HP:BSG - Chapter 682: Harry vs. Natalia

Harry walked alone along the dim, shadowy path. The forest was so quiet that only the soft crunch of his footsteps on the damp, decaying leaves could be heard.

Suddenly, he stopped. A strange chill shot up his spine.

He spun around, and the light at the tip of his wand cut through the darkness. For a split second, something flickered between the trees, and the leaves rustled faintly.

“Who’s there?”

Harry called out loudly.

But the only reply was the whisper of the night wind brushing over the treetops and the faint scraping sound of beetle wings.

He tried to recall what he had seen just now… It looked like an owl?

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone — or something — was watching him. That sensation of being observed clung to him like a spider’s thread brushing against the back of his neck.

Taking a deep breath, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a compass. The red needle spun in his palm, then suddenly jerked to a stop, pointing straight toward a dense patch of trees ahead.

He looked around. On both sides of the thicket were narrow trails — paths that looked like they had been trampled out by animals. There were faint hoofprints in the dirt.

After observing for a moment, he chose the path on the left; it was slightly wider, and somehow felt safer.

He walked for about ten minutes. The path was empty the whole way — no enemies, no traps, no obstacles at all.

He glanced down at the compass again, confirming that he was still heading in the right direction.

Though the smooth progress should have been a relief, the eerie calm made him uneasy. Muttering under his breath, he said,

“Why hasn’t anything shown up yet? I should’ve run into something by now, shouldn’t I?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he heard a sound behind him — a strange click-clack noise coming from between the roots of the trees.

Harry froze. His wand snapped toward the sound.

From the shadows, an enormous creature he had never seen before crawled out.

It was as big as a small car, its body was covered in a gray-white, rock-hard shell. Six long, spiny legs supported its massive frame, and sharp spikes jutted from its back. A glossy black stinger curved upward from its tail, spitting faint sparks as it moved. A foul stench, like rotting fish and shellfish, wafted from its body.

Harry’s scalp prickled. He instinctively took a step back.

The creature fixed its gaze on him — and then charged with terrifying speed.

Harry dove into a nearby thicket just in time to avoid being crushed.

“Thud!”

The monster slammed into a young beech tree, snapping its trunk clean in half. It shook its head, then turned and lunged at Harry again.

Harry darted between two large trees where the gap was narrow enough to block its path. Raising his wand, he quickly recalled Sirius’s words—

…

“Harry, remember this,” Sirius leaned back in his old armchair, toying with the miniature Hungarian Horntail Harry had won in the First Task. His familiar mischievous grin played on his lips.

“If you ever face a creature that’s huge — or has natural armor — normal spells might not do much good.”

“For instance, a Stunning Spell might only make them a little dizzy. And things like Shield Charms or Disarming Spells — those’ll just bounce right off tough hides or shells like that.”

“But not every creature has the same strong resistance to magic that dragons do — even dragons have weak points, like their eyes! So sometimes, using a simple, ordinary little spell can have miraculous effects.”

Harry sat up straight, intrigued. “Like what, for example?”

Sirius grinned. “Like this…”

…

“Tarantallegra!” (Dancing Feet Spell)

Harry shouted, and a beam of orange light burst from the tip of his wand, striking one of the creature’s front legs.

In an instant, that massive leg began to twitch and jerk uncontrollably, as if pulled by invisible strings. It kicked, hopped, and flailed wildly — and the charging monster immediately tripped and crashed to the ground, its glossy black eyes blinked in what almost looked like confusion.

Harry didn’t stop. He quickly aimed his wand at a bump on the creature’s head — it looked suspiciously like a pimple.

“Engorgio!”

The grayish lump swelled rapidly, growing larger and larger until, within seconds, it was the size of a basketball — and still expanding.

The monster, which had just managed to heave itself up on its remaining five legs, panicked. It tried to claw at the swelling with its pincers, but its other leg — still dancing wildly from the earlier spell — threw it off balance again. With a loud thud, it crashed back to the ground.

The ridiculous sight made Harry laugh out loud. He relaxed his grip on his wand slightly and started to circle around the fallen creature, intending to move on.

But at that moment, the creature — enraged by its own helplessness — suddenly flared bright red at the tail. Sparks erupted from it like a lit firework.

Harry’s gut twisted. “Oh, no—”

He dove behind a large tree just as the monster’s tail exploded without warning. A deafening blast tore through the forest, and a wave of scorching heat swept out, scattering shards of its shell like shrapnel that clattered violently against the trees.

“Protego!”

Harry shouted. The invisible shield caught most of the impact, but the explosion’s roar still left his ears ringing.

After a long moment, he felt a burning pain in his leg. Looking down, he realized his robes had caught fire. He hurriedly patted out the flames, panting in relief once they were extinguished.

Only then did he notice that the creature lay motionless on the ground — killed by its own explosion.

“What was that thing?” Harry muttered under his breath, baffled. He pulled himself to his feet, poured a small vial of healing potion over the burn on his leg, and, gritting his teeth against the pain, quickly left the area.

He kept checking his compass to stay on course, but the path was full of obstacles, forcing him to change direction repeatedly.

When he turned a corner, a sudden movement ahead made him stop short — a figure appeared. Instinctively, both raised their wands at the same time.

It was Natalia, looking rather disheveled. Her hair was tangled with spider silk as if she had just escaped from a spider’s nest, and her robes were scorched and torn.

Their eyes met for an instant — no greetings, no hesitation.

Natalia struck first. Her spell shot out like lightning.

“Stupefy!”

Harry rolled to the side, and the red light of the spell grazed his shoulder as he moved. He swung his wand quickly and shouted,

“Expelliarmus!”

The girl ducked low and sprinted aside to avoid the spell, then flicked her wand again.

“Petrificus Totalus!”

“Protego!”

The shield rippled like water as the spell struck it. Harry ran as he cast, throwing another spell over his shoulder.

“Expelliarmus!”

Almost at the same moment, the girl shouted,

“Incarcerous!” (binding jinx)

The streaks of light collided midair, bursting into a shower of bright sparks. Harry squinted instinctively but didn’t slow his stride for even a second.

“Impedimenta!”

He slashed his wand forward, and Natalia stumbled, nearly tripping — but she reacted instantly, pushing off the ground with her hand and springing back into the air. As she moved, she whipped her wand toward him and shouted:

“Bombarda!”

The flashes of spellfire crisscrossed through the forest, fierce and dazzling — yet both duelists felt a strange sense of exhilaration.

This was the kind of battle they knew. The kind they’d trained for.

No giant spiders. No exploding monsters. Just pure combat — spells and skill.

Harry rolled aside to dodge her latest blast and was just about to counter when his expression suddenly froze.

A massive shadow had leapt down from the trees — a dark, hulking figure dived straight toward Natalia with crushing force. The girl, focused on predicting Harry’s next attack, hadn’t noticed the danger above her at all.

Harry’s heart lurched. Without a second’s hesitation, he leapt to his feet, raised his wand, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Protego!”

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