In everyone's mind, the outcome of this duel was already written.
No matter how much of a prodigy Marius Cloud was, there was no way he could win against the famed Shadow Prefects—let alone three of them at once.
Even Pansy, who normally looked at Marius like he hung the moon, was beginning to worry. The rest? Most were already placing mental bets on how quickly he'd go down.
"You really think Marius has a chance?"
"I say we bet on how long he'll last instead."
"Good call. I'm putting three Galleons on two seconds."
"I'll be generous—five seconds," said another, tossing coins beside the dueling ring.
Soon, nearly all the students were joining in—all betting on Marius losing.
Only Pansy gritted her teeth and bet ten Galleons on him to win.
People stared.
Was the girl mad?
Why waste money on an arrogant lunatic?
Then Snape gave them a death glare, and the betting circle quickly hushed.
"I'll count to three. Then begin," said Snape, positioning himself behind Marius—ready to intervene if things got fatal. He might dislike the kid, but letting him die would still reflect badly on him as the Head of House.
That said, unless Marius was about to die, Snape had no intention of stepping in. If anything, he looked forward to watching the boy get knocked down a peg.
"Marius, you're sure about this?" Snape narrowed his eyes. "Back out now, and—"
"I'm sure. Enough with the nagging. Start it already, stop whining like an old woman."
"You better not disgrace the name of the Cloud family," Snape snapped, then turned and stalked to the edge of the ring, his cloak billowing like an angry bat.
"Three—!"
Marius didn't even wait for the full count.
"Stupefy!"
A beam of red light erupted from his wand so fast it caught even Snape off guard.
"Incredible casting speed…" several students murmured, amazed.
But the Shadow Prefects weren't green first-years—they were veterans.
They had anticipated this and were already braced.
Brunel fired the same spell in reply—Stupefy!
The other two? They simply crossed their arms, standing behind Brunel as though uninterested.
Two stunning spells clashed mid-air with a dazzling impact, sending shockwaves across the room. The very candles flickered under the sudden rush of magic.
But within two seconds, Brunel's red beam flickered… and died.
His spell was overpowered.
"Such… raw magic power?!" Brunel's eyes widened in shock.
Barry and Joseph's expressions darkened.
They had assumed Marius's win over Malfoy was all bark and no bite. Now, they weren't so sure.
Brunel immediately grew serious.
Multi-colored spells began blasting from his wand in rapid succession, fast and precise, dazzling the crowd.
"Now that's what a Shadow Prefect looks like!"
"No kidding—he's the top of second year for a reason!"
"Wait… look at that first-year!"
Someone finally noticed what was happening.
Despite Brunel's barrage, not a single spell touched Marius.
He was dodging effortlessly, flicking his wand as if merely swatting away flies.
Truth be told, even Marius was a little surprised.
Brunel's dueling skills were dangerously refined—better than some upper-years. His instincts were sharp, and his spells swift.
This was the power of a Shadow Prefect: a true dueling king.
But while Brunel was going all out, Marius was still holding back.
Barry and Joseph exchanged a look. Their faces grew grim.
If this dragged on any longer, the Shadow Prefect title itself would become a joke.
Barry growled, "Let's finish this—together!"
Just what Marius wanted.
He wanted to test what his true limit looked like.
"Mental Scan!"
No one heard what Marius muttered.
But in an instant, the world around him slowed.
It was as though he'd activated a divine viewpoint—he could see everything.
Every movement on the dueling field.
Even the ghosts in the corners.
He could hear every heartbeat.
The slithering of unseen creatures in the walls.
The moment any of the three Prefects moved, Marius already knew their angle, spell, and timing.
With his enhanced reflexes, now honed through weeks of brutal training, his body finally moved in sync with his perception.
A wizard without instinct… is a dead wizard.
He sidestepped Joseph's red flash like it was nothing.
And charged straight toward Brunel.
"What are you—"
Before Brunel could finish, Marius closed the gap and grabbed his arm. With a swift grappling technique straight from Hack's hand-to-hand combat manual, he flipped Brunel over and slammed him to the ground.
Hard.
He held back—just enough.
Otherwise, Brunel would be in the hospital wing for a week.
Marius actually liked Brunel a bit. He didn't want to cripple him.
The crowd was stunned into silence.
Three elite duelists had only just begun their group assault.
And in the blink of an eye, Marius disabled one of them.
They didn't even see what spell he used.
All they saw was Brunel suddenly on the floor—out of the fight.
And the boy who did it…
A first-year.
Standing tall.
Calm.
Unshaken.
The room trembled—not with sound, but with stunned awe.
And the legend of Marius Cloud grew ever darker, ever brighter.
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T/N:
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