The mini death eaters group had formed a semicircle as they stood chatting on the lawn. The two Black sisters, Andromeda and Narcissa had taken the responsibility to see off the guests, while Bellatrix was simply standing with Antonio and the rest of the group.
Almost half of the guests had departed when Rodolphus came staggering. His arrival did not garner much attention, but when he arrived and stood in front of the small group, specifically facing Antonio, the focus shifted to him.
"Lord Olario," he said with a smile. This was the most civil he had been with Antonio the entire evening.
"I wonder if you may provide me an opportunity to cross wands with you," he said in a polite tone. "From the moment you said that you try to keep a low profile, I have been really curious if that is really keeping a low profile or simply a pretense to hide your mediocrity."
The moments these words were uttered, the atmosphere surrounding the lawn suddenly shifted. The air seemed to turn thick and heavy and a tension hung in the air as the eyes of the most people present there turned towards Bellatrix.
It was Bellatrix who had invited Antonio, and what Rodolphus was doing was blatant disrespect towards him. And by extension, it was a disrespect to Bellatrix. A guest being disrespected in such a manner was a blot, an indication of the inability of the host to provide them with a good behaviour and the required respect.
The guests who were departing and the two Black sisters who were seeing them off also stood rooted to their spots.
Everyone also focused on the words chosen by Rodolphus. He had not asked for a friendly spar or duel. He had asked to cross wands. As if it was some real battle.
This was even more disrespectful considering that Antonio was a lord. His status was higher than Rodolphus.
His tone had also been very aggressive. He had mocked Antonio for what he spoken earlier.
"Lestrange," it was Bellatrix who responded first. Her tone was stern, her face stoic and she was visibly angry. "What do you think you are doing?"
"Maybe I should be the one to cross wands with you?" She pressed as her wand appeared in her hand from her wand holster.
Rodolphus felt a bit nervous. He knew he was no match for Bellatrix, let alone an angry and flared Bellatrix. But he was there to goad Antonio.
"Lord Olario," he chuckled. "Do not tell me that my guess was correct. Now, hiding behind a woman, are you?"
Bellatrix was about to become further enraged, but Antonio stepped forward. Antonio had crossed a line and the fool needed to be taught a lesson.
"No, Lestrange," after all this, he had also let go of all civility. "I am not hiding behind someone. I was just trying to be respectful towards Miss. Black. I am not a wretched person like you that would go all the way to insult their host."
"But you have really forced my hand. Do not blame me for being too responsible."
"You dare mock me?" Rodolphus flared up.
Bellatrix, meanwhile, seeing Antonio stepping forward, did not say a word and gave him a nod. With him personally taking action, Bellatrix was not worried.
Antonio strode past the group and stood facing Rodolphus. The crowd, meanwhile, moved further back to give them the required space for the duel.
As both men stood facing each other, it was Rodolphus who made the first move. A blue coloured spell erupted from his wand as it raced towards Antonio.
Antonio remained impassive, and at the last moment, when it seemed that Antonio did not have a counter for the spell, he raised his forearms, and with a simple twist of his wrist, he swatted away the spell towards one of the tables on the lawn.
The table, after its collision with the spell, melted away showcasing that Rodolphus had used a dangerous spell to attacks. He was clearly not treating it as a friendly spar.
This came as a shock to the witnesses. Not the melting of the table. It should have been a reason for shock but what Antonio did shocked them even more.
The ease and the laziness with which Antonio had swatted the spell screamed only one thing: that Antonio Olario was in a league of his own.
Bellatrix, who was already aware of Antonio's prowess, smirked internally. If her spells had been treated like child's play by Antonio, then what was Rodolphus?
Rodolphus also had enough brains to understand this, and slight nervousness crept in as he felt a chill in his back.
"Rodolphus Lestrange," Antonio's voice boomed across the lawn.
In that very instant, Antonio's entire presence flipped. In a moment, he had transformed from the simple and smiling young man to a man with authority. His presence screamed fear and awe to the spectators. Every person present on the lawn could feel the raging waves of magic bubbling inside Antonio.
"You repeatedly tried to test my patience, and given my nature, I took no offense from it for a very long time," he boomed. "But you took my forgiveness as a weakness and repeatedly tried to challenge me… challenge my esteem and my respect."
"I tolerated you for too long, but you have crossed the line," he added as he waved his wand.
For the first few seconds, nothing happened, but in a moment, four chains made of iron emerged from the ground, and before he could react, two of the chains snapped around Rodolphus legs, while the remaining two chains snapped on to both of his wrists. The next moment, the chains moved back inside the ground, pulling Rodolphus down.
He was smashed onto the ground with a loud thud and was then pinned on the ground, both his hands and legs stretched out, forming an X shape.
"This is your punishment, Rodolphus," Antonio announced and vanished from the location.
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