Chapter 286: The Long-Awaited Duel
At this critical moment, Ron suddenly lifted his foot and went straight for Aiden's lower body.
Aiden stared in silence. "..."
He stepped back slightly, which caused his hand to miss Ron's forehead.
At the same time, Ron rolled backward, creating distance from Aiden.
Aiden tried to strike again, but four Stunning Spells were already flying straight at him.
"Reducto!" Ginny fired a Blasting Curse at Aiden without hesitation.
The Blasting Curse hit Aiden, and he exploded directly in mid-air.
"Ginny, did you kill him?" Michael Corner, watching from the sidelines, cried out in horror.
"Shut up." At this moment, Ginny felt that developing feelings beyond friendship with this guy seemed rather hasty.
Aiden's particles flew through the air, slowly transforming into a swarm of butterflies.
"Ah, my dear little sister, why did you strike so hard?"
The butterflies circled around Ginny, with one hand formed by the butterflies.
"Reducto!" Ginny didn't hesitate to blast Aiden apart again.
At the same time, George Apparated to Ginny's side, then Disapparated away with her.
More and more butterflies appeared, finally outlining the shape of a dragon... which was indeed a dragon.
The silver dragon quietly completed his transformation hidden among the butterflies. He opened his mouth and breathed dragon fire toward the six people.
"Protego!" came six voices in unison.
Six ice pillars stood in place, while the ground behind them was frozen in a fan shape.
The six cancelled their Shield Charms and walked out on the ice.
"George, Fred, is there a way to deal with that?" Harry asked.
"If we weren't here where we can't die," George said, his eyes showing none of their usual playfulness.
"We'd really want to turn and run," Fred completed George's thought.
"ROAR!" The dragon flying in the sky let out a roar.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry led the attack.
Aiden made an agile turn in the sky, dodging the Disarming Charm's trajectory.
Then he began diving toward the group.
"Here he comes!" Ron said, raising his wand. "Impedimenta!"
"Impedimenta!" came two more voices.
Ginny and Hermione also drew their wands and cast the Impediment Jinx.
Harry and the twins coordinated to cast spells at Aiden to slow his diving speed.
But the three's spells bounced off immediately upon hitting Aiden's dragon scales.
As Aiden dove, the defensive barriers summoned by the Impediment Jinxes rubbed against Aiden's claws, producing sharp, ear-piercing sounds.
"Incendio!" Ron fired a Fire-Making Spell, but without magical support, the Impediment Jinx was torn apart instead.
George and Fred grabbed Hermione and Ginny, respectively; Ginny also pulled Harry, and several people Disapparated away, avoiding the descending flames.
Ron stared in confusion. "???"
The flames covered Ron, while Aiden breathed dragon fire down on him. Ron, subjected to both ice and fire, became the first to be eliminated.
The collision of flames and dragon breath stirred up a large amount of water vapour. Aiden took advantage of this to contract his form, and a dragon-human hybrid walked out of the smoke.
"Be careful, this is his most troublesome stage," George warned those behind him.
Aiden raised his right hand, and a black walnut wand appeared in it.
The reason he didn't use new magic was that only a few of those present had learnt new magic.
To teach them offence and defence based on traditional magic to the greatest extent, Aiden and his group had put considerable effort into this.
"Expelliarmus!"
Several people fired spells at Aiden again.
Aiden raised his wand like a conductor's baton, gathering the surrounding clouds.
The clouds writhed and transformed into green vines, which grew and wove into a large net.
The vines grew and attacked the group. Harry used a Severing Charm to cut the tendrils apart.
Ginny wanted to help, but a dangerous sensation surged from her spine to her brain.
Somehow, Aiden's wand was already pressed against her back.
"Stupefy." The spell's light flashed, and Ginny lost consciousness.
"Expelliarmus!" "Reducto!" "Jelly-Legs Jinx!" "Deflating Draught!"
Four spells flew toward Aiden but only stirred up a large cloud of mist.
Using the mist, Aiden's figure became hidden again.
"This won't work. We need to force him out," Hermione said, looking at Harry. "Combined casting!"
Hermione raised her wand and used a weather charm to create a tornado in the dreamscape.
"Incendio!" Harry coordinated by casting a Fire-Making Spell on the tornado.
The flaming tornado swept across the entire arena.
"Huff." A cold breathing sound echoed.
The entire tornado was instantly frozen by the rising cold air.
Snap! The sound of fingers snapping came from within the tornado ice block, and the entire ice formation shattered.
Aiden's figure appeared before them once again.
"He's too strong. Magical technique, physical form, and mental control. How can we deal with him!" Hermione frowned.
"I know a bit of Occlumency," Harry said, raising his hand. The group exchanged glances and quickly arranged their tactics.
George and Fred charged at Aiden, both releasing numerous Disarming Charms simultaneously.
Aiden stood in place and flicked his wand, precisely intercepting the Disarming Charms the two had fired.
"Repulse!" Aiden hooked his finger, and George and Fred were blasted away.
At the same time, his wand tip flickered with red light. Two Stunning Spells flew out, and George and Fred exited the stage.
"Confringo!" Hermione cast an enhanced Blasting Curse that exploded beside Aiden.
"Protego!" Aiden didn't hesitate to release a Shield Charm.
The smoke cleared, and Hermione had reached Aiden's front. Her wand emanated silver-white light.
"What...?" Aiden was startled.
"Silencio!" Hermione cast a spell, and the light circle focused on Aiden, instantly destroying his Shield Charm.
Aiden only had time to push with his right hand, and Hermione also flew away.
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry, who had quietly circled behind Aiden, launched his killing move.
Powerful magic gathered on his wand, and the red lightning formed by the spell cut through the air, hitting Aiden.
Finally, through their cooperation, Aiden's wand flew from his hand.
"Yes!" Hermione said, climbing up from the ground in the distance and making a fist-pumping gesture.
Clap clap clap. Aiden applauded them. "Well done."
At the same time, he waved his hand to bring the others back.
Ron's expression was very smug at this moment. "We defeated Aiden. We actually defeated that Aiden!"
Hermione couldn't stand it and gave him a knock on the head. "Group attack, and you were the first one eliminated."
"So what? He's Aiden!" Ron said, his tail practically reaching the sky.
"So what exactly am I in your mind... some kind of monster?" Aiden couldn't help but complain.
"Forget it, that's not the point. What did you all learn from that duel just now?" Aiden said, turning to look at the observers.
"Defence is very important," the young wizards below reached a unanimous conclusion.
"Yes, any magical conflict is a battle of offence and defence, which can be simply summarised as 'hit the target, dodge successfully, and defend effectively.' For you at present, the skills you most need to master are hitting and defending. Therefore, this week's activity is over. After you return, you need to master the Disarming Charm thoroughly. Is that clear?"
A certain professor dragon couldn't help but have his occupational disease flare up again and began to ramble.
"I really feel like he's becoming more and more like a professor," Ron whispered in Harry's ear.
But after being swept by Aiden's death stare, he immediately became obedient.