"Unfortunately, classmates, I regret to inform you all that we are now two and a half semesters behind the class next door—"
This was the first thing William said as he stepped onto the podium.
"..."
Wait, where did this class next door come from?
And do we really have a study schedule? Haven't we had Professor Lupin substituting for about eighty percent of the classes in the past three or four months since school started?
Also, why is it two and a half semesters?
There were so many questionable points, but Harry, who usually had plenty of internal monologue, didn't even know where to start criticizing this time. He paused for a moment, exchanged a glance with Hermione, and then pushed up his glasses, getting ready to see what madness the senior student was up to this lesson—
Although the senior's strength was formidable and he was usually very kind, all the older members knew well that when he went crazy, he really went crazy.
Probably, only the students who had just passed the selection this year were unaware of this fact, like Ginny, who still looked completely confused—
"I suppose everyone has also noticed that we have quite a few new friends today."
William began to pretend to sort through two utterly useless books in his hands, because doing so made him look a little less idle, "Please rest assured, although these Champions did not undergo examinations, they paid Golden Galleons, so there's no need to worry about me being at a disadvantage—"
"Of course, I absolutely adhere to the school's arrangements, even if they hadn't paid Galleons, I would treat them equally..."
"Well then, Professor Richard, can we have those 200 Galleons refunded?"
Fleur raised her hand, hoping to stop the loss in time.
"No."
His voice was firm and emotionless.
"..."
"Alright, just kidding, today is a practical class—"
As soon as William finished speaking, the tables in front of everyone disappeared, including the benches, as though they melted into the floor and walls like water. An invisible force supported each little wizard's body, organizing them on either side of the classroom.
"Rumble—"
A deep rumbling sound began to rise as a long platform appeared in the center of the classroom, covered with a blue carpet.
"They all got scared."
Harry mumbled quietly. Standing next to him now was Cedric, the two Hogwarts Champions stood in the corner, observing the different reactions of the other Champions, "Krum might have tried to resist a bit—"
Cedric followed Harry's gaze, and, sure enough, Viktor Krum looked remarkably grim.
The reality was much like Harry had guessed; Krum indeed attempted to struggle for a moment when being moved by William's magic—then he felt a sense of helplessness, as if no matter what he did, it had no effect whatsoever.
Of course, the dark look on his face wasn't only due to that, he had initially thought today's class was about "leaking hints."
Having not obtained the Golden Egg, he was evidently clueless about the second task, and today's visit here was to ensure he wasn't at a disadvantage. For that, he'd pulled a lot of strings—what else could he do but rely on himself? Wait for Karkaroff to help? That bastard had been cooped up on the ship every day lately, who knows what he's up to—
But now, what does a practical class mean?
To reveal your own strength?
Krum instinctively glanced towards the other Champions around him. Similarly, most of the Champions were observing each other as well. Clearly, they all realized—there are still four whole tasks ahead. Apart from the second one, which they have some clue about, the contents of the other three are completely unknown.
If there will be a confrontation—or rather, they are sure there will be segments similar to Champion battles. Revealing too much now, if targeted later...
"Alright, including the second-year new students, the rest of you, come and draw lots."
With a wave of his hand, William conjured a lot-drawing box. Though the group of Champions had their doubts, they queued up to receive their lot number.
A year had passed. The Duel Club welcomed a batch of new students and bid farewell to some old ones—along with the seven Champions from other schools, there were exactly thirty people. Now, after dividing them into pairs, Harry touched the bamboo stick in his hand which bore the number eleven, looking at his opponent—
Oh, what a coincidence, Krum.
"..."
Krum's face turned even grimmer.
What left the deepest impression during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament?
Castelobruxo's fireworks and dragon? Uagadou's elephant stomping dragon? Koldovstoretz's hand-to-hand combat with a fire dragon? Or Cedric chasing the dragon with a camera? No, no, no, I don't know about the others, but the one "battle" that left the deepest impression on Krum was when the fourth-year student came last, said nothing, and just flicked his magic wand—
... He really didn't think that could be called a "battle."
And till now, Krum still didn't know what exact item Harry had used? Or was it his own magic? Headmaster Karkaroff kept yelling about cheating, yet was of no help when it mattered—
Thankfully, their match wasn't too soon, so he didn't need to worry short-term—if he would be hit by a vine thicker than a person, what stance would make his death look better.
"I'll go first—"
Number one, Cedric stood up. His opponent didn't seem particularly challenging, seeing as a timid red-haired girl stood facing him, Cedric gave a light chuckle.
"Let's begin."
William's voice came from the side.
"Don't worry, feel free to act as you wish, I can let you have three..."
Looking at the young witch who seemed to have a frightened expression, Cedric had a smile on his face that was as refreshing as a spring breeze. He had always mastered the true teachings of Hogwarts' King of B, William Richard—
"Stupefy!"
"...turns."
"Boom—"
Without any defense, Cedric had just finished speaking when a red charm hit his face, and he fell stiffly to the ground. One could only say that Ginny, as his opponent, was indeed quite young. Knowing she had used a sneak attack, she had intentionally held back, so even after taking a Stunning Spell head-on, Cedric still wobbled and managed to stand up.
"Wow, still able to stand..."
Ginny sighed with a bit of disappointment. Then, without waiting for the now dark-faced Cedric to speak, she held up two fingers, "Wait, senior, you just said you'd let me have three turns, there are still two more—"
"..."
"Why look at me like that? You're the one who said you'd let me have three turns—of course, you can also strike, as long as you don't mind being called someone who goes back on their word and bullies the weak..."
Seeing Cedric turn his head towards him, William, who was acting as referee on the side, shook his head and slowly said.
"Stop, stop, stop—I get it now."
Cedric turned back, frustrated, and forced a smile at the excited Ginny, "You still have two chances."
Takes too much pride after all.
William sighed. Although Cedric had learned the ways of showing off from him, he still valued face too much. If it were him, he'd have counter-attacked right away—never mind whether she's your junior, if you're making a move against me, be prepared for the "kill or be killed" mindset, you fool!
But William didn't plan on saying more, time will teach him properly, he'll learn what to do the hard way someday.
Of course, due to the absolute disparity in strength, Ginny certainly couldn't defeat Cedric. After dodging two more charms shot by the girl, Cedric subdued her in just two moves.
Next, the duels proceeded in an orderly fashion, with everyone casually exchanging moves, until the Japanese friend who was often asked whether he would surrender or not made his entrance. As the second champion to take the stage, Yamamoto, dressed in golden robes, struggled to climb onto the platform due to his short stature—
Then, eyeing the third-year little wizard opposite him, clutching his magic wand—
"I'll let you have three turns, too—"
"Expelliarmus!"
Just like before, the moment "turn" left his mouth, a red spell shot through the air, heading straight for Yamamoto's chest, but the next moment, a faint pink glow rippled, and a translucent shield appeared in front of him, "…as long as you can break my defensive charm, there are still two more turns."
Yamamoto squinted his already small eyes, speaking joyfully.
He finally got to let out a breath—because he was the first to take the stage in the first challenge, but didn't put on any impressive performance. Not only among the little wizards at Hogwarts, but even among those at the Magic Institute, he'd been labeled as useless—even recently, a few little wizards in pink-gold robes had challenged his top spot!
Absolutely unforgivable! So, when he heard today was a practical class, he was thrilled, because he could prove to the other champions that he was by no means useless!
And the script played out as Yamamoto expected. The third-year little wizard's three consecutive spells had no effect, which meant he could finally act—
Then, Yamamoto began casting spells with his wand, various beams of light shot forth with each wave. The little wizard could only keep raising defensive spells, but without William's training, he quickly struggled. Although Professor Lupin's practical teaching was quite excellent, with Professor Flitwick often assisting, but—
Because Dream Magic still required William's guidance, they couldn't really let loose in battle—
Soon, the third-year Hufflepuff little wizard was thoroughly defeated. He jumped off the platform with a somewhat unpleasant expression, though it wasn't about caring too much about winning or losing—after all, the opponent was a champion. But did Yamamoto perhaps get a bit too arrogant?
"Next... Mr. Surrender, aren't you coming down?"
"?"
Yamamoto was briefly confused as he was about to speak, because William had used a term in Chinese, so he didn't quite catch it, but it didn't matter. Yamamoto recomposed himself and forced a smile, "Mr. Richard, one-on-one is really boring. Perhaps we could change the format?"
"What?"
William furrowed his brows—why is this guy smiling like a fool?
"A ring match, I'll be the first king of the hill. How about it, Hogwarts folks?"
Yamamoto started in a low voice, then raised his tone, shouting to the circle of little wizards surrounding him, "I know that those of you who could join this 'Duel Club' must be the elite of the school—surely there's someone here confident enough to defeat me—if you can't, then surrender..."
What a ridiculous provocation, were this guy's parents actually related? Heard stories about the Celestial Royal Family being quite a mess...
"Get out of here..."
William, annoyed, prepared to wave this idiot out of his classroom, but several others moved even faster than him.
"I'll do it."
Neville raised his hand, then made his way onto the platform, "If I beat you, you'll get off here, right?"
William's raised hand paused as he glanced at Neville's bulging pockets, then turned to look at Yamamoto, who still wore a gleeful expression, with a playful look.
Are you prepared? You fool!