Chapter 141: Deathmatch 3
"Damn it!" Harry thought to himself, frantically raising a Shield Charm just in time to block Liam’s spell. But before he could recover, he was tripped by Michael’s Leg-Locker Curse and fell hard to the ground.
"He's down!" Michael shouted, panting as he sprinted over, wand pointed at Harry, his arm trembling.
The whole thing had happened in an instant—no more than a few steps, really—but Michael felt an inexplicable heat surge through his body, his breath ragged, his heart pounding wildly.
Harry’s wand had slipped from his hand upon impact, leaving him defenseless. Michael had the victory in his grasp.
Yet, as Harry lay on the ground, there was no despair in his eyes—only astonishment, fixed on the space beside him.
Beside him? Where was Liam?
In a flash, the thought struck Michael. He opened his mouth to shout, "Stupe—"
A spell slammed into his back. Instantly, he stiffened like a statue and collapsed face-first into the dirt.
He saw Liam’s body—rigid and motionless, standing like a wooden post beside him.
"Beep—!"
Hagrid blew his whistle, the deep, thunderous voice echoing across the field.
"White Group completely wiped out. Black Group wins!"
Michael blinked hard, trying to clear his vision—then, to his shock, he saw someone suddenly grow beside the pumpkin.
Wade had appeared as if materializing from thin air. He gave Michael a quiet smile, then broke the spell binding the person inside.
"Brilliant, Wade!" Harry jumped up, grinning. "I was sure we were done for!"
Michael stared, his voice cracking in disbelief. "Disguise Charm?"
"Just learned it," Wade said casually.
"No… I’m not asking when you learned it…" Michael murmured, his gaze hollow, unfocused.
Liam stared at Wade in silence, his eyes flashing with quiet reproach—the emotional weight of it felt like being crushed from a higher dimension, even if he couldn’t name it.
Theo hauled Neville to his feet, and the two brushed off the dirt, accepting their defeat with surprising grace. Then they went to retrieve the others.
"Disguise Charm?" Padma said, stunned as she removed the spell. "You mean… it’s like wearing an Invisibility Cloak?"
Wade shook his head. "It’s not an object. And you can’t expect enemies to always be defenseless. Right?"
"But we haven’t even mastered the Stunning Spell properly!" Padma whined, feeling unfairly outmatched.
George sighed dramatically, while Fred smirked and winked at him.
"But we’re more in number, and we had a one-minute head start on concealment. We had the advantage," Michael said, sitting on the ground, defeated.
Now that he thought about it, the reason for the group split was clear.
The Black and White Groups should’ve been equal—but they weren’t. The numbers were uneven, preparation time unequal, and they’d left early, giving them the edge to ambush and set traps.
Wade clearly believed that the three of them on Black Group were stronger than the seven on White Group combined.
Fred and George were evenly matched, but Wade and Harry—according to Wade’s judgment—outclassed all six of them.
Wade was one thing. But Michael had been mentally prepared.
Harry had only joined SSC recently. He’d learned spells quickly, yes—but in Michael’s eyes, his academic performance had been nothing special.
Yet now, in a full-on battle, surrounded and outnumbered, Harry had taken down two of them in a single sweep.
And the time? Only half the thirty-minute rule had passed.
The seven of White Group gathered, discussing tactics.
"We shouldn’t have hidden in the first place," Hermione groaned. "Padma and I split from you—we were found and defeated in seconds."
Padma nodded in agreement.
"We should’ve used our numbers. Overwhelm them."
"We also need to know the terrain," Michael suggested. "We should all run a lap—get familiar with the area."
As the group split up and ran off in different directions, Harry turned to Fred.
"What are they doing?"
"Trying to find good ambush spots, probably," Fred guessed. Then he turned to Wade. "They’ve got a new plan. Shouldn’t we scout the area too?"
"No point," Wade said, pointing at the towering Hagrid, who was now carrying a giant pumpkin to place elsewhere.
"See? After every round, Hagrid moves the pumpkins. He also releases his chickens and pigs into the patch—creates chaos. It’s all designed to mess with your sense of direction."
"So what’s our strategy this time?" Harry asked eagerly.
"I don’t think we can repeat last time," Fred said. "If they all move together, we’ll get surrounded if we split up."
The two began quietly discussing a rough plan, adjusting it as they went. Wade didn’t interfere. He simply observed, quietly absorbing everyone’s experience, feeling the growth in the group.
The second round began immediately.
This time, White Group fell even faster.
They united and managed to take down Harry and Fred—only losing George in the process.
But then Wade turned the vines on the ground into dozens of serpents with a Transfiguration charm. The young wizards screamed in terror as the creatures lunged at them, throwing their formation into utter disarray. One by one, they were frozen in place.
The third round.
"Wade, your magic is cheating!" Michael whined, starting to play dirty—signaling Padma to fake tears, hoping to guilt-trip him.
Wade rolled his eyes skyward. "How about we swap? Let Harry and Fred join your team instead?"
"Sure!" Michael said without hesitation. Padma immediately stopped crying.
Fred looked a little disappointed. But Harry? He was thrilled.
He wanted to see what it felt like to be on the other side—facing Wade as an enemy.
The nine of them huddled together, arguing for twenty minutes. The Weasley Twins even mimicked their Quidditch captain Wood, sketching complex tactical diagrams with lines and horns.
Wade and Hagrid sat atop a pumpkin, sipping tea, waiting patiently for them to finish planning.
"Nine against one—sure you’ve got this?" Hagrid asked, worried.
Wade tapped a tiny ant crawling up the pumpkin’s surface. He grinned wickedly. "They think I’m the underdog. But what if it’s the other way around?"
The game began.
Some hid, others launched surprise attacks, a few set traps—someone even tried to sneak in disguised as a pumpkin.
Wade yawned lazily, not even bothering to get down from the pumpkin.
The Enlargement Charm worked perfectly.
The swarm of ants and spiders chased them relentlessly—screams echoed across the field. No one even came close to Wade. Surviving without breaking down in tears was the real victory.
Hagrid roared with laughter, rolling off his stool in delight.
"Stop! No more!" Hermione screamed, furious, as the round ended. "Wade, you can’t keep using the Enlargement Charm!"
Wade sighed. "Why not? You can use it too."
Hermione stared at him, deadpan.
Did they want to?
Because every time they tried to enlarge a creature, it turned on them—instantly.
(End of Chapter)
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