Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 836 207: Natalia Eliminated

"Bang!"

The blonde girl's back slammed hard against the tree trunk, blood spurting out, staining her pale face with streaks of red.

Her vision blurred for a moment, and when she refocused, she saw the gorilla poppet holding a sharp branch, the broken end pointing directly at her heart.

Even more terrifyingly, the lizard poppet's cold claws clutched her shoulder, its tail wrapped around the girl's waist, heavy breaths spraying on the back of her head, and from the corner of her eye, she seemed to catch sight of a row of grim fangs.

The gorilla poppet looked down at her from above, emitting a low voice, "Surrender?"

It bent down slightly, looking at her as it asked, "Or shall we injure you severely before you surrender?"

Natalia managed a bitter smile through the blood, her fingers groping with difficulty among the fallen leaves until she finally felt the coolness of the magic wand.

The gorilla watched her coldly without stopping her action, but the lizard's claws sank deeper into her shoulder.

The girl had no doubt that if she now tried to resist, in the instant her muscles tensed, those claws would likely tear her arm off first.

The violence and horror of these two creatures were most evident in the shattered trees around her.

She closed her eyes slightly, holding back the urge to cry, using her last bit of strength to point the magic wand to the sky.

"Whoosh——"

A brilliant red spark shot up into the sky, bursting through the gaps in the leaves, exploding high above.

The gorilla released the branch, the lizard withdrew its claws; they retreated a few steps in harmony and turned to disappear into the shadows of the trees as if they had never appeared.

The next second, Professor McGonagall descended from the sky on a broom, looking at the scarred Natalia with an expression of both heartache and complexity: "You were brave enough, child."

Natalia smiled weakly, trying to say something, but coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Professor McGonagall waved her magic wand, gently lifting her using the Levicorpus spell: "Madam Pomfrey has prepared Dittany Essence and a Healing Potion, hang in there."

The broom ascended slowly and steadily into the sky, the dense trees below forming a dark green ocean, rustling like waves in the breeze.

Natalia barely opened her eyes, just catching sight of a Thestral spreading its enormous, bat-like wings, gliding gracefully over the forest sea, its pupil-less white eyes glancing at her from afar, conveying silent compassion.

The broom accelerated, the whistling wind brushing against the girl's bloodstained cheeks. In the moment her consciousness began to blur, a thought suddenly crossed her mind: Where was Vid in the Forbidden Forest at this moment?

This thought brought a self-mocking curve to her lips, but she held no resentment for defeat, nor jealousy towards Vid.

She had never naively believed that just because of the rapport between them, Vid should go easy on her in the arena.

From the moment she threw her name into the Goblet of Fire, Natalia was prepared for everything: to fight to the top, or to be defeated.

After witnessing the level of the other champions, she had actually been somewhat aware.

Just... how regretful!

She hadn't yet been able to confront Vid Gray honorably in direct combat, and had already been eliminated by his creation...

This was still a makeshift semi-finished product Vid had hastily concocted for the competition. One wonders how astonishing a poppet he had truly poured his heart into creating would be?

The bright lights of the Quidditch Pitch drew ever closer in her vision, and Natalia exhaled softly, letting darkness consume her consciousness.

...

Clementine ran frantically towards the depths of the dense forest, not daring to look back or stop, desperately running, her lungs burning with pain, the only sound in her ears being her thunderous heartbeat.

The sound of Natalia shouting spells and the roars of the monsters were left far behind, until they disappeared completely. Clementine stumbled, her foot slipping into a mud pit, causing her to fall uncontrollably.

"Ah!"

She cried out, the magic wand flying out of her hand.

The sound of footsteps approached, and Clementine watched as a hand picked up her magic wand, causing her to close her eyes in despair.

Soon after, the tall grass around her was pushed aside, and a friendly voice came from above: "Human girl? One of the champions in this competition?"

Clementine looked up in fear to see a young centaur bending over to look at her, his silver-white mane seemingly glowing, his light blue eyes filled with pity.

And the centaur looked at this thoroughly disheveled girl lying in the grass, her face filled with terror, bits of grass and dead leaves tangled in her honey-colored curly hair, still with some baby fat on her cheeks.

He frowned slightly, "You're not of age?"

Clementine trembled, saying, "Y-yes."

The centaur said with disgust, "Savage humans indeed, letting a child participate in such cruel battles."

He reached out to her, his strong arms pulling her up from the ground, saying, "My kind does not participate in human competitions, but I can escort you a little way—come with me."

"Thank you... what's your name?" Clementine asked softly, then quickly added, "Right, I'm called..."

"No need to say."

The centaur interrupted her, looking ahead as he calmly said, "You don't need to know my name, and I don't want to know yours, as names are the beginnings of ties, but we are destined to walk on different paths."

Clementine stood in place, watching the centaur take several steps before quickly following.

Centaurs hold a subtle and unique status in the Forbidden Forest, and most magical creatures won't easily provoke them. Led by this blue-eyed centaur, Clementine safely traversed a complex section of the forest.

Compared to her previous dramatic ordeal, this step of tranquility nearly moved her to tears.

"I can only bring you this far."

The centaur stopped, lifting his arm to point to the two split paths ahead, divided by the glow of the sunset:

"Keep walking left and you'll see the thing you're all competing for, but if you follow the right trail, you'll safely leave the forest."

Clementine clutched her magic wand, her face showing a hint of determination: "I haven't completely lost yet, so I won't flee!"

The centaur turned his head, silently watching the girl for a moment, his mane gently swaying in the wind.

He suddenly said, "Tonight the Mars is bright, aligned with Scorpio."

"What do you mean?" Clementine asked in confusion.

But the centaur simply gave her a deep look, then lifted his foreleg lightly tapping the ground, striding directly into the depths of the forest.

Clementine stood at the crossroads, suddenly feeling a fear that made her shudder. She took a deep breath, gripping her magic wand even tighter, and without hesitation, stepped onto the left path.