“Wait up, Leon!” Rose called out and jogged up to him, a gaggle of Gryffindors tailing her.


    He stopped and turned around to look at the red-haired Potter, her eyes were glinting with excitement.


    “How confident are you about winning the duel?”


    “Why do you ask?” Weasley wrung his hands nervously, guilt written all over his face. Rose leaned forward, drawing his eyes to her.


    “You have some neat odds, against you. Nothing great, but I thought I would win some coins from the twins, the Weasleys.” Rose whispered before she greeted Susan and Hannah.


    “Why do the twins think he is going to lose?” Hannah asked the Potter as Leon hesitated whether he should give her a piece of his mind regarding her slip up - leaking his encounter with the Troll to Susan.


    “Well! They didn’t see Leon in class, and they think Charms isn’t suited for duels compared to House Smith’s duel sheet. His uncle is an international dueler, so they think Smith has optimized spellwork for duels along with more practical experience.”


    ‘Wow! That’s a solid argument. After all, spell chains-complementary wand movements that enable a caster to seamlessly transition into another spell- are crucial in duels. The fluidity they provide along with the increased casting rate can save minutes when even a second can be a game changer.’


    “Huh? Isn’t Professor Flitwick, a charms master, a dueling champion?” Hannah tilted her head like she couldn’t believe the twins, frowning.


    “Well! Flitwick is an exception they say. He cinches the duel with his charms, and they say that requires experience.”


    ‘They would be right. Charms at their core are about manipulating objects'' properties, which isn’t possible in the case of wizards as they are more complex than any object and a simple finite spell will undo any charm on oneself.’


    Dispelling magic on oneself is exponentially easier than trying to dispel a charmed object which wasn’t that tough in the first place. But of course, a stunning charm was created to use on wizards, and it has a spell form (glowing light body), unlike other charms like Leviosa which don’t have spell forms, increasing its potency.


    But it didn’t mean charms don’t have some neat spells, it’s just they were rare. Rare enough that people can recognize what charm it is just by looking at the spell form.


    “I am going to win!” Leon cut in as Rose regaled Flitwick’s championship duel to Hannah.


    “Not even a little doubt? Even when you consider the spell chains of House Smith? Even if he had been practicing the stupefy spell since the day he held his wand, just like every other student with a magical parent?” Rose asked, looking amused at his response.


    “Yes. My answer doesn’t change even if Smith is a second-year student.” A loud snort rang out behind Rose, making Susan and Hannah glare at the boy Weasley.


    “Ignore him! Well then, I look forward to taking money from the twins, for a change.” Rose murmured the last part, with a vindictive grin.


    The Hufflepuff quickly rummaged through his bag and took out the remaining galleons he had. He got his wand for free, after all, courtesy of his house.


    “Sure! I will bet those too.” Rose quickly grabbed the coins from his hand and disappeared around the corridor.


    Susan giggled as Leon looked taken back at the speed Rose ran off with his whole savings.


    “You didn’t even ask her what the odds are.” She nudged the dumbstruck Hufflepuff.


    “She ran off quickly, what am I supposed to do?”


    “Leave it! Focus on the duel for now.” Susan said, still giggling.


    The trio reached the decided place right on time.


    Dozens of students were milling around the area. First-year and second-year students formed groups like they bought tickets to the event while the older students were much more discreet, standing a little away from the spot in little groups.


    It was a perfect day; the sky was clear and cloudless. A breeze caused gentle ripples on the lake, taking offense at the lake’s attempt to mirror the sky.


    The excited murmurs of the students and the sound of water crashing against the shore made the lakeside brim with vibrant beauty.


    Sadly, the visage of a Hufflepuff standing next to the lake spoiled the beautiful scene.


    As Leon walked towards Smith everyone backed up, forming a loose circle around Tonks and the two first years.


    With a wave of her wand, the seventh-year finished the boundaries of the dueling area before greeting him.


    “Ready to be shown your place, Astraeus,” Smith asked, stretching his hands with a smug smile.


    He wore a sleek black leather coat that hung up to the back of his knees, a yellow outline snaked across the coat’s full sleeves, forming a chalice on either side of his neck.


    Black trousers with a winding yellow path beelined towards his shaded yellow tunic, complimenting his knee-high dragon leather boots.


    But unlike him, Leon was in Hogwarts uniform.


    ‘Is that leather coat and dragon boots magic resistant or something?’ Leon wondered and decided to Tonks.


    “It is a standard dueling outfit of his house, while aren’t enchanted they do provide some resistance, especially to a first-year like you. Want to raise an appeal to the referee?” Tonks asked pointing a finger toward herself. “I can make him lose those.”


    That wiped out the smug look on Smith’s face as Tonks essentially declared the side she was on, which was not something a referee should do, but Tonks looked like she didn’t care.


    “It’s not my fault that you are po-”


    Leon cut off his opponent mid-sentence.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    “It’s fine! It won’t make a difference.”


    Smith looked like he wanted to retort but he gritted his teeth and assumed his position.


    The students buzzed around them as Leon too assumed his position as Tonks started the countdown.


    A loud bang signaled the start of the duel.


    Thick smoke covered Smith’s body as the air around him turned into smoke.


    The smoke covered his half of the field, taking away his sight.


    The duel fell into a brief lull just as it started.


    ‘Don’t tell me this was enough to confuse him.’


    As Leon was starting to feel ridiculous, he heard a loud snort from Smith’s side before the smoke vanished like it was never there.


    “You think too highly of yourself, Astraeus. Paltry tricks like this only confound people who aren’t magical. I bet you felt clever thinking of transfiguring air to smoke.”


    Smith continued his monologue, his wand in hand.


    “So many hours of your practice down the drain by my use of a simple, common, transfiguration reverting spell.”


    “Please, learning that didn’t even take me one hour. And I don’t think I am better than everyone, I just know I am better than you… far better,” Leon spread his hands and smiled.


    With a shout, Smith jumped into motion.


    Multiple red flashes of light soared towards Leon who stood still, uncaring, his arms spread to the sides.


    Just when Smith thought that the duel would end with his opponent crumpling to the ground, just like he did last time, Leon started moving.


    With precise maneuvers, he dodged the spells.


    Loud murmurs rippled through the audience before the cacophony died down with a wave of Tonk''s wand.


    Leon nodded at her, grateful for her interference.


    Smith became enraged at the casual disregard he was shown, and his hand became a blur.


    At least twice the number of spells soared towards Leon, they weren’t as useful as the stupefy spell, but their quantity more than made up for it.


    This time even Smith gasped as Leon dodged everything with Kneazle-like agility and a Sphinx’s Foresight. It was like the Hufflepuff didn’t have bones in his body and weighed nothing.


    Leon snaked around the spells, jumping into the air, spinning, dodging the spells like he knew where they were without even seeing them.


    “Impossible! Impossible!” Smith cast the barrage again.


    And again.


    But Leon was like an ethereal specter, not a single spell touched him.


    “Impossible! Impossible!” he muttered.


    “That’s right! It truly isn’t possible!” he yelled with a laugh. A serene mask covered his face, and the ferocity in his eyes vanished, replaced by pure indifference.


    The world shuddered before righting itself, at least that was the case with Smith.


    He could now see Leon slowly walking towards him from a corner of the arena with a lazy gait.


    Just like that, Smith’s indifference vanished.


    “You had me there, Astraeus. But I won’t fall for your tricks, for I am Heir of the House Smith, Descendant of the living forest, Helga Hufflepuff herself,” he subconsciously puffed his chest, and a self-assured smile appeared on his face.


    ‘Hmm! It seems even reaching the Un stage doesn’t eliminate the Viscupi spell’s weakness- Occlumency.’


    The spell essentially manipulates the water, herding the fish(thoughts) in the fishbowl(mind).


    If you got a grip on the fish- on your thoughts- then the spell couldn’t herd it, breaking the control of the target’s senses.


    “You should have defeated me when you got the chance, I won’t fall for the same trick again and now you will pay for your arrogance.”


    The smoke was a distraction to hit Smith with the Viscupi, nothing more, and it succeeded.


    But Leon wasn’t being arrogant when he didn’t take the chance to finish him off.


    Smith continued his barrage after getting the monologue off his chest.


    The Hufflepuff stood ramrod straight with his hands behind his back like he couldn’t see anything that could pose a threat to him like he was walking in a park.


    Three spells soared towards him, two cutting him off from dodging while the middle one raced towards him.


    With a flick of his wand, Leon diverted the spell as the other two flashed past him, ruffling his hair.


    As his coat buffeted in the wind, a wave of cheers smashed into the dueling field as Tonks mischievously waved her wand, canceling her spell.


    Even Smith was shocked at the ease Leon flicked away his spell before he doubled down.


    The result was the same as before, not a single spell touched him.


    He tried again, including some prank spells to bolster the numbers even more.


    But Leon flicked away every spell that darted towards him with magical grace and ease.


    …………


    (POV- Smith)


    He gritted his teeth before a serene expression appeared on his face. It broke as quickly as it appeared.


    ‘Not an illusion. He…he is playing with me, he is not even trying to attack.’


    Smith remembered the look in Astraeus’s eyes when he specified that the duel would happen near the lake. He saw the knowing look in his eyes like he saw through his plan.


    But Astraeus didn’t bother to see through his hunch, like it didn’t matter what Smith did or what his plans were.


    ‘He continues to look down on me- ON ME!’


    Gnashing his teeth, Smith went for his ace. He wouldn’t be humiliated and toyed with anymore.


    He waved his wand, his eyes shined as he glanced at the lake, a couple of meters away from him, before jabbing his wand at it, ignoring his arrogant opponent who didn’t even deign to exploit the opening he gave.


    Under the astonished gaze of the spectators’ globs of water rose into the sky from the lake, three for each jab of Smith’s wand.


    “Oh! Leon is screwed.” He heard an older student mutter.


    “Shield spells are tough, no first or even most second years has enough skill to cast a shield spell- their magic taking form literally. The globs of water are numerous enough that Leon can’t dodge them and he, as a firstie, even a talented one, doesn’t know any shield spell that can take the brunt of that barrage. So, he is screwed.” The older explained to the first years around him.


    A victorious grin graced Smith’s face as he listened to the older Hufflepuff.


    9 orbs floated above Smith as he smirked looking at his opponent who was frowning.


    ‘Let’s see how you will counter this, your arrogance will be your downfall. And unlike last time, I am prepared for your tricks,’ Smith thought as a spell covered his eyes.


    Suddenly, the world brightened blinding everyone but Smith like it was reacting to his thoughts.


    ‘Please, I saw this trick before.’ He thought, his eyes narrowing and staring right at Leon.


    But before he could even aim the spell, he screamed.


    ……


    ‘He is really on another level compared to Smith,’ Tonks thought, watching a beam of light burn Smith’s hand.


    The water balls harmlessly splashed down and his eyes lost their shine as the sudden pain made Smith lose control of his spells.


    Tonks thought that the Smith kid at least deserved a pat on his back as he quickly suppressed his pain and conjured two orbs of darkness to counter the two orbs of light floating above Leon, acting like two suns.


    ‘But bad luck, kid. It seems you challenged someone well above your level.’ She thought looking at Smith with pity in her eyes.


    Tonks really felt bad for the kid, he wasn’t being taken seriously right from the start of the duel. Leon had many chances to put his opponent on the back step if not directly defeating him, but he didn’t take them.


    ‘The tales of Susan and Hannah really don’t do justice. I guess, talent when coupled with hard work will create a genius like him. But how did he train to get those mad reflexes? His hand moved in a perfectly optimized pattern to flick the spells away and there is this super-fast light beam spell too, not groundbreaking but not something a firstie can counter.’


    As she was wondering how long Leon was going to extend the duel to make his point, the world paused. Every other color lost its luster as a battle between light and darkness commenced.


    The Smith kid’s spell was devouring the light like no one’s business as Leon’s spell pulsed with power, fighting against the counterspell.


    A stalemate formed as the miniature suns fought against the darkness, but it didn’t last long.


    The world resumed as the stalemate ended with the counter spell doing its work.


    ‘Of course, there is a reason I called the Smith’s spell a counterspell, he learned that spell to deal with Leon’s penchant for light. So it can do its job even when it encounters some resistance in the form of humongously talented starry-eyed kid.’


    While Tonks was impressed at Leon’s spell integrity, that didn’t mean she endorsed what he was doing. After all, even geniuses can- did -fall and he was passing up too many opportunities.


    “I think it’s time for me to be on offensive isn’t it, Smith?” Leon’s voice was even, not colored with pride or arrogance of besting his classmate, quite clearly at that.


    ‘He doesn’t care…or does he think Smith isn’t much of an opponent.’


    “You have had your chances and as everyone can see, there was no result.”


    “Now, I will end the duel.” There was unquestionable certainty in his voice. It was as if he was just stating that the sun rises in the east.