Nearby, Alex’s friend, including Arthur, the Weasleys, and the Aurors, watched anxiously. Vanessa, one of the Aurors, was utterly bewildered. “How did we go from trading insults to this?” she muttered.

  “Alex, are you out of your mind?” Arthur excimed, gripping Alex’s shoulder. “They wanted you to lose your cool and challehem! You just walked right into their trap. And you’re fighting ten of them?!”

  “That’s right!” Vanessa interjected, clearly upset. “I should’ve stepped in earlier. This is my fault for not stopping them before it escated.”

  Another Auror chimed in, “Let’s find the Minister or Dumbledore. They o put ao this madness before someos seriously hurt.”

  Alex shook his head, calm and posed. “I appreciate the , but I’m the one who issued the challenge. I won’t back down now. And besides, letting these guys walk away without a lesson? That’s not an option.”

  Vanessa hesitated, her brows furrowed. “Are you sure about this? You’re really going to fight them here?”

  “Yes,” Alex replied, his voice steady. “Minister Bagnold wao put pressure on them, didn’t She? sider this me lighting the fire for her.”

  Vanessa sighed. “You’re either incredibly brave or ridiculously reckless.”

  “That remains to be seen,” Alex said with a smirk. Then, shifting to a anding tone, he added, “Vanessa, please ehe area is secure. This ba hall isly built for dueling. If stray spells go flying, people could get hurt.”

  “Alex, this is madness!” Arthur excimed. “What if you lose? You’ll bee the ughingstock of the entire wizarding world. This isn’t just a fight; it’s your reputation on the line!”

  Alex turo Arthur with an easy smile. “Don’t worry. I won’t fight a battle I’m not certain I win.”

  Snape’s familiar drawl interrupted the versation. “fident, aren’t we?”

  Alex turned his head slightly, a knowing smile on his lips. “Professor Snape, I didn’t see you there.”

  Sepped forward, his expression as unreadable as ever. “You think so highly of yourself. Are yant, or simply delusional?”

  Alex chuckled softly. “her. I just have a bit of a ing habit. I ’t stand filth, so I’ve decided to take the trash out myself.”

  Vivian gasped softly. “Professor Snape, when did you get here?” she asked, startled by his sudden appearance. “Why do you always show up so quietly?”

  Snape smirked, ign her question. “I’ve been watg the show for quite a while now. I must say, the plot is painfully predictable. Your theatrics leave much to be desired.”

  Alex ughed. “Well, you should bme the casting. It’s hard to perform wheors are this uninspired.”

  Arthur, uo tain his frustration, spoke up. “Alex, listen to me. Don’t do this! You’ll be throwing away everything if you lose. These reporters will tear you apart!”

  Serjected smoothly, “You’re w about the wrong people, Arthur. I’d be more ed about the ones Alex is about to face.”

  Alex g Snape, pig up on the subtle challenge in his tone. “Professor, you seem unusually talkative today. How about we make a bet?”

  Snape’s eyes narrowed slightly. “A bet? What do you propose?”

  “Just pce a bet. If I win, you have to tell me a secret,” Alex said with a sly grin.

  “What kind of secret?” Snape asked, his tone sharp as his mind raced.

  “Oh, something simple,” Alex replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. “For instance, how about the ter-curse for Sectumsempra?”

  Snape raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise. He hadn’t expected Alex to know about that spell. After a moment of sideration, he nodded. “Alright, but if I win, you’ll owe me a favor. It could be anything I ask.”

  “Deal,” Alex said fidently, his grin widening.

  Snape's lips curled into a faint smirk. “In that case, I’ll bet on you. And not just winning—I’m expeg a fwless victory.” His voice dropped lower, each word carryi.

  Alex blinked, momentarily stunned. A wry smile crept onto his face. “You’re betting on me? Seriously? I didn’t expect you to sp me with fidence like that, Professor.”

  Snape leaned closer and whispered, “Avery specializes in repelling arification spells. As for Lucius, he’s nothing but a pompous idiot. The others? They’re about as skilled as Yaxley. You should be able to hahem with your abilities.”

  Alex sighed helplessly. “Thanks for the vote of fidence, Professor. I guess gambling really is a dangerous game. I uimated it.”

  Snape allowed himself a small chuckle but quickly masked it with his usual posed demeanor as he stepped away, his robes billowing behind him. Vanessa and the other Aurors, who had been trying to dissuade Alex, exged uneasy gnces befning themselves to the situation. They dispersed to maintain order among the growing crowd.

  Meanwhile, Avery and Lucius gathered their group—eight additional wizards they had mao rope in—and stood in two lines, gring at Alex with disdain.

  Lucius lifted his arrogantly. “Alex, if you’re so eager to throw yourself into trouble, don’t bme us for what happens. If you admit your mistake now and fess that you lied to the Ministry of Magic out of vanity, we might just let you walk away unscathed.”

  Avery sneered. “Don’t bother pying the saint, Lucius. There’s no way our little war hero would stoop to that. If he had that much sense, he’d already be thinking about how to beg Minister Bagnold for mercy after we crush him.”

  Alex didn’t bother eaining their taunts. Instead, he raised his voice, addressing the surrounding crowd. “This duel will tiil one side is uo fight or surrenders. Everyone here, bear witness!”

  Avery and Lucius both responded with an angry, “Fine!”

  Alex nodded coolly, perf the proper dueling salute with a posed elegance. Before turning back to face his oppos, he called out to a group of younger wizards watg from the sidelines. “Watch closely. This is how you handle a one-against-many battle. I’m only showing you this once!”

  The group exged startled looks but nodded hesitantly. “Uh… got it!” Charles mao stammer.

  As Alex turned back, his expression sharpened. He quickly assessed the situation, his mind rag.

  “Ten oppos. They’re standing in two rows—five in the front, five in the back. Some of them look hesitant, likely dragged here by Avery. Their fighting spirit isn’t unified. If I strike fast, I break their formation before they anize. No time to hesitate.”

  Without a word, Alex’s magic surged. A swarm of bck raveed from beh his robes, cirg around him in a tight, chaotic vortex. The birds surrounded him, obsg him from view. “What’s this?” Avery sneered. “You think parlor tricks will save you in a duel? Ridiculous.”

  “Just hurry up and finish this, Avery,” one of the wizards in the bauttered. “Teaming up against a kid is embarrassing enough as it is.”

  Another wizard nodded. “Right. This whole thing is a joke.”

  Several of Avery’s allies clearly weren’t ied in the fight, having only joined out of peer pressure. Still, they relutly drew their wands and prepared to participate.

  Avery, realizing he couldn’t t on them, sneered and barked out his and. “Attack!”