Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 261: The Duel

Harry is back!
The news was like a bombshell, causing everyone who was planning to stay overnight at the bar to rush out from the second floor.

Of course, since they didn't bring any Galleons, Justin sponsored their overnight stay.

"Oh my god! Harry, what happened to you! It's been almost a month and we haven't received a reply from you."

The group sat around the dimly lit, simple bar counter, and Ron was the first to speak.

"I encountered a monster..."

Harry began to describe everything that had happened to him, eliciting gasps of surprise from the crowd every now and then.

Sheen was getting ready to go back to Magnum House; it was only ten o'clock, not particularly late.

But before we go back, we need to settle Harry in.

Ron was the first to invite Harry, followed by Justin and Neville.

However, after glancing at Sheen, Harry ultimately chose Ron—Ron was the first friend he had ever made, and he always felt closer to him.

It was only then that Ron realized it was too late, and he hurriedly pulled Harry away from the Leaky Cauldron.

Then came Justin and Hermione, whose parents were even waiting for them outside the bar.

Finally, Neville also disappeared through the fireplace. Only then did Sheehan mount his broom and streak across the sky like a shooting star.

……

After the rescue of Harry, the group kept in touch through letters, and all sorts of owls would often fly into the living room of McGonagall.

Sheen didn't pay attention to that; instead, he counted down the days. Soon it would be a month, and he would be about to complete the first step of his Animagus transformation.

But before that, Fairy Tale Square will also be open for business for the second time.

This morning.

As usual, Sheen practiced his Transfiguration by the lake. He floated a stone up and then instantly transformed it into a stone statue guardian.

The height is still very low, even less than three meters, much shorter than Professor McGonagall's four or five-meter-high stone pillars; moreover, Professor McGonagall's stone pillars have reinforced properties, and they can jump from several stories high without any damage, which is obviously not something ordinary stones can do.

Sheen's stone statues couldn't do that.

He guessed that Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration was beyond the level of an expert, even among masters, and at a higher level, she could almost reach the level of Principal Dumbledore.

When he was tired from practicing, his thoughts would wander.

Dobby's appearance hints that the Basilisk will soon be released from the secret chamber.

To make basilisk cookies and ward off danger, one needs to possess strength at least equal to that of the basilisk.

The question is, where exactly does his strength fall?
He hadn't experienced many battles, and he always speed-cleared the levels with trolls and professors.

That would mean it loses its reference value.

As sunlight streamed into the room, Sheen slowly looked at Marcus McGonagall, who was drinking tea.

He heard from Professor McGonagall that the old wizard Marcus McGonagall had once been an Auror.

……

Marcus McGonagall could find no reason to refuse the young wizard's request to practice.

He even happily raised his beard.

Although the young wizard is exceptionally gifted, Marcus McGonagall was once an Auror wizard.

After experiencing heart-wrenching pain, he once channeled his anger into his struggle against the mysterious man.

At that time, the Mystic was just beginning to rise to power. The Death Eaters committed atrocities and used various means of coercion and enticement against many wizards to expand their influence, which gradually developed into open violence.

Those who tried to stop them were subjected to brutal torture using the Unforgivable Charm, a horrific act that resulted in the deaths of many innocent Muggles under the guise of "amusement." Faced with this situation, Barty Crouch, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement under the Ministry of Magic, made an extraordinary order—permitting Aurors to use the Unforgivable Charm to torture Death Eaters.

It's easy to imagine how serious the impact Voldemort had at the time.

And he, Marcus McGonagall, was an Auror who fought and survived during those ten years.

The difference between him and the current Auror is that he has experienced the baptism of war and fought on the most dangerous battlefields.

Even after his injury, his strength didn't decline much.

The only pity is that he couldn't even find a successor.

He refused to let his children go to those dangerous battlefields because he could not bear to experience that kind of excruciating grief again.

But he also knows that if you love a child, you must teach him how to face danger, strengthen his wings, and enable him to protect himself.

Especially when he has enough talent, and has a destiny to face and responsibilities to bear, you can never protect him forever like a mother hen protecting her chicks. You can only train him like you train an eagle.

"Come on, child! Unleash your most powerful magic upon me! Don't worry about hurting me; as a seasoned Auror, I've seen it all—"

Marcus stood on the vast, boundless plains not far from the farm, which he had also enchanted, making it an excellent place to train young wizards in combat.

"I'll give it my all."

The brooch hummed.

Sheen's eyes sharpened as he waved his wand.

He couldn't recite the incantation, so he could only use a silent incantation.

But this did not weaken his strength much; on the contrary, the spells he was good at were almost all at the level of silent spells.

A burst of flame erupted from the tip of the wand, and within seconds it grew into a two-meter-tall fire dragon.

Marcus watched as the fire dragon roared and flew towards him, his body trembling slightly.

Even he had never seen anything like this before. Was this his adorable child, a first-year wizard?

"Finite! (Stop the curse immediately!)"

The red flames landed on the fire dragon, but did not immediately make it disappear, because its body suddenly developed lizard-skin-like patterns.

It is a multiple transformation technique.

Marcus did not hesitate and prepared to Apparate.

But for a moment, he couldn't move at all.

In the distance, Sheen had already raised his wand, casting a silent, instantaneous Barrier Charm amidst numerous obstacles. This master-level Barrier Charm could even hold off an elite Auror like Marcus for a few seconds.

This was a spell combination technique that Professor Flitwick had taught him, giving him the ability to cast two spells at the same time.

Marcus was indeed momentarily stunned, but his eyes sharpened instantly. He immediately broke free of the Barrier Charm and roared:
"Protego! (Protego!)"

A transparent barrier rose as he chanted his incantation, blocking the fire dragon, which had shrunk somewhat. But the fire dragon continued to roar, sending him flying far away and kicking up clouds of dust.

That was close—we almost capsized...

Marcus's somewhat disheveled figure emerged from the dust.

Just as he was about to take this duel one hundred percent seriously, Sheen had already plopped down on the ground in the distance.

"Grandpa Marcus is amazing."

Marcus heard a mature voice say.

It made him blush with embarrassment.

(End of this chapter)