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"How is that possible? How could a mere Lockhart defeat Beckas?" Ron stared blankly as the referee announced the victory.
He truly could not understand it.
"Beckas is just as good as I am!" Ron was deeply puzzled. "Was it just luck?"
Beckas of Ravenclaw specialized in a deck based on cartoon myths and stories. Ordinary players were no match for him at all.
"Ronald, everyone has a few strengths. You can't always judge people by past impressions. Our professor may be shameless, but his mind is fairly flexible too."
Malfoy spoke earnestly, taking on the tone of someone teaching a junior. This irritated Ron greatly. He intended to give Malfoy a harsh lesson later.
But there was one thing Ron agreed with.
Lockhart really was shameless.
Still, Malfoy was not wrong. Lockhart might be someone who only knew how to make empty claims, but that did not mean he had no ability whatsoever. He had once graduated first in Ravenclaw.
Elsewhere, Neville also won. He specialized in a magical plant deck.
Ron's deck was a Divination deck. This deck had one enormous trait: it lived and died by luck.
When his luck was good, it was like cheating. He could sweep through everything, strike down anyone in his way, and no deck would be his match. It was worthy of being called one of the strongest decks.
But when his luck was bad, even a third-rate deck that was missing half its pieces could beat him into the ground.
His luck today did not look very good. In the first match alone, he spent a very long time before barely defeating his opponent.
Hermione also defeated her opponent. Her deck was a hybrid deck, and its defining feature was an immense amount of calculation.
Incidentally, the decks used by the disciplinary group members had all been provided by Dudley.
The only member of the disciplinary group who did not participate was probably Dudley himself. Partly because he was not very interested, and partly because his deck was too strong.
He was not planning to enter the tournament just to pick on children.
With so many people participating, there were naturally many card duels. But most students were not especially good at Wizard Cards, so the whole tournament moved along quickly.
Several hours later, the top eight were decided.
"Winner, Harry Potter."
Harry was the first to make it into the top four.
He used a Dark Magic deck.
Among all decks, it was the one with the greatest power.
But it was also the most complicated and difficult deck to get started with. It required a fairly deep reserve of Dark Magic knowledge and potion knowledge before its true power could be brought out.
Dark Magic was powerful, so its cost was naturally high. If the player did not understand Dark Magic, the deck could easily leave them with a useless hand and turn them into a helpless fool.
Wizard Cards looked like a simple card game, but in reality, it hid a great deal of magical knowledge.
Only an excellent wizard could fully bring out a Wizard Cards deck's abilities.
That statement was not just empty talk.
It was exactly how the game worked.
"As expected of Mr. Potter. I had never even heard of the Dark Magic lock he just used."
"Fiendfyre is a very powerful spell. I think I heard about it somewhere before."
"That's right. My father mentioned it. It is a terrifying magical flame that only highly skilled dark wizards can master."
"Mr. Potter really has been hiding his abilities all this time."
One simple match made the Slytherins admire Harry even more. In their eyes, Harry had already become a dark wizard through and through.
If you now told them Harry did not know a single Dark Magic spell, they would only think you were joking. It would be as ridiculous as telling them Mr. Dursley did not know magic.
The second person to advance was Lockhart. His deck was rather difficult to defend against.
The third was Ron.
The fourth was an unexpected contestant: Percy, Percy Weasley, Ron's older brother.
As for Malfoy, he had met Ron.
He had originally laid out a perfect strategy, gradually building his advantage until victory was already in his grasp. Then Ron suddenly drew a card, his luck exploded, and an unreasonable combo swept him away in one turn.
He was still so angry that he had not recovered.
'What sort of Divination deck is that? That is cheating!'
Hermione had run into Harry in the middle of the tournament. Harry's explosive style was the natural counter to her calculation style, so losing was normal. She did not care much about winning or losing card matches anyway. She only played to pass the time.
Of course, the most miserable one was Neville. He had run into Lockhart, and straightforward Neville had been tricked by him.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Harry or Lockhart should win," Dudley said.
Ron's deck was far too unpredictable. Unless his luck exploded again and again, it would be very hard for him to take the championship. Percy's deck was too conventional, without the slightest personal feature. It could deal with ordinary players, but if he faced Harry or Lockhart, he would lose for certain.
Even against Hermione, Malfoy, or Neville's decks, he would not have the slightest chance.
Things indeed happened exactly as Dudley expected. The semifinals soon decided the winners. Ron lost to Lockhart. Lady Luck did not favor him. Against Lockhart, his luck was terrible from start to finish. He could not draw what he needed no matter how badly he wanted it, and he was completely beaten down. Percy, as expected, lost to Harry. Without his own distinctive style, he could not block Harry's powerful attack.
In the final match, Harry and Lockhart sat across from each other.
Harry won the coin toss, so he went first.
"My turn. Draw."
"Summon: Dark Magician Girl."
With Harry's summon, a cute chibi girl holding a wand emerged from the card.
She was the most popular character in the Dark Magic deck, liked by men and women, young and old alike.
Wizarding photographs could move. Wizard chess could smash the opposing pieces. A card manifesting a virtual image was very reasonable, wasn't it?
"Draw."
Harry's luck was very good. On the first turn, he drew two powerful hero cards.
"Summon: Dark Magician."
"Activate Dark Wizard's Magic: combination card - Fiendfyre."
Pitch-black flames that seemed able to burn everything slowly surged out from the Dark Magician's wand. In the blink of an eye, they covered the entire board.
"There it is! There it is! Mr. Potter's strongest magic!"
The students below, who had watched several card duels already, erupted.
This combo was almost Harry's strongest lineup.
The three Unforgivable Curses had not yet passed Ministry review, so they had not been released.
It was an absurdly lucky opening hand.
Because the first turn did not allow attacks, Harry set one card and ended his turn.
Yet in the face of such a lineup, Lockhart showed no fear. Rarely, he displayed a calm and composed air in front of others, because he had also drawn the strongest combination in his deck.
"I admit, Harry, that your Fiendfyre is indeed powerful, and your Dark Magician is extraordinary. But if I play these character cards, Harry, how will you respond?"
As he spoke, Lockhart took out the cards he had been saving for last.
"Summon:"
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