The long dining tables had vanished, replaced by a gilded stage extending along one wall, with hundreds of candles floating overhead.
Nearly every young witch and wizard in the school had come, each clutching their wands with eager expressions.
"I wonder who'll be teaching us," Hermione said uncertainly. "I think it might be Professor Flitwick – he was a duelling champion in his youth."
"As long as it's not Lockhart..." Cho began, then grimaced mid-sentence.
She'd already spotted Lockhart mounting the stage, resplendent in purple brocade robes, accompanied by the perpetually scowling Snape.
"What bizarre pairing..." Cho groaned. "They can't stand each other – why would they collaborate?"
"Snape won't pass up any opportunity to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts," Wayne remarked, glancing at Harry's disgusted expression.
Truly touching.
Willing to cooperate with the loathsome Lockhart just to teach Harry something useful during this rare opportunity.
If only Snape knew Harry had already mastered the Disarming Charm under his tutelage.
Would discovering this make him even more revolted?
The thought made Wayne's mood lift further, eagerly anticipating the entertainment.
"Gather round! Everyone, gather round!"
Lockhart beamed. The students' enthusiasm for the Duelling Club exceeded his expectations – all the better.
Tonight, he was undoubtedly the castle's most dazzling presence.
"Can you all see and hear me? Excellent!"
Lockhart launched into his speech: "Thanks to Professor Dumbledore for permitting this modest Duelling Club, allowing me to share my greatest expertise with you all."
"That's right – duelling! I'll teach you the most effective ways to defend yourselves."
Many students politely applauded.
"Now, let me introduce," Lockhart grinned, flashing his trademark eight-tooth smile, "My assistant, Professor Snape. He knows a thing or two about duelling himself and volunteered to assist me in demonstrating some basics."
Wayne clearly noticed Snape's wand twitch slightly, pointing towards Lockhart.
But in the end, he lowered it again.
"Go on, Professor Lockhart!" Wayne shouted. "I believe you can definitely defeat Professor Snape!"
"Ah, Mr Lawrence." Lockhart looked even more pleased, hurriedly making a calming gesture with his hand.
"Some things are better left unsaid. We mustn't disrupt the harmonious relationship between colleagues."
"Rest assured, I'll return your Potions professor to you completely unharmed."
Cho and Hermione both covered their mouths to stifle giggles. Wayne truly never missed an opportunity to disgust Snape.
Brilliantly done.
The Slytherin students seethed with anger, and Snape's gaze grew increasingly icy.
'Lockhart, you've brought death upon yourself!'
The two men walked to opposite sides of the stage, standing fifteen metres apart before turning to face each other and bowing.
At least Lockhart bowed, his hands performing elaborate flourishes as his wand twirled with such speed it left afterimages. Snape merely gave a curt nod of his head before raising his wand like a sword before his chest.
Lockhart began explaining the duel's procedures, but no one cared. They only had one thought:
Just get on with it already!
"One, two, three!"
Lockhart counted down.
The moment the count ended, Snape raised his wand high and thrust it forward, bellowing: "Expelliarmus!"
A blinding red light shot from his wand tip. Lockhart didn't even react before being struck, hurled backwards off the stage to slam against the wall. He hung there for a good ten seconds before slowly sliding down to collapse on the floor.
Like a painting being hung.
Wayne was sure that if there hadn't been witnesses, Snape would never have used a Disarming Charm.
The Laceration Curse would have been far more likely.
The Slytherins erupted in cheers, basking in reflected glory, while other students grew concerned as Lockhart remained motionless.
Had he been killed?
Should they send Professor Snape to Azkaban now?
To everyone's disappointment, Lockhart staggered to his feet moments later. His hat had fallen off and his hair stood on end, but otherwise he appeared unharmed.
"Ah, naughty Snape! That wasn't what we agreed," he said. "But no matter."
"As you all saw, that was a Disarming Charm. Thank you, Miss Brown." Lockhart retrieved his wand, using smooth words to mask his incompetence.
With the demonstration over, Lockhart began pairing up students.
Wayne had been agonising over whether to partner with Cho or Hermione—a decision requiring careful consideration to avoid creating a battlefield of emotions.
Then Astoria came running over, her eyes brimming with tears.
Both girls knew the young girl's circumstances and couldn't bring themselves to compete with her, each going to find their roommates instead.
"Well played," Wayne sighed in relief, ruffling Astoria's hair as a reward.
The girl looked utterly confused, having no idea what he meant.
Pairs formed quickly: Toby with Slytherin's Blaise Zabini, Norman with Seamus.
Harry had intended to partner with Ron, but Snape forcibly separated them, assigning Malfoy as Harry's opponent instead.
"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart called. "Three—"
Blaise Zabini smirked maliciously, striking before the count finished.
Filled with jealousy towards Wayne but too cowardly to confront him directly, he'd decided to take it out on Wayne's roommate, Toby, instead.
"Stupefy!" Zabini's voice cut through the tense silence as others waited for the count. A blue light shot forth, hitting Toby.
Toby staggered back a step, staring blankly at Zabini.
Zabini stared back in equal bewilderment. The Stunning Spell was his most proficient offensive charm, so why had it had no effect at all?
It took Toby two seconds to snap out of his daze before he roared furiously: "That's against the rules, sneaking up on me like that!"
"Rictusempra!"
A streak of silver light hit Zabini in the stomach, making him double over, gasping for breath.
"I said only Disarming Charms!" Lockhart shrieked in panic as the situation spiralled out of control.
Toby and Zabini's duel seemed to be the signal for chaos. Other students quickly joined in, shouting their favourite spells.
Seamus shot a fireball that missed his intended target, Ron, and instead set Neville's robes alight.
Justin had his wand backwards—the spell he cast turned his own lips into sausages.
Hannah fired several Stunning Spells and Knockback Jinxes in quick succession, but they barely had any effect on Norman.
Norman advanced on Hannah while casting, but by the time he reached her, he still hadn't managed a single successful spell. In the end, he had no choice but to lightly tap her on the head to declare victory.
The most outrageous was Hermione. Originally intending to pair up with Lavender Brown, she was provoked by Pansy Parkinson and ended up as her opponent.
The moment Lockhart began counting down, Hermione had already cast a Shield Charm on herself. Eyes squeezed shut, she frantically recited every spell she knew, her wand practically turning into a machine gun. Several unlucky bystanders were hit, sending them tumbling to the ground.
Astoria's face had gone deathly pale as she hid behind Wayne, clutching the hem of his robes tightly.
Wayne was a little surprised himself.
His two roommates... had they been trained by him?
Stunning Spells from their peers hit them as if they were nothing.
"Stop, I said stop!" Lockhart bellowed, but no one listened.
"Finite!"
Snape gave a disdainful sniff, his wand sweeping out a wave of eerie green mist. Wherever it passed, the effects of all spells dissipated instantly.
"Good heavens, Miss Fawcett, you're bleeding! Ernie, take her to the hospital wing—"
"No need." Penelope tapped Fawcett's leg with her wand. "Episkey."
It wasn't even a serious injury—just a scraped knee. If she'd been sent to the hospital wing, it probably would've healed on its own by the time she got there.
"Excellent work, Miss Clearwater. Ten points to Ravenclaw."
Lockhart wiped the sweat from his brow. "Let's take a pause. Duelling shouldn't be this chaotic. We should... find someone else to demonstrate."
"I'll do it!"
Wayne let go of Astoria and strode onto the stage.
The entire student body took a collective step back, instantly clearing a vast space.
No way—who in their right mind would duel him?
Especially the Slytherins, who looked ready to bolt from the Great Hall entirely.
"Excellent, Mr Lawrence—" Lockhart began, only to be cut off by Snape's furious interruption.
"Lawrence, who gave you permission to come up here?"
"Just helping out with the professors' demonstration," Wayne said, blinking innocently.
"Find me one student willing to face you."
Snape gestured dismissively, and the students in that area scattered instantly.
"Professor, aren't you the assistant?" Wayne drew his wand. "Shouldn't this be part of your job?"
Understood.
This was aimed at him.
Snape's eyelid twitched violently as he stared at Wayne's polite smile, which now seemed like a demon's malicious grin.
It had been a long time since he'd last duelled Wayne, but even a fool could tell that after nearly a year, this boy had undoubtedly grown much stronger.
Given Wayne's monstrous talent, he could probably thrash him now.
"You're not suitable. Get down," Snape said stiffly, tightening his robes in refusal.
Wayne remained unmoved, standing his ground with an amused smirk.
Left with no choice, Snape suppressed his disgust and muttered, "Still, your intentions were good. Twenty points to Hufflepuff."
Only then did Wayne step down from the stage with satisfaction.
A casual glance from Snape caught Harry's gleeful smirk, sparking an idea.
"Potter! Malfoy! Both of you, up here!"
When called, Harry showed no fear, calmly stepping onto the stage. His composure actually gave Snape pause.
Once Malfoy joined them, Snape whispered something in his ear.
"Professor, that trick won't work on Potter," Malfoy said helplessly.
"What?"
Before Snape could question further, Lockhart began counting down again.
"Three—two—one!"
Both raised their wands almost simultaneously, without hesitation.
"Expelliarmus!"
The sheer speed of their spellcasting made Snape's jaw drop.
Two red beams of magical power collided mid-air, erupting in violent sparks. The spectacle reminded many Muggle-born students of a particular profession.
Welder.
Malfoy's magical power couldn't match Harry's. His spell was gradually overpowered, forcing him to sever the connection. He dodged sideways and immediately fired a Stunning Spell.
Harry nimbly evaded.
The two darted across the limited space, dodging each other's curses. When unavoidable, they countered with raw magical force, creating a spectacularly intense duel.
The young wizards watched enthralled, Ron especially torn between shock and confusion.
How had both Harry and Malfoy become so strong?
"Serpensortia!"
Malfoy's wand tip exploded as two long black snakes slithered out, thudding onto the floor.
The nearest students shrieked and scrambled back, clearing space.
"Expelliarmus!"
Though equally terrified, Harry stuck to his tried-and-true (read: only) spell. The red beam struck a snake, hurling it into the crowd.
Wayne casually flicked his wrist, making the serpent explode into dissipating black smoke.
Another red beam followed—this time, Harry succeeded without even incanting.
Caught off guard by Harry's nonverbal spellcasting, Malfoy failed to dodge. His wand spiralled through the air into Harry's grasp.
Victory was decided!
After a two-second silence, the Great Hall erupted in thunderous applause.
This was an extraordinary duel. Two second-years had displayed combat prowess that would put many older students to shame.
Beyond spell mastery, their calmness under pressure was utterly unexpected.
The Weasley twins jumped and cheered below.
"Brilliant, Harry!"
"Nonverbal Expelliarmus? Bloody hell!"Ron felt conflicted but still clapped for his friend. When Harry came down beaming, Ron grabbed his arm and asked quietly: "When did you get so good? Why didn't you tell me?"
Harry's expression turned awkward as he hesitated about whether to explain.
But seeing Ron's displeasure, he had no choice but to confess: "I went to Wayne for extra lessons. Malfoy was there too."
"What?" Ron exclaimed. "No way, why would Wayne help Malfoy?"
"We all paid," Harry said awkwardly. "Fifteen hundred Galleons a year."
To prevent Ron from blurting anything out, he'd inflated his own tuition fee too.
Hearing this astronomical figure, Ron felt dizzy.
Fifteen hundred Galleons – he wasn't worth that much even if sold.
Now he felt like the spells Malfoy and Harry had been casting weren't magic at all, but glittering golden Galleons.
Damn it, money really could make you stronger!
Meanwhile, Malfoy stepped down from the stage with a dark expression.
Losing to Potter in front of everyone had put him in a foul mood.
Yet the Slytherin students didn't see it that way. Given Malfoy's performance, which had been impressive by any standard, even if they wanted to criticise, none could guarantee they'd have done better.
The young witches and wizards in their year looked at Malfoy with newfound awe.
Pansy Parkinson's gaze was practically dripping as she pushed past Crabbe to throw herself at Malfoy, simpering: "Draco, you were amazing just now... could you teach me sometime?"
From any other girl, such coquettishness might have improved Malfoy's mood. But Pansy...
Now he just wanted to vomit.
Lockhart was still droning on stage, but Snape had lost all interest in listening.
He was deeply unsettled.
He'd initially intended to teach Harry some practical skills during this opportunity, but... the boy had improved this much?
And Malfoy's performance had far exceeded his expectations, too.
When the Duelling Club ended an hour later, students reluctantly dispersed. Snape stopped Malfoy.
"Malfoy, who taught you that magic?"
"Professor, it was Lawrence," Malfoy admitted without hesitation. "Potter and I have been having extra lessons with him every Saturday evening."
Snape's eyebrow rose. "Since when?"
"Only since this term. Potter and I each paid Lawrence fifteen hundred Galleons for a year's tuition."
Now, when mentioning fifteen hundred Galleons, Malfoy already considered it money well spent.
Because Lawrence taught real skills.
After today, Malfoy realised how much stronger he and Harry had become compared to other students through Lawrence's training.
Snape's brows knitted together just as Wayne and Hermione were leaving the Great Hall.
Their eyes met across the room. Wayne gave a sheepish smile before leading the young witch out through the doors.
Snape clenched his robes.
'You could have bloody said so earlier!'
'If I'd known you were giving Potter cheat codes, would I have bothered volunteering as Lockhart's assistant?'
'Disgusting!'