<h4>Chapter 33: Uncharacteristically</h4>


    Drac crossed his arms and looked at the wand raised by Snape with a yful expression.


    "Are you nning to take me on, Professor Snape?" he asked with a lightugh.


    Snape ignored him and solemnly held his wand upright in front of him, staring intently at Drac.


    The standard pose for initiating a duel.


    Seeing this, Drac also dropped his yful expression and a hint of nostalgia appeared in his eyes.


    "A wizard duel? It''s indeed a long-forgotten formality."


    He then drew out his eerie wooden wand, holding it upright in front of him.


    In the bowing ritual before the duel, Snape was somewhat perfunctory, merely bending slightly at the waist, while Drac was even more casual, just lowering his head before the duel between the Hogwarts professors began.


    "Expelliarmus!"


    Snape was the first to cast his spell.


    A bright red light illuminated the dark Defense Against the Dark Arts ssroom, making Drac''s wine-red eyes look as red as blood.


    Drac lifted his wand and casually deflected the disarming charm to the side, letting it smash the tables and chairs around him into pieces.


    As the red light faded, the ssroom returned to its dim state.


    "Don''t test me, your abilities should be more than this," Drac provocatively said to Snape.


    Snape didn''t respond. Instead, he continuously changed his attack direction, flicking his wand to send one mundane spell after another towards Drac.


    Petrification spells, stunning spells, disarming charms... These basic spells, which hadn''t changed much over the centuries, were constantly shot from the tip of Snape''s wand and were effortlessly deflected by Drac, like a smooth-flowing stream, without any pause.


    Faced with these basic spells, Drac''s expression grew increasingly impatient. In the end, he couldn''t even be bothered to use his wand, simply catching the ordinary spells with his hand.


    "Is that all you know? If your next attack is still so boring, then let''s end this duel."


    Drac raised his wand. Behind him, a dark-colored moon seemed to rise, casting an ethereal glow on his silver hair.


    Next, a crescent-shaped de of light silently shot towards Snape from the moonlight.


    The ssroom was silent, but the crescent''s speed was so fast it was almost impossible to see!


    Instinctively, Snape cast a Shield Charm, cing a transparent barrier in front of him, and pointed his wand forward—


    "Sectumsempra!"


    The next moment, the crescent de collided with the Shield Charm, instantly shattering it. Snape was thrown back along with the barrier, knocking over countless tables before crashing heavily into the back door of the ssroom.


    At the final moment, the hidden ripple Snape had cast flew towards Drac.


    Drac''s eyes shifted slightly, showing a hint of curiosity at this unfamiliar spell. He lifted his hand, trying to catch the invisible ripple in his palm.


    With a heavy thud, the door emitted a muffled sound, and Snape fell to the ground, his face turning extremely pale.


    Meanwhile, Drac''s slender hand reflexively contracted.


    He nced down at his palm—at this moment, a straight, narrow line of bright red blood was clearly visible!


    The bloodline was healing, but unlike the efficient healing speed typical for vampires, it was contracting slowly, like a slowly burning fuse or a water mark gradually evaporating under the sun.


    "An interesting spell, did you create it yourself?" Drac asked, his eyes moving away from his hand with a light smile.


    "None of your concern," Snape said weakly, leaning against the ssroom door with his hand on a wound at his waist.


    Drac was not at all offended. Smiling, he stepped over the wreckage of tables and chairs, walking slowly towards Snape.


    "Professor Snape, I always thought you were the epitome of a Slytherin, not someone impulsive." He reached Snape''s side, crouching down, with a gentle white light glowing in his hand. "In any case, the most beneficial approach for you would not be toe alone to duel with me, especially without knowing my background."


    Snape was about to retort, but then he was astonished to find that the wound on his waist, inflicted by Drac''s crescent de, was healing at an exaggerated speed.


    "I''d say, after your doubts about me, you should have reported to the Headmaster. That would have been more in line with Szar Slytherin''s self-serving style," Drac continued. "But since you came to me in the end, it means Headmaster Dumbledore trusts me and does not agree with your deductions."


    Snape remained silent.


    "So another issue arises. Even if the Headmaster denies your deductions, it''s unlikely you would recklesslye to duel with me. Professor Snape, surely you''re not as idle as I am, looking for some excitement, are you?"


    In a moment, Snape''s wound hadpletely healed. If not for therge tear in his wizard robe, it would have been impossible to tell he had ever had a serious wound on his waist.


    "You''re overthinking it. I''m just trying to regain some face after the embarrassment at the hall entrance," Snape said coldly.


    He swung his sleeve heavily and stood up from the floor, showing no gratitude for Drac''s treatment.


    Drac was half-crouched on the ground and happened to nce up just as Snape was swinging his sleeve. He vaguely saw a tattoo on Snape''s left wrist... it seemed to be a pattern?


    Using his excellent night vision and memory, Drac recognized the tattoo''s design—a grotesque skull with a snake emerging from its mouth like a long tongue.


    ''Is this... the Dark Mark?'' Drac was taken aback.


    He had seen this symbol in the newspapers LeMay collected over the decades.


    Drac then recalled Snape''s recent behavior, which was uncharacteristic of Slytherins, and his expression brightened with realization.


    In the darkness, Snape didn''t notice Drac''s change in expression.


    After standing up, he numbly walked towards the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts ssroom, involuntarily recalling the scene from twenty minutes ago when he was talking with Dumbledore in the Headmaster''s office...