Chapter 33: Duel!
[Nimble Footwork - Gold: After arduous and targeted training, you find that dodging and casting spells is no longer difficult. Stamina consumption -30%, and every battle accelerates the formation of a unique fighting footwork that belongs only to you!]
This was the golden specialty from Filius Flitwick, the former dueling champion and current Charms professor at Hogwarts.
After weighing the boost to combat ability and future growth potential, Snape decisively spent all 500,000 experience points he had accumulated over the past two years!
The investment was staggering!
And the returns were immediate and dramatic!
This was technically Snape's first real battle, yet the countless near-misses with spells had already forged deep instincts into his bones.
When those students fired curses at him, he instinctively found their movements crude and sloppy!
With just a slight shift of his feet, several spells missed by a hair's breadth—close, but a mile off, not even grazing him.
The sight made Seko's pupils contract sharply, halting his wand mid-raise.
Snape sank his center of gravity.
Amid the barrage of malicious attacks, he moved through them like a dancer—graceful, fluid.
His steps seemed casual, even lazy, like a leisurely stroll.
Yet no matter how hard the Slytherin students tried, their once-unfailing curses couldn't touch the hem of his robes!
For a moment, it didn't feel like a one-sided beatdown.
It was more like a grand ballroom, spotlights sweeping across an elegant dancer whose desperate dodges somehow carried a mesmerizing beauty!
Then the orchestra swelled, and power surged!
Magic coursed through his veins like an endless pump, breaking free of the air's resistance. Snape's arm flashed upward, lightning-quick.
Under his expressionless gaze, panic dawned too late on the anxious face before him—disbelief turning to terror.
Before the scream could escape, Snape's Slug Vomiting Curse shot out!
The spell's glow struck its unprepared target.
Snape turned away without a second glance. Only then did the retching begin.
For hours, that unlucky fool would choke up slimy slugs from his throat. Forget fighting—being able to speak at all would be a mercy!
"Protego!"
A brilliant blue bolt erupted like a shockwave, kicking up waves of dry leaves from the ground.
The five remaining attackers panicked at the spell's flashy display and scattered, too busy dodging to press their assault.
Little did they know, it was mere bluff—Snape lacked the power to match its showy form. Creating that cobra-like intimidation was his limit.
The experience gap turned the feint into tactical victory, letting Snape seize control of the battle's rhythm!
His movements were impossibly fast.
Through two years of deliberate training and refinement, Snape had eliminated nearly every wasteful motion in his casting.
Unlike 99% of Hogwarts students, whose spells dragged with inefficiency, Snape saved precious seconds in this life-or-death moment—time enough to counterattack decisively!
He whipped his wand.
Transfiguration wove beasts and birds from stone and branch in the blink of an eye.
They couldn't defeat the Slytherins, but they bought time—drawing eyes away from Snape's true strike!
"Levicorpus!"
He drew a deep breath.
After a brief charge, Snape whispered coldly.
Minor hexes had less power than standard spells.
In exchange, they were easier to learn and cast far faster.
In Snape's hands, this shone brightest!
From the probing Protego to the decisive hexes, less than ten seconds passed. Four glowing streaks whistled out with a flick of his wrist!
Leaves swirled in the wake.
The beams raked the ground, slamming into the four biggest threats, ranked by danger.
Under the hex's effect, those tangled with the conjured beasts suddenly found their feet yanked skyward.
Bodies spun out of control.
Amid panicked shouts, they whirled several times before crashing into trees, then plummeting five meters to the dirt!
Vision blurred, hearts pounded.
In the last standing student's trembling eyes, Snape advanced step by unyielding step.
Scattered leaves finally settled around him like a coronation cloak for this solemn conqueror—his austere chill nearly freezing the blood!
Snape passed him calmly.
So close Snape's heavy breaths were audible.
Yet the student's shaking hand couldn't aim, even with Snape's unguarded back exposed. His tongue knotted; no sound came. Minutes ago he'd scorned this junior—now rebellion died unspoken.
Only a peripheral glimpse of motionless Seko gave him courage, shattering the fear's illusion.
Face twisting, he raised his wand for a devastating lesson!
But as if foreseeing it—
The instant it lifted, Snape was already ahead.
Without turning, without breaking stride toward Seko—
His wand struck like a coiled viper from stillness to strike.
Levicorpus hit; the boy screamed mid-air, spinning wildly before slamming into a trunk and crashing atop the other four, crushing their feeble struggles!
Seko's eyes widened in awe.
He never would have believed his handpicked lackeys—wiped out by a first-year not even two months in!
Two petrified, five unconscious, one puking slugs on his knees—combat ineffective.
In the quiet air, Seko and Snape locked eyes like predators sizing up prey before the kill. Only retching broke the silence now and then.
Unlike Seko's barely contained thrill—
Snape's black eyes betrayed no emotion: no pride from downing upper-years, no fear of the fight ahead.
If not standing there real as stone, Seko might've wondered if the boy lived at all!
"You're impressive."
After tense seconds, Seko broke the heavy quiet, voice rich with admiration.
"My family has two sisters and three younger sisters. Join us, and after graduation, I'll arrange a marriage for you!"
Snape raised a brow.
He hadn't expected that opener. After a brief pause, an amused smile curved his lips.
"Such a big bet? What if it all goes to waste?"
"If it's you, I'll accept even being wiped clean."
Seko spoke calmly.
"Your bloodline's excellent—even half-blood has marriage value. The Bestd family won't lose.
My father is one of Hogwarts' twelve governors, and I'm the next Bestd heir.
Say the word, and I'll stake the Bestd name on you—gold, power, whatever you want!"
"Sounds tempting."
Before Seko could grin, Snape's next words made him question his hearing.
"Why not give me all five—your two sisters and three little sisters? Since it's marriage, go all in."
"What did you say?!"
"No? And here I thought you were one of the twenty-eight sacred families. So stingy."
Seko's eye twitched wildly at the mock regret.
Then he burst into laughter.
When it faded, excitement twisted his face into a feral grin. He ground out each word:
"Prove it, then, you arrogant brat. Beat me, and marry as many as you want!"
Snape's own bone-chilling smile emerged—like a bloodthirsty beast unleashing bloodlust!
No threats.
Just a soft repetition of his words before downing those eight upper-years.
"Then let's wait and see!"
He straightened, wand held vertically across his chest.
Seko blinked, then mirrored the solemn rite—bowing deeply.
Both flicked wands to their sides in unison.
Then turned sharply, backs exposed without fear of treachery.
They counted five silent paces before wheeling back, wands raised in opposition!
An ancient dueling etiquette, passed down a millennium—settling wizard feuds with honor, glory, and death.
Now two young challengers invoked their forebears, vowing full effort for the clash ahead!
Tension peaked.
A single yellow leaf drifted from the branches.
The moment it touched ground, both wands froze—first spell syllables bubbling like imminent volcanoes in their throats!
But then—a furious voice shattered the standoff!
"Stop! What have you all done?!"
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