Chapter 39 Transition

The duel had been discussed for weeks on end. Apart from the professors' seemingly mundane yet intricate magic, the most fiercely debated issue was: which professor had won the duel?

Considering the situation, in the final exchange, Professor Flitwick had successfully defended against Professor Fawley's attack, showing no clear signs of defeat, thus concluding the duel.

To them, it seemed like an anticlimax. Hence, supporters of both professors erupted into disputes.

"Come on, didn't you see? Professor Flitwick was clearly on the defensive against Professor Fawley's onslaught. Can't you see that?"

"If Professor Fawley's formidable offense was thwarted, doesn't that speak volumes about Professor Flitwick's magical prowess?"

Unable to come to an agreement, they eventually sought out the parties involved to voice their doubts.

Professor Fawley emphasized that it was a draw, a battle of equals, where they had ultimately reached a stalemate.

However, Professor Flitwick insisted that he had lost because he had resorted to using magic that was against the rules - the overly powerful Prime Shield Charm.

In reality, this spell had transcended the realm of the Shield Charm, incorporating defensive magics like Salvio Hexia, Protego Totalum, and others, making it a bona fide advanced magic. And the rule of the duel was that both sides could only use simple spells that students could learn. The notion of combining spells was something even graduated wizards struggled to master.

With this explanation, the discussions around the castle regarding the outcome of the duel gradually subsided.

However, discussions about magic became even more heated, igniting a heightened interest among young wizards in Charms and Transfiguration classes.

This left Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall beaming from ear to ear, teaching their classes with infectious enthusiasm, occasionally showcasing their own prowess to the students.

Of course, the most anticipated subject remained Tver's Defence Against the Dark Arts. No junior student dared to miss his class, even braving through cold and illness to attend. Although they often found themselves forcibly sent to the infirmary by him, it didn't stop them from receiving numerous complaints from Nurse Pomfrey.

While students' enthusiasm was high, Tver timely introduced the Light Ball game across all three grades. Of course, the difficulty levels were also divided into three tiers.

First-years had the simplest version, with the Light Ball moving at a steady pace. Second-years added speed variations, making it unpredictable and challenging for students to anticipate its trajectory. Third-years faced the highest difficulty, with not only speed variations but also the ball's movement becoming even more unpredictable, sometimes changing direction three times within a second.

But no matter the challenge, once they started, all students fell in love with this game that didn't require hanging from the ceiling. They spent their days discussing their scores, techniques, and—eavesdropping on the top students' discussions, striving to achieve higher scores in the next game and secure prominent positions on the leaderboard.

Yes, Tver summarized the scores for each grade and created a leaderboard!

The leaderboard was divided into three grades, without any distinction between houses; instead, each grade's leaderboard comprised students from all four houses.

The information displayed on the leaderboard was straightforward: ranking, name, house, and highest score!

This casual leaderboard hung at the back of the classroom, where every student could find their name and corresponding rank during class.

Students at the top of the leaderboard instantly became the talk of the house, enjoying the adoration of their peers.

Those at the bottom weren't necessarily looked down upon, or even if they were, they didn't care.

As Professor Fawley put it, "Instead of wasting time, think about how to improve. Low scores mean plenty of room for improvement. Just a slight progress can lead to a significant increase in scores!"

Soon, young wizards were as enthusiastic as if they were injected with chicken blood, developing a fervent interest in the Light Ball game.

After class and meals, they couldn't resist taking out their wands at the sight of any round object.

"Hey, do you think practicing with Quidditch balls would be more effective?" Ron asked Harry, who had returned from Quidditch practice.

In the second week of school, Harry secretly joined Gryffindor's Quidditch team during flying class. A week later, he received a broomstick from Professor McGonagall as a gift, officially embarking on his Quidditch training regime.

Harry tiredly stashed away the broomstick. Of course, he felt like this action was pointless now. The way Gryffindors looked at him now conveyed a sense of "I believe in you, kid."

After completing all this, he finally relaxed, lying down on his bed.

"I don't know if it's effective, but Wood will definitely kill you."

"You're lucky," Ron said enviously, "Nobody has broken your record of 58 points so far, not even Granger who's several points behind you."

Speaking of which, Harry grinned proudly, thankfully lying down on the bed, or else he might have drooled.

"Well, it's not like that. It took me a month to improve by just 1 point, while Malfoy from Slytherin increased his score by a whopping 5 points!"

"But even now he's only at 55 points. Professor Fawley said the higher the score, the harder it is to improve, and some people's scores have even decreased."

At this moment, a round-faced boy walked in, cradling a notebook in his arms like a treasure.

Ron's eyes lit up when he saw him.

"Oh, isn't this our most improved first-year?"

No matter how many times, Neville blushed every time he heard this, but he couldn't help but show a little smile.

"Please don't say that, I'm only at 35 points, far behind you guys."

"In another two weeks, you'll be surpassing me soon," Ron bounced over to him, "Quick, show me what the professor taught you tonight."

Neville cautiously handed over his notebook. Ever since he gathered the courage to seek guidance from Professor Fawley half a month ago, the professor had spent two evenings a week tutoring him. That was why he improved so quickly.

"Why is it still about wizard instincts?" Ron muttered discontentedly as he flipped through to the end and handed it back as usual.

Every time Neville returned from tutoring, Ron would borrow his notes, although the contents were always things he didn't understand.

"The professor seems to be quite fond of mentioning these things, and he often mutters words like soul and will," Neville shivered involuntarily as he said this, "I always feel like the professor is studying me, not tutoring me."

Ron flopped onto the bed, absentmindedly twirling his wand.

"Well, at least you have research value. I don't even qualify to be studied."

"You can always seek guidance from the professor yourself; maybe he'll have teaching materials suitable for you?"

Ron pondered for a moment but ultimately gave up the idea.

"Forget it, the professor probably doesn't like students like me who can't afford a new wand."