pertwk Chapter 185 Duel
Chapter 185 Duel
Chapter 185 Duel
Malfoy's grey eyes suddenly lit up, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily twitched upwards, an arrogant and smug smile almost appearing on his face. Could there be anything more perfect than defeating "Savior" Potter in front of everyone?
However, in an instant, Harry's grades, which far exceeded those of his peers, and the memory of his own embarrassing fall in the changing corridors, extinguished his impulse like cold water. The smile on his face froze, turning into unease.
But all eyes were now on him, so he raised his chin and forced a composed demeanor as he walked toward the stage, but his eyes, fixed on Harry, betrayed his underlying wariness.
Harry's lips twitched down almost imperceptibly, as if he were about to roll his eyes.
It's Malfoy again.
Looking at the other person's forced composure, he felt no fighting spirit whatsoever, only annoyance.
He came here tonight hoping to learn something useful, not to put on this childish charade with Malfoy in front of the entire school.
"Give him a good beating, Harry!" Ron whispered, encouraging Harry.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Harry had no choice but to suppress his displeasure and take a step forward with a forced posture that anyone could see.
Just as the tense atmosphere filled the center of the auditorium, unnoticed above, a crow stood silently on a horizontal beam. Lin Qi's gaze swept over the noisy crowd and landed on the two boys about to duel, ready to see what kind of battle they would bring.
Harry and Malfoy stood in the center of the stage, a few steps apart, looking at each other.
"What's wrong, Potter? Are you scared?" Malfoy asked provocatively, noticing Harry's reluctance when he went on stage.
"No. I'm looking forward to it." Harry suddenly changed his mind and decided to teach Malfoy a lesson, just like Ron had suggested.
"Alright, gentlemen!" Lockhart's voice was still a little unsteady, but he tried his best to maintain the demeanor of a host. "Just as you saw, bow!"
Harry and Malfoy nodded, barely, their eyes fixed on each other. Their wands were already gripped tightly in their hands.
"Remember, only practice spells are allowed!" Lockhart added. "Now, I'll count to three! One—two—three!"
"Grinning and whooshing!" Malfoy attacked almost the instant the number "three" fell, his wand shooting out a weak, ticklish beam of light.
However, Harry's reaction was neither to block nor to counterattack.
The instant the spell's light shone, his body reacted before he could think—an instinct formed after countless attacks with "ink" and "pad sticks."
He suddenly did a low roll to the left, the movement so fluid that it drew a chorus of surprised boos from the audience.
Malfoy's spell missed its mark on the carpet.
"Is all you can do is hide like an eel, Potter?" Malfoy scoffed, but he himself dared not be careless, for as Harry rolled to his feet, his wand was already pointed at him: "Tarantella!"
A spiral beam of light shot towards Malfoy.
Malfoy reacted just as swiftly. Instead of trying to cancel it with a spell, he leaped to his right and rear as if springs had been inserted into his feet, the spell grazing the hem of his robes. Although his movements weren't as fluid as Harry's, he still managed to dodge it successfully.
"Stand still, die!" Harry immediately followed up with another spell.
Malfoy chose to lunge to the side this time, and although he fell to the ground, he narrowly avoided Harry's spell.
He scrambled to his feet, his face flushed, and roared back, "Your front teeth are like a big stick!"
Harry sidestepped, easily dodging again. A bizarre chase ensued on stage. Spells flew back and forth, but their accuracy was pitifully low. Harry constantly dove, rolled, and used the limited space of the stage to dodge:
Malfoy relied more on rapid lateral movements and sudden changes of direction, occasionally using feints to try and confuse Harry. Their interaction resembled an agility training exercise rather than a traditional wizarding duel.
The students in the audience went from being excited to laughing and confused.
"Are they dancing?" Fred Weasley exclaimed.
"A truly excellent duet!" George chimed in.
Lockhart paced anxiously around the edge of the platform, his voice shrill as he tried to instruct, "Stop! That's not how you do it! Stand still before casting the spell!"
Behave yourself, Potter! Malfoy! Listen to me!
But his instructions were completely ignored.
Hermione watched from below the stage, finding the scene both comical and having to admit that the two's dodging maneuvers were indeed effective.
The offensive and defensive maneuvers on stage suddenly changed after a few minutes of clashes.
Harry seized the brief pause after Malfoy finished a spell, abruptly shifting to the side, his wand pointing precisely at Malfoy: "Tarantella Dance!"
A beam of light struck Malfoy.
His legs immediately began to kick and thrash uncontrollably, like a puppet being manipulated on strings. "No!"
"Stop—stop!" he screamed in shame and anger, trying to maintain his balance in vain, looking utterly pathetic.
Upon seeing this, Harry's tense nerves involuntarily relaxed for a moment, and he even slightly raised the corners of his mouth. He hadn't expected the spell to be so effective.
However, it was this moment of relaxation that determined the outcome of the battle.
Though his body was contorted in his dance, Malfoy, with a stubborn and ruthless streak, almost blindly swung his wand in Harry's direction during yet another uncontrollable spin, hissing, "It tickles!"
A faint beam of light struck with pinpoint accuracy.
Harry realized what was happening but it was too late to dodge, and he was hit head-on by the spell.
Instantly, an irresistible itch exploded from his ribs, overwhelming all his fighting spirit.
"Hahaha—oh no—hahahaha!" He couldn't help but burst into laughter, bending over and nearly dropping his wand.
Thus, an extremely comical scene unfolded on stage: Malfoy was dancing wildly, while Harry was laughing so hard he collapsed to the ground, both completely incapacitated to continue fighting.
After a brief silence, the auditorium erupted in deafening laughter.
"Stop the spell!" Snape's cold voice rang out, and two beams of light from his wands struck Harry and Malfoy respectively.
Malfoy's wildly flailing legs suddenly stiffened. He lost his balance and fell heavily to the floor, panting heavily, his pale cheeks flushed red with shame and anger.
On the other side, Harry's uncontrollable laughter came to an abrupt halt. He felt a soreness in his throat and abdomen, as if he had just undergone strenuous exercise, and could only stand up by bending over and supporting his knees with his hands.
Snape, his black robes billowing, glided silently onto the stage like a bat. His sinister gaze first fell on Harry, his lips curling down in undisguised disgust.