The Duel That Ended In An Instant!

"Spread out, please!" Cedric called to the young wizards gathered nearby.

Everyone knew better than to get involved in the fight between the two.

However, no one left, as they were all curious as to who would win the duel.

"Hermione, you'll be the referee!" said Ivan.

The young witch looked worried, as she was bound to get points deducted by the professors for duelling in the Great Hall, but at Ivan's request, Hermione went to the side and began directing the two of them to bow according to the rules of the duel.

"Three… two… one… go!"

Hermione waved her right arm.

Cedric took a few steps back as fast as he could, tapped his chest with his wand, and read.

"Protegos ~ (armour protecting)"

An invisible magical shield surrounded Cedric, protecting him from harm.

This was an Armor Charm that he had mastered last year after much practice. It allowed one to gain the upper hand in a duel!

However, contrary to Cedric's expectations, Ivan did not attack immediately. He just stood there and watched him, his wand in his right hand.

'Frightened?'

This was Cedric's first reaction, but he quickly dismissed it. He had heard a lot of rumours about Ivan at school, and he knew that Ivan would never be so horrible!

Otherwise, it could only be contempt!

Perhaps the other party did not take him seriously at all, which was why he was so disrespectful in battle…

Cedric was offended at the thought. It was the first time he had ever been looked down upon!

"Expellarmus ~ (Expelliarmus)," Cedric shouted as he pointed his wand at Ivan.

The two parties were less than four meters apart, and the beam of light almost reached them in a single leap!

It was only then that Ivan slowly pointed his wand at himself. He did not cast the spell, but the red beam of light was deflected back at an even faster speed. Cedric's body tried to dodge, but he could not.

Fortunately, the early release of the Shield Charm took effect at this point and resisted the attack.

But Cedric didn't relax at all, and his heart was in his mouth, because the second beam of magic was right in front of him, and it broke through the weakened shield and hit him squarely.

'Doesn't he have to do any spells?'

At the critical moment, Cedric's face changed dramatically, and he became very confused. He did not hear Ivan's voice as he chanted the spell, but he could see Ivan waving his wand twice.

The thought flashed through his mind, and the next thing he knew, Cedric was flung sideways, crashing into the Hufflepuff table behind him, knocking the empty plates and candlesticks to the floor.

At the same time, Cedric's wand flew out of his hand, spun in midair, and landed in Ivan's hand.

The surrounding students were stunned as they watched this scene in disbelief.

They may have expected Cedric to be defeated by Ivan, but they did not expect the battle to end so quickly. The moment the battle officially started, Cedric was sent flying!

Krum and Fleur, who were in the crowd, also stared in shock at Cedric, who was lying on the table. They had seen too much from this brief battle, compared to most inexperienced wizards.

They were particularly impressed by Ivan's two instances of non-verbal magic.

Obscurus?!

As Fleur thought about it, she was able to mentally recite the incantation and cast the spell, although it usually required a lot of concentration and a lot more preparation time than the incantation!

However, this was clearly not the case when Ivan cast the spell just now. It was very easy, and after releasing the protective spell, he silently cast the Disarming Charm again. This did not match the characteristics of the Obscurus that required preparation.

Unless the other party was using a more advanced spell-free technique!

But how was that possible?

Fleur would never have believed it was possible for a mere fourth year wizard if she had not seen it with her own eyes…

"Cedric, are you all right?" Hufflepuff's young wizards were momentarily stunned, then rushed forward to help Cedric up.

Several of them stepped in front of Ivan, as if to stop him from attacking Cedric again.

Ivan scratched his head, wondering if he had hit him too hard, but in truth, he had held back, giving Cedric a chance to make the first move so that he would not be humiliated.

Cedric was helped to his feet, but his face was pale and he was looking at Ivan with a troubled expression.

He did not expect to lose so thoroughly that he could not even put up some resistance!

Even more excited than Cedric were the Hufflepuff wizards, who had come to surround Ivan in an attempt to prove that Cedric was the true champion!

Now that Hufflepuff's pride had been so easily defeated, most people found the outcome hard to swallow.

Some people even believed that Ivan had cheated, or that Cedric had not played well, and were clamoring for a rematch!

Ivan scowled at their words, then turned to Cedric. "What, you going to rematch me?"

"No, there's no need to compete, I've lost! I don't think a few more attempts would make any difference…" Cedric rubbed his aching chest and shook his head wryly.

"By the way, I didn't hear you casting the spell. Are you able to cast it without a spell?" Cedric asked solemnly. He, like Fleur and Krum, found it hard to believe that a fourth-year wizard could be so skilled.

"That's why you've come at a bad time," Ivan said. "I've only just learnt it."

Ever since he had learned the secret of magic from Nicolas Flamel, he had been experimenting with non-incantation techniques.

By now, Ivan had mastered the art of casting spells without a spell, and the spell's power would be greatly reduced.

"Impressive!" Cedric was thoroughly impressed by Ivan's confirmation. He sighed and praised Ivan, then turned back to the assembled students.

"Dismissed, as you can see, I have been outmaneuvered! Ivan Hals is indeed more suited to be a champion of Hogwarts than I am!"

(PS: Here's a copy of Hogwarts in Another World, a novel setting for Harry Potter in another timeline (Grindelwald became Headmaster after defeating Dumbledore in the Wizarding War).