Chapter 15: Aerial Duel

The standoff in the air continued.

Malfoy stared cruelly at the three opposite him; today's events replayed constantly in his mind, and new grievances mixed with old hatreds surged into his heart. Crabbe and Goyle's sturdy bodies gave him a great sense of security; a thrill of impending revenge filled him, and he felt his body tremble slightly from excitement—a sensation so sweet.

Although Allen had recovered some strength, he still felt unwell; without solid muscles to cushion the impact, he sensed the shock had not yet subsided, and his bones still throbbed faintly. He tasted rust in his mouth, and upon savoring it carefully, detected a slight sweetness. Allen knew somewhere in his mouth was bleeding, but he dared not let Harry and Ron notice, so he swallowed hard.

"Come down quickly!" Hermione shouted urgently from the ground. "Madam Hooch said we shouldn't move around recklessly; you're causing us trouble!"

But these words did not touch the six boys in the sky at all. Although Ron lacked confidence, he still did not wish to retreat in such a situation.

Their gazes intertwined in the air, as if about to spark.

"Hand it over now!" Harry shouted again. "Don't think having Crabbe and Goyle can protect you!"

Malfoy and his two companions seemed to perceive Allen's weakness and Ron's lack of confidence, so they paid even less attention to Harry's words, their arrogance growing ever more blatant.

Malfoy licked his lips, proudly and contemptuously hooking his middle finger at Harry's trio. "Come on! Don't just talk big!"

Harry glanced back at Allen and Ron; their three gazes met, and Ron and Allen gave Harry a determined look.

Allen had never wanted to commit to something so firmly as he did now. Perhaps it was because Dumbledore's guidance earlier had cleared his thoughts; perhaps the feeling of flying freely in the sky had swept away the shadows in his heart; or perhaps he had suppressed his feelings for too long.

Allen's mind was now free of distractions and incredibly calm. He knew he must crush Malfoy's arrogant spirit this time; otherwise, Malfoy would establish a psychological advantage over him, and he would never be able to hold his head up at Hogwarts again.

"Don't worry about me, Harry. You fly the best; you take the lead in attacking Malfoy. This kid looks arrogant on the surface but is a bully at heart who fears the strong. Threaten him substantively a few times, and he'll crumble! Ron and I will act as your wingmen to draw off Crabbe and Goyle," Allen whispered, laying out the battle plan for Harry and Ron.

Ron looked completely bewildered. "What's a wingman?"

"It means assisting Harry," Allen explained helplessly. Then, recalling some aerial combat documentaries he had seen before, he added regardless of their usefulness:

"Our bodies aren't advantageous, but we're much more agile than them. Maintain altitude, dive to attack. If the attack fails, hit and run, regain altitude, and look for another opportunity. If successful, lock onto their tails and keep firing! If someone locks onto your tail, perform large-scale maneuvers to shake them off!"

This speech left the two utterly confused; although they understood the meaning, it somehow sounded extremely strange.

The two quickly nodded in agreement, indicating they had grasped Allen's profound instructions.

At that moment, Crabbe and Goyle charged toward the trio with sinister grins. The mid-air collision earlier had made them realize their physical advantage, giving them absolute confidence in victory.

"You handle Goyle!" Allen instructed Ron one last time.

Then all three simultaneously pulled up their broom handles and began climbing.

Crabbe and Goyle foolishly followed them, but since they started at a lower altitude than Allen's group and their bodies were heavy, they fell further and further behind.

By now, Allen's trio had finally spiraled up to sufficient height, roughly equal to the Gryffindor Tower, while Malfoy, still level with a large tree, directed his two henchmen to pursue Allen's group,

meanwhile loudly mocking their cowardice and avoidance of battle.

At this moment, Allen looked around: he saw the magnificent and majestic Hogwarts Castle; he saw the shimmering Heihu; he saw the curling smoke rising from Hogsmeade Village; in the distance lay verdant mountains, dense forests, and the infinitely beautiful sunset...

The sunset made Allen squint. At this moment, he felt his heart expand immensely; he felt his heart pumping blood vigorously throughout his body; he felt every cell in his body cheering and leaping. He locked onto Malfoy's position below and shouted:

"Ace pilot requesting engagement!"

Then he led the charge, diving down like an arrow, with Harry and Ron following closely behind.

Malfoy finally realized the trio's intention, but it was too late. Lacking both altitude and speed, he could only watch helplessly as the three rapidly approached him while he struggled to evade.

Malfoy's evasive maneuvers were somewhat effective; none of Harry's trio collided with him. However, their goal was never to crash into him—colliding at such high speeds would cripple both parties!

Their objective was to close in on Malfoy quickly and create a local situation of many against few.

The strategy succeeded; the trio instantly widened the gap between themselves and Crabbe and Goyle, approaching Malfoy with lightning speed.

Now, they had ample time to besiege and attack Malfoy.

Due to inertia, both Harry and Ron shot past Malfoy.

But Allen, thinking quickly, spread his wings early to decelerate. The gusts generated by his wings made Malfoy lose control of his broom. Seizing the opportunity, Allen turned his broom around, locked tightly onto Malfoy's tail, grabbed Malfoy's robes, and prevented him from accelerating to escape.

By then, Harry and Ron had also turned their brooms and caught up with Malfoy. Ron flew above Malfoy to prevent him from gaining altitude to escape, while Harry and Allen flanked him on left and right. Each freed one hand to continuously punch Malfoy, beating him until he cried out in pain.

Allen listened carefully and noticed that the phrase shouted most often was "My father."

Good times are always brief. Crabbe and Goyle soon approached the fray, forcing the trio to release Malfoy and climb again to seek the next attack opportunity.

Young wizards on the ground kept screaming; everyone was stunned by this spectacular aerial duel. Only Hermione shouted anxiously; Allen noticed her voice had become hoarse.

But afterward, Malfoy learned his lesson and did not let his two henchmen stray too far from him. Harry's trio circled everywhere but could not find a good attack opportunity.

Time ticked by second by second.

Finally, Malfoy was the first to break. The arrogance and ferocity in his eyes vanished, leaving only weakness and grievance. He raised the Remembrall high in his hand.

"Here, see if you can catch it!" he shouted, hurling the glass ball high into the air. "That's enough for today! I'm letting you go!" Then he rapidly descended to the ground.

Harry saw the glass ball rise into the sky as if in slow motion, then begin to fall. He leaned forward, pointing his broom downward—in the blink of an eye, he accelerated into a dive, chasing the ball. Wind roared in his ears, mixed with the screams of the spectators below. He reached out and caught the ball just one foot above the ground.

He straightened his broom handle in time, then gently collapsed onto the grass, the Remembrall firmly clutched in his palm.

Harry excitedly raised the Remembrall in his hand, turning to show his victory to his friends, but instead heard a cry of terror from the young wizards.

He looked up toward the sunset and saw a youth with huge white wings riding a broom, charging toward the setting sun. The broom's tail seemed incomplete, constantly shedding branches...

The broom appeared uncontrollable by the youth, accelerating continuously toward the sunset. The youth desperately spread his wings to decelerate, but to no avail.

Everyone watched as the youth flew higher and farther, becoming a small black dot that disappeared into the afterglow of the sunset, like a sun-chasing great bird melting into the dusk.

The following scene made everyone's hearts leap into their throats: that black dot fell from the sunset, falling continuously... Along with it fell the disintegrating broom...

Everyone clearly saw the youth struggling desperately to flap his wings to maintain balance;

Everyone hoped for a miracle to occur!

But reality was cruel. The cold wind at high altitude continuously battered the youth's body, causing him to tumble repeatedly in the air. The golden sunset shone upon the youth's pure white wings, casting a tragic hue over him...

The youth still could not maintain balance!

Everyone could feel the youth's desperate desire to survive, yet he continued to accelerate downward...

Many young wizards could not bear to watch any longer and painfully closed their eyes.

In the end, no miracle occurred; the black dot simply crashed into the distant Forbidden Forest...

... disappearing from everyone's sight...

"Bang!" The Remembrall fell from Harry's hand onto the grass.

Harry's heart plummeted along with it...