Just then, Harry and Draco heard someone whisper:
"Professor McGonagall is coming!"
The two turned their heads and saw Professor McGonagall striding swiftly from the Hogwarts castle toward them.
Draco leaned close to Harry's ear and murmured, "Tonight, I'll be waiting for you. I hope you won't disappoint me."
Moments later, Professor McGonagall arrived and took Harry Potter away.
It turned out that Professor McGonagall had witnessed Harry's spectacular midair save of Neville's Remembrall from her office window. She promptly led Harry to meet Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and Harry became the youngest Seeker in Gryffindor history.
When Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room, he shared Draco's challenge for a wizard's duel with Ron and Hermione.
Hearing this, Hermione exclaimed, "Are you both mad? If a professor or Filch catches you, you'll be in serious trouble!"
But Ron, standing beside her, countered, "Since Harry has already accepted Draco's challenge, he has to go. A wizard's duel is sacred—anyone who tarnishes its honor would be looked down upon by every wizard!"
Seeing Ron's conviction, Hermione pouted and sighed, "If you absolutely have to go, then I'm coming with you. I don't want to wake up tomorrow and find Gryffindor has lost a bunch of House points!"
Ron immediately raised his hand eagerly. "Me too! Me too!"
Faced with such enthusiastic friends, Harry could only agree. But soon, the three of them sat in the Gryffindor common room, exchanging puzzled glances, until Harry finally asked:
"Do any of you actually know how a duel works?"
Silence fell over them.
After a long pause, Hermione added, "Harry, do you even know what spell to use in a duel? You can't possibly use Lumos or Wingardium Leviosa, can you?"
Harry and Ron exchanged looks, and the silence deepened.
Meanwhile, although Draco was the one who had initiated the duel, he wasn't entirely confident he could win. Through their time at Hogwarts so far, he had realized that Harry wasn't as extraordinary as the rumors suggested. But the problem was—neither was he! Draco was as much a novice at dueling as Harry.
And then there was the undeniable fact: Harry Potter had a record of surviving an encounter with the Dark Lord. Of course, Draco had no way of knowing that this had nothing to do with Harry's own abilities. For a fleeting moment, he even considered backing out of the duel altogether.
After much deliberation, Draco finally made up his mind—he would seek help from Wentworth!
When Wentworth heard Draco's request, he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "A duel with Harry Potter? Shouldn't you just call it off and tell Filch instead?"
Wentworth's words echoed what Draco had done in the original timeline.
Draco hesitated, stunned, before muttering, "You think I should give up? But reporting to Filch—wouldn't that be a bit too much?"
Seeing Draco deep in thought, Wentworth quickly realized something—this timeline was different. Here, Draco and Harry were actually friends, and the one responsible for all these changes... was himself!
Clearing his throat, Wentworth quickly backtracked. "Of course, that would be over the line! I was joking—were you really going to do that? This is a wizard's duel, a sacred tradition! Would you bring disgrace upon the Malfoy family name?"
Draco's face flushed red with shame. "No! Of course not! I would never do that! I just... I just don't know how to duel."
Wentworth waved it off. "That's no problem! That's what I'm here for—I'll teach you!"
He led Draco to the Room of Requirement.
Draco's eyes widened in astonishment as the mysterious door appeared before them. "Merlin's beard, there's a room like this at Hogwarts?"
Wentworth smirked. "Hogwarts is full of secrets. Even by the time you graduate, you won't have discovered them all. Tonight, this room will be your dueling ground."
He motioned for Draco to draw his wand. Once Draco complied, Wentworth grinned and said, "Now, let me teach you the rules of wizard dueling—and the most essential spell: the Disarming Charm. The incantation is 'Expelliarmus.'"
Back in the Gryffindor common room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in prolonged silence before Harry finally stood up.
"Sitting here won't do us any good. I'm going to find Wentworth. If he could lead Hufflepuff to victory over Slytherin in a dueling match last term, I'm sure he can help me beat Draco."
Saying this, Harry turned and headed for the door. Ron and Hermione exchanged glances before quickly following.
However, when they arrived outside the Hufflepuff common room, Cedric Diggory informed them that Wentworth had already been taken by Draco.
The three of them stood frozen in shock. Ron groaned, "That's it. We're done for. If Draco has Wentworth's help, Harry doesn't stand a chance!"
But Hermione's eyes suddenly lit up. "Not necessarily! Draco may have Wentworth, but if we can find someone even stronger, someone who's an even better teacher, Harry might still win!"
Harry's eyes brightened at the idea, but Ron looked skeptical. "That means finding an older student. My brothers are at Hogwarts, but after hearing about what Wentworth has done, I really don't think any of them are better than him."
Hermione, however, grabbed Harry's arm and started running. "Who said we need to find a student? If there's anyone who can ensure Harry wins, aside from Headmaster Dumbledore, it has to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"
Realization dawned on Harry and Ron.
As the trio sprinted through the castle, they attracted curious glances from their fellow students. But they had no time to care about that now. What they failed to notice, however, was a pair of cold, unreadable eyes watching them from the shadows.
Moments later, breathless, they arrived at Professor Quirrell's office door.
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