The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

Chapter 457 The Imminent Transfiguration Showdown

As Professor Moody began the countdown, many people noticed that Fred on the dueling stage took a thick glove out of his pocket and put it on his left hand.

As Professor Moody lowered his raised hand, Warrington launched the first attack.

"Torn apart!"

A beam of red light flew rapidly to Fred.

Fred did not swing his wand to defend himself, nor did he move his feet to dodge.

He stared into Warrington's eyes and raised his gloved left hand.

At this moment, Warrington's face already showed a victorious smile.

The beam of the cutting spell struck Fred's palm with a muffled "thud".

The glove flashed white light, and then the red beam of light instantly reversed, striking Warrington in the chest.

Bang!

Warrington's body flew backward, leaving behind fragments of clothing and blood in his wake, before crashing heavily to the ground below the stage.

"Looks like I've won."

Fred withdrew his outstretched left hand, put his hands on his hips, and said with a hint of smugness.

The crowd erupted in uproar.

"Cheating! Professor! Weasley is cheating!"

Once he caught his breath, Warrington stood up, clutching his bloodied chest, and shouted angrily.

"This is not a fair duel! He used a magical item!"

"Huh?" Fred tilted his head innocently. "You mean this?"

He shook his gloved left hand.

“I feel a little nauseous,” Roger told Scott.

Scott watched Fred's performance and found it all hilarious.

Fred turned to Professor Moody. "Professor, these are [anti-curse gloves] that I invented myself. Shouldn't they be considered part of my abilities?"

Warrington retorted, "You're lying! Who knows if you invented it yourself!"

Professor Moody ignored Warrington's clamor and instead stared at Fred's glove, seemingly quite interested.

"Did you invent this yourself?" he asked. "So it can deflect curses like the Ironclad Curse?"

Seeing that Professor Moody was interested, Fred immediately seized the opportunity.

“That’s right! George and I invented this together.” He nodded repeatedly. “It can completely replace the Ironclad Charm!”

Professor Moody stared at him and asked, "Is there any defect?"

Fred shrugged. "Of course, curses that are too powerful can't be bounced back."

Professor Moody continued to stare at him.

Fred curled his lip. "Okay, it only works if you're looking into the other person's eyes."

“You’ve made something very good, Mr. Weasley,” Professor Moody said, looking at Fred with admiration. “I think the Aurors at the Ministry of Magic will be placing orders with you for this.”

At this point, he shook his head, somewhat dissatisfied, "You know, some young Aurors these days can't even cast the Ironclad Curse."

Fred was overjoyed. "According to Minister Burns's declaration, the Aurors will soon be moving to arrest Death Eaters, so they'll definitely need our products! Oh, besides the curse-proof gloves, we also have curse-proof hats, both of which are very useful..."

It must be said that Fred's demonstration of the anti-curse gloves aroused the interest of many people present.

But Professor McGonagall quickly interrupted his pitch.

"Ahem." Professor McGonagall said sternly, "This is not your product launch, Mr. Weasley."

“Oh, okay, I’ll shut up.” Fred raised his hands in surrender.

Professor Moody also said, "We'll talk about your new product later, but right now you need to have another match with Mr. Warrington."

"Oh?"

Fred turned to look at Warrington.

By this time, Warrington had recovered from his injuries under Professor Flitwick's healing spell, and even his shattered robes had been restored.

He stepped back onto the dueling ring, pointing his wand at Fred once more. "Take off that damn glove, Weasley, and let's have another match! Otherwise, I won't accept defeat!"

Fred looked at him, then at the reactions of the others, and then readily agreed.

"Alright. Indeed, I must demonstrate my strength to convince you before I can take your place at Beauxbatons."

He took off his gloves and put them in his pocket, ready for another duel.

Roger then commented, "They want to do it again? I think what Fred said earlier made sense. Since the gloves were his invention, it means he has the ability to do it."

Scott smiled. "What he wants is not to convince Warrington, but to leave everyone speechless."

“I see, I understand now.” Roger nodded. “Love has made Fred, this usually cunning young man, somewhat unlike himself.”

Scott ignored his tantrum.

Since deciding to go to Beauxbatons to meet the French girl, Roger has become increasingly flamboyant.

On stage, the duel begins once again.

Fred fought Warrington seriously.

This time, he didn't use any other means; he won the victory fair and square.

Everyone could see that although the power of their spells was similar, Fred was more adept at using spells and was more agile, so there was no doubt that he would win the duel.

"Thank you, Mr. Warrington."

After the duel ended, Fred performed a wizard's salute in a mock manner.

“I will go to Beauxbatons in your place and fight for the honor of our Hogwarts.”

Although Fred spoke eloquently, the smile on his face seemed to sting Warrington's eyes.

But Warrington was speechless at this point.

He opened his mouth, walked off the stage with a look of despair on his face, and then left the classroom.

Fred, who had straightened up on stage, raised his hands.

Among the students watching in the classroom, only a few applauded and cheered for him.

But Fred didn't care; he was excitedly winking at Angelina.

"Alright, please leave now, Mr. Weasley."

Professor Moody quickly ousted Fred from his post.

Next, the dueling training continued.

As expected, many people tried to follow Fred's example and challenge those who had already qualified for the competition, hoping to win a spot, but everyone resolutely rejected this ill-intentioned challenge.

In other words, George was really tricked by Fred.

So, the twin brothers, who were always inseparable and deeply in love, had a rare falling out.

Scott, whom no one dared to challenge, stood with the two men, watching closely.

“I can’t believe someone changed their plans at the last minute without informing their brother,” George said unhappily.

Fred smiled apologetically, "Oh, well, there's nothing I can do. If I hadn't said that, many people who originally got a spot might have been eliminated, and they would have hated me."

George gave him a disdainful look. "I never knew you'd care about this. There are plenty of people who hate you anyway."

“Well, I’m doing this for Angelina.” Fred put his arm around George’s neck and began to tell the truth. “You know, if I don’t add conditions, I’m afraid Professor McGonagall won’t agree to what I’m doing.”

George instantly got into character, reaching out to wipe away non-existent tears from the corner of his eye. "So, to you, Angelina is more important than me?"

Fred paused for a moment, then quickly continued the play, "Oh, why would you ask that? You guys..."

“They are all your wings,” Scott reminded him.

Fred nodded emphatically and said with deep emotion, "Yes, you are all my wings!"

George couldn't keep a straight face and couldn't help but laugh.

“That’s disgusting.” He made a vomiting face.

Fred made a victory sign.

George said, "Well, what can I do? You're Fred, after all. Anyway, I won't say anything to support your love. Of course, I won't forgive you if you fail to win Angelina's heart."

Fred slapped him hard on the shoulder. "I knew you'd support me. After all, you're George."

George rolled his eyes. "I didn't have any reason to go."

Scott asked with amusement, "The Triwizard Tournament will last for more than six months. Won't that be the longest period of time you two have been apart?"

Fred and George exchanged a glance, their expressions changing simultaneously, and then asked in unison, "It's going to take that long?"

“That’s right.” Scott nodded. “There are usually three rounds of competition. The first round is in November this year, the second round is in February next year, and the final round is in June next year.”

“Oh…” Fred was a little dumbfounded, “Maybe… I can come back right after the Christmas ball.”

"Do you think this is something you can decide?" George said irritably.

Scott said gleefully, "Oh, as you grow up, you'll have to get used to being apart. And you're all getting old, baby Fred, baby George."

"No, we have no intention of separating."

Fred was completely unfazed by Scott's taunts.

George nodded as well.

Scott reminded them, "You'll all get married eventually, and then you'll each start your own families."

Fred immediately retorted, "Why can't we live together after we're married?"

George looked at Scott with a questioning expression.

"Okay, I was just being nosy," Scott said, backing down.

The two newest duelists caught his eye.