Seeing how dangerous the situation was, Harry and the others were extremely nervous. They wanted to warn Ivan to dodge, but before they could say anything, the scarlet beam of light arrived in front of him.
Ivan's expression did not change. He tapped his index finger in the air, and a silvery-white barrier of magic appeared. Red light and flying gravel hit it, causing ripples…
"Spellcast without a staff?!" Marchbanks exclaimed, his eyes wide and his hands on the table.
Flitwick was equally surprised, but corrected him. "It should be no stick, no spell…"
While they were talking, Ivan made another move. He bent his right hand slightly and snapped his fingers. With a crisp sound, the sharp rocks that had yet to hit the ground quickly transformed into sharp short spears that scattered towards the three people in front of him.
From passive defense to attack, a series of actions were completed in just two seconds…
Thompson, who had been annoyed at himself for holding back a moment ago, was alarmed.
Thompson's brain failed to react in time to the dozen or so pikes that were aimed at him. Fortunately, his vast combat experience allowed him to move his body first. When he sensed danger, he nimbly threw himself to the right, rolling several times on the ground before barely managing to dodge…
When he finally managed to get to his feet, he gasped at what he saw—a colleague of his was pinned to the ground by fifteen human-shaped spears, and Ivan, the culprit, was looking in his direction, his right hand's fingers glowing red.
"Protegos ~ (Armor-protection)" Thompson felt his scalp go numb. Without hesitation, he cast an Armor Charm on himself and felt slightly more at ease.
However, the protective charm he had high hopes for did not work, and the scarlet beam penetrated it almost instantly, hitting him squarely.
Thompson felt as if he had been hit by a speeding carriage and was thrown off his feet. His wand fell out of his hand… spinning in midair, it landed in Ivan's hand.
The last Auror tried to save Thompson, but when he tried to cast a spell with his wand, he found himself mute, his tongue and mouth tied in a knot.
Was it the Tongue-Locking Charm?
The Auror immediately realised this, and his face filled with astonishment, as he had not even realised when his opponent had cast the spell!
When Ivan turned to look at him, the Auror immediately put down his wand and raised his hands in surrender. Unlike Ivan, he did not know how to cast spells without a spell, and would only embarrass himself if he resisted.
Seeing that the other party was so tactful, Ivan had no intention of making things difficult for this Auror. He waved his hand to remove the Binding Curse, then looked at the invigilators on the stage and asked.
"Do we have to continue with the second exam, Professor?"
Professor McGonagall was the first to regain her composure. "No, you don't have to. You've passed, Hals!" she said, smiling ruefully at Thompson and the others.
Although she knew that Ivan's strength was extraordinary, she did not expect it to be so exaggerated!
The three elite Aurors were defeated in a single exchange. Even the invigilators could not have done it, let alone the students.
It must be noted that in the original exam plan, Ivan only had to find a way to hold out against the Hitters for a while, break and resist a few charms.
Ivan, however, was unable to keep his cool and decided to give them a taste of their own medicine.
"Impressive. I can't imagine anyone mastering such high-end magical skills at such a young age… You are definitely the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen!" Richard Goshawk exclaimed in admiration as he clapped his hands. He had tried to overestimate Ivan as much as possible, but Ivan had repeatedly shattered his expectations.
Pierce, Marchbanks, and the others had no objections, and Flitwick even dismissed the upcoming Charms test as unnecessary, as Ivan's wandless, non-charm-inducing skills put even Flitwick, a Charms professor, to shame!
Although magic is the embodiment of a wizard's will, traditional wands, charms, and gestures are merely tools to reduce the difficulty of casting spells, and any wizard can theoretically gradually reduce the number of steps required to cast a spell after painstaking training.
For example, these professors basically mastered similar techniques in their respective areas of expertise. They could omit one or two spell-casting steps when necessary, so as to gain the upper hand in battle and suppress the enemy. However, it was almost impossible to cast spells freely without any external help!
Flitwick had the impression that only Headmaster Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort, other than Ivan, were capable of such a feat.
Ivan smiled and ignored the compliments, modestly attributing his "little" achievements to the professors' guidance.
"With the help of Headmaster Dumbledore, of course," said Ivan, adding that he always had to find a good reason for growing so fast, and that Dumbledore's death would cover it up perfectly.
"No wonder," said Richard Goshawk. "But there's no one else to teach you."
The second exam ended without incident, and the rest of the Charms exam was naturally not a problem for Ivan. He pulled out his wand again and demonstrated all the basic Charms in the most standard of poses, and soon received unanimous approval from McGonagall and the others.
Only the final Divination lesson gave Ivan a headache, as Trelawney, the Head Examiner, insisted that he find the so-called harbinger of fate in a polished crystal ball.
Ivan forced himself to stare at the crystal ball for five minutes, lost in thought, unable to see anything but his own reflection. Irritated, he used Legilimency to cheat, giving the answer that Trelawney had hoped for the most, thus saving his O (Outstanding) result.
"Congratulations, Mr. Harls, you have passed all of your N.E.W.T.s. No, it should be called perfect!" After completing several of the tests, Marchbanks announced the results with a smile.
The Great Hall erupted in cheers. Everyone present had witnessed Ivan's superb spell-casting skills, and the way he easily defeated the three Hitters was even more admirable…