Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

Even without him saying it, Eric noticed something was wrong.

Clement's spells were deadly, striking George relentlessly with power far exceeding that of his peers; he showed no intention of holding back.

After exchanging only a few blows, George realized that Clement's strength was definitely superior to his own.

This has nothing to do with spellcasting skills or the level of understanding of spells.

It's simply a matter of overwhelming magic and speed.

Clement's casting speed was so fast that he could attack at will, while George was unable to mount an effective counterattack.

Just like the showdown between Harry and Malfoy, the contrast is very obvious.

Eric felt that Clement's strength at this moment was about the same as Cedric's when he challenged him.

But if he had such ability, how could he have remained unknown at school?

George was also taken aback. He had thought that Eric and Cedric were just reminding him not to be careless, but he hadn't expected Clement to be so strong.

Clement's Shattering Curse came at George, who barely dodged it, blasting a small crater in the ground.

George attempted to retaliate with a disarming spell and a knockback spell, but Clement dodged them easily by flashing forward.

"Repel them immediately!" A blinding light shot out from Clement's hand, forcing George to immediately use his armor charm to defend himself.

The knockback spell struck the armor spell, and the difference in power was immediately apparent. George's armor spell was shattered, and George himself was inevitably affected by the knockback spell and was forced to retreat.

Seeing this, Clement quickly moved closer to George.

As he charged forward, he continued to use his spells to suppress George.

George was flustered and in no mood for jokes, struggling to defend himself.

In the blink of an eye, Clement was in front of George, his wand pointed at him: "Frozen Speed!"

George had just cast an armor spell when he found it covered in frost before it suddenly shattered.

Behind the exploding armor spell emerged another spell cast by Clement.

Oh no! George tried to dodge, but it was too late. He was blasted away by the subsequent curse and crashed out of the arena.

After Cedric realized that Clement was problematic, although he had prepared himself mentally, he still couldn't hide the shock on his face when he saw George eliminated.

Cedric knew that George was no weakling, yet he had been defeated by Clement in such a short time.

Judging from Clement's demonstrated strength, even Cedric might not be able to guarantee a victory against him.

Cedric looked at Eric, only to find Eric with an expression that showed no surprise whatsoever.

“Let’s go see how George is,” Eric said, leading Cedric toward George.

The blow that sent George flying was just a knockback spell; it didn't cause any additional damage. George just needs to go to the school clinic for a simple check-up.

This time, Clement didn't come over to say hello again. He just exchanged a glance with Eric from a distance and then walked away silently.

George and Fred had the exact same expression, grimacing as they asked, "Who exactly is this Clement? Why haven't we heard of him before?"

Eric laughed and said, "Maybe he suddenly had an epiphany recently. This is magic. It's amazing."

George questioned, "Is this reasonable?"

That actually makes sense; this is a magical world.

Cedric skillfully used a levitation spell to lift George up and take him to the school infirmary to keep Fred company, while Eric watched Clement's retreating figure.

The concentration of black smoke emanating from Clemente increased once again.

……

Final round!

The next day, when Eric arrived at the auditorium on time, he found that the auditorium had changed again.

The colorful ribbons and stone pillars returned to the ceiling of the auditorium. The four long tables that were originally fixed were pushed to the corner, and five new wooden tiers were added on top of the long tables, which were now full of people.

In the very center of the auditorium, a stone dueling arena of suitable length and width rose from the ground.

Eric felt a sense of déjà vu.

The shape of this stone dueling arena really resembles the arena in the Cell games, which makes Eric always feel like a green bug might suddenly jump out and shoot a projectile at him.

After a full day of one-on-one elimination matches yesterday, the top six from both the senior and junior groups were finally determined. Together with four college representatives, including Eric, they will form the final sixteen.

Among these sixteen people, Eric knew quite a few.

I won't go into the other three who were admitted to universities at the same time as him.

Of the remaining contestants, the twins were eliminated, while Angelina narrowly defeated her opponent in the final round to secure a spot in the finals. Clement did the same, defeating George to advance.

As for the lower grades, Qiu Zhang had incredible luck. Although she didn't get a bye in the last round, her opponent was exhausted after three rounds of duels and was easily defeated by Qiu Zhang, leaving her eliminated in defeat.

Harry was already quite outstanding among the younger students, and after eliminating Malfoy, he advanced successfully by defeating all the other students.

As for Hermione, she faced Luna in the final round and defeated her with her superior strength, securing the last spot to advance.

Chapter 108 First Battle

The change in the atmosphere of the auditorium also affected everyone's emotions.

Everyone was very enthusiastic about the duel, and in addition to Rita Skeeter, several other reporters from other newspapers also came to the scene.

Only Hogwarts could receive such treatment for a school event to attract so much attention.

After confirming that everyone had arrived, Professor Flitwick, the head of the Duel Club, stood up and spoke: "Our competition has reached its climax. The players will soon engage in one-on-one duels. The rules and restrictions are the same as in previous competitions. The only difference is that there will be no more age-based protection rules."

Professor Flitwick stated, “At the same time, we will announce the final prizes. This Duel Club event is jointly sponsored by Professor Dumbledore and the Hogsmeade Merchant Guild Alliance, and the prizes for both groups are the same. Third place will receive a total of 50 Galleons as a scholarship, plus a flying broom repair kit provided by the Spinning Witch Sports Goods; second place will receive 90 Galleons, plus a custom-made robe provided by the Elegant Wizarding Clothing Shop; and the first place winners in both groups will receive 150 Galleons, plus a potion of their choice from Pippin Potions Shop, valued at no more than 50 Galleons!”

Professor Flitwick continued, "As for the final duel champion, there will be a special and mysterious grand prize provided by Professor Dumbledore!"

The audience in the auditorium exclaimed in surprise, saying that such a reward was incredibly generous.

For a school competition to offer prizes of over 50 Galleons is a huge surprise to everyone.

Wizards' incomes are generally not high compared to Muggles. For example, Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, only earns about 50 Galleons a month. This salary is enough to support the Weasley family and even leave them with some money, although they still live a tight life.

Now, even third place can win a prize of over 50 Galleons, which is a huge sum for students, and everyone's enthusiasm has been instantly mobilized.

While the others discussed the prizes and possible candidates for the top three, Cedric and his group were thinking about other things.

Cedric has keenly realized that whether he can get a top-three finish depends not on anything else, but on the competition format.

This kind of competition format is unique to the magical world; it's unfair and full of uncertainty.

The competitors in the two groups are different. In the lower grades group, there are only seven people in total, including the six who advanced and Eric, while there are nine people in the upper grades group.

Only the top three in each of the two groups will receive awards, which means that the lower grade group only needs to secure one of the top three spots out of seven people, making the pressure much less than that on the higher grade group.

If both teams are eliminated, a tiebreaker will be played.

Now that the competition has progressed to this point, grade-level protection has been removed, and it seems that luck in the draw is being valued more than ability.

With a prodigy like Eric around, he was almost certain to win the lower grades championship.

Everyone has a certain assessment of their own strength. Generally speaking, everyone is praying that they won't draw Eric. Whoever draws Eric is unlucky because they have absolutely no chance of winning.

He could even fight Snape to a draw. Apart from Eric, who here can guarantee that they can escape unscathed from facing Snape?

Inside the small room, Eric looked around at the empty space and said speechlessly, "Is this really necessary?"

Cedric, Harry, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Wood all nodded in unison: "Absolutely, absolutely."

Who knows what criteria Dumbledore used to draw lots for his magic? They agreed that they would absolutely not approach Eric until the results of the draw were in.

Getting close to Eric will bring misfortune.

A pretty sixth-grade girl walked over, wearing a Gryffindor school robe and carrying a small basket.

"Eric, would you like to try the cake I made myself?" the girl said to Eric, her voice sounding quite gentle.

Wow, everyone looked at the girl, not surprised that Eric was popular with girls, but amazed by her courage.

This is a true warrior.

Eric asked, "Who are you?"

“I am Lilia of Gryffindor.”

Eric recalled that the name sounded familiar; he seemed to recall Clement mentioning it when he entered the auditorium yesterday.

Seems like they're quite good at using aphrodisiacs?

Eric casually activated his mental barrier and soul enchantment, then looked at the small cakes in the basket; their colors seemed a bit off.

“Of course, thank you.” Eric didn’t refuse, smiling as he picked up a small cake, but Lilia stopped him.

“Take this one, this one was made especially for you,” Lilia said.

“Okay.” Eric accepted the offer without hesitation.

Lilia was even happier to see Eric eat the small cake. Her eyes narrowed with laughter as she turned to the others and said, "There are more here. If you don't mind, please have one."

Cedric and the others shook their heads. They were joking; who would dare eat anything Lilia gave them? They might accidentally be drugged with aphrodisiacs.

Flint, who was standing nearby, was very enthusiastic and leaned over to ask, "Can I have a piece?"

Flint's real intention was not the basket; he reached into it while keeping his eyes fixed on Lilia.

Lilia was too late to stop him and could only watch as Flint ate another small cake laced with aphrodisiac.

The love potion is not an ordinary magic potion; its production is scarce. Lilia only prepared two small cakes, with the other one reserved for Cedric.

After finishing his meal and wiping his mouth, Flint asked, "After we're done, would you like to go on a date with me at Lady Patiffe's Tea House in Hogsmeade?"

Lilia forced a smile and said, "I hope my boyfriend is strong enough; he should ideally be a dueling champion."

Flint, full of fighting spirit, declared: "I will win the dueling championship for you!"

At that moment, Eric felt the brooch in his hand getting hot. He picked it up and saw that it showed his opponent for the next round: Lilia.

Chapter 109

After the draw results were announced, everyone's eyes turned to them.

I never expected that Eric would be the first one to play.