From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 324: Duel for Glory

"Get out of the way!" Harry whispered.

Standing in front of him were several senior Slytherin students. Most of them had passed the OWLs exams and had their families arrange a future for them, so they had plenty of energy to squander.

Besides, there was no Quidditch House Cup this year, so they used their energy, which had nowhere to go, to come up with some unreliable ideas.

"I'm afraid not, Potter." The leading boy was a sixth-grade student who had been beaten to a pulp in a group duel on the day Ivy entered school.

"What do you want to do?" Hermione, who was standing next to Harry, asked loudly, "This place is not far from the residence of the Care of Magical Zoology Professor!"

Harry and his friends had just finished their fourth year Care of Magical Creatures class and were about to pass by Hagrid's hut on their way back to school.

Because Harry became a warrior, in order to avoid the sight of his classmates, he and two friends deliberately lagged behind the main group for a distance. Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by the Slytherins at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"You're counting on that stupid big guy to help?" The Slytherins laughed. "What a pity, he went out on a date with that other giantess!"

"This is really like crying out to heaven and earth for help, but no one is getting any help! Right, Potter?" A teasing smile appeared on the face of the sixth-year Slytherin.

"Professor Grubbly-Plank isn't far from here, you'd better..." Hermione was interrupted before she could finish her words.

The sixth-year Slytherin said impatiently, "No one is asking you, Granger. I'm talking to Potter. Or is Gryffindor's famous champion willing to hide behind his mud... his Muggle-born friend?"

When saying the word "Mudblood", the sixth-year Slytherin stopped abruptly, looked around, and then changed the topic and continued.

But his momentum had been exhausted. Not only did he fail to intimidate Harry and the other two, he even made them laugh.

"So, Ivy doesn't know about your actions, right?" Ron asked, trying not to laugh. "We are all his friends. If he knew that you stopped us..."

“Shut up!” the sixth grade boy shouted with an ugly expression, “He shouldn’t…Doom shouldn’t be friends with disgusting and arrogant guys like you!”

"Hey!" Before Harry and the others could retort, someone from the Slytherin group who had surrounded them spoke up first, "I didn't come here to listen to your nonsense! I don't think we can tell him what kind of friends he should make!"

"Internal strife?" Harry glanced at the other Slytherin boy and said sarcastically, "Do you need me to give you some time to deal with your internal conflicts first?"

"Don't make fun of these Gryffindors, you two!" said a third voice. "Derek, we really shouldn't comment on that adult's actions."

The student called Derek, the sixth-year Slytherin who spoke first, looked quite annoyed. "Why are we here? Isn't it to protect Doom's honor as a Slytherin warrior? He should be grateful to us for this, and then know that pure-blood wizards are the real friends he can rely on!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other's faces, and then burst into laughter without any warning. They knew that with Ivy's character, he would never do such a thing.

Although they were the smaller party, they were able to laugh without restraint, which made the Slytherin students surrounding the three of them very annoyed.

"Hey! Stop laughing, you bastards!" Derek said, "I have to teach you a lesson today! Pull out your wands!"

The Slytherin students drew their wands one after another, and Harry and the other two were on high alert. Even Hermione, who always valued rules, knew that this matter would not end peacefully today.

"What's our strategy?" Ron asked nervously. Although he was the one who laughed the most just now, he didn't have much experience in dueling. He was more adept at resolving battles with fists and feet. His wand was an old wand passed down from his brother Charlie, so it was always a little inconsistent. "Which one should we attack first? Come on! Harry! You have the most experience in dueling!"

"I think you'd better surrender! Then go report to the headmaster and resign as Hogwarts Warrior!" Derek threatened, holding his wand. He began to walk slowly forward with his companions, trying to put some psychological pressure on Harry and the others.

A dazzling red light shot out from a distance and hit the middle of the two groups who were on the verge of a fight.

The stone pavement that the professors had carefully repaired was blown to pieces, and many pieces of mud flew into the sky and then landed on the students' hair and robes.

The noise of the explosion frightened the students, and they all stepped back, waving their wands wildly and casting all kinds of crooked and evil curses.

"It's hot and spicy!"

"Stick a big stick in your front teeth!"

"Except your weapons!"

"Armor!" Harry used his arms to block the dust in front of him, waving his wand and chanting loudly.

The invisible shield blocked the light of the evil curse, causing it to be deflected to the other side.

"Put down your wands!" a voice shouted. "The mist is thick!"

The magical smoke quickly enveloped the path, and the Gryffindors and Slytherins had to retreat again to prevent their vision from being completely blocked.

The red light was Cassandra's magic explosion. The noble force field damage almost blew the stone slabs used by the professors to pave the road into dust.

She saw that the two groups had retreated a sufficient distance, then she dispersed the smoke and showed up.

"Cassandra?" Harry and the other two exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Are you also..."

Cassandra looked at them with condescension, but did not speak. She turned to the senior Slytherin on the other side and said, "Can you speak for Lord Doom? Why did you act like this without informing him?"

"Slytherin always reports after they have achieved results." Derek spat out the mud in his mouth. "If you are not going to help, Miss Volley, then just stand aside and watch!"

"But he already knows about your actions," Cassandra sneered, "He only has two comments on this: acting on your own initiative and being smart!"

The Slytherins, led by Derek, blushed and looked extremely embarrassed: "Why doesn't he understand... We are doing this for his own good!"

Cassandra had no intention of arguing with them: "Which do you want to follow, the rules of Hogwarts or his rules?"

The senior Slytherins looked at each other, not understanding what Cassandra meant, but they all knew that both choices must have traps. This was the usual routine of Slytherins when speaking.

"We abide by the rules of Slytherin..." Derek reluctantly said the third option, because in his opinion, the rules established within Slytherin College, that is, the rules set by the pure-blood families, are the greatest.

However, Cassandra just said with a smile: "Slytherin's rules are his rules. Even if all the people in Slytherin house are tied together, it is impossible to make rules for him to follow. You are not worthy." No one spoke, and the air was very quiet.

"Since you have no power to make rules, you have to follow his rules." Cassandra added, "If you really value the glory of Slytherin Champions, prove it to him!"

"What do you think we're doing? Crouching in the dirt?" Derek barked. "We're proving a point!"

"Then don't use such dirty and vulgar methods!" Cassandra raised her chin, "Have a one-on-one wizard duel with Potter like a man!"

"It is precisely because Porter used dirty and vulgar methods to become a Warrior that we decided to teach him a lesson!" Derek was still arguing.

"I didn't!" Harry complained. "Everyone knows that!"

"Even Gryffindor doesn't believe this, right, Potter?" Derek sneered.

"It's enough for Lord Doom to believe it." Cassandra snorted, "He was there at the time. Do you think that with his level of skill, he would not be able to see whether Potter had tampered with the Goblet of Fire?"

Derek was ready to argue again, but Cassandra spoke first: "Okay, my patience has run out. Either you follow his rules and have a fair duel with Potter, or you just be an ordinary student at Hogwarts!"

Derek, who was rebuked, did not say anything, but just stood there thinking about the pros and cons.

Cassandra looked at Harry. "What do you say, Potter?"

"Okay! Come on!" Harry agreed without thinking. He didn't think he would lose, even though the other party was a sixth-grade student.

On the contrary, he thought that Ivy was helping him in some way, after all, he was well aware of Harry's dueling training from two Defense Against the Dark Arts professors.

"Are you scared, Derek?" Seeing Derek didn't answer for a long time, Harry couldn't help but retort, "Are you afraid of me, a fourth-year student? An improper Gryffindor warrior? A Potter who uses dirty tricks?"

"Shut up!" Derek yelled. "I'm going to teach you some manners right now!"

"Very good." Cassandra glanced back and forth between the two of them, and then said, "Then the duel will be held here. Neither side has assistants. The one who loses his wand first or loses the ability to fight will lose!"

"Harry!" Hermione pulled her friend's sleeve, trying to stop the duel.

"Sometimes fighting back is the best way to prove yourself!" But Ron firmly stopped her plan, "We can just stand aside and watch. Harry is so powerful!"

So Harry and Derek each took their wands in their hands and stood facing each other under Cassandra's guidance.

"And now, salute!" Cassandra announced. This was standard procedure for wizard duels, something they had heard about in Professor Victor's Defense Against the Dark Arts class during their first year.

"Wait!" Derek stopped him again, "What's the bet?"

Cassandra glanced at him and then said sarcastically, "I thought you were fighting for the glory of the Slytherin Champion!"

"Of course I am!" Derek licked his dry lips, "But a wizard duel cannot be without stakes."

"What are your terms!" Harry shouted.

"If you lose! Then go to Dumbledore and resign your title as a warrior! Say that you became a warrior by shameless means!" Derek grinned, "If I lose, I will acknowledge your status as a warrior!"

"This isn't fair!" Hermione and Ron shouted together. They both knew that violating the covenant of the Goblet of Fire would result in the loss of the right to use magic and would turn them into a Squib.

"Okay!" Harry answered loudly. He never thought that he would lose.

Cassandra looked at Harry with a look of innocence, and then said with certainty: "This is indeed unfair, but if you insist, Derek's bet will become breaking his wand and dropping out of Hogwarts."

"What?" This time it was Derek's turn to be unhappy, "He obviously agreed!"

“Lord Doom asked me to ensure a fair duel,” Cassandra said even-handedly. “The stakes must be equal. That’s one of Lord Doom’s rules.”

Seeing the hesitation on Derek's face, Cassandra continued, "Don't worry. Even if you really drop out of Hogwarts, Lord Doom will raise you like a useless person until you die, and there will be many wizard families willing to do it for you. You don't have to worry too much about your livelihood. After all, you are fighting for the glory of the Slytherin Warrior."

Seeing that Derek didn't move, Cassandra urged: "Since you don't say anything, I will take it as your consent. When I shout 'start', the duel will..."

"Wait!" Derek waved his hand, "Stop betting! Let's fight for the glory of the Warriors!"

Cassandra let out a breath of disdain. "As you wish, Derek. Both sides are ready! Duel - begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" This is Harry's signature spell. As a Seeker, his super fast reaction speed gives him an absolute first-mover advantage.

A beam of red light shot out from the tip of the wand, moving through the air at an extremely fast speed, and arrived in front of Derek almost in the blink of an eye.

Derek had too many things in mind before the duel began, which was not the mentality a duelist should have, because he was not thinking about what spell to use next, but how much benefit he could get from this duel. Therefore, after hearing Harry recite the spell, his mind was blank and he could not remember any spell at all.

Fortunately, when Professor Victor taught dueling in the Defense Against the Dark Arts course, he had already been promoted to the third grade and had received at least two months of dueling training.

Therefore, in a hurry, he was able to throw himself down and barely avoid the Disarming Curse shot by Harry.

But the next spell wasn't so easy to dodge.

"Collapse!"

Harry's stunning spell made Derek fall asleep peacefully in the mud that Cassandra had exploded.

　Oops! There are still 2000 to be completed... But at least it's two chapters...

　　Everyone, please be gentle when you curse...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)