Round Two
Nicolae rolled his shoulders, manic grin widening as the referee raised her wand again.
"BEGIN!"
He didn't open with an explosion this time.
He opened with five.
"ERUPTIO—SCINDERE—FRACTUS—IGNIS—RAPPELLERE!"
Five chained detonations erupted around Cassius in a spiraling circle, turning the platform into a blooming flower of destruction.
The crowd screamed as shockwaves rippled outward.
Flitwick clutched his hair.
Sirius yelled, "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL MY KID, YOU WALKING POWDER KEG!?"
The smoke rose—
The stone cracked—
And Nicolae snarled triumphantly—
Until he sensed it again.
Pressure.
Not air.
Magic.
The smoke tore apart in an instant as Cassius stepped forward through the flames, clothes singed at the edges but eyes cold and bright.
His wand was raised.
His left hand glowed brighter.
He was done playing reaction.
Now he was dictating the flow.
Cassius moved.
No words.
No wasted breath.
A triple-sequence cast erupted from him—faster than speech could follow.
A cutting charm to force Nicolae back—
A crushing atmospheric dip to stagger him—
Then a lance of focused blue magic—
All chantless.
All precise.
Nicolae blocked the first, countered the second—
But the third spell slid under his guard and detonated against his ribs, sending him crashing across the arena.
He rolled, coughed, spat dust—
Then slammed his wand into the ground with a roar.
"VOLCANUS!"
The platform erupted—literally erupted—in a geyser of molten light.
Even the referee flinched.
Cassius reacted instantly with wand and hand both—drawing up a stone barrier with one spell while his free-hand unleashed a shockwave that split the molten stream.
It was too much heat.
Too much sound.
Too much force.
And yet—
Cassius advanced through it.
A single silent repulsion blasted away the rest of Nicolae's attack.
Nicolae stared.
"How—? How are you still WALKING?!"
Cassius didn't answer.
He only pointed his wand.
"Stupefy."
Direct.
Red.
Final.
Nicolae hit the floor so hard the platform shook.
The referee raised her hand:
"ROUND TWO—VICTOR, CASSIUS SNAPE!"
The stadium roared.
Cassius didn't smile.
Nicolae did.
Bleeding, shaking, grinning like a madman.
"YES! THAT—THAT RIGHT THERE—THAT'S WHAT I WANTED!"
~
Round Three
The referee had to steady her voice.
"Begin!"
Nicolae surged forward, not casting—charging.
He didn't fire a spell until he was already in Cassius's face.
"CONCUSSUS!"
A point-blank blast.
Cassius barely had time to shield—
And for the first time all tournament, it broke.
He flew backward, skidding across the platform, the impact knocking the air from his lungs.
The crowd gasped.
Sirius bolted halfway down the stairs before Flitwick grabbed his sleeve.
"WAIT—Sirius—look!"
Cassius stood.
Slowly.
But he stood.
Nicolae's eye twitched.
"That should've KO'd you."
Cassius rolled his neck.
"You hit hard."
Nicolae laughed.
"You haven't seen hard yet."
His wand spun like a throttle being revved—
"FULGUR—ERUPTIO—IGNIS—MAXIMA—!!"
Cassius saw the buildup.
He felt the magic condense.
He moved—
But not fast enough.
The combined blast caught him in the side, threw him to the boundary, and his shield flickered out like a candle.
He hit the floor.
Hard.
Even he saw stars.
The referee snapped her wand skyward.
"ROUND THREE—VICTOR, NICOLAE ZAMFIR!"
The crowd went berserk.
Romanian supporters howled.
Nicolae roared triumphantly, fire bursting from his wandtip like a flare.
Cassius rubbed his jaw.
That one had hurt.
But as much as it hurt he couldnt tear away from the fact he liked it.
~
Round Four
Cassius stepped back to his mark.
Nicolae did the same.
Both breathing harder.
Both smiling now.
Real smiles.
Respect between savages.
The referee took a breath.
"Begin!"
Nicolae opened with chaos.
A barrage of explosions, lightning, and concussive waves rolled out in overlapping arcs.
The earth shook.
The air screamed.
It was too much for any normal wizard to even see, let alone counter.
Cassius didn't try to counter.
He stepped in.
Straight through the blast-line.
His wand carved arc after arc, dispelling, diverting, absorbing—
While his free-hand sent invisible strikes that cut through the smoke like razors.
One clipped Nicolae's arm.
One hit his shoulder.
One shattered his foothold.
Nicolae stumbled—
Cassius was already there.
Wand raised.
Left hand humming with power.
He unleashed the strongest spell he'd cast all tournament—a combined-force stunning shockwave, wand-channelled but enhanced by raw magic driven from his palm.
A hybrid technique.
It struck Nicolae squarely in the chest.
His shield shattered like glass.
He flew backward ten meters and hit the ground with a bone-rattling thud.
Silence.
Then—
"ROUND FOUR—AND MATCH—VICTOR, CASSIUS SNAPE!"
The arena exploded.
People leapt to their feet.
Flitwick collapsed into a chair, sobbing with joy.
Sirius screamed wordlessly before scooping Cassius into a hug so violent it probably counted as an attack.
Cassius endured it.
Barely.
Nicolae groaned from the ground, propped on his elbows.
He spat blood.
Then grinned wider than ever.
"Damn… kid… you're a monster."
Cassius walked over and offered him a hand.
Nicolae took it.
"You'd better win again next year," the Romanian panted.
Cassius shook his head.
"I'm not coming back."
Nicolae blinked.
"What? Why?"
Cassius chose not to reply just smirked as if he was waiting to unleash a surprise, as the closing ceremonies were quickly completed with the handing over of the awards, and the obligatory press photo's Cassius was this years youth National champion, and Sirius couldnt be happier.
Harry who?
The old man could barely recall that he even had a second godson at this point.
But even with the championship secured, Cassius was already looking ahead to his next challenge.
Atop the winners stage, Nicolae was still reeling from his injuries as he was doubled over in pain having sustained a number of broken and fractured ribs in their match.
To his left however stood Fleur, her eyes staring at him with a burning intensity, one commonly only found in rivals or subjects of revenge.
The young woman had lost to cassius, and not just lost, but lost humiliatingly so.
In her heart Fleur declared she'd show this newcommer upstart what a true duelist was at next years tournament, not knowing that Cassius did not plan to defend his championship next year at least not in this division of competition.