Chapter 261: The Duel
Harry was back!
This news was like a bomb, sending everyone who had planned to stay overnight at the pub running out from the second floor. Of course, since they hadn't brought any Galleons, their overnight stay was being sponsored by Justin.
"Harry! Good heavens, what happened to you? We didn't get a single reply from you for nearly a month!"
Sitting around the dim, simple bar counter, Ron was the first to speak.
"I encountered a monster..."
Harry began to describe everything he had endured, drawing gasps of shock from the group.
Sean prepared to return to the McGonagall Villa. It was only ten o'clock, not particularly late. However, before heading back, he had to make sure Harry was settled.
Ron was the first to invite Harry to stay with him, followed by Justin and Neville. After glancing at Sean, Harry ultimately chose Ron—Ron was the first friend he had ever made, and there was a deeper sense of familiarity there.
Ron, realizing how late it had become, hurriedly led Harry out of the Leaky Cauldron. Justin and Hermione followed; their parents were actually waiting for them just outside the pub. Finally, Neville vanished through the fireplace. Only then did Sean mount his broom, streaking across the sky like a falling star.
Evaluating Strength
After the rescue mission, the group kept in constant contact through letters. Various owls were frequently seen flying into the living room of the McGonagall Villa.
Sean didn't pay much attention to this. Instead, he counted the days. Nearly a month had passed, and he was about to complete the first step of the Animagus transformation. But before that, the Fairy Tale Workshop would have its second day of business.
Early that morning, Sean practiced Transfiguration by the lakeside as usual. He levitated a stone and, in an instant, transformed it into a Stone Guardian.
Its height remained low—not even three meters. Compared to Professor McGonagall's Piertotum Locomotor, which produced guardians four or five meters tall, his was significantly smaller. Furthermore, McGonagall's guardians possessed a "reinforced" quality; they could leap from several stories high without taking damage, something a normal stone could never do.
Sean's Stone Guardians lacked that resilience.
He suspected that Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration, even among Masters, had surpassed the Expert level. A step higher, and she would likely touch the level of Headmaster Dumbledore.
When he grew tired from practice, his thoughts began to wander.
Dobby had appeared, which served as a reminder that the Basilisk would soon be released from the Chamber of Secrets. To create a Basilisk Biscuit and neutralize the danger, he needed strength that was at least on par with the creature.
The problem was... where exactly did his strength rank?
He hadn't been in many actual battles. For the trolls and the professors' traps in the first year, he had essentially "speed-run" through them. Thus, he lacked a proper frame of reference.
As the sunlight spilled into the room, Sean slowly turned his gaze toward Marcus McGonagall, who was sipping tea. He had heard from the Professor that the old wizard, Marcus, was once an Auror.
The Duel in the Fields
Marcus McGonagall could find no reason to refuse the young wizard's request for a practice match. He even felt a cheerful tug at his beard.
While the young wizard was exceptionally gifted, Marcus had been a seasoned Auror.
After experiencing heart-wrenching loss, he had once channeled all his grief and fury into the fight against the Dark Lord. That was during Voldemort's first rise to power, when Death Eaters committed atrocities daily, using coercion and bribery to expand their influence before moving into open violence.
They used the Unforgivable Curses to torture and kill those who stood in their way, and innocent Muggles were often murdered for "sport." In response, Barty Crouch, then Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had issued an extraordinary order: Aurors were permitted to use Unforgivable Curses against Death Eaters for interrogation and combat.
One could only imagine the severity of the impact Voldemort had caused back then.
Marcus McGonagall was an Auror who had fought throughout those ten years and survived. The difference between him and modern Aurors was that he had been baptized in war and had struggled on the most dangerous battlefields. Even after his injuries, his skill hadn't diminished much.
The only pity was that he hadn't found a successor. He had refused to let his own children go to those dangerous battlefields because he couldn't bear to face that agonizing grief a second time.
However, he also knew that if you love a child, you must teach them how to face danger. You must temper their wings so they have the power to protect themselves. Especially for a child as talented as Sean, who had a destiny to face and responsibilities to bear, one could not protect him forever like a mother hen. One had to train him like an eagle.
"Come then, child! Hit me with your most powerful magic! Don't worry about hurting me—as a veteran Auror, there's nothing I haven't seen!"
Marcus stood in the vast fields not far from the farm. The area was immense and protected by his enchantments, making it an excellent place for a young wizard to train in practical combat.
"I will go all out," the brooch buzzed.
Sean's eyes grew sharp, and he flicked his wand. Because of the leaf in his mouth, he could only use silent casting. However, this did not weaken him; on the contrary, almost all the spells he excelled at had reached the level of silent casting.
A burst of fire erupted from the tip of his wand, growing into a two-meter-tall Fire Dragon within seconds.
Marcus watched the dragon roar as it flew toward him, his body trembling slightly. Even he hadn't seen a spectacle like this from an eleven-year-old.
"Finite!"
The red light hit the Fire Dragon but failed to make it disappear instantly. Instead, a texture like salamander skin suddenly appeared across its scales.
It was Multi-Layered Transfiguration.
Marcus didn't hesitate; he prepared to Apparate. But in that instant, he found he couldn't move.
In the distance, Sean had already raised his wand. A silent, instant-cast Impediment Jinx. As a Master-level spell, it was capable of pinning down an elite Auror like Marcus for several seconds.
This was a spell combination technique Professor Flitwick had taught him, giving him the ability to release two spells simultaneously.
Marcus was truly stunned for a moment, but his gaze sharpened instantly. He broke free from the jinx and roared:
"Protego!"
A transparent barrier rose with his incantation, blocking the Fire Dragon, which had shrunk slightly. Nevertheless, the dragon roared and sent Marcus flying quite a distance, kicking up clouds of dust.
That was close... almost capsized there... Marcus's somewhat disheveled figure emerged from the dust.
Just as he was about to bring one hundred percent of his focus to the duel, he saw Sean sitting on the ground in the distance.
"Grandpa Marcus is really amazing," the mature voice from the brooch said.
It made the old wizard's face turn quite red.
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