Capítulo 18: Chapter 18: The Harvest
"You... you... this…"
Scarman's behavior left Argus utterly confused.
Dude, you're a head of year!
Can't you at least have some dignity?
Don't make yourself look like a lackey!
"Brother, let's make a deal, okay? There are so many people watching, at least let me lose with some grace."
"If you agree, I'll give you a big gift afterward!"
"It's something I've treasured for years!"
Scarman's voice was low and pleading, so only the two of them could hear it.
Argus hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
After all, a win is a win, no matter how you get it.
If he could go easy and still gain a reward, why not?
"Both sides ready!"
"The duel begins!"
The two bowed to each other and took their positions on opposite sides of the battlefield.
"Stupefy!"
"Levicorpus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Protego!"
Spells flew wildly, vibrant beams of light eliciting gasps of amazement from the little wizards.
The magical spectacle, the mysterious incantations—this was exactly the kind of duel they had come to see!
While the younger students and most of the older ones couldn't tell what was really going on, the heads of years and Snape saw through it immediately.
With just one glance, they knew these two were merely putting on a show.
They weren't fighting seriously at all!
"Scarman, don't you have any pride as a head of year?" shouted Prefect Carrow. "Playing around like this with a first-year!"
Despite the scolding, a sense of dread crept into his heart.
The seventh-year head of year had gone home for the holidays and couldn't participate.
If Argus couldn't fight a seventh-year next, wouldn't that mean his next challenge would be me?
No way, absolutely not!
If I really get taken down by a first-year, I'll be the laughingstock of all of Hogwarts!
"Argus Grindelwald, you truly are this year's most outstanding first-year. I concede!"
After exchanging spells for a few minutes, Scarman was disarmed by a spell, then graciously bowed and admitted his defeat.
Argus calmly put away his wand, his gaze shifting back to the lineup of heads of years.
This made Carrow break out in a cold sweat.
He's coming for me! He's coming for me!
Just as Prefect Carrow was desperately searching for an excuse to refuse the duel, Snape suddenly spoke up.
"Mr. Grindelwald!"
"If you don't want your classmates to be slumped over their desks like slugs tomorrow, unable to get up, you should pay attention to the time."
Argus glanced at the clock in the common room and realized the hands were about to meet. It was already past eleven, nearing midnight.
Many of the younger students were already yawning widely.
Argus didn't want to give up, but since Snape had already spoken, continuing would only make it seem like he was hungry for attention.
People might think he cared more about his own glory than the Slytherin House!
This would be detrimental to his future plans.
"My apologies, Professor Snape."
"Sorry everyone for making you wait so long," Argus said, bowing deeply in apology.
"No worries, no worries, the head position battles are always like this."
"The head competition for today is officially over!"
"Everyone, return to your dormitories in an orderly fashion!" Carrow quickly stepped forward and announced the end of the event, clearly afraid Argus might change his mind.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It looked like his position as prefect was safe for now!
Thank goodness for the head of the house, or he'd have been in big trouble today!
A sixth-year dueling a first-year—no matter the outcome, the story would be humiliating if it got out.
As the crowd dispersed, many students continued to discuss Argus's battle.
For these youngsters, both Argus's strength and his graceful manner during the duel made him an instant idol.
Many bold older female students were already openly giving Argus flirtatious looks.
But despite the attention from the enthusiastic girls, Argus didn't dare react.
It wasn't that the older girls weren't attractive.
It was an inherent fear of a sentence longer than three years, with the maximum being death!
"Argus, come with me."
"I'll take you to the private dormitory for the first-year head."
Prefect Carrow's sudden appearance helped ease Argus's awkwardness.
Following him, Argus arrived at his new private dormitory.
The environment was much better than Argus had imagined.
"From now on, this will be your personal room. All the duties for this year will be handed over to you."
"Of course, I would advise you to set up some protective spells at the entrance, so you're not disturbed by trivial matters while studying."
"I understand, thank you, Carrow."
After a few simple reminders, Prefect Carrow returned to his own dormitory, leaving the large room with only Argus inside.
"Finally, I can check how many achievement points I've accumulated!"
He opened the system, seeing that after defeating the fourth-year head, he had earned another 400 points.
His total was now 1,500!
"System, start the lottery!"
A bunch of card packs appeared in mid-air, and he selected a few that looked appealing and started opening them one by one.
Accompanied by a dazzling... blue sky and white clouds.
Only one streak of purple light as a guarantee.
Argus's heart sank to the bottom.
"It seems that no matter the lottery, it's never easy to get a gold."
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Obstacle Jinx (Level 2), Lumos (Level 1), Exploding Charm (Level 2), Bone-Breaking Curse (Level 3), Cushioning Charm (Level 2), Shield Charm (Level 3), Obliviate (Level 2), Healing Charm (Level 3), Sandstorm Charm (Level 3)]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Expelliarmus (Level 5)]
[Current remaining achievement points: 500]
[Detecting that the host has mastered some spells. Do you want to merge them?]
"Merge!"
The familiar sensation of insertion flooded his brain, and the system delivered a notification.
[Host's talent is exceptional, achieving super-magical level comprehension.]
[Obstacle Jinx (Level 3), Cushioning Charm (Level 3), Shield Charm (Level 4), Expelliarmus (Level 6)]
"Expelliarmus and Shield Charm have leveled up."
"It's like I got two purples in one go, and Expelliarmus almost turned gold."
"Not bad."
The pool had granted Argus many spells, but since their levels were lower than his current ones, even though they could be converted into experience, it was difficult to level them up all at once.
"While my luck is still good, let's do another ten draws!"
He opened another pack, and again, it was just blue skies and white clouds.
However, one of the packs emitted an eerie green glow.
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Scourgify (Level 2), Aguamenti (Level 1), Protego (Level 2), Strength-Sapping Hex (Level 3)]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Killing Curse (Level 3)]
[Current remaining achievement points: 0]
[Detecting that the host has mastered some spells. Do you want to merge them?]
"Merge!"
Once the fusion was complete, only Aguamenti and Scourgify had leveled up by one rank.
But Argus wasn't disappointed since these two spells were mainly for everyday use.
Their impact on his combat strength wasn't significant.
At least it was better than nothing!
"The green glow was from the Killing Curse... It seems like the three Unforgivable Curses in the pool all have this eerie green light."
"Luckily, it's only a lower-level one. Otherwise, I would have been in real trouble."
Regarding dark magic, Argus had discussed it in depth with Vinda and Grindelwald.
He learned that as long as one remains clear-headed while gradually studying dark magic, the impact on oneself isn't as severe as many imagine.
The tricky part is that it's difficult to always stay clear-headed. Or rather, when you're delving deep into dark magic, you can't constantly monitor your own state.
Moreover, you can't be sure whether the dark magic you're researching aligns with your current abilities.
That's why many people seem to change after studying dark magic—that's the real reason.
"It's getting late; time to sleep. I have to wake up early for class tomorrow."
"Who would've thought that even after all this, I still can't escape the fate of attending school?"
Argus had just changed into his pajamas and was about to sleep when a faint noise came from the door.
"Argus? Are you awake?"
"Senior Scarman?"
Argus suddenly remembered that Scarman had mentioned bringing him a big gift.
Opening the door, Scarman stood there, winking mischievously as he shoved a thin book into Argus's hands.
"Brother, this is my most cherished treasure!"
A cherished treasure? Some secret magic?
Argus skeptically flipped open a page, and the shocking image that met his eyes made them widen in disbelief!
"This... This is!"
"Shh! Keep it down!"
Scarman quickly covered Argus' mouth, the grin on his face growing more and more lewd.
"So, what do you think? Pretty nice, huh? Let me tell you, I've had friends begging me for this for ages, but I never gave it to them!"
"Now, we're even, okay? Hope you're still able to get out of bed tomorrow!"
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