"Potter..."
Hearing Snape call his name, Harry sensed trouble and immediately moved toward Hermione.
If he couldn't pair with Sherlock, pairing with Hermione would be good too.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
However, seeing Harry's movement, Snape revealed a cold smile.
"Miss Granger, you will pair with Mr. Holmes."
Hermione was startled at first, then nodded and moved to Sherlock's side.
Seeing this, Harry moved toward Ron while casting a pleading look toward Lockhart.
Lockhart was indeed willing to help Harry. He coughed and stepped forward.
However, before Lockhart could speak, Snape preempted him.
"Malfoy, come here!
Let's see what you can make of the famous Potter.
As for you, Weasley, you can pair with Thomas."
With this maneuver, Snape forcibly separated the four Gryffindor kings.
Of course, his main purpose was to prevent Harry from pairing with any of Sherlock, Hermione, or Ron.
As for the other three, that was just incidental.
Sherlock didn't mind.
Hermione and Ron secretly breathed sighs of relief, fortunate that their opponents were familiar people.
As for Harry—he looked miserable.
In the end, it was the Boy Who Lived who bore it all.
At this moment, Malfoy strutted over with a triumphant smile on his face.
Clearly, he believed that in wizard dueling, he wouldn't be defeated by Harry like last time.
Seeing that Snape had no intention of presiding over the duel, Lockhart felt this was perfect.
He returned to the stage and shouted. "Face your partners—bow!"
Most of the young wizards bowed to their dueling opponents as instructed.
Only Harry and Malfoy were exceptions.
Their performance was even more exaggerated than Snape's earlier—neither so much as nodded, just stared intently at each other.
In this moment, Harry found he could actually read Malfoy's expression.
"Potter, today is the day you pay your debt!"
He suddenly realized that Malfoy intended to avenge the punch from last time.
Harry immediately fired up. He would never let Malfoy have his way!
"Raise your wands, prepare yourselves!
When I count to three, cast your spells to disarm your opponent.
Remember, only disarm—we don't want any accidents."
Lockhart called out loudly. "One—two—three—"
Harry jerked his wand above his shoulder.
Having watched Snape and Lockhart's duel clearly, Harry was very confident at this moment.
With Sherlock's special training as his foundation, he could definitely cast spells faster and more accurately than Malfoy.
What he never expected was that Malfoy acted the moment Lockhart said "two."
His wand struck Harry hard.
The young wizards below gasped in outrage.
Many shouted. "Cheater!"
Young wizards with good relationships with Harry—Hermione, Ron, Cho Chang, Neville, and others—clenched their fists, wanting nothing more than to rush onto the stage and beat up Malfoy.
"In dueling, there is only victory and defeat—nothing shameful about it."
Snape's gaze swept coldly over the indignant students.
"Don't forget why your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor organized this club!
When you truly encounter danger, do you expect your opponents to follow rules too?"
Under Snape's intimidation, everyone fell silent.
What he said made perfect sense—they were speechless.
But... it was still so infuriating!
On the stage, although Malfoy had launched a dishonorable sneak attack on Harry, Harry had been training with Sherlock for a full year and was no longer the weak boy who had just entered school.
So, he only staggered slightly, feeling as if he'd been hit in the head with a frying pan, but didn't lose his fighting ability.
Since Malfoy didn't follow the rules, Harry stopped being polite. Seizing this opportunity, he pointed his wand directly at Malfoy.
"Expelliarmus!"
Malfoy, having just succeeded in his sneak attack, didn't expect Harry to still have the strength to counterattack.
As a dazzling red light flashed, Malfoy, caught off guard, failed to dodge.
He was knocked off balance, staggered backward several steps, and fell to the ground with a thud.
Just one move—success!
The young lions below were thrilled.
The sneaky snake couldn't even stand up!
So, what if he attacked first? Against absolute strength, he still had to lose!
The young wizards of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff also cheered, for the same reason as with the previous Quidditch match—Slytherin had been very unpopular lately.
"Worthy of the Boy Who Lived," Penelope said to Cho Chang beside her. "I think his level has even reached that of some senior students."
Cho Chang nodded, looking at Harry with admiration.
On stage, although Malfoy had fallen flat on his bottom, his wand flew from his hand due to the Disarming Charm, flying directly toward Harry.
Harry was about to reach out and catch it when Snape, quick as lightning, snatched it first.
Snape looked at Harry, a complex expression in his eyes. "You use the Disarming Charm very skillfully, Potter."
"It's all thanks to the professor's excellent instruction," Harry said, panting heavily.
He really wasn't trying to flatter.
Because the Disarming Charm was exactly what Snape had taught them during the period when he substituted for Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, after Quirrell had been stabbed in the kidney by Sherlock's sword last semester.
However, his sincere words sounded like mockery to Snape's ears at this moment.
The previously calm Snape immediately turned around and roared. "Malfoy, get over here!"
His voice was so loud it even affected another pair of dueling opponents.
"Stay focused, Hermione."
At the other end of the stage, Sherlock stepped back half a pace, neatly avoiding Hermione's Stunning Spell.
"Your wrist movement is too deliberate."
Hearing Sherlock's words, Hermione bit her lower lip, the tip of her wand trembling slightly.
"Glacius!"
She spoke again, casting a Freezing Charm at Sherlock.
This time Sherlock didn't dodge—a transparent shield appeared in front of him.
The Freezing Charm struck the shield and scattered like fireworks, brilliant and dazzling.
Almost simultaneously, Sherlock waved his wand and spoke the incantation. "Expelliarmus!"
Without any surprise, just like Malfoy who had been defeated by Harry on the other side, Hermione was knocked backward several steps and fell to the ground.
Her wand also flew high into the air, and Sherlock stepped forward a few paces to catch it perfectly.
Seeing this scene from her position on the ground, Hermione sighed, then extended her hand toward Sherlock.
She was afraid Sherlock would only catch the wand and ignore her, so she took the initiative.
Indeed, seeing Hermione extend her hand, Sherlock casually pulled her up.
Standing up, Hermione dusted herself off and said somewhat helplessly. "I knew I was no match for you, but I didn't expect to lose so badly—not even lasting one round."
Sherlock handed her wand back to her. "If you're bad, practice more."
Hermione: (≖_≖ )
As Sherlock and Hermione's duel ended, the duels between all the other young wizards were also mostly finished.
A greenish smoke hung over the entire venue.
Ron and Dean both lay on the floor, gasping for breath, the only difference being that Ron still held his wand.
This was already a relatively good result.
Many people had sustained minor injuries, and some had thrown their wands aside and were rolling around on the floor in a tangle.
Snape and Lockhart walked through the crowd, each using their abilities to quickly clean up the stage.
Seeing this scene, Snape's expression of disgust toward Lockhart softened slightly.
"Professor Snape, I think we should next teach them how to block unfriendly spells."
Lockhart, seeing Snape look at him, spoke while looking down at the crowd. "Please volunteer to come up, a pair—Finnigan and Longbottom, how about you two?"
"That's not a good idea, Professor Lockhart."
Snape glided across the stage like a great bat.
"You may not believe it, but Finnigan can cause destruction even with the simplest spells."
Hearing this, Seamus's face immediately reddened.
The other young wizards also giggled.
"If we really paired them up, we'd only be able to collect Longbottom's remains in a matchbox and send them to the hospital."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Malfoy and Potter again—how about it?"
Snape grinned menacingly. "I think they definitely haven't had enough fun yet!"
"Excellent!"
Lockhart said as much, signaling Harry and Malfoy to walk to the center of the hall while people stepped back to give them space.
"Now, Harry."
Lockhart smiled at Harry. "When Draco points his wand at you in a moment, you do this."
He raised his own wand and waved it left and right, creating complex patterns.
Harry watched dizzily, doing his best to try to remember the movements.
However, he found this far too difficult for him.
He simply couldn't remember it!
Fortunately, he did remember the spell Lockhart taught him.
Seeing Lockhart's movements, Snape sneered coldly from the side, walked close to Malfoy, and whispered a few words in his ear before handing him back his wand.
Malfoy also began to sneer.
Clearly, Snape's teaching method was much more concise than Lockhart's.
Seeing this, Harry couldn't help but look up nervously at Lockhart. "Professor, could you demonstrate that spell-blocking method to me again?"
"Of course, my dear Harry."
Lockhart spoke and, just like before, once again waved his wand at Harry with elaborate flourishes, performing that complex set of movements.
Harry was immediately dumbfounded.
Because he discovered that Lockhart's movements this time were completely different from the first time.
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