66 CHAPTER 66 The Dueling Platform

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CHAPTER 66 The Dueling Platform

Elmi defended himself fervently, but In the end, it didn't matter much, and he still got one week of detention as punishment. Considering what he did to them was premeditated, this was nothing as punishment. However, the aftermath of the incident manifested in a notable shift within the Slytherin common room. Whenever Elmi entered, Flint's group would disperse in fear like they were fleeing from a plague.

As for Flint, the physical wounds from Elmi's assault had healed after two days in the infirmary, but the scars ran deeper. Despite appearing outwardly unharmed, he bore the weight of defeat internally. When he came face to face with Elmi, Flint couldn't muster the courage to meet his gaze, a clear sign of the psychological impact the confrontation had on him.

Days passed, and tension hung thick in the air as the time for the duel between Elmi and Flint approached. The Slytherin common room buzzed with anticipation, whispers echoing about the outcome of the clash between the two. Some of the upperclassmen even started bets. Elmi insists that the Prefect be the referee in this duel rather than Snape since Elmi would have less control over things if they asked Snape to act as a referee.

Of course, there was a drawback on this occasion, too, since the Prefect was basically a death eater royalty. Marcus Avery the Third was a boy from a known death-eater family. His grandfather was still in Azkaban since he was one of Voldemort's most trusted and ruthless lieutenants, but his father managed to get himself acquitted by claiming the mind control card. Elmi knew he was a death eater since he was one of the death eaters in the cemetery scene in the books.

But Elmi didn't crave a fair judgment, for he was confident in his abilities; Elmi believed he could best a fifth-year if he applied himself earnestly. Flint approached the dueling area with a bowed head, a lingering sign of the previous encounter's repercussions. As Marcus brandished his wand, the platform between them began to ascend into the air. Before Elmi, three levitating stone steps manifested, reminiscent of the dueling platform encountered in the second book's Dueling Club. 

Elmi looked at this sight with marvel in his eyes; he was in love with everything about magic. Marcus Avery, taking on the role of referee, observed the dueling platform where Elmi and Flint stood. 

He couldn't hide the hostility he had in his eyes since he had heard Elmi's declaration about the death eaters, but Marcus couldn't care about those things since it was his last year here, and he had more important things to do than educating an impudent 1st year. 

Almost all 6th and 7th would act like him since this was not the job of the 6th or 7th years. They had to think about their future, and N.E.W.T. was already taking enough of their time and focus. They didn't have any time or energy to do this kind of thing. Without a moment's hesitation, Marcus flung his wand, signaling the commencement of the duel. 

"Begin," Marcus declared with authority, giving the signal for the duel to commence. Flint looked up and saw Elmi's cold eyes; this caused the fear of that day to flood into his heart. Flint couldn't move. He screamed, then started to walk backward. He stumbled and fell down the platform. Everyone started to laugh. Marcus shouted with a stern voice,

"Silence!"

Students stopped laughing, but they were still whispering among themselves. You could see the disgust on the face of upperclassmen. Marcus approached Flint and grabbed him by his collar.

"Stap out of it!"

Flint didn't want to look at anyone's face since he knew how embarrassing it looked, but he also didn't have the heart to face Elmi. Marcus slapped him, "Flint, pull yourself together and act like a pure blood. You are embarrassing not only yourself but your house, too. How are you going to face your father?"

He hated his father, but it was true that he was embarrassing himself and his house. This caused Flint to collect himself a bit, but then those cold eyes came to his mind again. He stood no chance when he had so much physical superiority to him and got beaten. What would he do to him with his magic? Flint always thought himself as ruthless. As he had to be, he was raised to be one but saw real ruthlessness in those eyes. 

He never had the guts to kill someone in school, but that maniac was ready to kill him. He knew it in his bones. Flint could still sense that cold, bone-chilling feeling that washed over him, starting from the nape of his neck and going all the way to his legs. That was death; that day, Elmi was ready to kill him. So, he shook his head and stated,

"I-I don't want to die; I don't want to face him. I am not going to... I-I give u..."

Marcus, this time, punched him and drew blood; he got really close to him and whispered, "You are not only embarrassing yourself but the collective too. How are you going to answer for this embarrassment in front of our seniors when you leave the school grounds at the end of the semester." 

He was talking about the death eaters; he pointed towards Elmi, "That is just an 11-year-old boy, but our seniors are people that killed and tortured others. Who do you think will cause you more pain?"

At that moment, Elmi got involved, too, "I do not accept a withdrawal. He was the one who asked for the duel, and now he wanted to run away with his tail between his legs. You will stand here and face me."

Flint managed to collect himself just enough to stand on the platform again, and he didn't know why he feared the boy this much. Even now, he wanted to run, but he was 100 percent sure a worse fate would await him if he ran away from here. This was unnatural; he gripped his wand tightly and took his position.

Marcus again took his place in the middle and signaled for the start. Flint shouted right away, but his voice was trembling with fear, "Confringo."

Blazing orange flames flew towards Elmi, and with a fling of his wand, Elmi erected a shield, "Noxus Guardium," and shadows encased him in a protective cocoon. This spell was better against elemental attack than Protegus Repellus, and it also made it hard for the enemy to see him. 

The less light in the environment, the more effective the shadows that blocked the enemy's vision and the more powerful the shield was. In the dueling arena, there was good lighting, so it had limited effect in blocking Flint's sight. The force of the spell had caused him to take some steps back, but the shield had done its job and deflected the Confringo towards the side, and it exploded on the shield that was protecting the spectators, accompanied by screams and shouts of excitement.

Elmi didn't wait and counter-attacked right after deflecting the hit, "Aquila Apparitio." An eagle manifested from his wand and dived towards Flint. Flint didn't know any of the spells Elmi was using, and this was causing him to act a bit slower since he had to think about how to act rather than acting with instinct. He flings his wand toward the diving eagle, "Serpensortia."

A serpent manifested from his wand and flew towards the eagle. Both of them clashed in the air, and the snake tried to wrap around the eagle and bite it. Eagle cried in pain as Flint's attention was focused on those things. Elmi sent his next spell to him.

"Oculus Corvi" 

Summoning four small magical crows that attacked Flint's eyes. In fear, he used a shield spell, "Protego." A rippling blue aura appeared in front of Flint, and purplish black crows started to bombard his shield with their kamikaze diving. As they clashed with the shield, they turned into bursts of magical residue. As the third one clashed with the shield, it shattered. 

The fourth crow was attacking Flint's eye since this spell was designed to cause temporary blindness, but at the last second, Flint managed to do a wand deflection, but the magical residue of the spell was too close to his eye, and one of it became a bit blurry. He rubbed his eye while trying to keep the other one on Elmi, but the fear in his heart was growing with every clash.

Elmi knew he could finish this duel with Tenebrae Trepidatio by causing fear of death in Flint since this was the spell that broke him a few days ago. This spell was really overpowered against people with weak will, but he wanted to show his uniqueness and crush him by bombarding him with spells. 

"Animus Absorben"

A purplish line of light burst from Flint and darted towards Elmi, connecting them. As Flint lost his spirit, his magical abilities would weaken temporarily; Elmi would get a little bit of it as he leeched him off. As the seconds passed, Flint would send a spell, and Elmi would deflect and counter him; Flint could feel he was getting weakened, and hopelessness was taking root in his heart.