"The shit?"
"Language!" McGonagall had suddenly exclaimed, rising from her seat, wrapping a shawl around herself, and then leaving the room.
Noah had abruptly gulped down the warm tea in front of him and then started following McGonagall. Of course, like the old woman, he too could see who this student was.
Still, McGonagall didn't seem angry; on the contrary... a strange excitement seemed to be upon the old woman.
When the pair reached the flying section at the back of the school, or rather the open garden, McGonagall suddenly shouted:
"Harry Potter!!!"
The faces of the students, filled with joy, and especially Harry's face, suddenly fell, and McGonagall grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him away.
Noah took a deep breath, then couldn't help but mutter "Shit" in front of every student and began to follow McGonagall.
He had only wanted to spend a little time with McGonagall since he had the day free, and perhaps take a duelling lesson, but already everything had taken a turn for the worse.
The young man followed the pair in front of him and soon arrived at the "Defence Against the Dark Arts" classroom on the first floor of the school.
Professor McGonagall looked inside the open classroom door politely and asked, "Professor Quirrell, may I borrow Wood, if possible?" With Quirrell's permission, Oliver Wood, the captain of the Quidditch team, left the classroom.
McGonagall spoke with Wood for a long time, explaining that she planned to recruit Harry as a seeker for the team.
After nearly an hour-long conversation, Noah finally managed to catch McGonagall alone and practically begged the old woman for a duel.
When noon arrived, the pair made their way to the empty Transfiguration classroom.
Upon reaching the area, they could see that many students were waiting in front of the classroom. Those who knew that McGonagall and Noah often duelled, and even some professors on rare occasions, would come to the classroom to watch them.
Already, a group of nearly fifty students had gathered in front of the classroom.
Noah could see George Weasley, Fred Weasley, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger standing among these students.
He took a deep breath and, glaring particularly at George and Fred, followed McGonagall into the Transfiguration classroom.
As the old woman pulled the desks to the sides of the classroom, the students practically climbed onto them and began watching.
Noah took a deep breath and then turned to George, saying, "If you bet against me, I'll kill you."
George curled his lip and turned his head away from the young man.
Noah, meanwhile, refocused on the old woman standing a few metres away and said, "Very well."
The duels between McGonagall and Noah used to be... a little more "traditional", conducted within a framework of respect and based more on learning.
Now, however, Noah had specifically warned the old woman about the real danger of battle, begging her to show almost no mercy once the duel began.
In short, with Noah's next move, the duel would begin instantly.
Noah immediately pulled his wand from inside his robe and suddenly said, "Flipendo!"
Upon doing so, McGonagall instantly deflected and destroyed the attack coming towards her, then pointed her wand at Noah.
The old woman did not utter a single word; only a deep, combined, and dominant fire spell emerged from the tip of her wand.
Noah instantly pulled his wand back and said, "Protego Maxima."
With that, a thick, really thick shield formed around him. McGonagall's attack merged with this shield and caused a wide explosion that would not spread to the students.
Without pausing for even a second, Noah said, 'Stupefy!' and, even as his spell was already advancing, he immediately added, "Expelliarmus."
He didn't stop there and added, "Petrificus Totalus."
The two spells he uttered after Stupefy headed towards McGonagall, but the old woman deflected them as if they were mere children's toys.
Not only that, but the tip of the old woman's wand glowed red, and Noah suddenly found himself unable to move.
"Really? Locomotor Mortis?" Noah muttered, and since he could still move, he pointed his wand at his own legs.
As he did so, the 'knot' in his legs seemed to unravel, and the young man immediately jumped up from where he stood upon seeing another spell coming towards him.
Having dodged the spell, he pointed his wand at the old woman again and said, "Immobulus."
As he did so, the area around McGonagall instantly froze, and even her spell was slightly delayed, giving Noah another chance to move.
At least, that's what Noah thought.
Before the young man could comprehend what else was happening, he found himself flying backwards through the air and crashing abruptly to the ground.
Noah got back up immediately after hitting the ground and heard shouts rising from where the students had gathered to watch them:
"Haha! I told you guys it was going to be the same again!"
"At least it was more than thirty seconds, eh?"
"I genuinely thought he hit his head, bloody hell!"
Amidst the succession of comments, Noah picked up his wand from the ground and put it back in his robe pocket, then looked at Professor McGonagall.
"Fourth-three seconds. Exactly twenty seconds more than the one we made two months ago."
When McGonagall said this, Noah took a deep breath, then smoothed and tied his dishevelled hair.
"Not good enough," said the young man calmly, then turned his head towards the Weasleys' area.
At that moment, he saw George collecting money from a few first-year students and shouted, "GEORGE, I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU!"
The moment he shouted this, George literally jumped up from where he was and ran out of the classroom. Fred, however, calmly set off in pursuit of George.
Noah would have chased George if McGonagall hadn't been there, but he had to show the Professor respect.
When the young man had composed himself, he looked at the area where the students were standing and said, "Those who lost money to George, come to me and tell me how much you bet."
A few students came over, and Noah covered their losses with money from his wizard's purse.
He then walked over to McGonagall and said, "I lost. I wonder what punishment you'll give me this time, Professor."
According to the agreement between Professor Minerva McGonagall and Noah, it was the old woman's job, but if Noah still wanted a duel and the young man lost that duel, the old woman, McGonagall, would have the authority to give him a job.
McGonagall simply smiled at these words and said, "I suppose a week's worth of paperwork is yours for the taking, dear."
Noah was certain his head would ache terribly at that moment.