Chapter 31

"..."

The question popped up by itself because, in the past, due to frequent gatherings in all sorts of online games, I got into a very unpleasant habit. The habit was that I often insulted others by getting personal. However, I received the same insults in response, and over time I got used to such words.

However, there were those who did not particularly like such words, and such individuals held a grudge for a very long time. Threats of violence and fights followed.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"What did you say?! Ossainfragor!"

At that second, I had to dodge the rather unpleasant color of the spell.

"What are you doing?" He successfully dodged the spell.

"Shut up! I, Brian Travers, will pay back for such an insult!"

After that, the usual bunch of duelists followed, but because of the speed, it was easier to dodge such a thing.

"Yes, who are you?"

My question made the guy's face turn even redder, and he roared with even more force and started shooting spells at me.

"Phew... Fuuuuh..."

This speed was enough for only ten minutes, and now my opponent was breathing heavily.

"Yeah... Can you tell me who you are already?"

The guy, in response, glared at me and said:

"I was your opponent last year at the finals..."

"Ahhh... Why were you looking at me like that?"

"Hahah, how do you think my family reacted to the fact that I was defeated by a mudblood?"

His words slightly reinforced my suspicions about what had happened to him... And he answered me most likely because he wanted to stall for time.

"Excuse me! But this is a tournament... I thought everyone was ready to lose?"

Brian just smiled and said:

"Heh, that's right... Ignisflagellum!"

In the next second, a fiery whip flew out from the end of his wand... Whose movements were very predictable. So this spell only scorched the ground around me.

"How is that? ... I am..." The desperation in the kid's voice would have been enough for three.

"It's simple... I'm much better than you."

He ended this farce with a silent deafening, the spell threw Brian's body a decent distance away... At the time of the fall, he tried to lean on his right arm, which was why it was broken. Apparently, due to the pain shock, he lost his consciousness. Meanwhile, they let me through to the semifinals.

The next duel was between Lily and Sirius, I was looking forward to this duel very much as I wanted to see the results of numerous trainings very much.

The first attack was made as expected by Sirius, but Lily defended herself brilliantly from these attacks and now she attacked back.

"Reducto!" Sirius shouted.

In the next second, a red spark flew out of his wand, but Lily only dodged without wasting extra magical powers on the shield. But Sirius, seeing that Lily had not erected a shield, sent the next chain of spells.

"Locomotor Wibbly!"

This spell is the curse of wobbly legs. After applying this spell, the victim's legs cannot move, and they have to be dragged. Apparently, he wanted to get rid of Lily's mobility in this way.

"Waddiwasi!" in response, Lily gave out, who fell under the curse of wobbly legs.

This is a spell with which you can remove a soft mass from a surface or hole and direct it towards a target or victim. The mass that Lily controlled were the fragments of the arena that originated from Sirius's spells.

Sirius, who started dodging the fragments, did not have time for the girl's next lunge.

"Oscausi!"

This spell is used to remove something. If it is applied to the mouth, it will look as if it was not there, and the area where it was will be covered with skin. Sirius, having received a similar spell in his face, can be said that he has already lost... Since he had not been properly trained in non-verbal spells.

"Stupefy!"

The same spell stunned the target, and normally Sirius would have had time to erect a shield or dodge, but because of a well-chosen moment... Lily emerged victorious. Which means my opponent will be Lily Evans.

"Heh... It will be interesting." I muttered, looking at Lily, who looked up at me with her happy green eyes.

"You could have been softer ..." Sirius said already when the three of us were resting after the semi-final.

"You didn't have to strain so much and put the victory in my hands right away." Lily said with a slight shrug.

"You're an ulcer..."

"What did you say?!" it seemed that almost Avada Kedavras were flying from the girl's eyes.

"Nothing..." Sirius came to the world abruptly.

However, after a couple of seconds, he whispered:

"The truth is, redheads are nothing but trouble..."

In response, Lily waved her wand and said:

"Paenitet."

"OH! I'm silent, I'm silent!" Sirius said, clutching his side where the spell hit.

"You did a great job." Smiling, he gave away his thoughts.

Sirius and Lily exchanged glances and just smiled.

A couple of days later, the moment came for which the whole tournament FINAL was started. This year, according to the feelings of the audience, it was more than last year... Which could not please.

"Heh, are you ready?" I asked when all the preparatory moments were over.

Lily smiled and nodded in response.

"Are you ready to lose?"

"Huh, whatever you say."

And a long battle began in which I struck the first blow, starting with the usual disarming spell. I systematically increased the number of spells that came from my wand. However, Lily dodged all this or defended herself with a shield.

"Not bad." taking a short break, I said.

This very break for Lily was a moment that she took advantage of, and I already had to start defending myself. Due to the fact that I'm mostly used to relying on DE, this is the moment when I had to use something else... He brought invaluable help to me.

"You're not bad either... Haaaah.... You can even say that you are monstrously strong..."

"Tell me too..." I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

"Are we finishing up?" The redhead asked me with a slight smile.

"Hahahah, do you think there will be enough performances?"

"Yes."

"In that case, we're done."

And the last act of our duel began... I don't know how this painting could be seen in the rest, but for me, it looked like a dance.

Dancing with sharp attacks from me and from Lily, the intensity of passions... After all, there seemed to be something more important at stake than just winning. Something that was important to me and to her, every move on her part was met with an equally quick and sharp response.

"Are you tired?" Lily asked from the other end of the arena.

"Only after you."

The sweat that was pouring out of me had soaked all my clothes for a long time. And now I realized that although my stamina has improved, I don't seem to be able to manage my body competently.

"It's time to end this." Lily said with a smile.

She obviously enjoyed it, I felt it in the moments of our clashes. After all, in those moments, her green eyes shone from the inside with an incredible emerald color. And the lips stretched themselves into a smile.

"And I would like to enjoy this duel a little longer."

If I could look at myself, I would also see a smile on my face. After all, I also enjoyed this fight.

"Maybe a little later?"

"I'll take you at your word."

After that, the final clash between Lily and me began. Her final spell turned out to be surprisingly disarming. I was surprised because I also used:

"Expelliarmus!"

Two spells collided and a typical tug of war began. And so far I have been steadily pushing.

"Just look at the grace?! What an amazing show are these two showing us?" the voice of the first presenter sounded.

"I agree, such a spectacle is not always shown even by older students. Who do you think will win?"

"Heh, I want to believe that Lily Evans will win."

"Wow! And why?"

"It's just that Adam White has already won this tournament." He replied with a slight smile.

"No matter who wins, everyone now believes that Filius Flitwick can create incredible duelists."

"That's for sure. Most likely, now every parent will want their child to study with Filius."

At that moment, the tug of war came to an end. And I won, but before I sent the spell to Lily, I slightly reduced its power.

"Winner and emerging multiple champion ADAM WHITE!"

After the tournament ended, we returned to Hogwarts where we were greeted even better than during the banquet in honor of the end of the tournament. They came out of the idle rush only by the middle of December.

On this day, another letter arrived from Beatrice, it said that she was able to realize the money well. And as a result, she and I became owners of a number of houses and apartments.

Real estate was one of the most stable things in the Muggle world, it was one of the reasons I bought them. Yes, and besides, I needed a place where I could live and train without any problems. Considering that Beatrice has agreed to take the potion and adopt me, then moving day is just around the corner.

Besides this news, something else happened... We finally found the time to go out to Hogsmeade.

Hogsmeade is a small village located near Hogwarts, the only settlement in the UK where there are absolutely no Muggles. It was founded in the Middle Ages by an Engist from Woodcroft.

Engist's story is very funny because he was forced to leave his native land due to Muggle pressure. Later he settled in Scotland, where he founded the village of Hogsmeade. As they were able to find out later, according to rumors, this man lived in the place where the Three Brooms pub was now located.

The Three Brooms is a pub owned by Madame Rosmerta, a woman with very prominent... with my eyes. In addition to the owner, this pub is also famous for its butterbeer... Which tasted very similar to typical milkshakes from my past. Adults were served Fiery Whiskey, Currant Rum, and Mead. The drink Mountain Water was less popular among teenagers.

On the central Upper street of Hogsmeade, there is a Sweet Kingdom confectionery, several funny souvenir shops, a Pizarro stationery store, an owl post office, and several beer bars.

The Sweet Kingdom fully justified its name... We stayed there for a long time.

"Adam, look, look!" Lily said, pointing to the shelves full of various kinds of sweets.

All kinds of magical sweets were sold in this place: Bertie Botts every-flavor beans, Volatile Fizz, chocolate, ice cream, etc.

The whole shelf is occupied by "funny treats": chewing gum "Drubbles" you can blow huge blue bubbles out of it, which then fly around the room for several days, mint floss for brushing teeth, pepper devils in bags with the inscription "Breathe fire!", "Ice mice", "Mint toads", fragile sugar feathers, and caramel bombs."

All these goodies were still within the scope of normality, but there were also very controversial things here... Tastes like Chewing Snot? Or Sweets with the Taste of Rotten Socks? Such sweets were stored on a separate shelf with the inscription "Tastes are not disputed."

The store was a two-story house with a basement. The owners of the store, husband and wife, live on the second floor of the house. On the ground floor, there was a counter and display cases with sweets. There is a warehouse of goods and confectionery equipment in the basement. At least it seems to me that there are these very equipment in the basements.

Another attraction of Hogsmeade is a Shrieking Shack on the outskirts, but the villagers prefer not to approach it. As we were told, you could often hear the sounds of howling there. It is quite understandable that this is the work of Lupin, or rather Lupin under the light of the moon.

"Well, how do you like Hogsmeade?" I asked, holding the butterbeer in my hands.

Sirius and Lily just shrugged and said:

"Not bad."

"Really?"

"Yeah." They answered me in unison.

"It's a pity Severus couldn't come with us."

"I have to thank Professor Slughorn for that..."