The smoldering silk wrapped around Amona rapidly shifted. In the blink of an eye, the fabric transfigured into a flock of tiny blue birds. The birds grabbed Amona by the collar with their beaks and swiftly carried her frozen body out of the dueling hall.
"Oh, that was gorgeous!"
"Professor Celine is so romantic!"
"That Hogwarts kid is way too fast!"
The stands erupted into shocked whispers while Richie calmly lowered his wand and looked at Madam Mantha.
"Do you require a moment to rest?" Mantha asked.
Richie shook his head. He had only cast two basic Body-Bind Curses; he wasn't even close to breaking a sweat.
Mantha gave a sharp nod and turned back to the crowd.
"Are there any other first-years who wish to challenge?"
The remaining five first-year girls immediately stared at their shoes.
Seeing this, Mantha didn't miss a beat. "Second-years?"
Before the echo of her voice faded, a young witch stepped forward.
"Monica Turner."
Mantha was clearly familiar with her. She gave a slight nod, gesturing for her to take the stage.
Monica climbed onto the platform, locking eyes with Richie with a deadly serious expression. Richie casually reset his stance.
"Three... Two..."
"One!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Richie fired off another Full Body-Bind Curse. But this time, Monica didn't try to cast immediately; instead, she aggressively threw herself to the side.
Because the stone platform was a wide rectangle rather than a narrow dueling strip, she had plenty of room to maneuver. Thanks to her quick reflexes, the curse grazed right past her.
A collective gasp echoed from the stands. The Beauxbatons students were entirely on edge for her.
Having bought herself a second, Monica instantly launched her counterattack. Grabbing the silk hem of her robes, she mirrored the exact spell Professor Celine had just used.
"Avis!"
A flock of aggressive blue birds materialized, dive-bombing straight toward Richie.
Without missing a beat, Richie whipped a pocket square from his robes and cast a rapid Transfiguration.
"Reticulum!"
The small cloth instantly expanded into a massive, heavy woven net. With a fluid flick of his wand, Richie seamlessly chained it into a Hover Charm—Wingardium Leviosa—launching the heavy net straight through the flock of birds and right at Monica.
Seeing the massive net crashing down on her, Monica panicked. She stumbled backward, completely forgetting to cast a shield, and tripped right off the edge of the platform.
Thankfully, Madam Mantha quickly intervened with a spell, preventing Monica from cracking her head on the stone floor.
"Richie Harland wins!" Mantha announced.
Monica covered her face and ran out of the hall in tears.
The Demoralized Challengers
The Star-Wand Dueling Hall fell entirely silent.
To the younger students, Monica's performance had been stellar. She successfully dodged a high-speed curse and immediately launched a tactical counterattack. But Richie's reaction time was just insane. By flawlessly combining Transfiguration with a basic Charms spell, he had neutralized her instantly.
A massive wave of defeat washed over the first and second-years.
Sure, to an upperclassman, this level of dueling might seem like child's play. But to anyone in their third year or below, Richie seemed completely untouchable. They all knew their own limits—none of them were magical prodigies, and most of them slacked off in practice. If Monica, who actually trained hard, got dismantled that easily, the rest of them stood absolutely zero chance.
Taking a deep breath, a second-year boy managed to scrap together enough courage to approach the stage.
"Excellent," Mantha nodded approvingly.
Unfortunately, her satisfaction lasted about two seconds.
The boy tried to mimic Monica's dodging strategy to avoid Richie's opening strike. He failed miserably, took a Petrificus Totalus straight to the chest, and tipped backward like a statue.
Several students rushed the stage to carry him away.
"Are there any other second-years who wish to take the stage?" Mantha asked, scanning the room.
Every single second-year refused to make eye contact.
Mantha let out a quiet sigh. "Third-years?"
Tragically for him, there was exactly one third-year student currently sitting in the stands: Alex Boyd.
At that exact moment, Alex deeply, profoundly regretted his life choices. Because it was the holidays, the school was mostly empty. He had only come to the dueling hall because he saw Fleur Delacour—a stunningly beautiful fourth-year—head this way, and he wanted to impress her.
Instead, he had walked right into a trap.
"Third-years?" Mantha repeated, her eyes zeroing in on him.
Left with literally no other option, Alex slowly stood up. It wasn't just about the fear of losing; if he completely backed down now, the other third-years would roast him alive for the rest of the semester.
"Alex Boyd," he announced, shooting one last desperate, tragic glance at the beautiful silhouette in the crowd before marching toward the stage.
"Step up," Mantha said, shaking her head slightly. "And focus."
Alex climbed onto the platform, glaring intensely at his opponent.
Richie just gave a helpless shrug. Why does everyone keep looking at me like I'm the villain? Your professor literally forced me into this!
"Duelists, take your marks. Bow to your opponent!"
"Wands at the ready!"
"The duel will commence after a countdown of three!"
"Three... Two..."
"One!"
A Battle of Wits
Right on cue, Richie fired his signature opening curse. But Alex was ready.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The two spells slammed into each other dead center, violently neutralizing each other in mid-air.
Richie narrowed his eyes. He instantly dropped his casual attitude; this kid actually had some reflexes.
Both boys rapidly recast.
Bang! Another mid-air collision sent a shower of magical sparks raining down across the stage.
"Oh, by Merlin! Alex actually blocked it!"
"Let's go, Boyd!"
The crowd immediately started cheering, and a massive surge of confidence flooded Alex's chest.
Watching the sparks clear, Alex decided to seize the initiative.
"Densaugeo!"
He fired the tooth-growing hex specifically to throw Richie off balance and interrupt his casting rhythm. A single hit, and the duel was over.
But reality rarely matches expectations.
Richie side-stepped the hex effortlessly, instantly raising his wand to the ceiling.
"Lumos Maxima!"
A blinding, explosive flash of brilliant white light detonated inside the hall, rivaling the sun. Every single person in the stands violently flinched, shielding their eyes.
Taking the brunt of the flash directly to the face, Alex squeezed his eyes shut in pure panic. But his instincts kicked in.
"Protego!"
A shimmering Shield Charm materialized around him. It was a smart, tactical play—he knew Richie had to drop the Lumos to cast an offensive spell, meaning his vision would eventually return. The shield protected him from any cheap physical shots in the dark.
Richie knew exactly what Alex was thinking. And he already had the counter-play queued up.
The exact second he cut the blinding light, Richie flicked his wand at the floor, totally ignoring Alex's shield.
"Spongify!"
A burst of yellow magic slammed into the stone beneath Alex's feet, instantly turning the solid platform into something with the consistency of bouncy gelatin.
Blinking rapidly, Alex's vision began to clear. He couldn't see perfectly yet, but he vaguely registered that Richie was stepping backward. Assuming Richie had fumbled his follow-up attack, Alex felt a rush of adrenaline.
"Expelliarmus!" Alex shouted.
Richie smoothly sidestepped while casually bringing his wand back up to cast.
Seeing Richie retreat, Alex eagerly lunged forward to press his absolute advantage—
His front foot slammed into the bouncy, jelly-like floor.
All of his momentum completely betrayed him. He violently lost his balance, his arms flailing wildly as the floor gave way beneath him.
Right as he started to fall, an incredibly calm, collected voice echoed through the hall.
"Petrificus Totalus."