"Everything must proceed in order!" Professor Flitwick stood firmly atop his high stool, resolutely rejecting James's demand. "And remember, everyone here is a classmate!"
James pulled a face, clearly reluctant, but he had no choice. He had to duel the others first. With each opponent he defeated, his expression grew darker.
By the time Snape and James both stepped onto the stage, James's face looked so gloomy it might start dripping water.
Snape tilted his chin slightly upward, his eyes filled with nothing but contempt and provocation.
"Now, bow to each other," Professor Flitwick called out.
They barely even inclined their heads, their gazes locked.
"Oh... very well. One, two, three, begin!"
In the blink of an eye, flashes of dazzling light shot across the stage. The sound of clashing spells echoed thunderously through the Great Hall.
Professor Slughorn's expression changed instantly. He hurried forward and joined Professor Flitwick in raising his wand, creating a shimmering protective barrier in front of the audience to block the stray spells that occasionally flew astray.
This duel was far more intense than any that had come before. The crowd erupted into cheers and excited shouts. Someone even conjured a chair, stood atop it, and stretched their neck as far as possible to watch the battle.
Snape's eyes were cold, his face murderous. His wand moved like a lithe, venomous serpent, sending a relentless stream of spells hurling toward James without mercy.
As he advanced step by step, the hem of his black robes whipped through the air with a sharp hiss.
Finally, Snape cornered James. Without warning, he thrust out his free hand and drove his fist straight toward James's startled face.
A sharp crack rang out. Blood spurted from James's nose, splattering across the stage.
"Bang!" Professor Flitwick shrieked, flicking his wand. A flash of blue light burst forth, forcibly separating the two combatants. "No punching allowed!"
The shockwave drove Snape back several steps. Looking displeased, he said to Professor Flitwick, "Professor, I didn't break any rules!"
"From this moment onward," Professor Flitwick shouted in his high-pitched voice, "Rule Five, physical contact is strictly forbidden!"
He waved his wand again, and a streak of golden light healed James's injuries on the spot.
"Oh, fine," Snape said irritably, twisting his neck. "Your call, Professor."
They took their places again. James clenched his teeth so hard they audibly clicked as he glared at Snape with pure hatred.
"Stupefy!" Snape cast first, a jet of red light streaking toward James.
James dodged to the side, barely regaining his balance when Snape followed up immediately with another spell, "Diffindo!"
Caught off guard, James stumbled. He had no time to defend, only to watch helplessly as the Severing Charm flew straight toward him.
He steeled himself, deciding to take the hit head-on. After all, Diffindo was a basic spell, used by younger students to slice materials of various kinds.
The spell's power and lethality were quite limited. Even if Snape didn't hold back, it shouldn't be enough to incapacitate him.
Yet the expected pain never came.
Instead, a chorus of startled gasps erupted from the audience.
James instinctively looked down, and his eyes went wide with horror. His wizard robes had been neatly cut into dangling ribbons fluttering in the air.
Worse still, his hairy legs gleamed brightly in the candlelight.
But from the chill on his backside, and the shrill screams of the girls behind him, James immediately realized the situation was much worse than he thought.
His cheeks flushed a deep crimson. In a frenzy, he raised his wand to retaliate.
But it was already too late. In a flash, Snape's Disarming Charm struck.
With a whoosh, James's wand spun out of his grip and soared high into the air.
Snape didn't even reach out to catch it. He had something far more important to do.
Before Professor Flitwick could declare the winner, Snape flicked his wand again, and James was hurled into the air.
At the very apex of James's ascent, Snape followed up with another basic spell.
"Alohomora!"
"No!" Professor Flitwick's shriek was filled with sheer panic. His face turned pale as he unleashed several spells in rapid succession to intercept Snape's attack.
Some of the spells even struck the ceiling, sending ripples shimmering through the enchanted starry sky above.
"Stop! Duel over!" Professor Flitwick's piercing voice cut through the uproar.
He leapt between Snape and James, casting several Protego shields in a row to separate them. "Enough! Duel over! Snape wins!
"And from this moment forth, Rule Six: the Unlocking Charm is absolutely, absolutely forbidden! Anyone who uses it will be disqualified immediately!"
James slowly floated down under Professor Slughorn's control spell, landing awkwardly on the stage. His robes now consisted of only a few tattered strips, flapping pitifully in the draft.
The moment his feet hit the ground, he rolled over, scrambled to his wand, and raised it to attack Snape again.
Professor Flitwick gave a light flick of his wand, and invisible bindings wrapped tightly around James, restraining him completely.
"Potter, why don't you go back and change into a new robe first?" Snape said in a drawl, his lips curling into a mocking smile.
The Great Hall burst into barely contained laughter. A few girls even covered their burning cheeks with their hands.
"You filthy-" James's neck bulged with veins as he struggled violently against the invisible bonds, his eyes burning with rage and humiliation.
When the duel finally ended, murmurs rippled through the hall.
Most of the audience hadn't quite understood why Professor Flitwick had reacted with such terror, casting multiple spells to stop Snape from using what seemed like such a simple charm.
Then, a Ravenclaw student in the front row suddenly widened his eyes in shock, as though realizing something dreadful. His voice trembled as he stammered, "Merlin's beard! He just used 'Alohomora'! If that spell had actually hit Potter..."
The rest of his words were drowned out by a wave of horrified gasps.
The previously rowdy Great Hall fell into a dead, fearful silence. Everyone's expressions changed from amusement to alarm as they turned pale, staring at Snape with lingering dread.
The students around Snape, Abbott, and Pandora all instinctively backed away, leaving a large empty space around them.
Snape paid no attention to the crowd's reaction. His cold gaze merely followed Sirius, who was helping Remus and Wormtail escort James out of the hall.
The lazy arrogance that usually hung on Sirius Black's face had vanished completely. He gripped his wand tightly, eyes blazing with fury, standing motionless in the crowd, waiting for his turn to take the stage.
In the next few matches, Snape's opponents barely even set foot on the platform before stepping down again, surrendering voluntarily.
One Ravenclaw girl even slipped on the steps, flailing clumsily before refusing outright to go up.
And so, very soon, it was time for Sirius Black and Severus Snape to face each other.