A certain Hogwarts rune professor

Chapter 379
Surrounded by more than 30 students in the temporary open space, sitting in twos and threes on the grass, there are barely [-] students including professors.

They stared at the two figures in the center that were constantly intertwined, and they came and went, casting spells at each other.

"Cedric, come on!" Roger Davis shouted.

"Victor, come on!"

Cedric dodged a spell, "Armor protection!" He propped up a magic barrier and took a breath, the opposite spell flew over like a sharp sword, hitting the barrier with a bang.

The boy surnamed "Graves" had short, delicate black hair, and the power of the spell was terrifyingly powerful.He grins and looks like he's winning.

"Watch your step, Victor!"

Victor Graves was startled, and suddenly found two slender streams of water winding down, over the grass and dirt, flowing in the direction of his feet invisibly.

He raised his wand, wanting to do something.At this moment Cedric rushed out, a red light flew from the tip of the staff, and Graves hurried back to protect himself, but the spell missed him at all.

The nearby water flow suddenly exploded, and a large amount of hot water mist evaporated from the grass, and Cedric and Graves were swept in. The figures of the two were hazy and looming.

"Thunderbolt explosion!"

It seemed like a long time before the sound of Cedric chanting the spell reached the ears of the people around him.

In the mist, Cedric cast a supersensory spell on himself in a low voice, enhanced his five senses, and tried his best to catch Graves' shadow.

The people around held their breaths, and even Draco and the five who had just walked over stopped seven or eight feet away, staring intently at the gray mist.

fast!
It's so fast!
Everything happened within seven or eight seconds, and many people haven't reacted yet.

Flitwick pointedly praised: "Great, Cedric set up a trap, and everything went according to his plan."

Felix nodded: "He seems to be prepared."

"That's right, he asked me about a few spells... I'm already thinking about what he's going to do next," Flitwick said expectantly.

The mist got thicker.Not only water mist, but a large cloud of white smoke quickly filled the air, sealing off the space with a radius of thirty to forty feet, like a goblet covered upside down, completely covering everything inside.

The arc of the spell was like lightning, suddenly lighting up a cloud, and the students who were watching backed away.

"It seems that Cedric intends to use the dense fog as a battlefield. This should be prepared for some huge magical animals. Whether it is fighting or withdrawing, it is very convenient...I didn't expect it to be effective against wizards."

Felix thought for a while and said, "In fact, he still needs to strengthen two parts - cut off the opponent's line of sight as much as possible, turning them into blind; and increase his own detection methods as much as possible, it would be better if he could ignore the smoke gone."

"He's good at deflecting spells," Moody said.

During the speech, the cloud and mist surged violently, and layers of black spread from one point.It was like unsightly mold growing on white spores, and the mold spread rapidly, accompanied by a pungent gasoline smell.

"Cedric did it?"

"No, that's black magic."

Flitwick raised his wand and waved it in front of his eyes, and the mist automatically parted to avoid them.

Half a minute later, two figures rushed out separately, coughing violently, tears streaming from the corners of their eyes, and the area around the eyes was red from the smoke.

"An cough disappears."

Felix pointed to Cedric, and his expression immediately eased.

The student on the other side also fell silent, and the two came forward to shake hands, their eyes were red.

Professor Wilkinson of Ilvermorny exclaimed, "Well done, boys, you've all done well... Wait, where did these people come from?"

Felix and Flitwick had spotted Harry and the others long ago, but they didn't say anything.Moody on the side said in a deep voice: "I told you, Professor Wilkinson, they are the group who are not old enough..."

In the crowd, Byers glanced at Neville in surprise. Many of them were friends he made in Gryffindor. He asked about their grades. Except for the pair of twins, the rest were basically fourth graders. student.

Wilkinson looked suspiciously at Harry and the others. Harry tried his best to straighten his body to make himself look taller. "What about this little girl?" He pointed to Astoria and asked, "She also passed your selection?"

"It's surprising, but... that's right." Felix shrugged and said, "She is only in the second grade this year, and she didn't participate in the training because she was too young. Hogwarts gets the same treatment."

"Well, as long as they don't scream loudly and disturb the order..." Wilkinson reluctantly agreed, without further objection.A group of people breathed a sigh of relief.

"The luckiest thing is that Professor McGonagall is not here, she left halfway." Fred said, winking.

George gave a thumbs up.

In the next few minutes, a group of professors commented on the battle just now, especially the part about black magic.When it was Felix's turn, he reminded the Hogwarts students: "Don't forget that some of you know Illuminati, which breaks through the fog of magic..."

Collins stared at him. She didn't take the ancient rune class, so she wasn't a member of the rune club.In this regard, she is not as good as Astoria, because in order to appease the little girl, Dumbledore tolerantly agreed to her request to enter the Rune Club.

Next, the students took turns playing, and each duel ended quickly.

It wasn't the kind of "fast" that Harry was exposed to in the dueling class. He thought for a long time before he came up with a reliable word.

Rhythm.

The attacking rhythm of the two sides was very smooth. This kind of smoothness was something he couldn't experience in the duel class before, and he had only had a similar experience with Sirius or classroom No. [-].

As for the second-year special summer training and several fights with Professor Haipu, he was hanged and beaten the whole time, and he didn't have a pleasant experience at all.

After an hour, each senior student took turns.

Felix looked at Harry and the others looked at him eagerly, smiled slightly, and said to Wilkinson, "Professor Wilkinson, why don't you let these lower-grade students play?"

"no problem."

Wilkinson nodded in agreement. He didn't feel embarrassed. Although the professors at Hogwarts praised these students, he thought it was an exaggeration.They are several years younger than the true Warriors candidates, and the age gap is not so easy to break.

And he specifically asked, most of the people here have not passed the OWLs exam.

Ilvermorny also had a similar exam, so he naturally knew what kind of transformation would happen to the students who went through this year.

"Go up and play! Don't use black magic." Professor Wilkinson said to the students of Ilvermorny, and then he sat lazily on the grass, dug out a bottle of wine from his cloak, and took a sip for himself.

Uriah and Betheni looked at each other helplessly, Uriah said, "Byers, you go."

Byers nodded in agreement.

He stood in the center, grinning so hard that Harry and the others were ready to move.

"Neville, let's try." Who knows, Biles sent out the invitation on his own initiative.

Neville was stunned, walked to the center of the field, and whispered, "I'm not that good."

"It's okay." Byers said with a smile, anyway, it was just a friendly match, just a change of mood.

However, the facts surprised him. Neville was proficient in various basic spells, especially the Stunning Spell and the Iron Armor Curse, and he didn't make any sound when he cast these two spells.

Silent curse!
Neville's steps were a little stiff, just a few back and forth.Byers found the pattern after getting used to it for a while, but this rigid pace seemed to have been tried and tested for a long time, and he felt that he was facing a rock.

Neville didn't take the initiative to attack, and usually let Biles rush to read the spell. Neville cast the Iron Armor Curse, and then took a few steps around, always keeping Biles face to face.While Byers was chanting, Neville took the time to cast a few stun spells, sometimes impeding spells and disarming spells.

His face was tense, and it looked very similar to his dueling style.

Flitwick murmured: "This kind of gait is not within the scope of school dueling lessons. Although it looks simple, it requires a lot of practice. Every tiny movement has a unique purpose."

Moody shook his cane, and said in a deep voice, "I seem to have seen this style somewhere, and I have an impression."

"Should have been taught by Frank Longbottom," said Felix.

"It turned out to be like this..." Flitwick said in admiration: "His father is an excellent Auror, he should have tailored this kind of pace for Neville, and it matches his own temperament very well."

"Well, very resilient pace." Felix commented.

On the court, Byers was a little anxious.Although he is a friend, he is a candidate for a warrior. He increased the output of magic power, and the wand threw out bright arcs of light.

But Neville has been like a stubborn rock, resisting his attacks.He was still muttering something in his mouth, "Stable as a rock, light as a flying feather, still as a pool of water, moving like a spring thunder..." He occasionally jumped out boldly, shaking out a red light, scaring Byers. One jump, and he hides himself again.

The magic barrier in front of Neville shattered six or seven times, but he narrowly pulled it back up every time.

Uria fell into deep thought, and the wine in Wilkinson's hand seemed to lose its appeal. Bethenny watched anxiously as her younger brother was in a hard fight, and asked in puzzlement, "What's going on? Why did Byers attack? Don't break the child's defense?"

"Byles didn't use a powerful spell, that's one reason. In addition..." Wilkinson said hesitantly: "The kid has a good pace and looks very good. Also, the Iron Armor Curse is really good, he All tactics revolve around this one spell. I have seen at least thirteen or four techniques, each of which is very specific." He took a sip of wine for himself, "haha" laughed twice, and then Watch intently.

"This is also a test for Byers, he should learn to use his brain."

After ten minutes of stalemate, Byers finally found the key to breaking the situation. Clusters of bright flames flew out from the tip of his staff, condensed into a big fuzzy bird, and rushed towards Neville.

Under the surprised eyes of everyone, Neville cast a second layer of the Iron Armor Curse on himself, firmly blocking the flames.

"Wow!" Ron looked at Neville in surprise, his impression of Neville seemed to have been reshaped.

The big flame bird broke through the first barrier, and then slammed into the second armor curse, almost knocking itself apart.But Byers waved his wand again and again, and the big flame bird condensed again, this time bypassing the front and flying around from the side.

Neville simply conceded defeat.

"You can hold on for a while." Byers came over and shook hands with him solemnly.

Neville shook his head, "You've already found a loophole," he said, and he patted his head foolishly, "Actually, Dad has formulated other tactics for me, but I can't use them now."

"Well, it looks like you have a good father." Byers said helplessly.

Neville grinned back, broadly.

Next, the Ilvermorny student got serious.They suddenly realized that these students, who were on average two or three years younger than them, were not so easy to deal with.They take turns playing and actively picking their opponents.At the same time, follow the orders of Professor Wilkinson and the practice of Byers, and do not use black magic and powerful spells.However, with their superior magic power and spellcasting skills, Susan Bones, Emilche, and Sabini were quickly defeated one after another. The students of Ilvermorny finally breathed a sigh of relief. Not quite as difficult as Neville.

It's not that Neville is very strong, but that his strategy is quite restrained against skilled opponents.

Draco's performance is also very good. He has a fight with a witch from Ilvermorny. The powerful spell he used in the third-year duel competition almost made a contribution, but the serious Ilvermorny student deserves it. They are carefully selected reserve warriors, and any one picked at will has the level of a novice Auror.

If the positions are changed and these Hogwarts students are allowed to take the initiative to attack, the energy consumption of Ilvermorny's students will run out of magic power.

……

As the companions around him were picked away one by one, Harry became a little anxious.Why not choose him?
Is it because he is short?Look weak?

He stared at Astoria, and the little girl was also very angry - no one looked at her at all, obviously she had worked hard to stand in the front.

Harry suddenly felt a little heartbroken.

Even Hermione was on stage.Her opponent was the wizard surnamed "Graves". Graves smiled and said, "I've heard your name many times these days, Miss Know-it-All?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows, and there was nothing kind in his tone.

"Shall I begin?" She raised her wand calmly.

"Of course." Graves grinned.

"Whoosh!"

A silent disarming spell flew out quickly, and Graves jumped aside, looking at her in surprise.

"Is this the spell you are best at? Many people don't understand that a single silent spell is not very effective."

Hermione said with a straight face: "You will know." She waved her wand again and again, and spells flew out, suppressing the opponent in a short time, forcing Graves to prop up a magic barrier in the shape of an arc , wrapping itself completely.

Flitwick asked in surprise: "When did Granger master the silent spell? Moreover, she can apply it to multiple spells. It's not like she just mastered it."

Moody stared at Hermione's swift spellcasting and remained silent.While secretly thinking about his own plan, his magic eye fixedly looked at Ron who opened his mouth wide.

Felix explained: "Her command of magic has always stood out, and when I asked her to write a thesis on dueling systems, she put silent spells at the top of the list."

"why?"

"Her spell..." Felix thought for a while, then carefully selected the words and said, "It's relatively standard, and it can often surprise people in some details that reflect the control power, but the power of the spell is not as good as expected."

Flitwick immediately understood what he meant, "It's really nothing. Granger's spellcasting is very stable, which is her greatest advantage. When she becomes an adult, she can fully utilize her advantages and can choose compound spells... …Oh my God!"

In the open space, Graves broke the previous tacit understanding.

The black flames swelled and scattered into more than a dozen clusters, hanging in the air. As his magic wand slashed down like a sharp blade, those flames suddenly fell from the sky.

Hermione propped up a magic barrier, and immediately felt the blazing temperature. Her hair was a little burnt. She realized that something was wrong, and ran away. In a panic, she saw a black flame burning out of the magic barrier. big hole.

"what is this?"

"Devil Fire, I told you not to use black magic, especially such a strong black magic." Wilkinson said in a deep voice: "Graves is a little out of control, he cares too much about honor... We are ready, any time Separate them."

Several professors approached at the same time, and Flitwick said sharply: "We should stop this competition, it's beyond the scope of discussion."

Felix said calmly, "I'm in the same mood as you, Felius, but I trust Miss Granger."

More than a dozen black flames fell on the ground, scorching the grass, looking like the footprints of a devil that fell from the sky.Hermione's eyes widened, and she dodged in embarrassment, while waving a series of Iron Armor Curses to resist.

Harry and Ron were anxious at the side, eager to rush up, but with the professor around, they barely restrained their thoughts, watching the black flames hitting the ground turn into twisted long snakes, twisting their bodies, and then surrounded her past.

"What are the professors waiting for?" Harry asked puzzled, and he drew out his wand, the tip of which gleamed.I asked myself: What kind of magic should I use at this time?Disarming Curse, Stunning Curse, Iron Armor Curse, or Patronus?
It didn't seem to work... He simply pointed his wand at that "Graves", wondering if he should cast a curse on him.

Hermione wasn't too flustered, she still had the last card.She glanced at Felix, who nodded at her.So she stopped, letting the black flames surround her, and her fingertips shone with golden light.

Wilkinson had already raised his wand, and Bethany handed her own wand to Uriah, "Quick!" Immediately afterwards, they heard a strange incantation coming from the girl's mouth.

Golden flames poured down from Hermione's palm.Compared with the small flame displayed in the ancient rune office more than a month ago, it has now grown into a giant.The golden flames rushed around like a flood, and collided with the black flames that rushed towards her. The black flames collapsed at the touch of a touch, and were smashed into pieces.

Graves' expression froze on his face.

The golden flame kept shrinking, and finally a huge golden firebird flew out, which was much more refined than the magic sketched by Byers before. The golden flame dragged on the firebird's tail feathers, and a cluster of white flames burned on the top of its head. Flame, like a phoenix.

The firebird uttered a high-pitched long cry, and in an instant, the golden firebird appeared in front of the stunned Graves, a foot away from him, his hair curled and turned into ashes, and his long golden beak was reflected in his pupils .

"This is what I want to see." In the silence, Felix nodded and said with satisfaction.

……

Graves was pulled away, his expression was a little lost, and there was lingering fear in his eyes before he left.

Professor Wilkinson came over silently, and apologized to several Hogwarts professors: "Graves... he takes this tournament too seriously, he has carried the hopes of many people, and wants to let The family has regained its glory..."

"Graves?" Flitwick repeated. "That name sounds familiar."

"The offspring of the Twelve Aurors, like me, also made me feel for him and relax my guard over him." Wilkinson said: "More than 70 years ago, there was a scandal in the American magic circle. The head of security, Percival Graves, was impersonated," he explained sullenly, "causing a huge mess that nearly exposed the entire wizarding community in America."

"Is someone impersonating?" Several professors looked over.

"It's a secret," Wilkinson said in a low voice. "Few people know about it."

"Who was he impersonating?" Felix asked with interest.

"Grindelwald." Wilkinson only said one surname, but everyone present knew who he was referring to.

"He actually got involved with Grindelwald!" Flitwick said in surprise, "Then that kid just now..."

"Victor Percival Graves," said Wilkinson, "Percival Graves is his grandfather, and that's why he's out of his mind, and I can assure you that if he gets into trouble again, I'll send him back."

Several professors said nothing more.It was an accident in itself, a student broke the rules, no one else could be blamed.What's more, the students of Hogwarts didn't suffer any disadvantages. On the contrary, that Graves might have a lot of psychological shadows.

Not only him, but the other Ilvermorny students were shocked and kept staring at Hermione.In their hearts, this shaggy-haired witch has become one of the students who must not be provoked.

Even before Professor Wilkinson left, he deliberately asked, "That little girl... you don't plan to make her a warrior, do you?"

"No, she's not old enough," said Felix.

Wilkinson learned about Dumbledore's age limit from Flitwick, and he greatly appreciated this approach, "I think it's necessary... yes, it's necessary. Warriors are under enormous psychological pressure, It's best not to let students who are too young to participate..."

(End of this chapter)