Without any hesitation, William stepped onto the stage, facing Snape, and the two bowed to each other.
"Should we clear the area, Professor?" William asked, his tone laden with meaning.
"No need. I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't use excessive force," Snape replied, flashing a smile that was anything but kind, "Just as I did with Professor Lockhart."
In other words, while he might be rough, he would, at most, send William flying off the stage like Lockhart.
"Alright, since you put it that way..." William's eyes flicked to the Slytherin students crowding the edges of the stage.
Since Snape didn't want to clear the area, if anyone got caught in the crossfire, it would be the professor's fault.
He drew his wand, gripped it with his right hand, and raised it before his chest like an arrow!
In that instant, with a series of silent gestures, William's entire demeanor changed.
Sharp,
Focused!
Both duelists raised their wands over their shoulders at the same time. Snape was fast, but William was faster.
William didn't cast a Disarming Charm. He knew Snape would open with that spell as it had been Snape's go-to move in countless battles during the time loops.
The same old trick, nothing new.
William's wand gave a subtle flick, releasing a burst of blue light that deflected Snape's spell perfectly.
In fact, Snape's red flash of magic barely left his wand before it was sent off-course.
To the onlookers, it almost seemed as though Snape had deliberately missed his target.
Under William's precise control, the Disarming Charm ricocheted and hit Goyle, who was sent flying and crashed into the wall with a loud thud.
Snape sucked in a sharp breath, about to order the Slytherin students to step back, but William had already cast his second spell.
"Diffindo!"
Snape flicked his wand, casting a Shield Charm around himself.
The Severing Charm rebounded off the protective spell, but William was already advancing, his wand flicking as the rebounded spell veered toward Crabbe instead. Crabbe's robe tore apart, and he was thrown backward into the Slytherin crowd.
In the blink of an eye, Malfoy's two lackeys were down.
William turned his back to Malfoy and raised a single finger, a gesture eerily like Doctor Strange signaling Iron Man.
"Only one of us is walking out of here."
Malfoy's hands trembled as he stared, tears welling up in his eyes. He'd been through so much lately. Breaking his leg during the last match, losing his voice for an entire day earlier...
And it had all started because he'd uttered one word: Mudblood.
But it wasn't supposed to be this way!
He had once been a loyal VIP customer of Akali's Mystery Shop, and now he was completely blacklisted!
This wasn't fair!
Malfoy broke down, crying as if a dam had burst.
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said 'Mudblood!' I'm an idiot... Please don't hurt me... Wahhh..."
All eyes turned to Hermione. The girl's face was expressionless, her gaze locked firmly on the lone figure standing on the stage.
Snape was momentarily distracted by the scene. If only he had been this good at winning over girls in his youth...
Sigh!
He had always been awkward and tongue-tied, relying solely on persistence, but he hadn't even had the resolve to see things through.
That night... he had waited until midnight to see Lily.
She had come, but only to end their friendship. And he had foolishly walked away without another word, never speaking to her again.
Afterward, that filthy animal Potter had seized the opportunity to swoop in.
If only Snape had camped outside the Gryffindor common room that night... or pulled Lily close and kissed her without a second thought, perhaps things would have turned out differently.
Lost in his thoughts, Snape shot a deadly glare at Harry, his eyes practically burning holes into the boy.
Harry blinked in confusion. He had been standing there quietly the whole time, what had he done to deserve Snape's wrath now?
"Everyone, step back!" Snape's voice rang out, seething with anger as he prepared to unleash all his fury on William.
He fired off a spell in rapid succession, but William countered with a Shield Charm.
The two began exchanging spells at lightning speed, using basic magic but casting so fast it felt like a sniper duel.
Every attack and counter was executed with silent incantations, the air crackling with raw magic as the stage became a battlefield of skill and precision.
This duel was a contest of speed and battle experience.
William had fought countless battles, but for Professor Snape, it had been many years since he had unleashed his full power in a duel.
The Great Hall was ablaze with multicolored light as spells collided, creating bursts of fire, showers of sparks, and thick clouds of smoke.
The students had backed away to a safe distance of four or five meters, watching the stage with wide eyes.
This... this was a real duel!
William's magic surged around him, his long black robe billowing as if caught in a fierce wind.
"Aqua Severitas!"
It was his signature spell, but this time, its power far surpassed the version he had used against the troll.
Tiny droplets of water gathered and swirled, forming a massive vortex of spiraling water that encased William in a protective maelstrom.
William raised his wand and pointed forward, and the vortex shot toward Snape like a river of stars descending from the heavens. The Great Hall was suddenly drenched in a downpour of rain.
Through the dense curtain of rain, Snape could feel the ancient runes pulsing within each droplet of water. It was transfiguration magic intertwined with spellwork, layer upon layer, powerful and refined.
Just a glance at it made the magical energy in his chest feel constricted.
Such mastery...
Suppressing his astonishment, Snape flicked his wand, conjuring a massive black sword forged from thick smoke.
The black sword sliced through the rain like a hot blade through ice.
The part of the vortex that touched the sword evaporated with a loud hiss, transforming into a cloud of steam.
William's wand shifted upward, and a flame from one of the floating candles was pulled down into his grasp.
The flame didn't simply fall; it drifted and zig zagged toward the other candles.
Within moments, hundreds of candle flames detached from their wicks and floated together.
The small flames rolled lazily at first but then expanded like an avalanche, growing larger and faster.
In seconds, they had combined into a massive fireball several meters wide, blazing with an unstoppable ferocity.
William's wand spun, and the fireball morphed into a colossal dragon made entirely of flames.
The fiery beast roared, its wings unfurling as it dove toward Snape. Its orange-red flames deepened into a fierce blue, its visage growing ever more menacing.
The dragon slammed toward Snape like a meteor.
Snape's wand flicked, and the black sword exploded into a cloud of dark mist.
The mist coalesced into the shape of a massive scorpion, its barbed tail poised like a deadly spear aimed straight at the dragon's chest.
The dragon reached out with one fiery claw and grasped the scorpion, lifting it into the air.
The scorpion's tail began to glow, segments of it igniting one by one, disintegrating into powder with a series of deafening booms.
At the center of the chaos, blue fire bloomed like massive flowers in the sky, casting dazzling light across the Great Hall.
The entire room was engulfed in smoke and fire. Snape, relying on his memory, cast a Disarming Charm in a specific direction before darting to another spot.
Now that the hall was filled with smoke, it was a matter of who could find the other first.
The Disarming Charm missed its mark, and Snape suppressed the unease in his heart.
This level of magic... It's impossible for a student!
Even many adult wizards couldn't wield this kind of power.
Snape's final defense had involved dark magic, there was no other way to withstand William's complex combination of spells.
When did Stark learn ancient runes? And how did his transfiguration reach such a level?
Snape couldn't figure it out.
A wizard's growth left traces. It required time, study, and practice. Without those, one couldn't possibly become a master.
Stark was only a third-year, yet he fought like someone who had spent a decade immersed in magical research.
It defies reason!
Suddenly, Snape froze.
He felt something hard pressing into his back.
As the smoke cleared, all the students could finally see what was happening on stage:
William stood behind Snape, a calm smile on his face, with the tip of his wand pressed against Snape's back.
Both of them slowly lowered their wands, ending the duel.
"How did you know I'd move in that direction?" Snape asked, frowning.
"Take a guess," William replied with a grin.
Snape snorted and narrowed his eyes. "What was that spell you used just now?"
William's grin widened.
"Interested? I'll teach you."