A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 206 Guiding War

The young wizards looked at each other, but none of them volunteered to go up on stage.

Below, there was a cacophony of whispers.

This is a fair and square opportunity to challenge the professor. The question is, who should I choose?

Felix smiled. "Who's willing to give it a try? It's a rare opportunity."

Harry felt a strong urge to try it, and his lips were dry. He had received special training from Professor Hyp during the summer holidays and naturally knew that there was a huge gap between the two.

But he could never quite figure out exactly how much of a difference there was.

Moreover, just now, he suddenly had an idea: could he obtain the information he wanted through one-on-one guidance?

While he hesitated, the first person appeared: Percy Weasley.

He bowed solemnly, saying, "As the president of the male student council, I am willing to set an example for others."

"Very good, Weasley, which professor do you choose?" Felix looked at him encouragingly.

"Professor Flitwick," Percy said without hesitation.

He had already thought it through before he came up. Of the three professors, Snape was known to be unfriendly to Gryffindor. Although there was no danger to his life if he faced him, he would inevitably embarrass himself. So he was out of the running.

Professor Hyp hadn't used much, but the Disarming Charm he used last year was so memorable that Percy worried Professor Hyp might use a spell of that level against him, so he ruled that out as well.

Thinking about it this way, Professor Flitwick was almost the most suitable choice. He was cheerful and gentle, not too strict with the young wizards, and rarely deducted points.

My instruction in dueling classes last year was also handled with ease, without leaving the students feeling embarrassed or humiliated.

"I choose Professor Flitwick," Percy repeated.

Soon, Flitwick and Percy were standing face to face, and Flitwick reminded him, "Don't forget what I said earlier." He had spent over an hour explaining his fighting style in detail.

Percy nodded, and the two bowed with their wands raised, then the duel officially began.

Percy struck first, unleashing a disarming spell, but Flitwick merely turned his head to dodge it, his eyes fixed on his opponent's wand.

Almost simultaneously, a bright spell struck Percy, but fortunately he had rehearsed before going on stage. After casting the Disarming Charm, he jumped aside without thinking and chanted the Armor Charm at the same time.

"Armor for protection!"

The Ironclad Curse had barely taken shape when it was met with Flitwick's spell.

"Well done, Percy," Flitwick praised. He consciously controlled his attack rhythm, and after about three minutes, he decisively defeated Percy with a binding spell.

Flitwick commented, "Your spells are quite proficient and you have your own set of logic, but it's clear that you don't have much practical experience, and your on-the-spot reactions were somewhat rushed."

Percy freed himself from his ropes, straightened the wrinkles in his robes, and said rather formally, "Thank you, Professor Flitwick. I will be more careful in the future."

He bowed and stepped down from the gilded arena, where the young wizards of Gryffindor cheered excitedly.

"We're the first!"

"Percy, how does it feel to face the professor? Is it stressful?" someone asked him.

Percy explained, "There is some pressure, but you don't have time to think about it; you have to be fully focused."

With the first person to try it out, the young wizards became more enthusiastic, their timidity vanished, and soon the second student stood on the gilded stage.

He was still a Gryffindor, Oliver Wood, a tall man who was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, "I, I choose Professor Hyp."

Felix and he bowed to each other, and Wood whispered, "Professor, please have mercy. I'm most afraid of you."

"Then why did you choose me?"

"Hehe, I'm graduating soon anyway, it'll be pretty impressive to say that," Wood said in a simple and honest way.

It's prestigious, that's great...

As soon as the duel began, Wood was still shouting, "Except you—"

A beam of red light swept past his hair, extinguishing the words he was about to say. The power of the spell made his hair stand on end.

He looked at Professor Hyp in horror. If he were hit, would he be cut in two? He looked at the professor, who was smiling and gesturing for him to continue.

"I……"

Soon, the students witnessed a complete suppression. In the first few minutes, Wood couldn't even release a complete spell before being interrupted by various silent spellcasting.

The duel only began to return to normal after Wood closed his eyes and recited a disarming spell without regard for anything else.

Professor Hyp stopped stopping Wood from chanting spells, and the two exchanged spells of various colors.

Professor Hyp adopted a dueling strategy that he had introduced in his previous dueling lessons: defense/evasion – counterattack. Every move could be explained by a theoretical basis.

Combining this with what Flitwick had said earlier, they gained more insights, and even the freshmen could intuitively feel some of these things.

Seven or eight minutes later, Wood conceded defeat, covered in sweat. As usual, Felix commented, "Wood, you are not proficient enough in the Silent Charm, and your intention to duel is too obvious; moreover, you do not have a fixed routine."

In your performance just now, you used twelve different spells, including dueling spells like the Disarming Spell and the Armor Spell, as well as lesser, more offensive spells like the Tripping Spell and the Tickling Spell. Specifically, you used the Disarming Spell three times, the Armor Spell twice, the Tripping Spell twice, and the Tickling Spell once…

It's not that you can't use minor curses, but you must choose your spells carefully. For example, a tripping curse can't directly subdue your opponent, which means you've wasted a great opportunity to strike and hit.

Furthermore, your spells don't have any particularly outstanding power, which means you don't have a main spell...

Wood humbly accepted the instruction and wiped the sweat from his face.

Next, the Gryffindor students wanted to go up on stage, but the other three houses objected. A Slytherin student stepped forward; he was the seventh-year prefect, Geoffrey.

"Professor Snape, please enlighten your student," he said respectfully.

Snape lowered his hands from his chest, drew his wand from his black robes, and walked to the center, his robes fluttering.

Snape was clearly holding back against the Slytherin student; otherwise, given his temperament, he would have easily defeated his opponent with a single spell. But this time, he rarely attacked, instead adopting a defensive stance.

Jeffrey's first spell struck the ground three feet from Snape. Snape said coldly, "Are you worried about accidentally hitting me, Jeffrey? Attack with every spell you can think of. A duel is a serious matter!"

Next, Jeffrey began to attack from different angles, shooting spells of various colors at the other side. The young wizards witnessed a truly amazing defensive demonstration.

Snape rarely used protective spells like the Ironclad Charm; his eyesight was exceptionally sharp, and he always easily deflected incoming spells. Faced with a cloud of black mist that resembled dark magic, he tapped it with his wand, turning it into a large cloud of white mist.

Snape emerged from the mist, his hazy face becoming clear. He approached Geoffrey step by step, casually catching the incoming spell with his wand and flicking it aside.

Jeffrey was quickly forced to the edge of the stage and had no choice but to admit defeat.

"That was fantastic! Did you see that?" The Slytherin students responded with enthusiastic applause.

Harry couldn't contain his desire and rushed onto the ring.

Snape looked at Harry with a mocking expression, lowering his voice so that only the two of them could hear: "Finally couldn't resist? Just like your father, you love to show off. Maybe it makes you feel special, indulging in being seen as a savior..."

"I don't think I'm anything special, things just happen to me!" Harry said. "Like Sirius Black, who escaped from Azkaban, I knew nothing about him before."

"Don't mention that disgusting name," Snape said coldly.

Ha said with certainty, "I saw your records from your student days. You two didn't get along, but there must be a deeper reason..."

Snape's expression became inscrutable, his lips pressed tightly together as if he were forcing himself to utter a harsh word.

(End of this chapter)