Thousands upon thousands of candles floated in the air throughout the magnificent Great Hall, their light flickering beneath a velvet-black ceiling where stars shimmered like jewels.
Below the candles sat four long tables crowded with students from the second to the seventh year. In the aisles between the tables stood the fresh batch of first-years, waiting for their sorting.
At this moment, every single one of them—from the youngest first-year to the most senior graduate—was frozen in disbelief. Goku jumping onto the staff table to challenge Albus Dumbledore was a spectacle no one had ever imagined.
The silence was broken by a wave of uproarious laughter.
"Did I hear that right? He wants to challenge Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"A little first-year squirt challenging the greatest wizard alive? That's the funniest thing I've heard all year."
"Don't be so harsh. He's probably just a Mudblood who thinks having a spark of magic makes him invincible. Just an ignorant kid."
"He might be ignorant, but I admire his guts! Come to Gryffindor!"
In the aisle, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were equally stunned, but they weren't laughing. They had seen Goku cast wandless magic and level a hill with their own eyes.
"Do you think he can win?" Harry asked, his voice low. He knew nothing of the wizarding world or Dumbledore's reputation other than what he'd heard in the last forty-eight hours. However, he had seen Goku's raw power firsthand, and he wasn't sure what to believe.
Ron shook his head slowly. "I think he might be stronger than my dad, but there's no way he's a match for Dumbledore." To Ron, no one on earth could defeat the Headmaster.
"Is that really what we should be discussing?" Hermione hissed, glaring at them. "Whether he wins or not doesn't matter—he can't challenge the Headmaster! He'll be expelled before he's even sorted!"
"Child, stop this nonsense at once! Come back down here!" Professor McGonagall shouted, her voice sharp with authority. She found Goku's behavior incredibly disrespectful and a flagrant breach of school rules. However, she didn't draw her wand; she felt that punishing a naughty child with magic was beneath her.
Goku ignored McGonagall. He looked at the old man in the center and tilted his head. "Aren't you Dumbledore?"
"I am Albus Dumbledore," the Headmaster replied with a calm smile.
"Then please, duel me!" Goku pressed his hands together and gave a respectful bow.
Dumbledore didn't agree immediately. Instead, he looked at the boy with genuine curiosity. "And why, pray tell, do you wish to duel me?"
When the boy spoke his name, Dumbledore recognized him. He had received the letter from Rufus Scrimgeour yesterday and had personally authorized the extra admission letter. To be honest, Rufus's report had piqued his interest. A boy who could shatter a Shield Charm with a single punch was something even Hagrid, a half-giant, couldn't manage.
"Because I need to fight stronger opponents to get better," Goku explained simply. "That's why I left home to train. Everyone says you're the strongest wizard here, so I want to duel you."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with a hint of surprise. He could tell the boy wasn't lying or being arrogant—it was pure, honest intent.
"Conflict can indeed sharpen one's skills," Dumbledore said softly. "But to become a truly great wizard, one must first learn to settle their mind, study hard, and accumulate knowledge. Knowledge is the true source of power. If you wish to be strong, you shouldn't be duelling me; you should be studying here at Hogwarts."
"Fighting *is* the best training," Goku countered, undeterred. "Don't worry, it's just a friendly match. I'll try not to hit you too hard."
Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's confidence.
"That is enough. Get down!"
Severus Snape, the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin, stood up beside Dumbledore. He didn't share the Headmaster's patience. With a flick of his wand and a cold expression, he cast a spell.
"!"
"Huh? My body!" Goku suddenly felt his legs snap together and his arms stiffen, as if an invisible force was trying to march him back toward the first-years.
"HA!"
Goku's muscles flexed violently. Using sheer physical force, he shattered the magical constraint holding his limbs.
"You attacked me from behind!" Goku's face darkened with annoyance. "Afterimage Technique!"
Goku vanished, leaving a shimmering image of himself behind. His true self appeared instantly behind Snape, hand raised for a swift chop to the neck.
However, Snape was no ordinary wizard. As one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world—second only to the likes of Dumbledore and Voldemort—his instincts were razor-sharp. He felt the sudden shift in the air and the surge of hostility behind him.
Without a word, Snape cast a wandless behind his back while his body spun away like a great, dark bat.
CRACK!
The sound of the Shield Charm shattering echoed through the Great Hall as Goku's fist slammed into it.
"This one's way tougher than the last one," Goku noted.
"!" Snape's pupils dilated as he saw his shield crumble, but his reaction was instantaneous. While still in mid-air from his retreat, he flicked his wand, using a curse of his own invention.
He had thought about using a Body-Bind, but given the boy's strength, he wasn't sure it would hold. *Levicorpus*, however, hoisted the victim into the air by their ankle. No matter how much strength a person had, if they had no leverage and were dangling upside down, they were helpless.
"What a weird move!" Goku felt an invisible grip seize his ankle and yank him upward. He flailed for a second, realizing he couldn't break the grip without any ground to push off of. Quickly, he pressed the soles of his feet together.
"KAMEHAMEHA!"
Goku wasn't going to be beaten that easily. He fired the blast from his feet, intending to use the massive recoil to tear through the magical binding and force himself back to the ground.
***
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