Are you ready, Neville?
In the evening, wandering around Gryffindor dormitory under the warm wind, a duel was taking place.
The four-poster beds and tables and chairs in the dormitory were all moved to the walls, leaving a clear space in the center of the dormitory.
Seamus, Dean, and Ron were standing at their desks along the wall, gazing excitedly at Neville and Harry in the center of the field.
And Harry and Neville, the two people with twenty feet apart, one with a wand, the other with a sword, standing opposite each other with a solemn expression.
To be strict, this can't really be called a duel; it's more of a practice session, to be more precise.
Students in the physical education class are not allowed to engage in magical duels without permission from Professor Blaine, who has set this rule firmly.
However, Neville, who had won a handsome victory for Hogwarts, had managed to negotiate a bit of leniency from Professor Blaine.
He begged Professor Blaine to allow someone to practice with him so that he could quickly become proficient with his "special wand".
After much thought, Armostat agreed to Neville's request.
But he also set rules for Neville: during the practice, only one side could choose to attack or defend at a time, rather than engaging in reciprocal attacks, which was more conducive to risk management.
And the choice of the training partner, Armostat also fixed it for Neville, that is Harry.
The reason for this decision was simple. Harry and Neville were both students of physical education, they lived in the same dormitory, and their relationship was also very good. They would pay attention to their boundaries and would not get red-faced and flustered over small accidents.
Another purpose of fixing a fixed practice partner for Neville was to prevent him from using the guise of practice to cause trouble all over the castle.
In this way, Neville and Harry's duel almost became a "must-listen" for Gryffindor students after nightfall.
Before the designated rest time each night, the young wizards of Gryffindor would always cheer and shout for Neville and Harry to put on a show in the common room for everyone to see.
The energetic duo themselves were also immersed in this kind of competition.
Therefore, when Neville demonstrated his "new tactics" in the Great Hall for a week, even after returning to the dormitory, they would still lightly exercise.
Breathing.
Neville took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his body crouching slightly, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, locking onto Harry's eyes, shoulders, wrists, and other parts.
"Come on, Harry, I'm ready!"
Neville held his sword in both hands, with the blade resting on the ground beside him, and his eyes burning with flames.
At his words, Harry's mouth curved up, and his emerald green eyes shimmered with excitement.
This was not an official duel, so there was no need for so many feints and displays of bravado.
Whoosh!
As Neville's words fell, Harry's raised arm shot forward suddenly, and with a gentle flick of his wrist, a stream of incredibly brilliant red light shot out like lightning, causing the curtains on the four-poster bed to flutter and rustle loudly!
Both Dean and Seamus sucked in a breath at the feeling of the power of this disarming spell. Even Ron, who was already following along with the training, paled slightly. He couldn't guarantee that he could cast an Iron Charm Curse to block Harry's powerful and heavy spell.
However, Neville was extraordinary.
Even though Harry's strike was fierce and swift, Neville still caught a glimpse of his movements. He knew that the spell Harry was about to unleash was his most proficient disarming curse.
Swish!
But Neville, using the force in his waist, swung his sword through the dim air, leaving a crescent moon of silver light, and precisely intercepted Harry's disarming curse.
Bang--
After a slight whoosh of air, the red light of the disarming curse erupted into a sky full of dazzling red stars in the air.
Clean and beautiful!
Every person watching the duel in the dormitory, including Harry who had cast the spell, couldn't help but feel this way.
However, Harry didn't back down. It was expected that Neville could block the spell, so as soon as the disarming curse was shattered, Harry swung his wrist again, his flowing magic stirring up a gentle breeze that tousled his hair and highlighted his increasingly mature face.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
This time, two beams of red light shot from Harry's wand, and the spell was entwined with chilling electrical whips.
Neville felt a chilling sensation upon seeing this.
During the days of sparring, he had once fallen victim to Harry's unique disarming spell.
The experience was quite unpleasant. Once hit by the spell, not only would he be disarmed, but he would also be rendered numb in a state akin to electric shocks. It would take him quite a while to recover.
In fact, once struck, he would completely lose the ability to resist.
Two spell lights left Harry's wand tip, but they were still under Harry's control. One of them shot straight at Neville's face with a slight flickering trajectory, while the other curved in the air to strike Neville's side.
Facing Harry's sharp attack, this time Neville did not choose to wait in place. He quickly advanced and struck the incoming beam of red light with a sword swing, and then, without a moment's hesitation, turned around and raised his sword to strike up into the air, preparing to absorb the second attack.
Neville handled it beautifully. Ron, Dean, and Seamus all believed that Harry's round of attacks were doomed to fail, but then--
As Neville's sword was raised quickly to parry, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Harry, and Harry's faint smirk made Neville's heart skip a beat.
"Armor defense!"
Prepared to break the spell with his sword, Neville's wrist exerted force, and the raised blade was pulled back. Neville held his sword in front of him and shouted clearly!
And just as the invisible magical barrier unfolded, the red light from the side suddenly split into two, striking Neville on either side.
Neville's heart sank, for if he hadn't caught on in time, Harry's unexpected stroke would have knocked him down. But now--
Snap! Snap!
The two red lights almost simultaneously collided with Neville's powerful Iron Charm Curse and were suppressed, turning into countless stars.
"Hmm!" Neville flashed a cool sword flourish, smiling at Harry.
"Have you no more tricks up your sleeve?"
"Oh, my techniques are far from over, Neville!"
Harry relaxed his stance, tapped his neck with his wand, and amidst the enthusiastic applause from the three onlookers, he also joked.
With that, the evening's moderate workout before bed concluded, and the four of them once again marveled at Neville's peculiar weapon, each contentedly falling asleep.
The heat of the initial sleep was gradually dispelled as the clear moon on the horizon moved to the other side of the castle.
In the latter half of the night, the cool breeze blowing over from the Forbidden Forest and sneaking into the dormitory through an open window carried a hint of coolness.
Asleep, Harry unknowingly pulled the blanket that had been kicked aside back and wrapped it tightly around himself, turned over, and continued to sleep soundly.
"Hey, Hare, break!"
Suddenly, Harry, who was deep asleep, heard someone calling out to him and felt someone pulling at the blankets in his arms. He grumbled impatiently, burying his head in the blankets.
"Hari Break, Hari Break--"
But the voice didn't disappear, instead it kept echoing in his ear, and the movement of tugging at his blanket grew bigger.
"Mm..."
Harry's groggy consciousness gradually returned to wakefulness. He grumbled irritably and still rubbed his eyes.
"Has it already been class, Ron?"
Harry mumbled incoherently.
"Multiphase is very sorry to disturb Harry Break's rest, but Multiphase has something to give Harry Break."
Harry, with his arm covering his eyes, silently repeated "deciphering" this sentence in his still-confused mind.
"Multiphase?!"
After another few seconds, Harry suddenly sat up from the bed. With the moonlight filtering into the room, he indeed saw two small dark figures beside his bed.
In a hurry, Harry reached for his glasses, squinting his eyes eagerly to look.
"Oh, Multiphase. And Shiny?!"
Harry exclaimed in surprise, but the dark room and the resentful grumbles from the other beds reminded him that it wasn't yet morning. He immediately lowered his voice and asked, looking startled on his face.
"Multiphase, Shiny, what do you two want to come and find me like this in the middle of the night?"
Seeing that Harry Potter did not get angry at being woken up, Multiphase's nervous heart finally settled down.
The two small elves looked at each other by Harry's bedside. However, they in unison moved aside, revealing a pile of boxes to Harry's eyes.
(End of chapter)
