"Who is my opponent?" Sean asked, his voice calm as he surveyed the crowd.
The boy from the previous night stepped forward, puffing out his chest. A flicker of recognition crossed Sean's face. "Ah," he said with a slight nod. "So it's you."
"It is I," the boy declared, his voice ringing with misplaced importance. "Beauxbatons, Schiller Cavill!"
"Hogwarts, Sean Bulstrode."
They exchanged names and a stiff, formal handshake before ascending the dueling platform from opposite ends. They met in the center, bowed curtly to each other, and then walked back to their starting positions. As the student referee's countdown ended, both wizards moved at once.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Sean cast first. The Full-Body Bind was one of the most powerful conventional spells he knew, and its speed made it an ideal opening move. A bolt of grayish-white light shot across the platform, aimed directly at Schiller's chest.
But Schiller was ready. A crimson jet of light erupted from his own wand, meeting Sean's curse mid-air. The spells collided with a sharp crack and dissipated into harmless sparks.
Sean didn't hesitate. With a sweeping gesture, he animated the heavy wooden tables and chairs lining the dueling room, sending them hurtling through the air at his opponent. Schiller showed no compunction about destroying school property; an orange-red shockwave blasted from his wand, shattering the incoming furniture into a cloud of splinters.
But he wasn't finished. With a sharp jab of his wand at Sean, Schiller transfigured the cloud of wooden shards. They twisted and reformed in mid-air, becoming a flock of screeching black crows that swarmed toward Sean.
"Incendio!"
Sean reacted instantly. A torrent of fire roared from his wand, forming a churning wall of flame that engulfed the swarm of crows, reducing them to cinders in seconds. Before the last embers faded, Sean pressed his attack, sending the wave of fire surging across the platform toward Schiller. The heat was so intense that the spectators scrambled back, fearing for their eyebrows.
A flicker of caution appeared on Schiller's face. He took a deep, steadying breath of the superheated air and, just before the flames reached him, whipped his wand in a complex pattern.
"Mur de Cristal!"
A shimmering light sprayed from the tip of his wand, solidifying into a translucent, crystalline wall that rose from the platform, blocking the fiery onslaught. The flames crashed against it and were extinguished, unable to penetrate the barrier. Sean knew at once this was no ordinary shield; it was a specialized, hereditary spell of the Cavill family.
"Confringo!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The Blasting Curse and another Petrification Curse slammed into the crystal wall, but they fizzled out on its surface with no effect. Schiller smirked and began to advance, controlling the massive wall with his wand, pushing it forward to sweep Sean off the narrow platform. The Beauxbatons students roared with approval. It was a well-known, winning tactic of his in dueling club.
Schiller's smile widened into a triumphant grin. My crystal wall's physical defense may be its weakness, but it's all relative, he thought. There's no way a first-year brat like him could possibly damage it...
CRACK!
The sound was sharp and sickening, like a giant sheet of ice being shattered by a hammer.
Schiller's triumphant smile froze on his face. He stared, dumbfounded, at the spiderweb of cracks spreading across his family's signature spell. In the center of the web was Sean's fist.
Sean frowned, shaking his hand slightly as if to get rid of a cramp. He looked at Schiller with an expression of mild confusion. "Your magic has excellent defense against spells," he said, his tone conversational. "But its physical defense is a bit weak, isn't it? It shattered before I even used any real force. Startled me a bit. I thought I was about to be pushed off."
His words, half-truth and half-understatement, landed with more force than any curse.
"You... you're a monster!" Schiller stammered, his face pale with shock. "You shattered my crystal wall with a single punch?"
Then, the memory hit him. The Quaffle. The shattered broomstick. He had seen Sean do it before. But knowing it and seeing it were two different things. What normal twelve-year-old could shatter a magical crystal wall with their bare hands? Does he have Giant blood? The thought, absurd and yet terrifyingly plausible, flashed through Schiller's mind. Their own Headmistress was rumored to be part-giant. Could this Hogwarts student be the same?
Random thoughts warred with dueling instincts, but Schiller reacted. His wand flashed, sending a volley of Stunning Spells at Sean.
Sean met them with a series of perfectly timed Shield Charms and counter-jinxes. Red and white light flashed between them in a rapid, dazzling exchange, but neither could gain an advantage.
Sean knew he had an ace in the hole—the Smoke Rope Curse he'd acquired from Voldemort's remnant soul. It would end the duel instantly. But using such a potent and obviously dark spell in public was a risk he wasn't willing to take. The billowing black smoke, the sheer power of it... any experienced adult wizard would know it was far beyond the capabilities of a second-year. It would invite questions he couldn't answer and suspicions about a face on the back of his head.
Crack! Another pair of spells collided.
Sean tapped his wand on the platform floor. Instantly, a thicket of thorny vines erupted from the boards, growing with unnatural speed and lashing out, trying to entangle Schiller.
While controlling the vines, Sean considered his options. He could probably rely on his own natural magic resistance and simply charge forward. But on the narrow platform, there was no room to dodge. It was a straight line. If he misjudged and took a few solid hits, he'd lose the initiative.
He watched as Schiller, with a skill that surpassed his own, began expertly slicing through the vines with a flurry of Cutting Curses. And as he watched the pieces fall, an idea began to form.
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