Of course, not just hosting—talent shows are also welcome! We highly encourage it; the stage exists for the brave!"
"Hmm, that's not in the script, this kid..." Howl's sigh emerged.
"You're back?" Flitwick smiled, "How does it feel?"
"Absolutely amazing," Howl laughed heartily. "I wanted to do this for Halloween."
"Boring and a waste of time," Snape stated with a sharp critique, his face stern.
In his opinion, Howl's arrangements so far were a waste of time; he just wanted to quickly see if these guys had learned anything from him.
Howl shrugged, "Life shouldn't just be about magic, Severus, relax. If you want to go on stage too, I'll arrange a halftime show for you."
"..."
"I completely agree," Professor McGonagall nodded in strong agreement. "More healthy recreational activities would be great."
In the arena, Jordan had already begun to announce the rules of the competition: "All students can give it their all. Now, look to our left in the teacher's section, Madam Pomfrey, Hogwarts' most excellent healer, is standing by.
At the same time, attentive spectators may have noticed that on our field, there are some incomprehensible magic patterns, like crop circles.
This is Professor Jones's Transfiguration work, in conjunction with other teachers. Before each match, we will randomly select a spectator to draw the combat terrain, including but not limited to stone stair platforms, octagonal cages, forests, deserts, etc., everything is completely random.
So, what's about to unfold is the sixth-year group match. Ah ha, there are always many registrants, a total of thirty-four people, so it seems no one will have a bye. Next, all sixth-year participants please come up for the drawing."
Soon, a group of sixth-year Little Wizards walked to the platform and began drawing lots.
"Alright, next, please welcome number one, and number thirty-four, step forward!" Jordan said.
Harry also watched below without blinking.
This was the first battle, and their best opportunity to gather information and familiarize themselves with the process.
"So, who would like to draw the battle terrain for the first match?" Jordan asked.
"Me!"
Harry was startled by Draco, and upon closer look, number thirty-four was indeed Gemma Farley.
He scrutinized Draco with a look of uncertainty.
No, you really don't like her, do you?
"Ah ha, Mr. Draco is the first to volunteer, so welcome." Jordan said.
"What should I do?" Draco asked loudly, expectantly.
"Take out your wand, aim it at the center below, and cast any spell! Once you activate the array, the terrain will change, and a one-minute countdown will begin.
When the countdown ends, the duel automatically begins!"
Draco nodded, then drew his wand.
"Incendio—"
The wand shot down like lightning, landing between the two individuals in the arena.
The next moment, the ground shook violently, trembling like a sieve, as patches of yellow, bare ground were exposed.
"Desert terrain!" Jordan announced, quickly retreating from the field. In the center of the field, a large countdown also appeared.
The ticking sound of the second hand was unusually clear.
Soon, the minute was over.
The Little Wizards watched the duel with bated breath. Gemma Farley's opponent was a male Wizard from Hufflepuff. As soon as the battle began, he quickly and skillfully cast Expelliarmus, but it was rebounded by an even faster Shield Charm.
At the same time, Farley's eyes were fixed on her opponent's reaction to the reflected Expelliarmus.
Then, she followed up with a silent Transfiguration spell, and the ground turned into quicksand, dragging him in.
In the blink of an eye, the battle was over.
"Trash," she said dismissively, looking down at him.
"This is...?" Draco looked at Gemma Farley in disbelief amidst the cheers of Slytherin and Gryffindor.
"Nonverbal spell?"
"Sixth years officially start learning nonverbal spells. Haven't you been paying attention?" Harry looked at him, confused. "And didn't you even have Fred and George celebrate her victory? Why the long face now?"
"Pay attention to what?!" Draco clutched his head. "You told me to build a good foundation, enough to beat half of Hogwarts, just like you did in first year."
"Professor Jones treats all students equally, you should know that best," Harry said. "It's not just you and I who are improving; Mr. Jones's classes have changed too many people. And yes, you can definitely win; low-year students and rookie high-year students certainly make up more than half of Hogwarts. But those who are prefects are clearly not rookies."
"Then why was it so easy for you last year?" Draco said unhappily.
"Punch you in the throat, and you can't cast a spell either," Harry explained.
"Damn it!" Draco shook his head. "I'm not watching anymore! I'm going back to practice!"
"Indeed." Harry agreed with this suggestion. Now that he understood the general flow of the competition, he also needed to go back and continue practicing the Patronus Charm.
On the path back, Harry still couldn't help but ask, "So you had Fred and George celebrate Farley's victory again, but you're unhappy when she wins. Why is that?"
Draco was silent for a moment, then said, "I... I didn't expect her to win so easily... Never mind, at least this way her chances of getting into the top three are much higher."
"Top three?" Harry looked at Draco in surprise. "You want her to get into the top three? You said before..."
Then, a rather unlikely answer surfaced in Harry's mind.
"Wait!! You... you want to give her trouble in the exhibition match?"
"Heh heh, you finally guessed it," Draco's lips twitched.
"So why did you have Fred and George celebrate for her...? I don't understand, you spend money to celebrate your opponent's victory?!"
This touched on Harry's blind spot again; he truly wasn't as good as Draco at these convoluted things.
"I see you completely don't understand," Draco smiled.
"Only by raising her to the clouds will it hurt enough when she falls, enough to shatter her to pieces!"
"Oh!" Harry suddenly understood. "So you've already assumed you can beat her?"
At this, Draco's expression immediately soured by two points: "Damn it, don't even mention it, I'm annoyed about that right now."
Then he quickly comforted himself: "But it's fine, I need to look forward to the top three in the second-year group first. As for the exhibition match, there's still a long time for improvement in between."
"Top three? Then why not... never mind, that's a bit..."
Draco paused, then said seriously:
"That's a bit insulting to me, right. But coincidentally, I was thinking the same thing. Otherwise, I would have talked to you about this already.
If the two of us run into each other, no holding back.
My current practice isn't to beg for mercy when I encounter someone I can't beat.
I won't use dirty tricks to help Gemma Farley get into the top three, and I certainly won't myself."
"I think so too," Harry smiled.
As they spoke, the two walked into the Castle.
Suddenly, a tragic, incredibly piercing scream rang out.
Draco's hair immediately stood on end, then he looked at Harry with surprise and uncertainty.
"That's... Longbottom's voice?"
"You scoundrel! Already screaming? How can you improve like this? Hold it in!" Another old roar echoed through the Castle.
"That's... Grindelwald?" Draco said again, fear swirling in his eyes.
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