the air deep in their minds. Ginny and the others, whose bodies had been cold and trembling just moments before, finally felt warmth return after being swept by that silver glow.
That overwhelming sense of security made the girls instinctively look toward Draco's tall back and the exquisite wand in his hand.
It was the warm light pouring from Draco's wand, along with that intoxicating profile.
This was Draco Malfoy and his Patronus.
This was the oldest and most powerful defensive magic in the wizarding world...
This was the Patronus Charm!
...
The dragon's wings folded before him, turning into the strongest shield of all.
The green beam carrying the scent of death slammed mercilessly into the silver light.
Boom!
The shockwave that swept outward from the clash, along with the groan produced by the collision of magic, echoed across the scorched plain...
The splashes of magical light flying into the sky were as beautiful as a field of stars.
But no one present had the mind to appreciate any of it.
Because this was a collision between hope and death!!!
The winner lives.
The loser dies.
That was what a battle between wizards was.
And for the girls, facing a scene like this for the first time, even those standing far away could see the magical clash tearing through the sky, let alone them, experiencing it from this distance.
What did that feel like?
They might not have known exactly what kind of wizard could be called powerful, but the confrontation between Draco and Little Barty Crouch made Ginny and Luna, standing behind him, understand what it meant to face a power that could make people despair.
Even Luna, who usually showed very little on her face, had her lips parted slightly now, wearing an adorably stunned look as though her entire worldview had been shattered...
With a silly expression, Luna said something equally silly.
"This person... is he really a Hogwarts student too?"
Ginny's doubtful gaze also fell on that profile, the one that for some reason made her heart beat just a little faster.
"Are you sure he is not an adult wizard who graduated ages ago?"
"No way..."
"Even Harry could not possibly..."
Even though she had already tried to prepare herself mentally, Ginny, clutching the hem of her robe nervously, still could not believe what she was seeing.
Especially when she realized he was a student just like her, attending the same school and taught by the same professors, her already muddled thoughts became even more chaotic.
Was this really not an illusion?
Still, was Ginny making some enormous misunderstanding by putting Harry Potter and Draco in the same comparison?
As if he had heard that last line and felt insulted, Draco suddenly poured even more magic into his wand...
Roar!
With one beat of its wings, the dragon sent the incoming green beam flying away.
The Killing Curse that slammed into the black tower pierced straight through it.
From the falling rubble and the nearly destroyed entire third floor, it was obvious that the Killing Curse cast by Little Barty Crouch was no ordinary spell.
Judging by that destructive power, it was almost no different from the Killing Curse cast by Voldemort...
And from that, it was equally clear that the profound Patronus Charm truly deserved its reputation as the oldest and strongest defensive spell. Even a terrifying Killing Curse like that could still be kept out.
Of course, the Patronus Charm, the kind that can summon a Patronus, was not something just any wizard could master.
Just as Ginny thought she could finally relax, Little Barty Crouch shouted words that made her heart stop for a beat once more.
"What are you standing there for? Do you want to die here?!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
A full five deadly beams of varying thickness shot straight toward Draco, giving him no chance at all.
One could imagine that if Draco had not taken out most of the enemy from the very start, what he would be facing now would not be just five Killing Curses.
Even Dumbledore might not have been able to handle this perfectly.
Especially with two young witches behind him that he had to protect...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roar!
The Patronus Charm, struck head on, turned unsteady in an instant. The frantic drain of magic from his body made Draco sway slightly.
Realizing he could not afford to remain on the defensive like this, Draco quickly warned the girls behind him, whose expressions were now a little blank.
"Do not just stand there. Now..."
The moment Draco's words fell, his hand had already closed around something every wizard was intimately familiar with.
It was a Broomstick!
In the next second, mounted on the Lovegood family's Broomstick, Draco's lips curved faintly upward...
"The aerial battle begins!"