As Michael sat stunned on the floor, he saw Wade smirk, a wicked grin spreading across his face. Soon, several more students were rolling around on the ground near Michael.
There was Goyle, Terry, and two girls.
After the initial few seconds of bewilderment, some students were still hesitantly choosing opponents, while others had already mercilessly attacked their classmates.
Pansy, for instance, flicked her Wand, and ropes appeared out of thin air, binding Daphne.
Padma was next to Mandy. She didn't want to cast Spells on her friend and was about to look for a Slytherin opponent when a Stunning Spell grazed her hair.
As she turned, she narrowly dodged Mandy's sneak attack.
What more was there to say? Padma shrieked and jumped up, quickly counterattacking.
Her Spellcasting ability was, after all, significantly better than Mandy's. After her first sneak attack failed, Mandy knew she had lost. Even when hit with a Leg-Locker Curse, she didn't ask Padma to undo it, but instead hopped off to the side.
Michael clicked his tongue, turning to pick up his Wand that had flown away. When he turned back, he found that the brief duel was already over. Only seven people were still standing in the middle of the classroom.
One unlucky person had already won but was hit by someone else's stray Spell; others had hit each other and were unfortunately both eliminated.
Wade, Malfoy, Crabbe, Padma, Anthony, Pansy, Zabini.
Moody, sitting on the podium chair, reached into his Cloak, pulled out a curved flask, and took a drink. He looked up to see a group of students seemingly waiting for his evaluation and asked in surprise, "What, is there no one else around you?"
No sooner had he spoken than Malfoy raised his Wand at Wade, who was not far away. Padma, however, quickly crouched down before raising her Wand. Blaise Zabini unhesitatingly hid behind Crabbe. Anthony stepped forward, intending to speak to the professor. Pansy pointed her Wand at Padma but paused slightly, having lost her target.
But no one reacted faster than Wade.
"Immobulus!"
The scene from the past repeated itself. Everyone in the chaotic room was frozen in place, only their eyeballs still moving.
Moody's flask was at his lips, but he forgot to drink, and his magical eye stopped spinning.
The next second, he abruptly dropped the flask, pulled out his Wand, and pointed it at Wade's chest. A crimson light shot towards Wade, who timely cast a Petrificus Totalus.
The two Spells collided in mid-air and rebounded. One beam shattered a window with a bang; the other Spell flew past Goyle's thigh, pulverizing a table in the corner.
Goyle cried out, clutching his torn trousers in lingering fear.
"Good reaction." Moody stared intently at Wade, holding his Wand suspiciously. "You're not Snape, are you, having taken Polyjuice Potion to mess with me? Prove you're you!"
He roared, his face full of wariness.
Even Pansy, who was frozen, couldn't help but mutter in her heart, That old lunatic! If Wade Gray isn't himself, who else could he be? How could Professor Snape turn into a student and sneak into your class?
Clearly, only Moody was seriously doubting Wade's identity. His magical eye spun wildly, and the muscles around his eyes twitched nervously.
The tip of his Wand faintly flickered with a dangerous light. It seemed that if Wade couldn't immediately prove his identity, he would truly attack.
Wade thought for a moment, then softly said, "Ari."
This was the name of one of his small Magic Golems, a secret known only to Wade himself, his parents, and his neighbor, Moody.
The light from the Wand extinguished, and the spinning of the magical eye slowed. Moody squinted and said, "Looks like it's you, then."
He didn't feel at all embarrassed about his overly cautious state. He flicked his Wand, making the flask return to his hand, and casually wiped the dust off it with his dirty Cloak.
"Hmph... you passed. Not bad Spellcasting."
Moody took another drink, then his gaze turned to the others. He tapped his cane on the ground, saying irritably and angrily, "As for the rest of you, look at your skills! A Niffler could beat you all!"
"Boot, what's with that flimsy Spell?! You might as well hand your Wand to the enemy!"
"Greengrass, if you keep casting Spells like that, you might as well go help Hagrid find gnomes in the garden!"
"Nott, is that thing on your shoulder just for show? If you can't use it, put it under your butt as a stool!"
"And you, Crabbe! If your opponent wasn't stupid enough, you would have been eliminated in the first round! To miss at such close range! If you can't control the Wand in your hand, it's worse than not having a Wand at all!"
Moody thoroughly scolded everyone except Wade. By the time he got to Michael, he finally paused.
This kid was eliminated too quickly; he didn't even have time to show his Spellcasting ability. Given how fast Wade was, Michael being hit by a Disarming Charm was, Moody felt... understandable.
But everyone else who was eliminated got scolded, so Michael couldn't be an exception.
Moody thought for a moment, then continued to roar, "Stay alert at all times! Remember what I said!"
Michael: "..."
He secretly gnashed his teeth, looking at Wade, planning to give him a "surprise" in the next duel.
Even if Michael alone found it difficult to defeat Wade, weren't there others here? Michael believed he wouldn't be the only one with this idea.
But then, Moody waved Wade aside, then motioned with his Wand to release the Spells on everyone, and regrouped them.
This time, it wasn't completely random. Their skill levels were considered. For example, Padma's opponent was Pansy, Anthony faced Malfoy, and Michael was assigned to Theo Nott.
Looking at his tall, thin opponent, Michael rolled his eyes helplessly, while Nott gave a languid, cold smile.
The classroom was once again filled with flashing Spell lights and students' shouts. This time, they weren't so well-behaved. Not only did they have to defeat their immediate opponents, but they also took the opportunity to sneak attack the winners from other teams.
After a chaotic flurry, there wasn't a single person left standing in the classroom.
Moody walked around again, commenting:
"Boot, don't turn your back on the enemy!"
"Goldstein, too slow to react!"
"Your casting stance is too obvious, Crabbe!"
By the time he'd finished scolding everyone individually again, class had been dismissed for five minutes.
Finally, Moody returned to the front of the classroom and announced in his slightly raspy voice, "Next week, I expect you to perform slightly better than goblins in your duels. I'll also teach you how to identify and disarm Dark Magic traps!"
"I'm warning you now, there's no easy time in my class!"
"Gray, stay behind. Everyone else, class dismissed!"
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