"How's the special training done?" Harry asked eagerly, gripping his magic wand and stepping forward, "Are there any rules?"
"The rule is—there are no rules! Defeat me with all you have!"
Sirius stepped back to the center of the clearing, casually letting his magic wand hang by his side, and grinned at Harry, "Ready, Harry?"
"Ready..."
"Stupefy!"
Before Harry could finish his sentence, a spell shot towards him from the opposite side. He quickly dodged it, shouting, "I knew it would be like this!"
He swung his magic wand forcefully, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Sirius didn't pause his movement for a moment. Harry's spell hadn't aimed at him at all; it only hit a nearby pine tree.
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry hastily rolled to avoid the disarming spell, but before he could get back on his feet, Sirius's next spell was already on its way, and he hadn't even uttered a word. As Harry turned his head, the magic spell's light was already upon him.
"Iron Armor Protection!"
Harry quickly used the Iron Armor Spell, but it didn't completely block the attack, and his legs immediately went limp like noodles, causing him to kneel on the ground.
"Locomotor Mortis!"
Sirius tapped his magic wand against his palm, with no guilt at all for using advanced spells to bully his godson, and said proudly,
"Senior students must have already mastered nonverbal spells, Harry. You can't always count on your opponent shouting out spells to alert you."
Harry gritted his teeth, "Got it... But can I master nonverbal spells in a month?"
He could also use some spells without speaking, but their power would be at least halved, and Harry was used to shouting out the spell names.
"Silly boy, can't you just say them quietly?" Sirius said, pointing to him and reciting the decurse for the Jelly-Legs Curse.
Harry: "..."
What to say? He wasn't unaware of this method, but once in the heat of battle, he unconsciously shouted them out.
"Take a rest for a while; your legs will take at least ten minutes to fully recover."
Lupin said, pulling Harry up from the ground and supporting him to sit aside.
"Come on, Vid," Sirius said, still eager, "let me see your skills!"
Vid walked towards the center of the clearing without a word. Before he had even stopped, the two of them simultaneously raised their magic wands.
The spell lights collided in the air, and when Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise, he suddenly noticed that Vid flicked his magic wand with a slight motion.
"What—"
Sirius hastily jumped to the side, with the spell light grazing past his shoulder and blasting a small hole in the ground behind him.
This dodge put him at a disadvantage temporarily; Vid's spells came one after another, the brilliance almost forming a continuous line. The flowing spells forced Sirius to keep dodging, with several counterattacks being easily neutralized.
Harry watched with wide eyes; it was his first time witnessing Vid's battle at full strength.
The young man gritted his teeth silently, with a slight tension at the corners of his mouth. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, his movements quick as lightning—accurate, swift, and his feet constantly shifting positions to avoid being hit by Sirius's spells.
Under Vid's tight offensive, Sirius also had no time to shout spells. Both were using nonverbal spells, with the spell lights constantly colliding against translucent barriers in the air, like a series of fireworks exploding.
As Harry watched, sweat trickled down his forehead.
Whether he put himself in Sirius's place or imagined himself as Vid, he felt he would soon be defeated.
Lupin was originally focused on watching the two's battle, but something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.
He turned his gaze and saw Harry's body swaying involuntarily, with his arms making small movements, as if he were imagining himself attacking or dodging, unconsciously reflected in his body.
Lupin smiled with satisfaction and didn't disturb him, squinting his eyes to look ahead.
The clearing was full of spell lights, with the two exchanging steps and changing positions. Using rich experience and quick reflexes, Sirius gradually regained his advantage.
Suddenly, Vid noticed that Sirius had unknowingly walked to the spot where he had previously stood, and with a grin, he unleashed a long-prepared spell.
Instinctively, Sirius used the Iron Armor Spell but realized that the spell wasn't aimed at him. Instead, it hit the ground nearby, tensing his heart.
He didn't think Vid would make such a simple targeting mistake, and his intuition told him something strange was happening here, prompting him to immediately dodge to the side.
But it was already too late!
A vine shot out like a snake springing from the ground, fiercely wrapping around Sirius's ankle and pulling him down.
The spell Sirius cast flew several meters away, and immediately after that, his magic wand was knocked down by a disarming spell.
"Nice, really amazing, Vid."
Sirius picked up the magic wand from the ground and tried to stand up, only to find the vine still attempting to bind him.
With a wave of his wand, fire burst out, driving away the persistent Devil's Snares.
Sirius moved his slightly sore wrist and asked, "When was this Devil's Snares set up? I didn't notice it at all."
"I used a technique Professor Sprout taught me, temporarily cultivating it," Vid smiled, "Do you want to continue?"
"Hey, don't get cocky, kid," Sirius said in an exaggerated tone, "In the next round, you might not even have the chance to make a move."
Then he immediately corrected himself, "But now it's time for Remus to take over... Harry, how's your leg?"
"It's completely fine now."
Harry stood up, bounced in place a couple of times, and stepped forward with his magic wand.
The closer he got, the more serious his expression became, and his eyes sharpened, like a warrior preparing to step onto the battlefield.
Clearly, the scene of the duel between Vid and Sirius had ignited Harry's discontent and competitive spirit. He drove his entire spirit, like an arrow about to be released from a bow.
Lupin also took out his magic wand and walked forward, and as he passed by Sirius, Sirius grabbed his arm.
Sirius lowered his voice and said, "That kid almost took my old life, Remus. Don't underestimate Harry either; treat it as a real battle."
"After seeing that scene, how could I underestimate these kids?" Lupin said with a smile, "But, Sirius, since when did you start admitting you're old?"
Watching Lupin head towards Harry, Sirius pouted, then lay down on the ground, and only when he touched the ground did he realize the sweat had soaked through his clothes, with his arm faintly aching.
Meanwhile, Vid, there to watch, sat on the grass rubbing his wrist, his eyes fixed on the two ahead.
Even though Harry was his godson, at this moment, Sirius seemed to already see the scene of Vid lifting the championship trophy.
That kid... Being a genius was one thing, but he was diligent; being diligent was understandable, but the fact that he showed no hint of arrogance was absurd.
Even though Harry's current level couldn't compare to Vid's, in his focused eyes, Sirius discovered—
Vid was treating Harry as an equally matched opponent, observing his weaknesses, guessing his habits, and respecting his growth, without belittling him the slightest bit.