Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 832 203: Harry vs Natalia

Harry walked alone on the dark path, surrounded by such silence that he could only hear his own footsteps rustling on the soft, decaying leaves.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, a mysterious chill running down his back.

He turned around abruptly, the light at the tip of his magic wand sweeping toward the dark forest, something seemed to flash between the shadows of the trees, and the leaves rustled noisily.

"Who's there?"

Harry called loudly.

But the only response was the rustling of the night wind sweeping across the treetops, and the subtle noise of beetles rubbing their wings.

He recalled the shadow he had just seen... it looked like an owl?

Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him, the sensation of being observed lingered like spider silk stuck to the back of his neck.

He took a deep breath and pulled out the compass from his pocket. The red needle spun in his palm until it abruptly stopped, pointing straight towards a particularly dense grove.

Harry looked around, there were narrow paths on both sides of the grove, seemingly trodden by some animal, and faint hoofprints could be seen on the ground.

He observed for a moment and chose the path on the left, which was slightly wider and gave a sense of greater safety.

After walking for about ten minutes, the road remained empty, with no enemies or obstacles encountered.

He looked down at the compass to ensure he hadn't veered off course.

Although the smooth journey was good, the ease of it all made Harry a bit uneasy, and he mumbled to himself:

"Why haven't I run into anything? I should've come across something, shouldn't I?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a commotion behind him—the roots seemed to emit a strange "click-clack" sound.

Harry quickly halted, his magic wand pointed sharply in the direction of the sound, and a gigantic creature he had never seen before slowly crawled out of the shadows.

It was as big as a small car, covered with a grayish-white hard shell, six spiked legs supporting its massive body, spikes growing on its back, and its tail featuring a black, glossy stinger that sprayed sparks continuously, emitting a stench reminiscent of rotting fish.

Harry's scalp tingled, and he instinctively took a half-step back.

The creature glared at him and suddenly charged forward with astonishing speed, prompting Harry to leap swiftly into the nearby bushes, narrowly escaping the collision.

"Boom!"

The monster crashed into a small beech tree, even snapping the trunk as thick as a fist. It shook its head, turned, and charged at Harry again.

Harry darted quickly into the narrow gap between two large trees, ensuring he wouldn't be hit by the monster, raising his magic wand as Sirius's words flashed through his mind—

...

"Harry, remember, if you encounter those large creatures or those naturally armored guys, ordinary spells might not work."

Sirius, lounging on the old armchair, fiddling with the Hungarian Horntail model Harry had obtained from the first task, wore a familiar mischievous smile and said:

"For instance, the Stunning Spell might simply daze them, while the Impedimenta Curse or Disarming Spell might bounce off their hard shell or armor."

"However, not every creature is like a Fire Dragon, possessing high Magic Resistance—even the Fire Dragon has a weakness in its eyes! So sometimes, using simple little spells can have a miraculous effect."

Harry sat up with interest and asked, "Like what?"

Sirius grinned: "For example…"

...

"Tarantallegra!"

Harry shouted out, the tip of his wand emitted an orange beam of light, hitting the monster's front leg.

Instantly, the giant beast's front leg started twitching, bouncing, and swinging uncontrollably, as if pulled by invisible strings, causing the charging monster to trip, its pitch-black eyes appearing bewildered.

Harry didn't pause, swiftly aiming his magic wand at a bump on the front of the monster's head, resembling a pimple.

"Engorgio!"

The gray-brown bump rapidly swelled at a visible pace, growing to the size of a basketball within seconds and continued swelling.

The monster that struggled to stand with the aid of the other five legs panicked, clawing at it with front pincers, but the uncooperative front leg caused it to lose balance again, collapsing with a "crash."

This comical scene made Harry burst into laughter; he relaxed his grip on the magic wand, ready to bypass the monster and leave.

At that moment, the creature lying on the ground seemed utterly enraged by its own helplessness, its tail turned dangerously red, sparking like ignited fireworks.

Harry sensed imminent trouble, diving behind a large tree right before the monster's tail exploded unexpectedly, sending a loud blast, hot shock waves scattering carapace fragments, pattering against the tree trunk!

"Iron Armor Protection!"

Harry shouted, the invisible armor deflected the attack, but the blast sound still echoed in his ears.

After a long while, Harry suddenly felt a burning pain in his calf, only to realize his clothes were on fire, painstakingly extinguishing the flames before breathing a sigh of relief.

It was then he noticed the monster lying dead, slain by its own explosion.

"What on earth is this thing?"

Harry muttered to himself, puzzled. He climbed up, poured a small bottle of Healing Potion on his leg burns, and swiftly moved away from the area despite the pain.

He occasionally used the compass to recalibrate his direction but constantly encountered obstacles, forcing him to change course. Turning a corner, a silhouette flashed ahead, both their magic wands pointing at each other.

In front was the slightly disheveled Natalia, her hair tangled with spider silk, as if she had just escaped a spider's nest, her clothes carrying scorch marks.

The two exchanged glances, neither greeting nor probing, Natalia took initiative, her spell striking like lightning:

"Stupefy!"

Harry rolled sideways, the red light grazing his shoulder, swiftly casting his wand: "Expelliarmus!"

The girl dodged the spell while running, her wand flicking again!

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Iron Armor Protection!"

The shield rippled upon impact, and Harry kept casting while running: "Expelliarmus!"

The girl on the other side shouted almost simultaneously: "Speedy Imprisonment!"

The spell beams collided mid-air, bursting into dazzling sparks, making Harry squint instinctively, but his steps didn't falter.

"Impedimenta!"

He waved his wand sharply, catching Natalia off guard, nearly tripping, but she quickly pushed against the ground to leap, simultaneously releasing a beam of light:

"Confringo!"

The spell beams crisscrossed fiercely in the forest, yet the pair felt a sense of delight—

This was the battle style they were familiar with, the model they had trained for!

No colossal spiders, no explosive beasts, purely a duel of spells and technique!

Harry rolled to dodge the spell from the opposite side, ready to counterattack when his eyes suddenly focused—

He saw a gigantic shadow leap from the trees with thunderous momentum, pouncing towards Natalia. The girl, busy anticipating Harry's next assault, failed to notice the danger above.

Harry was shocked, instinctively rising and raising his wand, shouting loudly:

"Iron Armor Protection!"