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Hearing Annabelle's condition, Madam Mantha frowned.
Though Annabelle didn't spell it out, Mantha knew exactly what she was getting at. If they wanted Richie Harland to accept more dueling challenges, they had to grant him access to the Beauxbatons Library.
Naturally, Mantha didn't want Richie to keep fighting just to foster inter-school goodwill. She wanted to use him.
Look at his pedigree: a Hogwarts student personally mentored by Filius Flitwick. Look at his skill: that single exchange was enough for Mantha to gauge that his dueling prowess easily rivaled their third-years.
If Richie kept taking on challengers...
Thanks to Flitwick's lingering reputation, the Beauxbatons students would instinctively view the Hogwarts boy as a target, desperate to "avenge" their defeated professors. And because of his sheer skill, they'd feel an immense, crushing pressure. Losing to him would only force them to train harder.
Richie Harland was the perfect whetstone.
So, if he kept fighting, Beauxbatons might take a minor hit to their pride, but the students' actual combat skills would skyrocket. Besides, even if every student in the third year and below lost to him, it wouldn't be that humiliating. Professor Flitwick had already set the precedent.
Honestly, Mantha was secretly hoping he'd wipe the floor with all of them.
But to make that happen... she had to let him into the Beauxbatons Library?
That wasn't her call to make. Opening the restricted library required authorization from at least two professors. Did she need to track down another faculty member who had stayed behind for the holidays?
While Mantha mentally debated her options, a figure appeared at the entrance of the dueling hall.
Speak of the devil.
"Good morning, Professor Celine."
The sharp-eyed students immediately bowed and called out their greetings.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen."
A young woman with a black bob haircut, wearing a sharp brown trench coat, strode into the room. She approached the trio by the dueling stage, exchanging quick pleasantries with Madam Mantha before turning to Annabelle with deep familiarity.
"Annabelle! I can't believe you didn't come see me first. I've been waiting in my office forever."
"I'm so sorry, Milosan. We ran into a little detour."
Annabelle stepped forward, greeting Milosan Celine with a traditional double-cheek kiss.
"Madam Mantha, care to fill me in on what happened here?" Milosan asked.
Mantha quickly brought her up to speed. It didn't take long for Milosan to piece together Mantha's underlying motive.
She shifted her gaze to Richie and offered her hand. "Hello, Richie. Let's introduce ourselves properly. I'm your..."
"Sister," Annabelle coughed, quickly correcting her.
Milosan seamlessly adjusted. "...I'm your sister's very good friend and former classmate, Milosan Celine. I was actually the one who invited her to visit Beauxbatons for Christmas."
By doing this, Milosan wasn't just introducing herself—she was officially vouching for Annabelle and Richie's presence to Madam Mantha.
Richie nodded, shaking her hand.
So this professor is my aunt's best friend? he thought. Not bad. A professor at a major magical academy is a great connection to have. "Madam Mantha just explained the situation to me," Milosan said smoothly. "Personally, I have absolutely no problem letting Richie browse the Beauxbatons Library. But we can't just hand out access for free..."
She turned to Richie. "How about this? You accept the upcoming dueling challenges. Win or lose, you get access to the library. The length of your access will just depend on how well you perform. What do you say?"
As she spoke, Milosan reached out and ruffled Richie's hair. Her eyes immediately lit up.
Oh, wow. That is incredibly soft! Richie let out a tired sigh and leaned back, dodging her hand.
Why does everyone want to pet me? Is it just because I'm a short eleven-year-old?! Still, checking out the Beauxbatons Library was a genuinely tempting offer. He could finally compare it to Hogwarts' collection. If their archives were better, maybe when he got sick of Hogwarts, he could leverage his aunt's connections to transfer.
The only downside was the incredibly tedious etiquette Beauxbatons enforced. Hogwarts was way more relaxed.
After a moment of thought, Richie firmly nodded. "Deal."
Seeing his agreement, Mantha's stern expression softened. She turned to the Beauxbatons students in the stands, her voice booming across the hall.
"First-years! Who wishes to challenge our guest from Hogwarts, Mr. Richie Harland?"
The students exchanged nervous, deeply uncomfortable looks.
Out of the thirty or so kids in the Star-Wand Dueling Hall, only six of them were first-year girls. There used to be more, but the boys had just dragged Charleston's paralyzed body out of the room.
The six girls glanced at each other, purely hesitating. They had all just watched Charleston get absolutely folded. With casting speed like that, none of them believed they could survive even a single exchange. Stepping up now was basically volunteering for public humiliation.
The hall fell entirely silent. Mantha frowned deeply, her voice taking on a sharp, dangerous edge.
"First-years. Are you telling me no one has the courage to step onto that stage?"
The weight of everyone's stares felt like needles on the six girls' backs. Finally, one of them aggressively pushed forward.
"Amona!" her friend hissed, grabbing her sleeve with a terrified look.
Amona gently patted her friend's hand, pulled away, and marched forward with total resolve.
"Madam Mantha, I am Amona Joyanamundo, first-year. I accept the challenge!"
Seeing someone finally step up, Mantha gave a satisfied nod. "Admirable courage, miss. Take the stage."
Richie blinked, completely bewildered as the girl glared at him with an intense mix of tragic martyrdom and pure rage.
"Alright, Mantha just gave you the green light," Annabelle whispered, suppressing a laugh as she patted his shoulder.
Richie climbed back onto the white stone platform. Since they were skipping the formal challenge phase, they jumped straight into the match.
Mantha stood between them, taking control of the room.
"Duelists, take your marks. Bow to your opponent!"
They raised their wands vertically and offered crisp bows.
"Wands at the ready!"
They leveled their wands, pointing them squarely at each other.
"Even though I am a girl, I expect you to show me no mercy!" Amona declared, staring him down with fierce determination.
Richie just blinked. He still didn't speak a word of French.
"The duel will commence after a countdown of three!" Mantha announced.
"Three... Two..."
"One!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Rapid Transfig—"
With a practiced, effortless flick, Richie sent the Full Body-Bind Curse tearing across the stage.
Amona had clearly been trying to transfigure her silk robes into a weapon. Unfortunately, Richie was simply too fast. Amona froze completely solid, her half-cast Transfiguration spell violently cut off.
Because the spell misfired mid-cast, her silk robes instantly started smoking. The botched Transfiguration had triggered spontaneous combustion!
Realizing what was happening, Professor Celine immediately drew her wand from the sidelines.