BANG!
A loud thud echoed.
Hit by the force of the Stupefy spell, Rey was blasted backward uncontrollably, his body slamming into the stone wall with a heavy crash.
This was unexpected.
Marcus Flint was surprised, but Rey was even more shocked.
Rey had reacted faster. He felt the magic surge within him, his wand movement was standard, and the incantation had been perfectly timed.
Expelliarmus was as simple to Rey as raising his hand. Yet, he had failed. The spell didn't manifest, and Marcus Flint didn't feel even a slight tremor in his grip on his wand.
A misfire! Such a thing should have been impossible for Rey, but here it was, stark reality.
The impact from behind jarred him as his back made intimate contact with the wall.
Both Marcus Flint and Rey paused for two beats in sheer astonishment after the exchange.
Rey was shocked that his spell had failed. Marcus Flint, on the other hand, hadn't expected his spell to hit Rey first. What shocked him even more was that although Rey had taken the hit, there wasn't a single sign of him losing consciousness.
Stupefy didn't just knock people back; it was supposed to render them unconscious for a short time.
But Rey looked like he'd just been punched in the face. It hurt, sure, but he looked far from passing out.
The pause lasted only a moment.
Regardless of the details, Rey had been knocked into the wall by Stupefy. Marcus felt a surge of joy. With another flick of his wrist, he sent a magical bolt flying toward Rey's shoulder. He wanted to teach this guy a lesson—this was the price for offending Marcus Flint.
The brief surprise vanished instantly. Rey didn't have time to ponder why Stupefy hadn't knocked him out. He instinctively crouched low and sprinted toward Marcus Flint.
For a wizard accustomed to combat, dealing with an amateur like Marcus Flint was simple. Just by observing his wrist movement, Rey knew exactly what spell was coming next and where he was aiming.
Dodging was incredibly easy because simple offensive spells usually traveled in straight lines.
---
Crack!
The magical bolt struck the castle's stone wall, sending stone chips flying.
The distance between Rey and Marcus Flint wasn't far to begin with. With a dodge and a dash, Rey lunged right in front of Marcus.
Marcus Flint was only just reacting now. Rey was too fast. panicked, he swung his wand downward in a desperate strike.
Having closed the distance, Rey wasn't about to let him succeed. He raised his left hand, perfectly catching Marcus's descending right wrist.
Yanking the wrist diagonally downward to off-balance his opponent, Rey used his forward momentum to drive his right shoulder forward. Thud! Rey's shoulder slammed into Marcus Flint's body.
The point of impact was right below Marcus Flint's ribcage—the solar plexus.
This is one of the human body's weakest points. Even a light punch here can leave someone breathless and on the ground.
Although a wizard's body is stronger than an average person's, Rey's charging shoulder tackle carried far more force than a light punch.
The impact sent Marcus Flint flying backward.
Simultaneously, Rey's grip on Marcus's wrist loosened slightly then tightened again, effortlessly snatching the wand from his hand as he flew back.
The fight was over quickly. Even including the moment of shock, the whole encounter lasted less than five seconds.
Marcus Flint lay on the ground, groaning in agony, clutching his stomach. He was in too much pain to speak.
Rey, the victor, had disarmed an upperclassman barehanded. The sheer brutality and speed of the fight drew gasps from the few students scattered nearby.
Wizards rarely engaged in close-quarters combat. This scene was definitely an eye-opener for the onlookers.
Dropping the captured wand, Rey glanced at the surrounding students, then turned and walked toward the corridor leading to the Headmaster's office.
Marcus Flint had just been hit in a vulnerable spot. It would hurt like hell and sap his strength, but it wouldn't cause lasting damage. He'd recover in about twenty minutes. Besides, his friends who were skipping class with him were nearby.
Even if Rey had hit him hard enough to knock him out from the pain, his friends would surely take him to the hospital wing immediately.
---
Under the watchful eyes of the students, Rey turned and left.
Right now, his internal shock was no less than theirs. He needed to verify some things immediately—like why his magic had failed.
" Wingardium Leviosa! "
Walking into a stone corridor, Rey pointed his wand at a fallen leaf outside the archway.
As he cast the spell, the leaf didn't float up as expected.
It felt like a wizard with magical potential failing a spell due to lack of practice.
The Levitation Charm was one of the first spells Rey had mastered. Yet now...
"Something is wrong with me!"
After failing several simple spells in a row, Rey finally accepted the fact. It wasn't just the Levitation Charm; Lumos failed too. Rey could clearly sense the magic inside him refusing to obey his commands.
That wasn't the only issue. There was also the matter of his physical toughness.
His body's resistance to magical attacks had increased dramatically—so much so that he barely felt the Stupefy spell.
In fact, hitting the stone wall had hurt more than Marcus Flint's spell.
If the wall hadn't been there, Rey might have just been pushed back a bit further by the spell without any real damage.
Although the power of a spell depends on the caster, Rey's magic resistance was clearly far beyond that of a normal wizard.
This reminded Rey of when Doric had been hit by his Stupefy. Back then, Doric's physical constitution was insanely strong. Rey's current body seemed to be on par with Doric's back then.
Doric was stronger because he was a vampire. But Rey? Was this a change brought on by his dragon transformation?
His body was stronger, and his reaction speed was faster. But his connection to magic had become incredibly alien.
It felt backward. He didn't know if this change was good or bad.
Rey felt uneasy. In the wizarding world, no matter how strong your body is, not being able to cast spells is a fatal flaw.
---
"Rey, what are you doing here?"
Just as Rey was walking with his head down, pondering his problem, he heard Dumbledore's voice.
Unknowingly, he had arrived at the entrance to the Headmaster's office. The stone gargoyle had just finished rotating, and Dumbledore was stepping out.
According to Dumbledore's calculations, Rey shouldn't have woken up until noon. Plus, he had instructed Hagrid to keep Rey at the hut until the vampire was found. So Rey shouldn't be here right now.
Interrupted from his thoughts, Rey looked up. "Professor! I want to..."
Rey stopped mid-sentence. Dumbledore wasn't alone.
Beside him stood the bowler-hat-wearing Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and two Aurors dressed similarly.
And, of course, there was one more person.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor: Cabor Doric.