"Dueling is a demonstration of knowledge of spells and their counters, reflexes, certain skills, and tactics. There are strict rules and regulations, and there is an official list of allowed spells. Of course, not a single spell allowed to be used can be considered to be dark. Casting any forbidden spell in an official tournament is grounds for getting disqualified, and if the spell is dangerous enough, banned from competitive duelling altogether. Now, with that out of the way, let's start with a small demonstration between me and the seventh-year current champion."
A seventh year Gryffindor boy with blonde hair slowly walked up the dueling platform. Harry had heard Marcus Flint complain about him. Apparently, the guy was responsible for incapacitating Montague the previous year and causing him not to be ready for Quidditch. Alex Smith was his name, he was related to Zacharias Smith in Harry's year, who according to the stories was probably a descendant of Helga Hufflepuff. Still, the boy was an arrogant ponce, and his elder relative's sneer of disdain as he looked at Harry was not really promising to his character.
Still, personality aside, his skill as a dueler must be impressive since he's the seventh-year champion. The members of the club organize themselves by years since it wouldn't make sense to teach twelve-year-olds and seventeen-year-olds the same things. Their mastery over magic is simply different, and they can incorporate more skill in their duels. There are small tournaments to declare who is the best dueler in each age group and at the end of the semester, the champions for every one fight, declaring who is the best Hogwarts dueler. It mostly ends up being a sixth or seventh year.
Harry knew this because the final duels are available to the public and their results are logged in the library.
And so, to summarize his little inner monologue, Alex Smith was the best dueler in Hogwarts, and he was going against a legitimate duelling champion and charm master.
Both duelers stood at opposing sides of the stage, bowed to each other, and took some stances. Harry had seen them in the duelling book Hermione had gotten him. They served to minimize the target and be ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice.
Smith was the one to start the duel. He cast some kind of purple spell at the Professor who simply batted it away with a flick of his wand. Whatever this spell was it was very aggressive, at least that's what Harry felt using his Arcane Hearing. He didn't have time to analyze it because it travelled far quicker than any other spell he had seen.
Still, the professor retaliated with a standard stunning charm that the seventh year dodged. And they kept at it, sending very quick spells at each other, dodging, countering, and shielding sometimes. They didn't speak a word, nor did they do any elaborate wand movements. Things started to look slightly boring until the professor sent a blasting curse at the student who redirected it to the ground before him. The wooden platform that was hit ended up into shards which the student used to banish the professor.
A gust of intense wind appeared from the tip of the half-goblin's wand and redirected the projectiles towards the student who put up a shield to protect himself. The professor conjured a rope that he animated to discretely slither down the shield, as he peppered the shield with small spells. Finally, the professor cast a powerful shield breaker which momentarily broke the shield and let the rope through. The hidden object tripped the teenager and the professor used this to disarm him and banish him out of the arena.
It was an impressive display of skill by the professor that didn't really look tired. He was holding back massively, but he was somehow able to animate a construct while casting other spells, something that Harry didn't know was even possible. Smith wasn't really that bad. Spell redirection is a very impressive skill, and his use of his surroundings was good, but he simply didn't come close to matching the professor.
The entire classroom clapped at the display of skill and Harry understood why this could be considered to be a joke to Aurors. Yeah, the reflexes are alright, but the common use of shields wasn't something that's commonly seen, especially when unknown spells are being fired. The fact that the spell repertoire was limited, is good for the safety of the duelers, but not really for actual fighting.
The two fighters didn't really move closely towards each other. Duelers are only allowed to move in certain locations, making any kind of close combat absolute. That meant that duelers simply won't know what to do if they were attacked by a dark creature. Yeah, Harry could see why Aurors would laugh at duelers, but he could also see the beauty of the sport.
It was about making the best of what you're allowed to do, and Flitwick showed that. It's about being creative, fast, and strategic. But the way spells were sent around and countered so effortlessly by both sides was simply breathtaking. Using counter curses in the middle of a fight was suicidal, but with a locked repertoire, it wouldn't surprise Harry if people knew a counter for every available spell.
Still, all things considered, Harry was excited to be able to do half this stuff, and from the looks of his fellow club members, he wasn't the only one. The Professor and Smith bowed to each other again and turned towards their spectators.
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