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"What's so funny? Can you tell me?" Snape said quietly from behind the two of them.

Harry and Ron's smiles froze on their faces as they turned around stiffly.

The smiles on their faces looked more like grimaces. "Professor Snape, what are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you this question? It's curfew now, you're breaking school rules," Snape said in a grim tone.

The two trembled under Snape's imposing presence and dared not utter a word.

“Alright, Professor, if you keep scaring them, Draco can win tonight without a fight,” Zicomo said.

Upon hearing this, Snape dropped his sinister expression.

Harry was a little confused. He looked at Zicomo and asked, "What's going on?"

“I invited Professor Snape. After all, he is Draco’s godfather, and it wouldn’t be right for this duel to be without him,” Zicomo explained.

However, Zicomo didn't expect Snape to do something so mischievous. He didn't know where Snape learned this quirk from, but it certainly wasn't him!

Harry and Snape both breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Snape hadn't come to arrest them for their nighttime stroll.

"Now that everyone is here, let's go in."

Having said that, Zicomo walked to the giant stick-beating-the-foolish-Banaba tapestry in the corridor, walked back and forth in front of the tapestry three times, and thought to himself: I need a room for dueling.

After all this was done, a doorknob appeared on the tapestry. Zicomo grasped the doorknob, opened the door, and led everyone into the Room of Requirement.

Seeing the astonished crowd, Zicomo explained to them, "The Room of Requirement: If you walk back and forth in front of that tapestry three times while silently saying the room you need, it will become the room you desire."

Only Hermione, nestled in Zicomo's arms, remained completely unsurprised. She had visited this place with her cousin when she was in first grade, to practice magic. Since Zicomo acquired the "Zen Garden," she had never returned.

Returning here now, the little witch felt a pang of nostalgia. Back then, it was just her and her cousin; she would practice magic on the wooden figure while Zicomo read a book beside her, and occasionally Zicomo would spar with her.

Looking back now, those were such wonderful times. Unlike now, my cousin is always occupied by his fiancée, and she rarely even has a chance to be alone with him.

Thinking of this, Hermione nuzzled her cat head against Zicomo's chest. Although they weren't exactly alone, being able to snuggle in her cousin's arms was still something to be happy about.

However, there are always some people who like to say things that spoil the mood at such times.

Ron whispered to Harry, "It's a good thing Hermione didn't come tonight, otherwise she might have been seriously investigating the workings of this house. To be honest, I really can't stand her meticulous nature. She nags me for ages every time I ask to borrow an assignment from her."

Ron continued to speak ill of Hermione, unaware that Harry was looking at him with pity.

He rambled on for a while before finally noticing Harry's gaze and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just thought Zicomo made a very good point earlier. When you're talking badly about someone, it's best to make sure they're not there first."

As Harry spoke, he quietly moved away from Ron.

Under Zicomo's guidance, Hermione had already reached the level of an elite professor. Her mental strength was also among the best in her class; even if Ron spoke very softly, Hermione could hear what he was saying.

Moreover, Hermione was in cat form, and a cat's hearing is at least three times that of a human. Hermione was also a magical cat who had received the inheritance of the dragon bloodline, so she heard every word Ron said.

"Oh? So you have such a big problem with me?" Hermione's voice rang out behind Ron.

Ron turned his head and looked in horror at the ragdoll cat in Zicomo's arms.

He said something was off tonight. Hermione was usually inseparable from Zicomo, but tonight, Zicomo didn't bring Hermione along for the night outing; instead, he was holding a strange cat.

He knew that Zicomo owned a cat, but that cat was a very ugly Garfield (at least that's what Ron thought), definitely not the beautiful Ragdoll in front of him.

Ron never expected that the doll in Zicomo's arms was Hermione.

He forced that smile, which looked more like a grimace, back onto his face. "Hi, Hermione. Oh, you're here?"

"Yes, I heard some people don't like me very much! Should I not have come?"

Hermione's voice was cold, and anyone could hear the anger in her tone.

"How could that be! I was just talking nonsense, don't take it to heart."

Ron swallowed hard, feeling a cold sweat break out all over his body.

"Don't worry, I don't take this to heart. I'll keep you in the highest esteem!"

After Hermione finished speaking, she pointed at Ron with her cute cat paw and said.

"The Upside Down Golden Bell!"

"Seal the tongue and lock the throat!"

After the two spells were cast, Ron was suspended in the air like a roast duck, completely losing his voice.

Harry and Draco exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. They were thinking the same thing: they absolutely must never mess with Hermione again.

Draco, in particular, is now very grateful for his younger, impetuous, and ignorant self.

Although he looked down on Hermione, a little wizard from a Muggle family, he knew that Zicomo was not someone to mess with, so he didn't foolishly go up and mock Hermione.

Otherwise, he might have been hung up before Ron two years ago.

“Alright, you two can begin your duel now,” Hermione said, looking at Harry and Draco.

Upon hearing this, the two immediately ran to make preparations.

As for Ron, let him hang there.

Chapter 163 Harry vs. Draco, Late-Night Snack After the Duel

Inside the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, Harry and Draco stood facing each other, staring intently at one another, as if sparks were about to fly between their eyes.

However, the atmosphere between the two was anything but serious, because in the sky between them hung Ron.

Ron was hanging upside down in the air, his mouth gagged. He watched as Hermione, in Zicomo's arms, waved her hands frantically, trying to beg her to put him down, a truly comical scene.

However, no one paid him any attention; instead, they were all focused on waiting for the duel between Harry and Draco to begin.

Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Zicomo gave the order, announcing the official start of the duel.

Harry and Draco moved at the sound.

"Disarm me!" *2

Both of them simultaneously cast disarming spells, then dodged to the side to avoid each other's spells.

"Is that all you know how to do?" De Laco mocked.

(Of course, that's Harry's signature spell!)

“Ha, you use this too?” Harry retorted.

"How about we try this?" Draco shouted, waving his wand. "Blazing Flames!"

A raging fire erupted from the tip of Draco's staff, sweeping towards Harry.

"Call the gods to protect you!"

Harry did not use his armor for protection, but instead chose Patronus Charm.

While armor can protect against flames, it cannot protect against their heat; he certainly didn't want to turn into a roast duck.

The Patronus formed a white barrier in front of Harry, blocking the flames from advancing.

Not only that, Harry was even able to spare the time to summon his Patronus stag and charge at Draco.

Draco was forced to stop his spellcasting when he saw the stag attacking.

Seeing this, Harry joined forces with the Patronus to attack Draco.

Draco, sensing the danger, summoned a snake using Oolong's Lair, which then clashed with Harry's Patronus. However, he forgot that Harry was a Parseltongue.

Harry stared at the snake, uttering strange words. The snake paused slightly, then turned and lunged at Draco.

Draco, left with no other option, had to summon Hydra for help.

The Room of Requirement was now the size of two football fields, more than enough for the two of them to frolic freely. So Draco simply restored her to her original form.

After Hydra reverted to its original form, it was three stories tall. Upon emerging, it unleashed a dragon's breath at Harry's Patronus and the snake that Harry had turned against him.

A flash of fire, and the guardian spirit vanished without a trace, while the snake was roasted to a crisp.

Then Hydra flapped its wings and charged at Harry, brandishing its sharp forepaws.

When Harry saw Draco start calling for reinforcements, he wasn't going to be outdone. He summoned his ghostly mother and immediately possessed her.

After Lily possessed Harry, Harry's physical abilities skyrocketed, allowing him to nimbly dodge Hydra's claws.

"You've lost your grip!"

A spark flew from the tip of Harry's staff and struck Hydra. The attack should have sent Hydra flying, but thanks to the dragon skin's resistance to magic, Harry's spell was significantly weakened.

However, Hydra felt her body go limp and she lost her balance, falling to the ground.

Harry seized the opportunity to leap over Hydra and charge toward Draco.

Although Draco didn't know what Harry wanted to do by coming over, he cautiously put on a layer of armor to protect himself.

However, Harry blasted Draco's armor open with a single Thunderclap. Draco tried to retaliate, but Harry unleashed another powerful attack, Flock of Birds.

A flock of birds flew out of the sky and crashed into Draco. Although they didn't cause him any real harm, the flock of birds completely blocked Draco's vision, preventing him from locking onto Harry to cast a spell.

Once the birds had dispersed, Harry had already rushed up to Draco. Harry raised his hand and delivered a powerful uppercut, sending Draco flying.

Ever since he realized that being possessed by a ghost companion could greatly enhance his abilities, Harry had been eager to try out close combat.