0533 Duels

Whoosh, whoosh!

The echoes of spells reverberated through Professor Watson's spiritual space as two brilliant flashes of red light - Stunning Spells streaked through the air like crimson lightning. With merciless efficiency, Neville and Ginny crumpled and vanished from the ground, following Harry and Hermione's fate.

The way Professor Watson had dealt with Ginny was particularly shocking to the onlooking students - he had executed the Stunning Spell with his wand pressed so close to her face that several students gasped audibly. This cold, almost cruel action left everyone terrified.

Professor Watson's overwhelming magical prowess needed no elaborate demonstration or explanation and few at Hogwarts dared to challenge his authority. But the young wizards had never witnessed such a frightening side of him!

Now they realized that compared to Professor Watson, the cold and stern expressions of Professors Snape and McGonagall in class seemed almost gentle. No one was questioning anymore whether it was appropriate and legal for a professor to treat young wizards this way - they were all worried about their own fate, trapped within Professor Watson's spiritual world with no other choice!

"Now," Professor Watson's voice cut through the tension like a knife, "I'll give you two minutes to consider why that group failed." His tone carried no mockery or criticism, just cool expectation.

Bryan didn't immediately summon the next group but gave them a moment to collect their scattered thoughts and racing hearts.

'Reasons for failure? What could there possibly be to consider?' Several young wizards thought to themselves, their internal voices tinged with both fear and sarcasm. 'Potter's group stood about as much chance against you as a flobberworm against a dragon.'

But no one dared voice these thoughts as Professor Watson's penetrating gaze swept over them, clearly waiting for someone brave enough to offer an answer.

Finally, Millicent Bulstrode from Slytherin raised a trembling hand. Her normally imposing voice had shrunk to barely more than a whisper as she feebly, "It was Longbottom's fault. He was dead weight - didn't even manage to cast a single spell—" Her voice trailed off under Professor Watson's unflinching stare.

"Are there any other perspectives to consider?" Bryan asked, his face expressionless revealing nothing of his thoughts.

The silence that followed was suffocating, thick with tension and unspoken fears. At last, Draco his pale face even whiter than usual, gathered what remained of his courage.

"They..." Speaking through clenched teeth, he said, "They should have shown more tactical flexibility. Standing there like statues, they made themselves easy targets. They should have..." His brow furrowed in concentration as he grappled with concepts, he could sense but couldn't quite express.

Cedric Diggory's voice rang out next, carrying some confidence. "After you attacked Granger, Potter wasted a crucial opportunity for counterattack by hesitating. Instead of seizing that moment, he waited for your second strike. Their excessive focus on defensive positioning came at the cost of reaction speed and offensive capability."

As if Cedric's analysis had broken a dam, students from all houses began offering their observations, their voices growing stronger as they built upon each other's understandings. Some comments showed genuine tactical understanding, while others exposed fundamental misunderstandings of magical combat. Throughout it all, Professor Watson maintained his silence, neither confirming nor dismissing any of their interpretations. He simply listened; without changing his expression.

When the discussions naturally subsided and the spiritual space grew quiet once more, Professor Watson spoke slowly. "You must learn to think independently," he emphasized, his voice low but carrying to every corner of the spiritual space. "You are not just machines following predetermined patterns. Each of you possesses unique thoughts, instincts, and fighting styles that will ultimately lead you to develop your own distinctive approach to magical combat. Don't expect me to simply hand you a predetermined formula for success."

The next group to face this challenge consisted of three Gryffindor Girls: Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell - the legendary Gryffindor Chaser trio.

To be honest, they gave Bryan some pleasant surprises.

Years of coordination on the Quidditch pitch had clearly fostered an exceptional understanding of tactical positioning and formation dynamics among the trio. Their teamwork also had a particularly sophisticated level of coordination.

Having witnessed the disastrous failures of both the Weasley twins and Granger's groups, they had at least grasped a fundamental principle of magical dueling: attack and defense were distinct formations requiring fluid transitions rather than rigid, stationary positions that left them vulnerable like practice targets in the training grounds.

However, the gap between theoretical understanding and practical execution was their collapse. Their movements, while coordinated, lacked the split-second timing necessary for effective combat transitions and Bryan expertly exploited this weakness with devastating results.

With a casual flick of his wand, he conjured a magical swamp beneath Angelina's feet, suddenly immobilizing her. The unexpected development caused Katie and Alicia to freeze momentarily – surely a fatal mistake in magical combat.

Then, they both simultaneously tried to rescue Angelina - undoubtedly a terrible choice, completely failing to realize they needed to leave someone to handle Professor Watson's next attack. In truth, tactically speaking, they would have fared better abandoning Angelina to focus on countering Bryan's follow-up attack.

Their fate was sealed when a massive wave of purple magical flame rushed toward them, its heat intense enough to distort the air itself. Three piercing screams echoed through the spiritual space before the Gryffindor trio vanished as one.

The Hufflepuff team's turn came next, and they demonstrated the house's reputation for being slower to adapt to changing circumstances. Most of their performance was a near carbon copy of previous groups' mistakes, with one notable exception: Cedric Diggory. He distinguished himself as the first student brave enough to seize the initiative, launching an opening attack the moment the duel began.

His Reducto Curse, executed with impressive speed and precision, forced Bryan to make his first evasive movement of the evening. Displaying remarkable tactical awareness, Cedric had already anticipated his dodge and launched a follow-up Disarming Charm that actually compelled Bryan to actively defend himself, dispersing the spell with a wave of his wand – also a first in the evening's battles.

Yet Cedric's moment of brilliance was followed by an equally dramatic failure. When Bryan suddenly materialized near Cho Chang, Cedric's tactical judgement vanished instantly, replaced by raw panic. Convinced his 'girl' 'friend' was going to suffer like Ginny did, he abandoned all of his strategies and threw himself on top of her, trying to shield her from harm.

This foolish action left their teammate Roger Davies completely dumbfounded and he was also exposed and tactically paralyzed. He could only watch in horror as a conjured stone spear impaled both Cedric and Cho, their bodies vanishing together, before an explosion sent Roger himself flying from the spiritual space.

The Ravenclaw team of girls wasn't particularly noteworthy, performing neither impressively nor poorly, though Luna's continuously dreamy demeanor during even such an intense duel made Bryan purse his lips. The young witch's extraordinary magical sensitivity was both a blessing and a curse.

Draco's team was the first Slytherin group to enter the arena, and they were also the last team of the evening to surprise Bryan.

After watching so many teams fail, Draco had at least learned one principle – it was better to strike first!

Hiss, hiss—

The moment Professor Watson signaled the start of the duel, Draco unleashed his signature spell with impressive speed. Two massive black pythons, each as thick as a man's wrist and nearly two meters in length, erupted from his wand tip.

One coiled protectively near him like a living shield, while its twin launched forward with shocking swiftness, its movements unpredictable and deadly. In the span of a heartbeat, the attacking serpent had closed the distance to Professor Watson, and launched upward with explosive force.

The black python sprung from its belly like a fully compressed spring, opening its fierce mouth in mid-air to reveal sharp fangs, striking directly at Professor Watson's face.

Such a vicious and unrestrained attack brought a slight smile to Bryan's face. He raised his wand to disperse the black python into wisps of smoke, countering Draco's attack with a Corrosion Curse.

As the blue spell light filled with deadly energy was about to hit Draco, the defensive black python he had left in front leaped up, and swallowed Professor Watson's curse whole before falling back to the ground. The python writhed in apparent agony as the corrosive energy consumed it, but it had served its purpose.

In that same instant, Astoria Greengrass, the younger of the Greengrass sisters, completed her own offensive spell. Her clear voice rang out with the incantation "Avis!" and suddenly the air was filled with the beating of wings as a dozen conjured birds materialized.

These were no ordinary birds as their beaks gleamed with metallic sharpness. Before Professor Watson could complete his counter to Draco's attack, the birds had executed a perfect surrounding maneuver, creating a sphere of potential attack routes.

The timing and execution of this combination attack would have spelled doom for most adult wizards, and even Bryan's eyes showed a glimmer of genuine approval. However, expecting such tactics to overcome someone who maintained combat abilities on par with elite Aurors was perhaps overly optimistic.

Faced with the multi-directional threat, Bryan's falling arm reversed direction with lightning speed. In less time than it takes to blink, he executed a precise magical strike that sent visible ripples through the space. Astoria's conjured birds dropped from the air like stones, crushed by an overwhelming gravitational force that none could resist.

"Charge!"

Draco's command rang out before Professor Watson had even finished dealing with the air threats. His team had already anticipated that their opening strategy wouldn't be enough to secure victory. Moving with planned coordination, they formed a perfect triangle formation and rushed forward with remarkable courage. When Bryan finally turned back after finishing off the birds, he found himself being rapidly encircled by the young Slytherins.

Their positioning was tactically half-good enough so Bryan abandoned his initial plan to approach them via Apparition. Instead, he remained still, curious to see how the students would get the most out of their advantageous position. He allowed them to complete their encirclement, watching with interest as they reached their desired attack positions.

What followed was a storm of attacks. Perhaps driven by a desire to prove themselves, they launched spell after spell in a continuous barrage. Their attack rhythm, while impressive in its intensity, lacked the perfect coordination of their opening combination. Bryan, more out of instructive interest than necessity, remained defensive, using minimal movement and magical barriers to defend their assaults while allowing them to exhaust their offensive options.

This fierce exchange continued for nearly a minute before the inevitable happened. Astoria's face suddenly drained of color; the Disarming Charm she had begun to cast dissipated into harmless sparkles before it could fully form. An overwhelming wave of dizziness crashed over her, and her legs gave out beneath her, sending her crumpling to the ground.

The sudden collapse of their teammate caused Draco and Pansy to hesitate in their attack - another crucial mistake. Before they could adjust their strategy, the same draining dizziness came over them as well. Both students clutched their heads as they struggled to maintain their footing, their offensive formation crumbling.

As Professor Watson approached them with the first genuine smile, they'd seen all evening, Draco fought against his body's overwhelming urge to flee. Instead, he forced himself to meet his professor's gaze and asked, his voice trembling with a combination of fear and exhaustion, "When... when did you manage to poison us?"

"Oh, I didn't poison you at all," Bryan replied with a smile, "You simply failed to fully consider the limitations of your own magical reserves. Maintaining such an intense offensive pressure demands an enormous expenditure of both magical power and physical energy, Mr. Malfoy."

Three pained cries echoed through the spiritual space, and then Draco's team joined their predecessors in defeat, vanishing from Bryan's Spiritual World.

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