Chapter 358: Grindelwald Returns

On the dueling platform, the shockwaves from the two spells' aftereffects pushed back the watching students.

As soon as the spells clashed, Harry felt intense pressure.

John had said that Draco had become stronger.

He didn't pay it any mind.

Now actually facing him, he realized John was right.

Before Harry could adjust his stance, Draco suddenly flicked his wand.

He directly countered Harry's spell, flinging the two colliding spells aside.

Harry was also thrown back three steps by the magical impact, still unsteady.

"Swift Imprisonment!"

Draco's spell shot out like a silver serpent.

Harry's pupils contracted; having no time to steady himself, he hastily raised his wand: "Armor Protection!"

The silver serpent struck the transparent shield, exploding in a blinding ring of white light.

"Thunderclap Explosion!" Draco's assault did not let up.

As soon as he cast, Professor Snape also acted in time, a protective shield enveloping both of them to prevent magical spillover from harming the onlookers.

With a boom.

The violent explosion engulfed Harry's figure.

Fortunately, Harry's Iron Armor Spell held firm, only cracking from the blast.

"Blazing Flames!"

Protected by his Iron Armor Spell and Professor Snape's shield, Harry unleashed a full-power Flame Spell without worrying about harming innocents.

Instantly, like a fire dragon's breath, blazing flames surged straight at Draco's face.

But Draco neither dodged nor avoided, swinging his wand.

A hotter wall of fire rose up, blocking Harry's flames.

As Draco's wand turned, the fire wall writhed like a living thing, consuming Harry's flames entirely.

Harry's heart sank; this was Fiendfyre, and it seemed completely under Draco's control.

He had never seen anyone able to tame such fierce fire so thoroughly.

Even Voldemort merely relied on raw magical power to force control.

Seeing his attack completely consumed, Harry swung his wand again.

"Divine Edge Unseen!"

As the spell left his wand, Professor Snape, acting as referee, narrowed his eyes and looked at Harry.

Although he had demonstrated Divine Edge Unseen before Harry, he had only taught it to John; could John have passed it on privately?

However, Harry failed to notice Professor Snape's oddity; the tip of his wand already burst forth an invisible blade of energy.

That wall of fire was instantly torn open a gap; even with Draco commanding the Fiendfyre, he could not close it.

Draco frowned slightly, then simply dispelled the fire wall.

"Flying Sand and Rolling Stones!"

Instantly, countless pebbles howled like a downpour toward Harry's face.

Harry directly bore the impact with his Iron Armor Spell; the pebbles' force was insufficient to pierce it, and his vision was instantly completely obscured.

He knew Draco was preparing his next move, so he swung his wand again.

"Multitudinous Obstacles!"

A stone wall burst up from the ground, lying between Harry and the flying sand.

The stone wall had barely risen when a bolt of lightning struck it.

Harry's prediction was correct.

But he underestimated the power of Draco's spell.

The lightning instantly split the entire stone wall into charred fragments; the electricity snaked forth, directly coating the surface of Harry's Iron Armor Spell.

The Iron Armor Spell's surface crackled, blue arcs wildly dancing, ready to shatter at any moment.

Harry leapt back three steps, hastily waving his wand: "Armor Protection!"

He reinforced the Iron Armor Spell again.

But Draco poured his magical power directly in; the fine lightning instantly surged into a thunder pool, completely engulfing Harry.

Even protected by the Iron Armor Spell, Harry still felt waves of numbness.

Even the protective barrier Professor Snape had lowered trembled violently.

Harry gritted his teeth in the blinding light, slowly retreating to the platform's edge.

Seeing he was about to lose, Harry steeled himself.

He gave up maintaining the Iron Armor Spell.

Relying on the residual protection of the Iron Armor Spell, he swung his wand.

"Thunderclap Explosion!"

A spark suddenly exploded beneath Draco's feet; the blast instantly engulfed his figure.

But Harry's Iron Armor Spell was completely pierced; the lightning hurled him outward, slamming him hard onto the ground.

In contrast, Draco, swallowed by the explosion, retreated several steps from the smoke, utterly scorched, yet still stood firm on the platform.

Witnessing this, Professor Snape rarely nodded in satisfaction.

"Draco Malfoy wins."

Instantly, even the Slytherin students who had bullied Draco couldn't help but applaud and cheer for him.

Because regardless of Draco's stance, this match, in the eyes of the students, represented the showdown between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin won.

Ron and the others hurried forward to check on Harry's condition.

Harry, with their support, barely managed to sit up, and the lightning burned his hair so that it stood on end.

Draco ignored the Slytherin cheers and slowly walked to the edge of the platform.

"The students taught by Dumbledore are nothing special, Bo Te; next time you see me, remember to keep your head down and behave."

Hearing Draco's mockery, Harry and the others looked up.

Ron beside them immediately shouted in dissatisfaction: "What's so great about you? You're also a student of Dumbledore!"

Draco glanced at Ron, the corner of his mouth slightly lifting.

He was just worrying about not having a suitable reason to bring up.

"No, I am not a student of Dumbledore."

Draco raised his proud head and turned his gaze to the people below the stage.

"I am a student of Gai Le Te Ge Lin De Wo!"

Hearing this, everyone was stunned.

Because without exception, none of them knew who Grindelwald was.

Seeing this, Draco was not surprised either, after all Grindelwald was already a legendary figure from half a century ago.

"Lord Grindelwald, who personally rewrote the century-old order of the entire European wizarding world, is the wizard in history closest to the Death God."

"Voldemort is merely a clumsy imitator, ruling through violence, and not even half as great as Lord Grindelwald!"

The audience suddenly fell silent, because Draco dared to openly disparage the Dark Lord, which is tantamount to defecating on Voldemort's head.

At the same time, they were shocked by the Grindelwald he mentioned who had changed the European order.

"Lord Grindelwald's glory once shone upon me; it was Lord Grindelwald who pulled me from the abyss, Lord Grindelwald who nurtured me, enabling me to defeat Harry Potter."

"I have come today to vindicate the Lord!"

"Lord Grindelwald has returned!"

"Bo Te, defeating you is the first step of Lord Grindelwald's revenge!"

"The students of Dumbledore, that's all!"

"Dumbledore is not necessarily the greatest wizard; Lord Grindelwald is!"

Everyone witnessed Draco, like a fervent follower, proclaiming the greatness of Grindelwald.

What happened in this classroom spread throughout the school within half a day.

Even the entire British Wizarding World.

News of Grindelwald's appearance also immediately attracted the high attention of the International Confederation of Wizards.

A few months ago, the news of Grindelwald's escape and disappearance had once made them panic.

But considering that Grindelwald's momentum had already waned, it was estimated that it wouldn't stir up much trouble, and for the sake of social stability, they chose to conduct a low-key investigation, while also reminding Dumbledore.

As a result, just a few months later, Grindelwald's name resurfaced prominently in Britain.

Moreover, he made a comeback in the name of revenge.

So they decisively contacted Dumbledore, who was also in Britain, the only wizard who had ever defeated Grindelwald.