"Sectumsempra!"
The air twisted as an invisible blade flew toward her.
Audrey stepped aside to dodge. Sectumsempra was a powerful piece of Dark Arts. If there weren't a counter-curse for it, wouldn't its lethality earn it a spot as the fourth Unforgivable Curse?
She wasn't foolish enough to take it head-on. It was just like Krillin's Destructo Disc—how many powerful experts had suffered because of that move?
Dumbledore shook his head slightly. At the edge of the high platform on Audrey's side, a stone slab rose. The Sectumsempra struck the several-inch-thick slab, leaving behind a very deep gash.
"Is Snape trying to kill Audrey?" Ron exclaimed loudly.
The young wizards below, seeing the power of Sectumsempra, couldn't help but break into a flurry of whispered discussions.
"How could Professor Snape be so ruthless?"
"He's clearly been suppressing Audrey the whole time. She hasn't even had the chance to fight back. He's going too far!"
Audrey "Unable to Fight Back" Astley wasn't panicked in the least. Six years ago, when she was still a child, she had already fought for her life against adults. Those opponents hadn't hesitated for a second to cast Avada Kedavra at her!
She waved her wand, raising one iron plate after another in front of her. They blocked the Sectumsempra and also blocked Snape's line of sight.
...
"Excellent Transfiguration!" Professor McGall's eyes sparkled. She wished she could award ten points to Slytherin, but seeing Snape's distorted expression across the way, she quickly restrained herself. Because Professor Snape was being so unseemly, Slytherin would get no points!
...
A continuous barrage of Sectumsempra slashed against the iron plates, producing a rhythmic clanging. Snape increased the intensity; even iron plates could not withstand the Head of House's fury!
Just as the iron plates were about to be completely severed, a loud crack of Apparition suddenly sounded behind Snape.
Snape shouted as he spun around, "I told you before! Your Apparition is too crude! The sound is too loud!"
He swung his wand violently, and a Stunning Spell hit the thing that appeared behind him...
A whole rack of beef ribs? (Norberta: My snack!)
"Oh no!"
Snape quickly turned back around, only to see a ball of lightning flashing right in front of his face.
Audrey emerged from the dazzling sphere of electricity. With a "whoosh," a magical whip lashed out toward Snape's head!
Snape hurriedly waved his wand to defend. To his surprise, he found that under Audrey's seemingly ordinary wand-waving, his Shield Charm was on the verge of shattering!
Audrey's counterattack sent the young wizards into a frenzy of excitement. They began to cheer—Gryffindor shouted the loudest, followed closely by... Slytherin?
Even though Snape was their Head of House!
It was clear that the young wizards of Hogwarts had suffered under Snape for a long time!
Snape awkwardly neutralized Audrey's close-quarters offensive.
One must remember that Grindelwald was a master of melee combat. During his peak duel with Dumbledore, the two of them had been entangled in close quarters as if they were dancing! Audrey had studied under Grindelwald and had practiced combat techniques rigorously. In the wizarding world, when it came to close-quarters fighting, this girl feared no one!
After trading a few more moves, Snape felt he could no longer hold her off. He suddenly pointed his wand right between Audrey's eyebrows.
"Lumos Maxima!"
A simple, full-powered Wand-Lighting Charm was used by him with the effect of a flashbang. It bore a striking resemblance to Tien Shinhan's Solar Flare!
In his plan, Audrey should have been blinded, giving him the chance to launch a fierce attack and win the duel!
However, Audrey's eyes, which had been saturated with magic for sixteen years, were no longer ordinary! She only froze for a split second, confused as to why a master of magic would use such a dirty trick like "blinding the eyes" while fighting a student. How was this different from a child throwing sand?
Snape's sneak attack only caused Audrey to lose focus for an instant. Her eyes remained wide open, completely unaffected.
Snape was shocked and abandoned his plan for a total offensive. Taking advantage of Audrey's brief moment of daze, he Apparated to the other side of the high platform, putting distance between them. He was no match for her in a close-range brawl!
The young wizards below were blinded by his "flashbang," unable to open their eyes, and a chorus of complaints rose up.
"Ah, I'm going blind!"
"Why would anyone use a Wand-Lighting Charm!"
"Who used that charm? Who is so lacking in martial ethics?"
"Can someone who can see tell me what the situation is now?"
The situation? The real situation was that Audrey wanted to save Snape some face, but Snape wasn't taking the hint.
Fine, then.
"Protego Diabolica!"
Blue flames erupted across the platform. Audrey, looking like a queen from hell, walked toward Snape step by step.
"Sectumsempra!"
"Confringo!"
"Flipendo!"
"Depulso!"
All of Snape's attacks were blocked by the blue flames. The fact that he followed up with multiple Banishing Charms undoubtedly highlighted his current state of mind: Stay away from me!
He had never imagined that he would be forced into such a pathetic state by a young witch who hadn't even graduated! He was absolutely certain that even this girl's father, at her age, had been far inferior!
In an instant, the blue flames transformed into lions and eagles, flying toward Snape. Snape poured all his magic into resisting, but it was to no avail. If this continued, his dignity as the Head of Slytherin would be completely gone!
"Finite Maxima!"
An enhanced version of the Counter-Spell erupted with a brilliant golden light, actually carrying the momentum of "Finite Incantatem" from years past!
Amidst the gasps of the students, the golden light successfully stopped the advancement of the blue fire. The magic from both sides reached a stalemate!
However, only those involved knew that Snape couldn't hold on for much longer. In terms of both the quality and quantity of the magic in their bodies, Snape was at a disadvantage. When his magical skill and combat techniques were also not superior to the opponent's, defeat was only a matter of time.
The duel on stage became more and more exciting. The students gradually set aside the identities of the combatants and began to get hyped up.
"Go, Professor Snape! You have to win!" (I bet two Galleons on you winning!)
"Go, Professor Snape! Beat Astley!" (I bet forty Sickles; that's all my pocket money before Christmas!)
"Go, Audrey! You can do it!" (Even though I bet on Snape, that doesn't stop me from supporting Audrey!)
Finally, the blue fire overwhelmed the golden light, sweeping toward Snape. The Potions Master sighed and Apparated off the platform.
"That is enough!"
Dumbledore appeared on the platform, and Audrey withdrew the blue flames surrounding her.
"I thank Professor Snape and Miss Astley for showing us a wonderful duel," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard, clearly in a good mood. "However, it is a pity that because the combat area is limited, Professor Snape leaving the dueling zone has caused the duel to end. According to the rules, he should return to the stage to determine a winner, but today our aim was to demonstrate wizard dueling, so there is no need to fight to the end!"
"I declare this match a draw!"
The young wizards were dejected. Dumbledore didn't understand why there was such a reaction; only the Weasley twins were dancing with joy.
A draw! It was a draw!
The betting pool they opened only had "win" or "loss," no "draw"! This meant they made a clean sweep! In these short ten minutes, they had earned a full thousand Galleons! This was fantastic!
Snape's mood was just as low as the students'. The Headmaster had forcibly saved his dignity, but he knew in his heart that he had lost thoroughly. He hadn't even managed to force out Audrey's trump cards, because he had heard Dumbledore mention that Audrey had the ability to replicate the magical traits of fantastic beasts!
"Alright, today's activities are over," Dumbledore smiled. "Tomorrow will be a new week! Everyone, please look forward to it. Perhaps tomorrow's classes will give you a surprise!"
Audrey: "..."
You explain to me what the hell is called a "surprise"!
His surprise was her suffering!
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]