"Sean Bulstrode! Are you insane?"
Clutching his nose, Dorian felt stars bursting before his eyes, tears and blood streaming uncontrollably, dripping to the ground along his hands.
The pain in his nose, left no doubt—it was broken.
Gritting his teeth, Dorian drew his wand and cast a spell on his nose. Due to the injury, his incantation was shaky, requiring two attempts to stop the bleeding, though it was only a temporary fix. His nose remained broken, and he knew he'd need to see Madam Pomfrey.
"Sean Bulstrode, what the hell do you want?"
"What do I want?" Sean strode toward Dorian, speaking as he approached. "Andy's right here, and that disgusting guy over there is here too. What do you think I'm here for?"
Dorian's eyes flicked toward a visibly nervous Robbins. He knew exactly why Sean was here, but he wasn't about to admit anything.
"Sean Bulstrode, I don't know what's gotten into you. Andy and I are just engaged in normal business competition. He couldn't keep up, so now you're coming to pick a fight with me?"
Looking at Dorian, who refused to admit fault, Sean said coolly, "Doesn't matter, Dorian. Whether you admit it or not makes no difference to me. I'm here today to beat you half to death. Of course, if you're skilled enough, you can try to do the same to me. Let's see if you've got what it takes."
With a flick, Sean drew his wand from his waist, gave Dorian a brief nod of courtesy, then swung his wand. A red bolt shot from the tip, aimed straight at Dorian.
Seeing Sean wasn't bluffing, Dorian hurriedly stepped back. Realizing Sean was serious, he had no choice. Raising his wand without hesitation, he cast a spell at Sean.
"Stupefy!"
Sean raised his wand, pointing it forward, and softly incanted, "Protego!"
The red light of the Stunning Spell was blocked by the blue-white ripples of the Shield Charm. Gifted with quick-casting talent, Sean smoothly waved his wand in an arc, slashing downward, sending a gray-white beam toward Dorian.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The gray-white light shot forward.
Dorian waved his wand at the ground in front of him, and the surface seemed to soften, suddenly rising into a wall that blocked the gray-white beam.
Transfiguration?
Fine, let's play with Transfiguration!
Sean waved his wand, swaying it left and right. Two chairs from the nearby stands instantly transformed, morphing into massive hands that lunged toward Dorian.
Seeing this, Dorian swung his wand sharply, as if wielding a sword, slashing twice. The chair-hands exploded into countless fragments.
But Sean, watching the scene, didn't get angry—he laughed. With another wave of his wand, the fragments halted in midair, transforming into sharp iron spikes. With a final flick, the spikes shot toward Dorian.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…
The spikes struck the ground, producing a relentless series of thuds.
Dorian frantically waved his wand, using Transfiguration and spells to fend off the falling spikes.
But some slipped through. Two spikes pierced Dorian's right leg and left shoulder, sending him tumbling to the ground, rolling like a gourd down the stands to the bottom.
Standing atop the stands, Sean looked down at Dorian, lazily twirling his wand as if a cat toying with a mouse, smirking at him.
Dorian grimaced in pain. Looking up at Sean, who loomed over him, his shock and anger boiled over. Ignoring his injuries, he raised his wand and cast at Sean.
"Stupefy!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Dorian's Stunning Spell and Sean's Disarming Charm—two red bolts shot from their wands, one from below, one from above, colliding in midair with bursts of red sparks scattering outward.
In a battle of magical power, Dorian was confident he could outmatch Sean. He was three or four years older, with that much more time to develop his magic. There was no way he could lose to Sean.
But when their spells clashed, Dorian realized he was outmatched—not just in spellwork, but in raw magical power!
Sean's Disarming Charm slowly overpowered Dorian's Stunning Spell. No matter how Dorian roared or shouted, he couldn't change the outcome. The red light of the Disarming Charm overwhelmed the Stunning Spell, striking Dorian square in the chest, sending him flying off the stands and crashing onto the Quidditch pitch below, unconscious.
Walking to the edge of the stands, Sean looked down. Seeing others already checking on Dorian, he tossed a vial of healing potion onto him to prevent fatal injuries, then turned and left the Quidditch pitch with Blaise and Andy.
[Duel won, randomly drawing one ability from the opponent.]
[Drawing…]
[Drawn: Transfiguration LV2]
Hmm? Transfiguration?
As he walked, Sean checked his panel.
This was his first time drawing Transfiguration. In the duel, Dorian's Transfiguration was decent but inferior to Sean's. Sean had already touched the third stage of Transfiguration, while Dorian was still in the early second stage.
But that didn't mean the drawn ability was useless.
For example, if Sean's Transfiguration was a circle with an area of ten, Dorian's was a circle with an area of three. Ninety percent of Dorian's Transfiguration overlapped with Sean's, but ten percent did not.
That ten percent—the unique part of Dorian's understanding of second-stage Transfiguration—was what Sean gained from this draw.
This applied not just to Transfiguration, but to other spells as well.
Different people's Level 1 Stunning Spells, for instance, might reflect slightly different understandings, with non-overlapping parts. Those differences, though small, could be significant.
The three returned to Hogwarts castle and the Slytherin common room. But before they could reach their dorms, a third-year Slytherin approached Sean and said, "Sean, Professor Snape wants you in his office."