Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 206: Slytherin students choose to fight off the snakes with ravens.

Gemma, the prefect, was a familiar face to the lower-year students of Slytherin, as she was the one in charge of the welcoming ceremony for the new students.

She is a seventh grader this year and is about to graduate. She has excellent grades in OWL. If she can continue to perform so well in NEWT, she will have a very bright future.

She came to the Duel Club tonight with the intention of watching a spectacle, but unexpectedly witnessed the junior's amazing performance.

A six-game winning streak greatly enhanced the academy's reputation and ignited Gemma's competitive spirit. She wanted to know if she could beat this younger girl who had only been enrolled for less than two years.

What do kids these days eat to grow up like this? How come they're so strong?

Seeing Gemma's willingness to duel Daphne, the young wizards watching murmured amongst themselves. Given Gemma's past outstanding performance, many were still willing to believe that she could "turn the tide."

Otherwise, if a second-year student were to defeat the entire school, where would everyone's face be?

The young wizards in the audience were no longer thinking about how to teach the girl who had made such a threat a lesson; they just wanted to save face.

"Hello, senior." Daphne showed her obedient side in front of this friendly senior.

"Unbelievable, you've really surprised us." Gemma smiled gently. "I'm really curious to see who's stronger, me or you now."

"Then let's duel."

As with the previous six duels, Flitwick gave the order, and the duel began.

Facing this senior student who was known for her talent, Daphne acted unusually aggressively, immediately unleashing three attack spells taught to her by Rice.

"Armor for protection!"

Daphne's first attack spell was deflected by the translucent shield, and the second spell broke through the Ironclad Charm's defense. However, this classic protective spell bought Gemma some time. She sidestepped the third attack spell and pointed her wand at Daphne.

A sense of crisis rose in Daphne's heart, and she quickly dodged to the side. The next moment, a "whoosh" sound came from where she had just been standing, and the spell grazed her body, tearing a large gash in her sleeve.

If she hadn't dodged, the outcome might already be decided.

Daphne frowned. She recognized the spell Gemma had just used—a very simple cutting spell that students had encountered when they entered school in their first year.

Clearly, Gemma has her own understanding of the Cutting Curse.

"A dragon has emerged from its cave!"

A black python lunged at Daphne, only to be cleaved in two by her attack magic. But the severe injury did not deter its attack; it merely twisted and then transformed into two slightly smaller pythons.

Daphne tapped her wand repeatedly, instantly blasting the two pythons into dozens of pieces.

She believed that magical creations had limited resilience, and as long as she shattered them into enough pieces, her senior would be unable to restore them.

Daphne's idea was good, but dozens of pieces were clearly not yet the "upper limit". Seeing that Daphne had fallen for her trick, Gemma's smile deepened. She waved her wand, spitting out a cloud of black mist that combined with the "snake pieces" on the ground, turning them into small snakes about the length of an arm.

Dozens of black snakes lunged at Daphne, a formidable swarm that posed a significant challenge. She frowned; Snape had just used the same spell, and she should have followed Professor Lupin's example and used a Barrier Charm to stop it.

Ignoring everything else, Daphne flew five feet above the ground, out of the snakes' reach. At the same time, she had a sudden inspiration and hissed twice, mimicking the sounds Rice had made in the secret chamber.

[Cut! Wipe!]

Snakes: ? ? ?

Rice: ?!

Taking advantage of the snakes' momentary lapse in concentration, Daphne quickly waved her wand, and dozens of palm-sized crows flew out from the tip of the wand, launching an aerial attack on the snakes on the ground.

Seeing this, many students present had strange expressions on their faces.

While using birds to fight snakes is a perfectly valid idea, Daphne's behavior is rather subtle, considering the representative animals of Slytherin and Ravenclaw.

Daphne was well aware of this, so her face visibly turned red—there was nothing she could do about it, it was all Rice's fault, the spell he taught Daphne was for reconnaissance, and the summoned animals were rather small.

So far, Daphne can summon snakes the size of an index finger, sparrows of normal size, and crows the size of a palm to command. It's obvious without even thinking that she has no other choice; the other two animals are summoned simply to supplement Gemma's snakes' meals.

While the crow and the snake were locked in combat, Daphne continued her battle with Gemma.

In terms of experience, Gemma was superior to Daphne, but Daphne flew to a higher position, giving her a positional advantage, which resulted in the two fighting to a standstill.

However, Daphne knew very well that if this stalemate continued, she would only lose, because Gemma was different from other upperclassmen; she seemed to have a wealth of practical experience. Continuing to fight someone like that would only lead to defeat.

Because by then, it will be a competition of who makes fewer mistakes. Daphne wasn't very confident in that regard.

That was the only way; she gripped her necklace.

The next moment, an extremely powerful attack spell flew towards Gemma. While activating the spell attached to the necklace, Daphne also released three attack spells around Gemma, attempting to block her movement.

Upon sensing the power contained in the spell, Gemma's expression changed. She pulled a small bottle from her pocket and smashed it on the ground. The bottle shattered instantly, and the fine sand inside immediately scattered onto the round platform.

The moment the sand and the pedestal came together, the originally dense soil suddenly became as soft as water, and Gemma "sank" into the pedestal.

After Gemma sank, the soil on the surface of the pedestal hardened again.

The three professors standing nearby and the students in the audience stared wide-eyed in astonishment: What kind of operation is this?!

Rice was also extremely surprised. According to his observation, the small bottle of soil that Gemma had scattered on the ground had directly activated the soil on the round platform, creating an effect similar to a domain, making it much easier to manipulate the soil.

If she truly possesses such abilities, then Daphne cannot defeat her. Because her powerful attack only occurs once, and as long as Gemma hides behind the platform, Daphne cannot break through her defenses.

Daphne's spell slammed onto the stage, shattering half of it and filling the entire auditorium with dust.

The young wizards near the round platform were all covered in dust.

But they didn't have time to complain; they just wanted to know who won in the end.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)