"Gesture casting?"
Snape was shocked.
He didn't expect Ivan to master the technique of non-verbal casting with gestures.
How old is he?
Boom!!
Before Snape could think further, a loud noise from behind interrupted his thoughts.
Snape didn't know what had just happened behind him. Now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
Disapparate!
With a sharp crack, Snape's figure vanished.
The flying debris from the boulder missed, and Snape reappeared in an open space not far away.
"What did you do?"
Snape's face turned serious. He glanced back at where he had been standing and saw that the area, once full of bushes, had turned into a mess of rubble.
"???"
"You..."
Snape stared at the spot in shock and then back at Ivan with horror in his eyes. "Your Disarming Spell..."
What kind of exaggerated destructive power is this?
'This kid! Are you sure that what you just cast was a Disarming Spell and not a Blasting Curse?'
Even if it was a Blasting Curse, isn't that power a bit too much?!
"Professor."
Ivan remained calm, raising his wand lightly. "I think it's better for you to experience it for yourself."
Boom!
With those words, another red Disarming Spell shot toward Snape.
This time, Snape didn't dodge. Instead, he cast his own Disarming Spell.
Bang!
In an instant, two red beams collided mid-air, the dazzling light and the clash of magic sending sparks flying.
"This!"
Snape's pupils shrank slightly. Almost the moment the spells collided, he felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Heavy, surging, and unstoppable!
'How is this kid's magic so strong?'
The power of magic wasn't just in its destructive force, but in something more—like a fundamental shift in quality.
In a duel like this, the magic of both participants connects through their spells, and it becomes a pure contest of magical strength.
And now, in this duel...
'The professor... is being overpowered by Ivan?!'
Hermione's eyes widened, trembling slightly.
In her sight, the night was lit by the red light of their spells clashing.
What was even more astonishing was that the point of collision, which should've stayed between the two duelers, was now shifting rapidly toward Snape!
'Is this Ivan's strength?'
Hermione couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
She knew Ivan was powerful, but this powerful?
'Damn it!'
Snape finally understood what Dumbledore meant by "it's hard to judge the outcome."
'This kid is a freak! How can he have such strong magic at his age?'
Huffing slightly, Snape quickly severed the magical connection between them.
With a wave of his wand, the trees around them seemed to spring to life.
The branches twisted wildly, and the roots surged up from the ground.
"What is this?"
Hermione had never seen such magic before, but she quickly tried to analyze it. "Is this... Transfiguration? Can Transfiguration really be this advanced?"
"Never underestimate our Hogwarts professors, Miss Granger."
Dumbledore, not using the Elder Wand, casually created a circular barrier around himself and Hermione, unaffected by the chaotic forest in front of them.
"Amazing Transfiguration!"
Ivan couldn't help but admire Snape's skill.
He had always thought Professor McGonagall was the undisputed master of Transfiguration at Hogwarts.
But Snape wasn't weak either.
Though there was still some distance between him and McGonagall, Snape's abilities were impressive, showing the qualities of a master in his own right.
"Incendio!"
Ivan knew he couldn't match Snape in Transfiguration, so he opted for a different approach.
He pointed his wand forward, and a torrent of flames erupted out of thin air, quickly spreading like a wildfire.
Endless flames surrounded Ivan, as if they had a life of their own, burning through all the roots and vines that tried to close in on him.
'Foolish!'
Snape silently criticized Ivan's approach.
His roots and vines were still trees at their core, only altered in form. Using fire to burn them would only lead to Ivan being trapped in the flames himself.
Experience gap?
Ivan furrowed his brow slightly as smoke began to swirl around him. He quickly realized the flaw in using fire against trees.
"Foolish mistake..."
Ivan's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll learn from this."
Every failure is a learning experience. And every fight earns wisdom!
"Fiendfyre!"
With a sharp wave of his wand, the raging flames spread out in all directions, forming a ring of fire in the shape of a massive fist.
In the middle of the scorched battlefield, Ivan and Snape stood facing each other.
"This spell..."
Snape's expression twitched in disbelief.
He felt like his entire understanding of the magical world was being shaken by this young wizard. "You can actually use this spell?"
"How is this even possible?"
Snape knew how difficult "Fiendfyre" was, not because it was an overly complex spell, but because it demanded an enormous amount of magical power.
If Snape's magical power were to be quantified, it would be at the peak of 3 points, bordering on 4. The 4-point mark is a significant threshold in magical attributes.
To break through 4 points, unless you're part of a rare bloodline, like the Dumbledores with their phoenix ancestry, you'd have to rely on something like magical transformation.
But magical transformation is incredibly dangerous.
It's no exaggeration to say that wizards attempting it are risking death.
In terms of talent alone, Snape is no less gifted than Voldemort was at his age.
The key difference is Voldemort's daring.
He underwent magical transformations multiple times, splitting his soul through Horcruxes, sacrificing his sanity for more magical power, ultimately breaking through into the realm of a great wizard.
But, considering their ages—Snape is still young.
He's only 32 years old!
Given another 40 years, it's possible Snape could reach Voldemort's heights.
And don't forget, Snape's specialty is potions, and the critical step in magical transformation is crafting the right potion.
"Since the day we decided to duel, I've been working on a spell."
"I haven't managed to cast it perfectly till now, but Professor, now's not the time for reflection," Ivan said calmly.
He raised his wand to the sky and drew an arc.
The flames surged but seemed to take on life.
Under Ivan's command, they transformed into a colossal firebird, tens of meters tall, soaring with a fierce energy.
The spell Vulcan Opening the Way isn't just about pushing flames aside.
As a spell that requires 4 points of magical power, Vulcan Opening the Way allows the caster to fully control any flame, except Fiendfyre.
But, if the Fiendfyre is cast by the same wizard, Vulcan Opening the Way can even help manage it, making the dangerous fire easier to control.
"This is Ivan's power..."
Hermione gazed at the firebird formed by Ivan's summoned flames, her body trembling slightly.
Excitement, awe, and happiness washed over her. But more than that, there was a deep sense of witnessing something legendary.
'Is my friend really this strong?'
At that moment, Hermione's admiration for Ivan peaked. He was the only person she could focus on.
"Huff, Professor, show your true power," Ivan said calmly.
"Otherwise…" His silver eyes glinted faintly as he waved his wand, causing the ground beneath them to rumble.
The earth and rocks, previously disturbed by the tree roots, began to gather, and within moments, a towering stone giant, seven or eight meters tall, stood in front of Ivan.
"You'll get hurt."
As soon as Ivan finished speaking, the stone giant raised its fist, crashing down toward Snape with the force of a falling sky and collapsing earth.
Pah!
Snape activated Apparition again, narrowly escaping the stone giant's attack with a grim expression.
'What's wrong with this kid?'
There was no doubt that the stone giant was a product of Transfiguration.
Although it was somewhat crude, it was certainly more impressive than just levitating stones or bricks.
The beauty of Transfiguration is that it has no fixed limit. The form it takes depends on the caster's magical power.
But the issue here was the sheer size of that stone giant…
'How strong is his magic power?
Is this kid really a little wizard?'
Snape had already sensed something unusual when Ivan cast Fiendfire and Vulcan Opening the Way, but seeing him casually create a three-story stone giant was enough to make Snape feel like his understanding of magic was being shattered.
"Waste of magic," Snape muttered disdainfully, though even Hermione could detect a note of bitterness in his tone.
Before Hermione could say anything in response, the stone giant standing before Ivan was suddenly sliced cleanly in half.
Swoosh! Thud!
Through the flickering flames, she could clearly see the smoothness of the cut.
"Huh?" Ivan frowned slightly. What just happened?
Danger!
A sudden sense of danger jolted Ivan, and he instinctively shifted to the side.
However, though Ivan dodged, the old tree behind him was also split cleanly in half.
"What happened?" Hermione's eyes widened, utterly confused. She had no idea what had just occurred.
Why had the stone giant been sliced in two? Why had the tree behind Ivan been similarly cleaved?
Ivan: 'Could it be... Sectumsempra?'
This strange scene reminded Ivan of the dark magic created by Snape when he was a student, mentioned in the original series. The spell was invisible, had no form, but was devastatingly sharp.
What powerful dark magic.
Ivan couldn't help but marvel at Snape's genius again. Unlike himself, Snape had created such magic through sheer talent and intellect without a "Golden Finger" system or any external aids.
"You dodged?" Snape's surprise was evident.
Just moments ago, his intent had been to sever Ivan's hand.
Sectumsempra had a counter-curse, so even if Ivan's hand had been cut off, it could be reattached without much trouble. Still, it wasn't a spell for the faint of heart.
'If this kid can't even handle a little pain, then there's nothing more to say,'
Snape thought to himself.
"It seems I've earned your acknowledgment, Professor," Ivan said calmly.
Ivan: "How could I not be honored when you use such dangerous dark magic on me, Professor?"
"Are you scared?" Snape sneered.
Ivan smiled. "On the contrary, I'm quite pleased. Because this shows you no longer see me as some little wizard who needs to be handled with care. Now, you see me as a wizard of equal standing."
"Equal standing?" Snape let out a harsh laugh, feeling mocked. A mere student, no matter how talented—what does that amount to? He would teach Ivan a lesson.
No matter how gifted you are, you're still just a boy in his eyes!
"The magic you just used is indeed dangerous," Ivan noted, carefully observing the magic aura around him. The greatest advantage of Sectumsempra—its invisibility—was nullified by his ability to see the magical signatures.
He could predict its trajectory and dodge the lethal cuts.
"Time to take proper precautions," Ivan murmured.
The ground shook once more, but this time, even the trees surrounding them, along with their underground roots, began to churn and rise as if the earth itself had come alive.
Ga La La~~
The sound of rocks shifting filled the air.
The stone giant, which had been sliced in half by Snape, rapidly reassembled itself, while even more stone giants and treelike creatures began to rise from the ground.
They were towering and imposing, closing in on Snape from all sides.
"What in Merlin's beard..." Snape muttered, suddenly regretting the duel.
'What kind of absurd magical ability is this?'
At a glance, there were at least five giant constructs, all fully formed and menacing.
For Snape, controlling just two of these would be challenging.
But Ivan?
Five of them, and it didn't even seem like he was close to his limit.
"Well, I think this should do for now," Ivan said, waving his hand as all five giants lunged toward Snape. "After all, you're a professor, so it's only fair I even the odds—five against one. Don't hold it against me."
_______
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