Having anticipated that his attack wouldn't be effective at once, Cedric swung his magic wand again, "Immobulus! (Freezing Charm)"
A deep blue ice cone formed in the air, and then, under Cedric's control, turned into a streak of light rushing towards William. Meanwhile, the boy's spell hadn't stopped; as he threw out the ice cone, his wand slanted towards the ground, "Deprimo! (Deprim)"
"Boom—"
With an explosion, the dueling platform beneath William's feet instantly collapsed, and the debris flew outwards, but before the little wizards around could dodge, Professor Flitwick extended his wand, causing the wood fragments to halt in the air under his control.
"Pay attention to safety—"
The Half-Blood Goblin shouted sharply, though he wasn't actually blaming anyone, instead watching Cedric with a look of admiration—excellent students naturally attract a teacher's favor. He remembered this Hufflepuff boy was just in his fourth year, but his proficiency in these charms—
In time, perhaps Hogwarts would see another dueling champion?
Thinking of this, Flitwick instinctively turned his gaze to the other side, shrouded in dust... that William, he couldn't quite understand. But Flitwick was sure this person definitely couldn't have just started learning magic this summer, as for William hiding his identity to enroll silently, whether there was some scheme...
Flitwick didn't care; he wasn't like Snape. His duty as a professor was to teach well, as long as Dumbledore didn't expel William, he wouldn't bother suspecting him.
A thick cloud of dust instantly blocked everyone's vision, the deep blue ice cone disappeared into the dust without further movement. Cedric gasped for breath; continuously casting spells just now was as exhausting as running two and a half laps around the Quidditch pitch.
So he needed a break, and those attacks should have... taken effect, right?
"Walla walla walla..."
"What B is that noise?"
In the group of little wizards, the sharp-eared Fred suddenly heard a puzzling noise. He craned his neck and then pointed to the center of the dueling platform, "Look look, what is that thing?"
Everyone followed the direction of his finger to see round, purple-green spheres slowly emerging from the dust.
"Chinese Chomping Cabbage!"
Squeezed at the front, Neville Longbottom instantly recognized this plant, normally encountered only in fifth year.
All attention was focused on the round cabbages, except a few who noticed Cedric's face seemed even paler than before.
* How could he forget this thing?
"Diffindo! (Severing Charm)"
Cedric almost reflexively swung his wand, the cabbage rolling in front instantly exploded under the spell, deep green juice splattering onto the faces of several little wizards in the front row.
"Walla!"
And as Cedric acted, the cabbages found their target instantly, transforming from their sluggish movement a few seconds ago, they surged towards Cedric, who waved his wand frantically, "Incendio! (Incendio)"
Flames spewed from his wand tip, but the fearless cabbages paid the price of losing some outer layers and again reached the boy's side, their sharp leaves biting into his limbs with a pain so severe his features nearly contorted into a knot.
"Squeak squeak—"
The next moment, a black ball the size of a basketball burst through the smoke, the enlarged Niffler crashing straight into the boy's forehead.
"Thud—"
Cedric promptly fainted.
"Indeed, this is Herbology and Magical Creatures' clever use in duels—if you're familiar enough with these plants or magical creatures' characteristics, by making good combinations, you can win a duel without using any spells—though, in many duel masters' eyes, this might be seen as unconventional."
William leisurely walked out from the gradually dispersing dust, he pointed his wand behind him, "Reparo. (Reparo)" The massively enlarged Kabuda stood up, trotting back with a few cabbages still wanting a taste of Cedric, "But, as long as it works," William added.
Almost everyone's gaze concentrated on the wobbling Niffler—most little wizards had seen it, after all, this little creature used to wander around the castle, often riding Mrs. Loris before the roosters occupied the castle, though they never thought this creature, seemingly only good for being adorable, could indeed fight.
"Niffler's claws are very sharp, and the Traceless Extension bag on its belly is also useful, so there's no such thing as a useless Martial Soul... ahem, no useless magical creature, only summoners who can't use them—" Noticing everyone's gaze, William picked up Kabuda at his feet, displaying its Outfit of the Day to the crowd.
Then, William waved his wand, Cedric, lying on the ground playing dead, slowly floated up and over the crowd, landing in the arms of an Asian girl.
He had noticed earlier that the girl wanted to go on stage to check Cedric's condition, yet somehow hesitated, unsure why. And as she instinctively caught the "battered" boy in her arms, Cho Chang was stunned for a moment before she nodded, turned silently with the boy in her arms, and left the hall.
As they were leaving, William noticed Cedric seemed to give him a thumbs up.
Hmm, he can be taught well...
Only... William lowered his head, he noticed that perhaps the soul of a certain Savior seemed to be pulled away by the departing girl—
...had he unwittingly gotten involved in someone else's love triangle? William tried to reflect on himself.
"...was the Chomping Cabbage too cruel?"
Professor Flitwick stepped over to William, he hadn't spoken since earlier, but now couldn't resist—being a former wizard duel champion, he was actually a bit traditional, and William's methods... in his eyes counted as fringe?
"Professor, what you're supposed to teach them isn't just straightforward dueling—if any of them ever want to become an Auror,"
William shook his head. If this was considered cruel... then he'd need to lock away about eighty percent of his skills.
"...Professor?"
In front of the two, a chubby hand was raised.
"Oh, Mr. Longbottom, go ahead."
Flitwick said kindly, he was deeply impressed by this chubby Gryffindor because just last term, Longbottom's spell malfunctioned, sending Professor Flitwick flying around the ceiling twice—the memory had to be vivid.
"I wanted to ask, oh, Mr. Richard—sorry, I forgot you're not a professor yet."
Neville's tone was somewhat timid, nearly drowned by the noisy chatter of the little wizards behind him.
"No worries, what do you want to say?" William nodded indifferently, crouching to barely meet Neville's gaze.
"Oh, I was wondering... can learning Herbology really allow one to do what you... you just did?" Neville hesitated for a moment before mustering the courage to ask loudly.
"Oh, a troll asking questions now—"
That was, of course, not William speaking, but...
"Langlock. (Langlock)"
William cast a charm, Draco Malfoy's tongue instantly stuck to the roof of his mouth.
"Oh, you shouldn't be casting spells on students—"
Watching this, Flitwick said with some reproach, but he made no effort to help unseal Malfoy.
"?"
"What's the matter?"
"I'm not a professor..." William said with a strange expression.
"Uh... alright, I almost forgot too—" Flitwick paused.
"Of course, any line of study is useful, not only Chomping Cabbage, like Poisonous Tentacles, Mandrakes..." William turned his head to look at Neville still waiting for an answer, "As long as you know them well enough, they will naturally become your strength—"
"William, I must tell you, those you just mentioned are all restricted trade varieties—"
"I picked them from the greenhouse, didn't spend money."
"Does Pomona know?"
"...she should know, right?"
Unaware of the ongoing conversation, Neville Longbottom's eyes had ignited a flame of hope.