While Michael was still sitting on the floor in a daze, he saw Wade curl his lips into a mischievous grin—and then several more students were rolling on the ground beside him.
Goyle, for instance. Terry. And two girls as well.
After the initial few seconds of confusion, some students were still hesitating over who to pick as an opponent—while others had already started attacking their classmates without a second thought.
Take Pansy, for example—she flicked her wand and conjured ropes out of thin air, tying Daphne up instantly.
Padma was paired with Mandy. She didn't want to cast a spell on her friend and was just about to go look for a Slytherin opponent when a Stunning spell zipped past, grazing her hair.
As she turned around, she narrowly dodged Mandy's sneak attack.
And that was that—Padma shrieked, jumped up and immediately launched her counterattack.
Her spellcasting was clearly a cut above Mandy's. After the sneak attack failed, Mandy knew she had lost. When she was hit by a Leg-Locker Curse, she didn't even ask Padma to undo it—she just hopped off to the side on stiff legs.
Michael clicked his tongue and turned to retrieve his wand that had flown off. But when he turned back, he saw that the brief duels had already ended—only seven students were still standing in the center of the classroom.
One unlucky student had technically won their duel but got taken out by a stray spell. Another two hit each other at the same time and were knocked out together.
The seven still standing were: Wade, Malfoy, Crabbe, Padma, Anthony, Pansy, and Zabini.
Moody, who was sitting on his chair at the front of the classroom, reached into his cloak, pulled out a curved hip flask, took a swig, and looked up to see the remaining students seemingly waiting for his judgment. He raised an eyebrow and asked:
"What, no one left around you?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Malfoy raised his wand at Wade, Padma ducked low and raised hers, Blaise Zabini darted behind Crabbe, Anthony stepped forward as if to say something to the professor, and Pansy pointed her wand at Padma, only to hesitate when her target suddenly vanished from view.
But no one was faster than Wade.
"Immobulus!" (Freezing Charm!)
The scene was like déjà vu—chaos froze in an instant. Everyone was locked in place, only their eyes still moving.
Moody's flask was still at his lips—but he forgot to drink. Even his magical eye stopped spinning.
The next second, he suddenly dropped the flask, pulled out his wand, and pointed it at Wade's chest. A streak of blazing red light shot toward Wade—who responded just in time with a Petrificus Totalus.
The two spells collided in midair and ricocheted. One beam shattered a window with a loud bang, the other shot past Goyle's leg and blew a desk to pieces in the corner.
Goyle yelped and clutched his torn pant leg, visibly shaken.
"Quick reflexes," Moody said with his eyes locked on Wade and his wand still raised. With suspicion in his voice, he growled, "You're not Snape, are you? Using Polyjuice Potion to mess with me? Prove you're really you!"
He barked the demand loudly, full of paranoia.
Even the frozen Pansy couldn't help thinking: "This old lunatic! If Wade Grey isn't himself, who else could he be? Like Professor Snape would turn into a student just to sneak into your class!"
Clearly, only Moody was seriously doubting Wade's identity. His magical eye spun wildly, the muscles at the corner of his face twitching in a neurotic spasm.
The tip of his wand glowed faintly with a dangerous light. And from the look of it—if Wade couldn't prove who he was immediately, Moody really would launch an attack.
Wade thought for a moment, then said softly, "Ari."
That was the name of one of the little magical dolls in his house — a secret known only to Wade, his parents, and their neighbor, Moody.
The light at the tip of Moody's wand dimmed, and the spinning of his magical eye slowed. Squinting slightly, Moody said, "Seems like it really is you."
He didn't feel the least bit embarrassed about being overly suspicious. With a flick of his wand, the flask flew back into his hand. He casually wiped the dust off it with his grimy cloak.
"Hmph… you pass. Not bad with your spells."
Moody took another swig from the flask, then turned his gaze to the others. He banged his cane on the floor, grumbling irritably and angrily: "As for the rest of you—look at your level. Even a Niffler could flatten you!"
"Patil! What was that feeble spell supposed to do?! You'd be better off just handing your wand to the enemy!"
"Greengrass, if you keep casting like that, you may as well go help Hagrid dig for garden gnomes!"
"Nott, is that thing on your shoulder just decoration? If you don't know how to use it, maybe put it under your butt and sit on it instead!"
"And you, Crabbe! If your opponent weren't a total idiot, you'd have been out in the first round! Missing at that range—pathetic! If you can't control your wand, you're worse off than not having one at all!"
Moody tore into every student—except Wade—with enthusiasm. When he finally got to Michael, though, he hesitated for a moment.
The kid had been knocked out so quickly that he hadn't even had time to show what he was capable of. Given how fast Wade had cast his Disarming Charm, Moody figured… It was understandable.
But he couldn't just let one person go unscolded after ripping into everyone else.
After thinking a second, he barked: "Stay alert at all times! Don't forget what I said!"
Michael: "…"
Grinding his teeth in silence, Michael glared at Wade, already planning a little "surprise" for him in the next duel.
He knew it'd be hard to beat Wade on his own — but it's not like he was the only one with that idea. He was sure others were thinking the same.
Soon after, Moody waved Wade aside, then lifted the spells on the rest of the class with another flick of his wand and reorganized the groups.
This time, the matchups weren't totally random — they were based on skill level. Padma was paired with Pansy, Anthony with Malfoy, and Michael got matched with Theodore Nott.
Looking at his tall, skinny opponent, Michael rolled his eyes in frustration, while Nott responded with a lazy smirk.
The classroom once again filled with flashes of spellfire and students shouting — but this time, they weren't nearly so well-behaved. Not only were they trying to take down their own opponents, they also took the opportunity to sneak-attack winners from other pairs.
After a bout of complete chaos, not a single person was left standing.
Moody paced back and forth again, offering sharp commentary:
"Boot, don't turn your back on the enemy!"
"Goldstein, too slow to react!"
"Your casting is way too obvious, Crabbe!"
By the time he finished scolding everyone individually, class was already five minutes over.
Finally, Moody returned to the front and announced in his rough voice:
"Next week, I expect you to duel like you're at least better than a garden gnome. I'll also be teaching you how to identify and dismantle Dark magic traps!"
"Consider this your warning — there's no such thing as an easy class with me!"
"Grey, stay behind. Everyone else, dismissed!"
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- 200+ Chapters
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