Draco stepped forward.
"Weasley?" He waved at Ron, "Come on, shall we have a duel?"
Ron didn't refuse his proposal. After all, at this moment, in this setting, refusing Draco would mean Gryffindor bowing to Slytherin.
This was something every Gryffindor could not tolerate; they could bow to anyone but Slytherin.
He stood on the Dueling Platform, facing Draco.
"Don't be too angry, Weasley," Draco said softly, "it's just— a friendly duel, nothing more."
"You better be," Ron snorted and bowed to Draco.
After the two of them bowed, they each moved to the edge of the Dueling Platform.
However, just as Professor Flitwick counted to three, Draco waved his magic wand and shot a Disarming Spell.
"Expelliarmus!"
Just as Draco was feeling proud, thinking he was about to succeed, he didn't expect Ron to nimbly dodge aside.
Below the stage, Cedric's face darkened, reminding him of how Harry had taught him before.
Even if one follows the rules, it's important to always be wary of the opponent breaking them.
After all, life only comes once, and if a duel is too strict, it only brings tears to family.
"Malfoy!" Ron shouted angrily, "Expelliarmus!"
A red light hit Draco's arm, and the magic wand leisurely flew into Ron's hand.
"You lost," Ron grinned at Draco and threw the magic wand back to him.
Draco sulkily walked away, as he thought he could win against Weasley this time.
But clearly, his thoughts were misplaced, as even without playing by the rules, he couldn't secure victory.
However, unnoticed by him, a glint of disdain flashed in Pansy Parkinson's eyes.
"Weasley!" "Weasley!" "Weasley!" "Weasley!"
Cheers erupted as Gryffindor students celebrated, chanting Ron's surname for his consecutive victories.
Fred and George jumped onto the Dueling Platform, dancing like Veela cheerleaders at the Quidditch Cup, wiggling their hips and blowing kisses, further heating up the atmosphere.
Those two jokers...
Harry shook his head with a wry smile, thinking the twins' personalities really resembled Gareth.
Gareth was the same, loving fun and pranks, sometimes pulling a trick or joke.
If Gareth were replaced by the two of them, they might make more commissions from Cassandra and Vivi without any qualms.
"Are there any others who want to duel?" Professor Lockhart shouted again, raising his hand high and shaking it as he asked, "Any more volunteers?"
Just then, someone emerged from Slytherin and stood on the Dueling Platform.
"Granger, I challenge you," she said.
Everyone looked up to see it was Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin.
"Parkinson?" Draco asked quietly below, "When did she get up there? Oh my, does she really think she can defeat that Granger?"
Although reluctant to admit, Draco thought Pansy's odds against the Muggle-born Granger weren't great.
Not only Draco, but even other Slytherin students didn't have much faith in Pansy Parkinson.
The name "Miss Omniscient" was well-known among Slytherins— partly because she won twenty points from Professor Snape as a non-Slytherin, and partly because this girl really knew everything.
On the first-year train, she could already use the Petrification Spell to attack classmates— not to mention first years, many older students couldn't even do that.
Miss Fari frowned, feeling something was off about this Pansy.
She subtly moved aside, grabbing Harry's sleeve and pulling him away.
Harry noticed Miss Fari's action and asked quietly, "What's wrong, Miss Fari?"
"I sense something's amiss," Miss Fari said softly, "I really can't fathom where she got the courage to challenge Miss Granger, considering that aside from her awkward dueling skills, Miss Granger knows more spells than the average fourth-year student."
"Let's just watch," Harry wasn't too worried, thinking it might be a case of pure-blood obsession.
Holding grudges from when Hermione embarrassed her last semester, maybe she crammed some dueling knowledge to save face now. It's understandable.
On the side, Hermione raised her head, also perplexed about why Pansy was coming after her.
But she couldn't refuse, partly because of the pride of a top student, and partly because after practicing so long in the Dueling House, she didn't fear Parkinson.
So she stepped onto the Dueling Platform, standing before Pansy Parkinson.
"Great! Great!" Professor Lockhart excitedly looked at Pansy and Hermione, smiling, "Our Dueling Platform finally welcomes two ladies— Miss Hermione Granger from Gryffindor and Miss Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin, let's give them a round of applause!"
During the applause and cheers, Pansy gave Hermione a sinister smile.
Hermione felt a bit uneasy, sensing an ill intention behind that smile.
Sure enough, she heard Pansy's voice.
"Mudblood, I'm going to teach you a good lesson," Pansy murmured.
Hermione raised her head, not expecting Pansy to provoke her like this.
"I'll be waiting," Hermione sneered.
The two bowed to each other — though in reality, neither bowed, just nodded and turned to the edge of the Dueling Platform.
However, before Professor Flitwick could announce the start, Pansy's voice rang out.
"I think you should know your manners, Miss Granger... Didn't Professor Lockhart and Professor Flitwick just teach you the basic etiquettes of a duel? I'm saying... Bow!"
Suddenly, Hermione felt an overwhelming force pressing on her back, forcing her to bend over.
She struggled hard against this force, trying not to submit and bow to Pansy.
————————
(Requesting monthly votes, missed the timing...)
(The following 4000 words are an extra for reaching 2000 monthly votes)
(Happy Birthday, Hagrid)