A broken Hogwarts

Chapter 171 Hogwarts Student Duel Contest
As soon as Owen returned to the common room, he saw Melet playing Nyx.

Nyx has grown rapidly recently. When the shell was first hatched, his palm-sized body swelled up like inflated air. Now his body is ten inches long, like an elegant and slender little black swan.The appearance, which had become more pleasing to the eye, also entered an embarrassing period again. The fluff covering the whole body began to fall off, and gradually replaced with fine black and shiny feathers. The fluff and feathers alternated, and the appearance of the whole bird became stuttered.

Because of his large size, Nix couldn't stay in Owen's pocket anymore.Since it couldn't fly yet, and Owen didn't want to run around with a free range chicken, it fell to Melet to take care of it.

Nyx was a brat, and Melet thought he was still a kitten, and it was common for the two little guys to get together and fight.Melet often kicked Nyx like a ball, and Nyx was not to be outdone, he flapped his feathered wings, and slapped the cat's face when he saw the opportunity.

Seeing that Owen was back, Melet sprang forward, pinning Nyx's long neck with two front paws, and pressing his head to the floor.Nyx screamed and flapped his wings frantically, and the fluff that fell off flew all over the sky, making the two little wizards next to him sneeze wildly.

"Meow~" Melet raised his face and yelled at Owen aggrievedly, his soft and waxy voice melted people's hearts.

Owen hugged Maolizi in his arms with a smile on his face, pampered her pink and soft pads, and said coaxingly, "Okay, I've wronged you. I brought you new snacks..."

Nyx jumped up even more aggrieved, staring at Owen with his ruby-like eyes full of resentment, and lightly pecked at the corner of his clothes with his shiny black beak.

The one who was beaten was obviously good!This cat bullies it every day because of its two extra legs, and pretends to be pitiful... When it can fly, this stinky cat must be plucked!Pull out one by one!

Owen patted Nyx on the head in a face-saving manner, then coughed lightly and looked away.As a color control guy, he can't see this...

My free-range chicken always seems to be in an embarrassing period of appearance, and it is still a while before it looks good, and it is still a brat who likes to make trouble.Thinking that this guy has to go through this process every time he is reborn from the ashes, he is not ordinary.

But always treat pets equally.Owen switched Melet to his left hand, picked Nyx up with his right hand, and sat back in the armchair.A cat and a bird stared at each other and competed with each other, as if to win first.

Harry hid away from him in a trance. Although Owen emphasized that he didn't see much, he still had a little psychological shadow, and he probably needed to sleep to heal.He accidentally bumped into Draco as if he was sleepwalking, and the two hugged and rolled into a ball, almost giving each other their first kiss.

However, Owen stared blankly at the slightly shaking tapestry above the fireplace, thinking about fooling Peter Pettigrew.He even claimed that he was a member of the Aether Society, and he was not attacked, and no one even came to talk to him... He thought Voldemort would not sit still, so he asked Melet to help him be vigilant for several days.

In carrying out this plan, he took certain risks.It is not impossible for Peter Pettigrew to attack him, and he may even set a trap for him with Voldemort, and torture the information of the Aether Society from him.So Owen has been very vigilant when talking to the other party today, and deliberately chose to find him in the classroom after class, so as not to go to his office and get tricked.

Maybe it was because he had already shown that he was not easy to mess with in front of Voldemort, or maybe the other party didn't want to tear his face apart, and there were other calculations. Everything is calm now, but I'm afraid it won't be calm for a few days.

"How would you make a move?" Owen was thinking excitedly, his restless heart beating violently.He began to like this exciting experience of playing chess with you.

Sensing the excitement in Owen's heart, Nyx uttered a clear cry, and the dark flames seemed to be ignited in the bright red eyes, and a desire to destroy everything was growing wantonly...

"Don't make trouble." Owen slapped it on the buttocks, pushing back the malice.

"Chirp!" Nix was aggrieved.Obviously you are full of bad water, why don't you allow me to think about it?
Melet squinted at it, the corners of her mouth parted slightly, as if showing a mocking smile.

So, one cat and one bird fought again, fluff flying all over the sky.

……

In the last week of February, the duel competition that the students had been looking forward to finally came.

On Saturday morning, the students got out of bed early and had breakfast with nervousness and anticipation.The contestants received their numbers from Filch at the entrance of the auditorium, and then crowded onto the Quidditch pitch, filling the high stands.

This is a rare fine weather, the bright sunshine dispelled the chill that had not dissipated in the breeze, and the atmosphere around the stadium was even more lively.

Professor Flitwick, who once won the International Dueling Championship, enthusiastically arranged the venue. He built ten round rings with gorgeous shapes on the spacious lawn of the Quidditch field, and there was a referee's seat next to each ring.Professors of various subjects will act as referees in the competition and protect the lives of the students.

All kinds of signs and banners were erected on the stands, on which were written words of cheer for XX in colorful ink, and the name that appeared most frequently was Harry Potter.Even though he is speculated to be the heir of Slytherin, Harry still has some die-hard fans in various houses.

"You are really popular, Harry." Owen joked with a smile, "It seems that you are a veritable heartthrob."

"Shut up..." Harry's face was flushed red, even his forehead and ears turned red.He held a note in his hand with his number "9" written on it.

Ginny Weasley, in the seat in front, glanced back at him, then turned away, blushing suddenly.Under her arm was a huge wooden sign that said "Harry Potter Must Win" in bright letters, with her name surrounded by pink hearts.

Harry stared at the wooden sign with a dull expression.

"Draco, come on! We must defeat Harry!" Pansy waved a light sign with colorful lights, and turned into a fanatical fan cheering for the idol.She also wore a weird headband with two Draco head-shaped things dangling with her movements.

Draco was feeling a little bad for Harry's high popularity, and when he saw Pansy's appearance, he was so ashamed that he tapped his toes, and instantly jumped up and rushed towards the little witch.After finally removing the headband from Pansy's head, he looked at Harry with a hint of sympathy.

"Oh, Draco, you are a spoiler." Blaise shook his head and took out three more same headbands from the package he was carrying, and distributed them to Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle.Then he pulled out a Harry Potter head version of the headband, which sparked a frenzy.

"Brace, I'm going to kill you!" Draco and Harry jumped up in unison.Blaise grinned defiantly at them, threw out a headband and ran away.

"It's... such a wonderful idea, thanks to him coming up with it." Daphne held a headband of Harry's head, rolled her beautiful blue eyes, and put it on Owen's head.

"You look good like this." She said with a suppressed smile, a blush appeared on her fair cheeks.

"Really? I think so too." Owen blinked and joked.He straightened the headband on his head, combed his hair in order, and listened to Dumbledore standing up and announcing the rules of the game.

The loud voice resounded throughout the arena, covering the noise of the students. Excited faces were shaking in the stands, and the referees on the arena were already in their positions.

"This competition will be held by grade, and the first grade competition will be held first..." Dumbledore's steady voice echoed in everyone's ears, "The rules of the competition are two-two battles, and the chief referee, Professor McGonagall, will draw lots. Decide your opponent, please keep your numbers in mind..."

His voice suddenly became harsh, and the little wizards with hippie smiles couldn't help but stop: "It should be noted that it is forbidden to harm the opponent's life in a duel. Our referees will take precautions to ensure that the duelists are safe during the match. There will be no danger to life, but it is not 100% safe..."

"Then, if anyone repents, please go to Professor McGonagall to cancel the registration." His sharp eyes swept over every disturbed face.

The stands fell silent, and the students showed expressions of reluctance to admit defeat.At this age, they are just full of vigor, and when they are not afraid of anything, who would be scared to run away?

Dumbledore was satisfied to see the high spirited attitude of the students, relaxed his tone, and said humorously: "Finally, please don't forget the dueling etiquette of wizards."

"Then, I announce that the Hogwarts student duel contest is now beginning!" He raised his hands high, his voice rumbled.

Cheers and screams rushed to the sky, startling the birds in the Forbidden Forest in the distance.

Dumbledore sat back in his seat, and Professor McGonagall, who was standing beside him, stepped forward, placed a red box marked "one" on the table in front, and waved his wand at it.

The box trembled violently for a while, and two notes shot up from the top hole of the box, and exploded into two red fireworks in the air, condensing into the shapes of "3" and "12" respectively.

Immediately after, more notes spewed out in pairs, and fireworks exploded one after another in the clear blue sky.

When the lottery was over, Professor McGonagall took a piece of parchment and called out the names one by one, and Hagrid led the contestants to their respective rings.

Soon, the duel match began bluffing.

The competition in the first grade is hard to describe.Many contestants haven't even mastered "all petrochemicals". Some even stand on the ring and shoot at each other without any lethal sparks. It's like playing fairy sticks face to face. After standing awkwardly for a long time, the referee blackfaced Get off stage.

When the two sides of the match usually have friction with each other, the duel process often develops into a physical confrontation.The two young first-year wizards threw away their wands, punched and kicked each other passionately, pulled their hair and spat, and entangled and rolled around in the ring until the referee came to separate them.

Well, it's actually quite interesting.At least Owen watched it with relish, and Melet and Nyx also had a great time watching it with wide-eyed eyes.

There were laughter and boos in the stands one after another, and the professors stretched their faces one after another, determined to train this group of embarrassing students well after the game.The one who was in the worst mood was Dumbledore. He watched the farce on the field expressionlessly, and a low pressure lingered all over his body. It wasn't until Professor McGonagall looked over suspiciously that he instantly recovered his usual kindness.

After the preliminary round of the first grade, it was finally the turn of the second grade.Owen watched with a smile on his little friends nervously followed Hagrid into the field and waited, watching the game continue in full swing.

There is no suspense in the second-year competition.Most of the young wizards did a little better than first year, but not by much.

Both sides of the duel often stand and wave their wands, casting spells at their opponents boringly until one of them is hit as the end.The spells used were nothing more than "Tarantella Dance", "Grin Hula", "Incisor Matching Stick" and the like, and they copied what Dumbledore taught Defense Against the Dark Arts last year as a substitute.

These spells can be solved only by the referees chanting "Curse Standing", so Madam Pomfrey who is waiting on the edge of the arena has no use for her. The few who need her treatment are only the first graders who were bitten by their opponents two or three people.

Fortunately, the members of the study group did not meet together, and everyone won without any suspense.Weekly gatherings are no waste of time.

Harry beat Hufflepuff's Ernie MacMillan.Facing this guy who was so eager to spread rumors that he was the heir, Harry acted with some personal emotions and used a tormenting curse, making the other party tap dance crazily while laughing so hard that he almost convulsed.

Draco beat a Ravenclaw girl lightly, Daphne sent Gryffindor's Dean Thomas out of the ring, Neville Longbottom beat a Hufflepuff, Pansy fought West Oddor Knott struggled for a while before winning.

The competition continued, and as the grades of the contestants got higher and higher, the duel gradually became interesting.The spells used by the contestants began to vary, and even dangerous spells appeared, which caused bursts of exclamation and cheers from the stands from time to time.

The referees also cheered up, holding their wands tightly in their hands, ready to save people at any time.

But the accident still existed. A fifth-grade student blocked everyone's sight with the Cloud and Mist Curse, beat his opponent limply as if he had no bones, and was annoyed by the professor and took him away.The most dangerous one was when someone cast the "Bone Crushing" spell on the opponent's head, but fortunately, it was blocked by the Iron Armor Curse released by the professor in time.

It has to be said that the students are often reckless after their eyes are red, and they dare to release any spells, so they can only rely on the referees to keep a close eye on them.

In this way, the level of the referees is also highlighted.The deans of the colleges are naturally capable, no student has ever been seriously injured in their ring, "Lockhart" is also conscientious, the professors of several elective courses and Ms. wrong place.

Only Professor Trelawney in the divination class was startled, his eyes magnified by the glasses rolled around, and he looked more flustered than the students on the ring, and the spells he released frequently missed, making everyone who was assigned Everyone in her ring was trembling.

Dumbledore stared at her from the stands, thinking seriously about how such a person got into the teaching staff at Hogwarts.

The duel competition was carried out in an orderly manner, and it was not until the intermission that the students hurried back to the auditorium for lunch.

(End of this chapter)