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At that very moment, another tall figure strode onto the dueling platform, his broad frame wrapped in a fur-trimmed Durmstrang cloak. Every step he took was heavy and deliberate, carrying a quiet weight of menace. His massive build and the thick cloak draped across his shoulders made him look less like a young wizard and more like a bear roaming its territory.
Almost at the same time, Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts moved forward and took his place directly opposite him.
The duel had only just begun when Cedric was met with a sudden storm of ferocious attacks.
The Durmstrang student's spells came fast and merciless. Bursts of red Stupefy and sharp blue Petrificus Totalus pelted toward Cedric like a relentless hailstorm, each impact threatening to overwhelm him.
At first Cedric looked as though he could barely keep up. Shield charms and protective wards flickered in front of him, wavering under the violent surge of magic, trembling like the fragile hull of a boat caught in the middle of a raging sea.
"Oh, Merlin, he's going to be torn apart!" Astoria nervously clutched the edge of her robes, feeling her teeth almost chattering.
"It isn't really as bad as it looks…" Luna spoke with her usual dreamy calm, her tone light, as though the chaos on the platform hardly concerned her. "He's just searching for his rhythm."
"What?"
And as though to prove Luna right, Cedric suddenly slipped aside at the very last possible instant, narrowly avoiding a Severing Charm that skimmed so close it nearly clipped his ear. When he straightened, his eyes gleamed with fierce concentration, his entire expression shifting in a heartbeat from desperate defense to unwavering focus.
He no longer depended on the Shield Charm to absorb every strike. Instead, he began to twist and weave with swift precision, slipping out of the path of the deadliest curses. His movements were sharp and economical, while his wand darted forward like a striking serpent, casting one spell after another in relentless succession.
One spell, then another, then another… he unleashed a rapid chain of Disarming and Impediment Charms. They were not meant to bring his opponent down in one decisive blow, but to disrupt, delay, and compress the space in which the Durmstrang boy could move.
The once overwhelming curses now fell short of their mark, exploding harmlessly against the protective barrier around the platform in bursts of dazzling sparks. The Durmstrang student looked like a furious beast whose strength had been wasted on empty air, his wild power caught and tangled in invisible snares. Within moments his footing faltered, his movements became ragged, and even his spellwork lost its deadly precision.
It was then that Cedric cast aside all defense and hurled himself into a full offensive. The sudden shift left his opponent reeling, his rhythm broken and his confidence wavering.
Cedric seized the instant when the Durmstrang boy, straining too far in a reckless spell, betrayed the slightest stiffness in his movement. Cedric's wand snapped forward with sudden precision, the tip aimed unerringly at its mark.
A concentrated streak of red light shot out, slipping through the narrow gap where the Shield Charm had only just been withdrawn. It streaked forward like a bolt of lightning and struck squarely against the Durmstrang boy's chest.
The savage expression on the Durmstrang student's face froze in place. In the very next breath his entire body toppled backward like a great tree cut down in the forest, crashing to the ground with a heavy, resounding thud that seemed to shake the stage itself.
At once the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts erupted into cheers, their voices swelling until they filled the venue with thunderous excitement. Even Kestrel was so carried away that she nearly sprang right out of her seat.
Her eyes flicked instinctively toward Sargeras. He remained as composed as ever, his expression hardly shifting. Only a faint nod betrayed any reaction at all, as though everything had unfolded exactly as he had foreseen.
"A fine counterattack," he murmured softly, his tone calm and measured.
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At last, after a series of fierce duels, six contestants emerged victorious.
From Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory stood alone, the sole representative to advance to the next round. Beauxbatons managed to send forward two witches, their performances both elegant and decisive. As for Durmstrang, they dominated the field with three seats firmly secured.
Soon came the final day of the tournament. The air was thick with a tension sharper than on any of the previous days, carrying the scent of battle as though the very atmosphere itself was scorched with the remnants of magic.
Six matches were set to unfold in succession, each one heavier with expectation than the last. The first three would be a brutal elimination, reducing the six down to three, while the final three duels would decide the coveted rankings of the top three.
Once again, Fleur Delacour was the first to step onto the stage. Her opponent this time was a sixth-year student from Durmstrang.
Fleur's wand moved with grace and precision, her spells sharp and swift. With a few elegant sidesteps, she slipped past her opponent's attacks and seized the briefest pause in his casting. Her voice rang out as she unleashed a perfectly timed Disarming Charm. The scarlet light carved through the air, and the boy's wand flew from his hand before he even realized what had happened.
Victory came to her clean and swift, as effortless as a dancer finishing the last step of a flawless performance.
The next duel was Viktor Krum's turn, facing a seventh-year witch from Beauxbatons. Almost as if in reply to Beauxbatons' earlier triumph, Krum wasted no time. The moment the match began, he pressed forward with his characteristic style, heavy and oppressive.
He allowed no hesitation, no cautious probing. His wand jabbed sharply, his spells fierce and unrelenting, driving his opponent back step by step.
The Beauxbatons girl fought bravely, conjuring brilliant shields that shimmered like glass walls, her defenses dazzling in their artistry. Yet under the crushing weight of Krum's magic, each layer of her defense shattered in turn, as fragile as panes of crystal struck by a hammer.
At last, a powerful Stupefy blasted straight through her final ward, the red beam slamming her full in the chest. She staggered back several steps before her knees gave way, and she collapsed gently to the ground, already unconscious.
Krum's victory was as swift as it was absolute. The duel had ended in no more than a few brief moments.
Immediately after, the third match began, the one most eagerly anticipated by the students of Hogwarts.
Cedric Diggory stepped onto the dueling platform. His opponent was a seventh-year boy from Durmstrang, broad-shouldered and imposing, named Parov Karpov.
Karpov's frame was strikingly large, far beyond what one would expect of a seventeen-year-old. A thick beard framed his jaw, giving him the appearance of a grown man rather than a student. He fixed his eyes on Cedric with a look both vicious and disdainful, as though he were staring at an insect that had mistakenly crawled into the dueling arena.
"Random terrain?" Karpov's asked, his tone laced with scorn, as if the very notion was beneath him.
Cedric answered with a small nod.
At that instant, Karpov's wand snapped up, and he barked, "Stupefy!"
A blinding streak of red light shot straight toward Cedric's head.
It was only thanks to the reflexes honed through countless hours on the Quidditch pitch that Cedric managed to jerk his head aside in time, narrowly avoiding the vicious sneak attack.
The red beam tore past his ear with a hiss, the heat of it brushing against his skin before it slammed into the protective barrier behind him, exploding with a crackling hiss that made the air itself tremble.
"Despicable!" Ron bellowed, his voice echoing across the stands.
"He broke the rules! That was a sneak attack!" Hermione's fury was so sharp it seemed to make her hair bristle, as though each strand were standing on end.
Ernie Macmillan shouted loudest of all. He stood in the stands, red-faced and spitting with rage, his words nearly spraying into the faces of the Durmstrang students seated in front of him. "Shameless! Filthy! Is this what Durmstrang teaches its students?!"
Igor's face had turned a dark shade of iron, but before the shouting could spiral further, Sargeras raised a hand, halting Ernie at once.
"This is a duel, Mr. Macmillan," Sargeras said, his voice steady and calm, though it cut cleanly through the noise. "A nod means the match has begun. If Cedric wasn't ready, then he should not have nodded."
"But, Professor, isn't that kind of tactic far too dishonorable?" Ernie protested, his indignation still simmering, unwilling to let it go.
"Morality is something you use to restrain yourself," Sargeras replied without even glancing his way. His tone was cool, as though he were stating a truth so obvious it needed no debate. "You cannot place your hopes on the moral standards of your opponents."
"Professor Greengrass, do you mean… we should do the same?" Hermione asked, her voice tinged with disbelief. The very idea seemed to clash with everything she had been taught.
"Not 'should' but 'Can,'" Sargeras corrected, finally drawing his gaze back to them. He gave her a sidelong glance, his face expressionless. "Your opponent just gave you a free lesson. Whether in defense or in attack, you can still take something useful from it."
Having said that, he turned his eyes back to the platform.
On the stage, Karpov advanced with a twisted grin, his steps heavy and deliberate. "Confringo!" he roared.
The destructive curse exploded against the ground where Cedric had been standing, shattering stone and sending chunks of rock flying through the air.
Cedric flung himself into a desperate roll, the impact rattling through his bones. Shards of stone pelted him like a sudden rain of gravel, stinging his skin and bruising his body.
Biting down hard against the pain, he forced himself to lift his wand, voice rough but determined. "Expelli—"
He never got the chance to finish.
Karpov, swift as a striking predator, snapped out a non-verbal Banishing Charm. The invisible force slammed into Cedric's chest like a battering ram, hurling him backward. His body hit the cold stone platform with a sickening crack, the breath driven from his lungs. For a dizzying moment, he felt as though his insides had all shifted places.
"Get up, little worm!" Karpov sneered, his thickly accented English dripping with mockery. "Is Hogwarts so weak it sends a fourth-year child to embarrass himself?"
Every inch of Cedric's body ached, yet the taunts did nothing to disturb his composure. He recognized them for what they truly were, nothing more than a ploy to rattle him and drive him into a reckless attack. Understanding this gave him an unexpected sense of clarity. His mind grew calm, and his focus sharpened to a fine edge.
Planting his palms against the ground, he forced himself upright. His movements were shaky, but his determination never faltered. He staggered a few steps, refusing to let the pain master him.
Karpov clearly had not expected Cedric to recover so quickly, nor to sidestep the fresh curse he had just hurled at him. Surprise flickered across his face, and then anger, raw and ugly.
With his temper fraying, he raised his wand again, his voice breaking into a furious snarl. "Cruci—"
"Stop!"
The word cracked like a whip from the judges' table. Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout both leapt to their feet, their voices ringing out together, filled with fury and alarm.
The Unforgivable Curses were absolutely forbidden!
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[Chapter End's]
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