At eight o'clock in the evening, almost all the students in the school had gathered in the Great Hall.
The long dining tables had vanished, and along one wall appeared a gilded stage illuminated by hundreds of floating candles.
The ceiling had once again become velvet-black, and despite the spaciousness of the Great Hall, it seemed rather crowded due to the large number of people who had come to join the club.
Everyone present held their wands, faces bright with excitement.
Hermione was no exception. She gripped Sherlock's hand tightly as she followed him, Harry, and Ron into the chattering crowd.
"I'm really curious—who do you think will be teaching us?"
"Cho told me that Professor Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young. Maybe it'll be him teaching us."
"Harry, Professor Flitwick was indeed a dueling champion, but someone else will be teaching us this time."
"I don't care who it is, as long as it's not—oh bloody hell!"
Ron stared in shock as Gilderoy Lockhart strode confidently onto the stage.
Today he wore a red-colored robe that, combined with his face, made him appear particularly radiant.
"Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me speak? Excellent!"
Lockhart stood in the center of the stage and casted a Sonorus Charm on himself before continuing.
"The fact is, Professor Dumbledore, before leaving the school, granted me permission to start this little Dueling Club.
The purpose is to train you all thoroughly, in case you ever need to defend yourselves, using the methods I have employed countless times to protect myself.
For full details of these methods, see my published works."
"I knew it!" Ron couldn't help but cover his face with his hand, showing a pained expression.
"Quiet!" Seeing Ron's expression, Hermione shot him an annoyed glare.
"Now, allow me to introduce my assistant for this occasion—"
"Looks like Professor Lockhart's assistant should be Professor Flitwick," Harry couldn't help saying to his companions nearby.
Then they heard Lockhart announce: "Professor Snape!"
'Who?'
Everyone present looked in surprise as the black-robed Professor Snape slowly walked onto the stage.
When he stood alongside Professor Lockhart, the contrast made the latter appear even more handsome and radiant.
"Why him?" Harry expressed his confusion.
He wasn't the only one confused—almost everyone was surprised that Snape would do such a thing.
After all, given his personality, he should have no interest in this sort of activity.
"Sherlock, you must be able to see why Professor Snape would do this, right?"
"Obviously," Sherlock looked at Snape, who was pursing his lips. "He wants an opportunity to legitimately teach Lockhart a lesson."
"Good heavens!" After hearing this, Hermione couldn't help but nervously cover her mouth.
Ron, on the other hand, looked pleased, whispering in Harry's ear. "If they both end up badly hurt, wouldn't that be perfect?"
Harry didn't harbor as deep a dislike for Lockhart as Ron did, and could only shrug helplessly in response.
"First, I must extend my highest thanks to Professor Snape!"
Lockhart's gaze swept around, and upon noticing that everyone was looking at him, he immediately broke into a satisfied smile, his eight teeth gleaming.
"Because he told me that he himself knows a thing or two about dueling.
Not only that, but he has generously agreed to assist me with a small demonstration before we begin our lesson proper.
Shall we give him a round of applause?"
Amid enthusiastic applause, Lockhart became even more radiant. "Now then, let me explain the rules of wizard dueling—"
"Professor Lockhart."
Snape suddenly spoke, interrupting Lockhart's words.
"May. We. Please. Begin. Now?"
Snape asked this question almost word by word through gritted teeth.
Clearly, he deeply detested Lockhart's overly long introduction.
Just as Sherlock had deduced, his reason for agreeing to be Lockhart's assistant was to legitimately teach this pretentious fellow a lesson.
"Ha ha, don't be so eager, my dear Professor Snape. I wouldn't want these little ones to worry about you!"
As he spoke, he even winked at Snape.
Snape: (°Ⅲ°)
If not for his concern about maintaining his dignity, Snape would have liked nothing more than to cast a curse directly at Lockhart in that moment.
However, Lockhart remained completely oblivious and continued his teasing.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. After Professor Snape and I finish our demonstration, I'll definitely return your Potions teacher to you completely unharmed!"
The students present began screaming, especially the young witches, showing just how popular Professor Lockhart was.
This made Snape's expression even more grim.
Fortunately, the next moment, Lockhart finally turned toward him.
This way, the two faced each other directly.
Lockhart bowed to Snape with elaborate flourishes of his hands.
Snape merely gave an impatient shake of his head.
"Goodness, Professor Lockhart is such a gentleman, unlike Professor Snape—"
"Exactly! Professor Snape can hardly call that a bow—it barely counts as a nod!"
"Really no manners at all!"
Snape's gaze swept coldly over them, and those young wizards who had been mocking him immediately fell silent as cicadas in winter.
The next moment, he and Lockhart raised their wands like swords to their chests.
"As you can see, we hold our wands in the accepted combative position."
Even at this point, Lockhart hadn't forgotten his commentary duties, speaking to the quiet crowd while assuming his stance.
"On the count of three, we will cast our first spells—of course, neither of us will be aiming to kill."
Meanwhile, Snape was already baring his teeth in a white grin.
Seeing this scene, Sherlock's lips curved slightly upward. This was precisely why he had come to join the Dueling Club.
He was very interested in the true abilities of both Snape and Lockhart.
Following Lockhart's count, he and Snape simultaneously raised their wands high above their shoulders.
Almost the instant Lockhart shouted "Three," Snape bellowed.
"Expelliarmus!"
A dazzling red light shot from the tip of his wand, reaching Lockhart's position in the blink of an eye.
Clearly, Professor Snape understood the principle of striking first.
However, just as the spell was about to hit Lockhart, it seemed to strike something and deflected to one side.
All the young wizards could clearly see that in that instant, a red shield flashed briefly in front of Lockhart.
"Shield Charm!" Neville couldn't help but exclaim.
This scene was all too familiar to him.
Back then, it was only with Hannah's help that he hadn't been hit by Lockhart's Stunning Spell.
Later, when Lockhart cast the Blasting Curse, he had successfully performed this charm under pressure.
However, since then, he had never managed it again.
But now, seeing Lockhart perform it effortlessly, Neville couldn't help but look at him with admiration.
Truly worthy of being the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—once he acted, he was indeed extraordinary.
After Snape's turn, Lockhart wasn't to be outdone, also casting a Disarming Charm.
Accompanied by an "Expelliarmus," Snape relied on agile movement to dodge the spell completely.
At the same time, he counterattacked with his own Disarming Charm.
The two continued their back-and-forth battle.
To everyone's disappointment, the only spell either used was the Disarming Charm.
Lockhart occasionally used defensive spells like the Shield Charm and Protego, while Snape stuck to Expelliarmus from start to finish.
In terms of casting posture alone, Lockhart's was more elegant, as if he were performing rather than dueling.
Even so, the two ultimately fought to a draw.
"Good, everyone saw that!"
After blocking another of Snape's Disarming Charms, Lockhart didn't immediately counterattack but stopped to address the others.
"This is the Disarming Charm—the most basic and practical spell!
Actually, if I wanted to defeat Professor Snape, it would be effortless.
You know, there are few people in this world who can fight me to a draw.
But to broaden your experience, I let you witness such a spectacular wizard duel—"
"Professor Lockhart!"
Since the battle was turn-based, after Lockhart stopped, Snape also lowered his wand.
But hearing him start to ramble again, Snape could no longer contain himself and directly interrupted.
"I think we shouldn't waste any more time now."
Noticing that Professor Snape was already murderous, Lockhart felt somewhat embarrassed and coughed twice.
"The demonstration ends here! Now I'll move among you and put you into pairs—Professor Snape, please help me—"
Ron said irritably. "If he weren't so pretentious, I definitely would have cheered for him just now."
"Didn't you hear what he said? He only fought Professor Snape to a draw on purpose, to give us more experience."
"You believe him? You might as well believe I'm Merlin's descendant!"
"Being able to fight Snape to a draw is already quite impressive."
Sherlock gave an objective assessment. "Although they only used Disarming Charms, the dueling level Professor Snape displayed was no less than that of a true dueling master."
"Exactly!" Hermione nodded repeatedly. Sherlock was still the most perceptive.
Ron was just good at wizard chess—what did he know about wizard dueling?
What followed was unremarkable.
Lockhart and Snape moved through the crowd, pairing up the young wizards.
Surprisingly, both immediately headed toward Harry's direction without prior arrangement.
"Professor Snape, what are you planning?"
"Professor Lockhart, I should be the one asking you that question."
Looking at Harry standing close to Sherlock, Snape sneered coldly. "I think the dream team of the Lion King and the Boy Who Lived should be broken up."
"Is that necessary?" Lockhart frowned. "I think they work well together."
At this moment, Harry's favorable impression of Lockhart reached its peak.
Even Ron's gaze toward Lockhart became gentler.
Anyone who dared oppose Snape was a good fellow!
However, the next moment, after Snape said in a long drawing voice. "I think it is,"
Lockhart immediately gave up.
Ron: (－_－)
'I knew this guy was a coward!'
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