Chapter 177 "Draco's Duel Invitation"

On the Quidditch pitch's other side, Mrs. Hooch hurriedly assisted Neville towards the Hogwarts infirmary. Neville's broom suddenly went out of control, leading to a crash into Hogwarts castle and resulting in Neville's fall from the air.

After helping Neville, Mrs. Hooch left, and Draco discovered Neville's memory ball at the crash site. Playing with the memory ball, Draco commented, "I seriously doubt if Neville truly belongs to the Longbottom family's bloodline. I mean, he's from a pure-blood family, and to fall off a flying broom is quite disgraceful for a pure-blood."

Harry approached Draco and said, "Draco, hand me the memory ball, and I'll return it to Neville when he's back in the Gryffindor common room."

Frowning, Draco responded, "Harry, why don't you understand that not everyone is worthy of being our friend? We are destined to be different. Don't waste your time on these weak people! Just like that Weasley over there, they won't contribute to your future!"

Draco continued as Harry looked back at Ron, "Harry, don't you admire Wentworth a lot? Do you know who Wentworth's friends are? Green, the Hufflepuff prefect, achieved 10 O.W.L.s last year! Cedric, a school-recognized genius wizard, aced two consecutive final exams with all O grades in every subject!"

Having expressed his sentiments, Draco sighed with a hint of resentment and added, "Genius is surrounded by genius, and the strong are surrounded by the strong! Harry, I can't alter the Sorting Hat's decision, but as a friend, I can't stand by and watch you fall into Gryffindor!"

With these words, Draco swiftly mounted his broom and ascended into the air, shooting Harry a cold glance. This bold move by Draco triggered exclamations from the students present.

Observing Draco take flight, Harry, who had never learned anything about broom riding in his entire life, gazed at Draco's retreating figure and remarked, "Draco, I admire Wentworth not because of his strength but because, even when he comes to me dressed in expensive attire, he doesn't mind that I'm sleeping in a stair cubicle in tattered clothes. He greets me with a smile and welcome me by saying, 'Harry Potter, welcome home!' Something that I never experienced in my whole life."

After conveying this, Harry wasted no time and immediately mounted his broom, soaring after Draco. As they spoke, the two were already airborne without hesitation.

Witnessing Harry's pursuit, Draco unhesitatingly tossed Neville's memory ball towards the pinnacle of Hogwarts Castle.

Observing this, Harry shot Draco Malfoy a look of helplessness before turning to chase after Neville's memory ball.

However, at this moment, Neville's memory ball was already within close proximity to Hogwarts Castle.

Witnessing this, Harry accelerated suddenly, seizing the ball a split second before it collided with the castle's surface. Yet, due to Harry's rapid speed, inertia left him unable to adjust his direction, resulting in a direct collision with Hogwarts Castle and a subsequent fall from his broom.

Observing Harry plummet from the sky, the Hogwarts freshmen could only exclaim in helplessness. Meanwhile, still airborne Draco muttered in irritation, "This idiot!" Without hesitation, he activated his broom and swiftly descended towards Harry. Several meters above the ground, Draco managed to catch Harry on the broom.

Regrettably, Hogwarts' worn-out broom proved incapable of supporting the combined weight of two individuals, causing both Harry and Draco to fall from the air. Fortunately, the distance from the ground was not considerable, and neither of them suffered any injuries.

As the two landed, Gryffindor and Slytherin freshmen quickly converged around them. Rising to his feet, Harry began to express concern for Draco when the latter angrily seized Harry's collar, admonishing him, "Harry! Are you a fool? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Observing Draco clutching Harry's collar, Ron promptly stepped forward, expressing his reluctance, "Malfoy, let go of Harry!"

The Slytherins behind Draco aligned themselves with him, provoking the Gryffindors and questioning, "What do you want?"

Sensing the impending conflict, Harry gestured for Ron to stand down. Draco, also disapproving, turned to the Slytherins behind him, declaring, "This is between me and Harry Potter, just the two of us!" Faced with this, the Slytherins reluctantly retreated.

Hermione, pulling Ron away, returned to the Gryffindor crowd and remarked to Ron, "Let the two of them resolve their issues on their own!"

In the midst of this, Harry took the initiative to return Neville's memory ball to Ron, then turned to Draco with a smile, saying, "Draco, thanks for your help back there!"

Still displeased Draco retorted, "Why don't you ever listen to me? If you had, you wouldn't be in this mess!"

Harry maintained a smile and began to explain, "Draco, Neville is a great friend and a genuinely good person. If you get to know him better..."

Before Harry could finish, Draco interjected, waving his hand dismissively, "Harry, you've spent so much time in the Muggle world that you've forgotten who you are! Good people? Good people are worthless to us wizards! In the magical world, only strength matters!"

"Good people won't earn the respect of wizards; only the strong do. That's what your idol, Wentworth, told me at last year's Quidditch World Cup." Draco continued with a stern expression on his face.

After a moment of silence, where Draco appeared lost in thought, he looked at Harry and continued, "Harry, let's have a duel—a wizard's duel."

The air around the two of them is tense. While Harry is confused with everything that's going on, he can only smile at Draco as the other students that were watching have their expression turned into shock.

Harry, who was raised in the Muggle world, doesn't know anything about the dueling or what Draco had just said; that's why he can only smile like an idiot in situations like this...

After living all his life suppressed by the Dursleys, Harry's heart that was longing for a good friend saw the good in Draco's personality that was really open with him because he thought of Harry as one of the pure-blooded wizards.

Hence, Harry wanted to get rid of this problem without escalating it any further to avoid further conflicts between his newfound friends.

Alas, even though Draco's nature changed a bit from his pure-blooded wizard ideology. Still, it won't change the Malfoys nature and their education since the early days to hail themselves with the pure-blooded wizard to get the most out of their plans...

"What? What are you talking about, Draco?" Harry asked, clearly puzzled.

With a serious expression, Draco said to Harry, "If I win the duel, you'll heed my advice from now on—no more wasting time with those useless people! If I lose, I'll never be friends with you again and won't voice my opinions."

Upon hearing it, Harry's face turned sour. The smile he had on his face slowly disappeared after he heard what Draco had just said.

He tried his best to stay positive about this whole situation, but he just simply couldn't contain it much further.