The first few minutes of the duel were nothing more than a flurry of exchange of spells between the two. Most of these were simple jinxes, hexes and disarmament charms and they were nothing truly dangerous.
During this time, Antonio maintained a defensive stance. Only a few attacking spells left his wand; he either countered the incoming spells or dodged them or swatted them away. To the eyes of an average wizard or witch, it may have seemed that Bellatrix was dominating the duel, pushing Antonio onto the back foot, making it appear as if he could not keep up.
But Bellatrix knew the truth. Despite her apparent upper hand, she had not been able to truly pressurise Antonio, not even once. He was neutralizing her spells with calm and effortless precision. Whether by dodging, countering, or simply swatting her magical spells away, Antonio handled every attack with textbook perfection.
"Time to take this up a level," Bellatrix muttered, and a powerful cutting curse flew from her wand. This was her strongest spell so far in the duel and it was brimming with magic.
Antonio did not flinch.
"Why not?" He agreed coolly, taking a single step toward her.
A spell shot from his wand but not in the direction of Bellatrix, but at a medium-sized rock boulder near her.
At the same time, Bellatrix's cutting curse closed in which had been aimed at his right shoulder. Antonio moved like water and with just a slight tilt of his body, the curse missed him entirely.
Even as he dodged, he cast another spell at the boulder.
The first spell had been a transfiguration charm. It turned the boulder into a four feet long spear.
The second, which had followed immediately after the first, was an advanced levitation charm. The spear hovered for a split second, then it was launched toward Bellatrix with lethal speed.
Narrowing her eyes, Bellatrix countered. A Bombarda spell burst from her wand, colliding with the spear midair as it was reduced to dust.
"Trying to kill me?" she almost snapped. She was irritated- not because of the dangerous move that Antonio had made. But because of her inability to push him back.
When she had asked for a duel which could satisfy her, defeat had not been on her mind.
Antonio chuckled in response.
"Miss Black," he said smoothly, "a simple attack like that would not be enough to harm you… let alone kill you."
"You would not be Bellatrix Black if that move posed even the slightest threat to you."
Bellatrix smirked in return.
"Don't blame me," she said, her voice rich with amusement. "You're the one who stepped into dangerous territory."
Three spells flew from her wand in rapid succession.
The first, Bombarda Maxima, struck a nearby rock boulder, shattering it into debris.
The second was a wide range transfiguration spell- instantly reshaping the fragments of the debris into razor sharp spearheads.
The third: an advanced levitation charm and more than twenty spearheads whirled through the air, speeding toward Antonio.
Antonio had many options to counter the attack. He chose the simplest.
With a sharp slash of his wand, a large transparent shield materialized in front of him. The spearheads slammed into the barrier one by one, but not a single crack appeared. The enchanted rocks persisted in pressing forward until the magic sustaining them faded, returning them to ordinary stones that clattered harmlessly to the ground.
But Bellatrix wasn't done. While Antonio was occupied fending off the first wave, two more spells left her wand in seamless sequence.
The first struck the ground at Antonio's feet. He in instant knew what the spell was about to do. The solid ground beneath his feet turned to swamp, and his legs began to sink.
He also knew what the second spell would be- it would be a spell to re-harden the earth and trap him in place.
But no matter how fast Bellatrix was- she needed to maintain enough gap between her spells so that Antonio's legs could be properly sunk. If the second spell would be too fast, the ground would reharden, even before Antonio could be trapped. And that was enough for Antonio. Before Bellatrix's second spell could strike the swamp, Antonio fired a spell on the ground.
A stone pillar erupted beneath him, lifting him high above the swamp and out of danger.
From atop the six-foot platform, Antonio offered a smirk, "Nice move."
"You're fast," Bellatrix commented, though irritation flickered across her face. A quick spell from her wand shattered the pillar into dust.
Still, Antonio landed cleanly on the ground, his poise unshaken.
What followed was a stretch of ferocious duelling. Transfiguration, charms, even dark arts—the full spectrum of magical combat was on display. The arena lit up with bursts of magic and the roar of spell fire. No one seemed to gain the upper hand.
But both duellists knew the truth.
It was Antonio who was in control. He maintained the upper hand, dictating the tempo, the rhythm, and the range of the battle.
With every spell deflected or neutralized, Bellatrix's frustration grew. Then Antonio swatted away one of her spells and took two steps forward, narrowing the distance between them.
"Time to end this," he said quietly.
Spell after spell flew from his wand.
They were not dangerous curses or complex transfigurations—just simple jinxes and hexes.
But what set them apart was the speed at which he fired those spells. The barrage was relentless. Bellatrix managed to counter or dodge the first few, but then she felt two sharp stings on her forearms.
She looked down.
Thin, red lines had appeared on both arms. Her sleeves had been sliced open at identical spots.
"You lose, Miss Black," Antonio said calmly, lowering his wand.
But Bellatrix was not listening. Her eyes remained fixed on the twin cuts and the faint trickle of blood.
It was not luck. He had deliberately chosen those spots. Identical cuts, both arms.
If he had wished and had aimed those spells at her heart or throat, she would be dead.
And the realization sent a chill down her spine.
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