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Chapter 206: One-on-One Guidance Battle
Chapter 206: One-on-One Guidance Battle
Young wizards exchanged glances, but no one volunteered to step up to the platform.
Whispers filled the air below.
This was a rare opportunity to face off against a professor, but the question was, who should they choose?
Felix smiled, "Is there anyone willing to give it a try? This is a rare opportunity."
Harry felt a tingle of excitement, his lips dry. He had already undergone special training with Professor Hep during the summer and knew there was a significant gap between them.
But just how wide was that gap? He couldn't quite gauge it.
And just then, an idea struck him. Could he gain the information he wanted through one-on-one guidance?
As he hesitated, the first person stepped forward: Percy Weasley.
He bowed formally, "As the male student council president, I am willing to set an example for the others."
"Very well, Weasley, which professor do you choose?" Felix looked at him encouragingly.
"Professor Flitwick", Percy said without hesitation.
Before coming up, he had already made his decision. Among the three professors, Snape was known for his bias against Gryffindor. While facing him wouldn't be life-threatening, it would certainly be embarrassing, so he ruled him out.
Professor Hep, on the other hand, didn't use spells often, but last year's Disarming Charm was too memorable. Percy feared that Professor Hep might use such a powerful spell against him, so he ruled him out as well.
By process of elimination, Professor Flitwick was the best choice. He was cheerful and gentle, not overly strict with young wizards, and rarely deducted points.
During the Dueling Class last year, his guidance sessions were always smooth and didn't leave students feeling humiliated.
"I choose Professor Flitwick", Percy repeated.
Soon, Flitwick and Percy stood face to face. Flitwick reminded him, "Don't forget what I taught you earlier." He had spent over an hour detailing his fighting style.
Percy nodded, and they raised their wands in a formal salute before the duel began.
Percy made the first move, casting a Disarming Charm. But Flitwick merely tilted his head to avoid it, his eyes fixed on Percy's wand.
Almost simultaneously, a bright spell shot towards Percy. Fortunately, he had rehearsed his moves before coming up. After casting the Disarming Charm, he instinctively jumped to the side and cast a Shield Charm.
"Armor Shield!"
The Shield Charm formed just in time to block Flitwick's spell.
"Good job, Percy", Flitwick praised. He deliberately controlled the pace of his attacks, and after about three minutes, he neatly bound Percy with a binding spell.
Flitwick commented, "Your spells are quite proficient, and you have a logical approach. However, it's clear you lack practical experience, and your reactions were a bit rushed."
Percy freed himself from the ropes, smoothed out the wrinkles in his robes, and said formally, "Thank you, Professor Flitwick. I will take this into account in the future."
He bowed and walked down from the gilded platform, to the excited cheers of the Gryffindor young wizards.
"We are the first!"
"Percy, how was it facing a professor? Was it stressful?" someone asked him.
Percy explained, "It was indeed stressful, but you don't have time to think too much. You have to be fully focused."
With the first brave soul having taken the plunge, the young wizards became more eager, their nervousness fading. Soon, the second student stood on the gilded stage.
It was another Gryffindor, Oliver Wood. He was tall and served as the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
He scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, "I, I choose Professor Hep."
Felix and Wood bowed to each other. Wood whispered, "Professor, go easy on me. I'm most afraid of you."
"Then why did you choose me?"
"Hehe, I'm graduating soon, and it will be quite an honor to say I faced you", Wood said with a grin.
Honor, very good...
The duel began, and Wood was still shouting, "Expelliarmus—"
A red light grazed his hair, cutting off his words mid-sentence. The spell's power made his hair stand on end.
He looked at Professor Hep in terror. If he had been hit, would he have been split in two from the middle? The professor, however, was smiling and gesturing for him to continue.
"I..."
Soon, the students witnessed a complete and utter domination. In the first few minutes, Wood couldn't even cast a single complete spell, constantly interrupted by silent casting.
It wasn't until Wood closed his eyes and recklessly cast a Disarming Charm that the duel began to normalize.
Professor Hep stopped interrupting Wood's incantations, and the two began to exchange spells of various colors, going back and forth.
Professor Hep's dueling strategy was the defensive/dodging—counterattack method he had introduced in previous Duelling Classes, each move grounded in theory.
Combined with what Flitwick had said, the students gained more insights, even the first-years could feel the nuances.
After about seven or eight minutes, Wood, drenched in sweat, conceded. Felix, as usual, provided his critique: "Wood, you're not proficient enough with silent spells, and your dueling intentions are too obvious. Moreover, you lack a consistent strategy.
In your performance, you used twelve different spells, including Disarming Charm, Shield Charm, tripping jinx, and tickling jinx. You cast Disarming Charm three times, Shield Charm twice, tripping jinx twice, and tickling jinx once...
Using minor jinxes isn't wrong, but you must choose your spells carefully. For instance, the tripping jinx doesn't directly incapacitate your opponent, meaning you wasted excellent opportunities to attack and hit.
Additionally, none of your spells were particularly powerful, indicating you don't have a go-to spell..."
Wood humbly accepted the feedback and wiped the sweat from his face.
Next, the Gryffindor students wanted to step up, but the other three houses wouldn't have it. A seventh-year Slytherin prefect, Jeffrey, stood up and said, "Professor Snape, please instruct us."
Snape uncrossed his arms, drew his wand from his black robes, and walked to the center, his cloak billowing behind him.
Facing a Slytherin student, Snape clearly held back. Otherwise, he would have cast a spell to knock his opponent down immediately. This time, he rarely attacked, instead adopting a defensive stance.
Jeffrey's first spell struck the ground three feet away from Snape. Snape, with a cold expression, said, "Are you worried about hitting me, Jeffrey? Use every spell you can think of; dueling is a serious matter!"
Jeffrey then began attacking from different angles, casting spells of various colors. The young wizards witnessed a masterclass in defensive techniques.
Snape rarely used Shield Charm or other protective spells. His eyes were extremely sharp, effortlessly deflecting each incoming spell. When faced with a dark mist, possibly dark magic, he tapped it with his wand, turning it into a large cloud of white mist.
Snape emerged from the mist, his face becoming clear. He stepped closer to Jeffrey, casually deflecting the spells flying at him with his wand.
Soon, Jeffrey was forced to the edge of the stage and had no choice but to admit defeat.
"That was truly impressive! Did you see that?" The Slytherin students applauded enthusiastically.
Harry, unable to contain his excitement, rushed to the platform.
Snape looked at Harry with a mocking expression, lowering his voice so only they could hear: "Finally couldn't resist, could you? Just like your father, always craving attention. Perhaps it makes you feel special, addicted to the feeling of being the Chosen One..."
"I don't feel special", Harry said. "Things just happen to me, like Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban. I knew nothing about him before."
"Don't mention that disgusting name", Snape said coldly.
Harry spoke with certainty: "I saw your records from your school days. You didn't get along, but there must have been deeper reasons..."
Snape's expression became inscrutable, his lips tightly pressed together as if restraining himself from saying something harsh.
(End of Chapter)
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