Chapter 167 Opportunity to Pull Hair
Aaron stood helplessly on the stage, unconsciously touching the ring on his left hand.
His current combat power had reached the level of an initial Magician. This ring would seal half of his magic power, suppressing his strength to the early stage of an Advanced Magician.
But even so, he still felt it was a bit like bullying to deal with an Intermediate Wizard like Harry.
Aaron shrugged as he looked at Harry opposite him, "Actually, I didn't intend to go on stage, but since I'm up here, there's no reason to lose.
But rest assured, I will try my best to go easy on you."
"I also didn't expect my opponent to be you." Harry said nervously, with a forced smile, "I originally thought my target was Malfoy."
Professor Lockhart heard this and broke into a wide smile, "Harry, I can arrange another match for you and Malfoylater.
For now, all you need to do is concentrate and defeat your opponent."
"Thank you, Professor."
"Wands ready!"
The two gradually distanced themselves, each raising their wands over their shoulders, adopting an attacking stance.
"Count to three, and cast a spell to disarm your opponent." Professor Lockhart emphasized, "Just disarm them; we don't want any accidents.
One, two, three."
"Expelliarmus!"
Aaron and Harry simultaneously shouted the incantation, and silver light shot from their respective wands.
Without any suspense, Aaron's spell was more powerful, engulfing Harry's spell in less than a second and knocking the wand from his hand.
Harry stumbled back a few steps before regaining his balance, but inwardly, he felt a sense of relief.
It didn't hurt, and he wasn't knocked off the stage like Professor Lockhart.
"I won." Aaron put away his wand and walked off the stage with a carefree air.
Below the stage, Professor Snape nodded in satisfaction, a hint of a smile appearing on his perpetually cold face.
"Very good." Professor Lockhart clapped, "Their Expelliarmus spells were both very proficient."
"Malfoy, it's your turn." Professor Snape gave Draco a look, signaling him to press the advantage and teach Harry Pottera good lesson.
"Wait, just a moment." Professor Lockhart stepped forward and said, "I personally think this duel should be postponed; Mr. Potter needs to rest now."
Draco was somewhat unwilling, but just as he was about to say something, Aaron's gaze stopped him.
"Professor, I'll give you some face. After all, Slytherinwouldn't bully an injured person."
Harry glared at him fiercely, feeling very indignant, but remembering their objective, he temporarily suppressed the anger in his chest.
Let you be smug for a while; when it's time to pull hair, I'll make sure to pull a few extra strands.
Professor Lockhart walked to the center of the stage, glanced nervously at Professor Snape, and chuckled, "I think it's better to pair opponents by House.
Gryffindor against Slytherin, Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw, what do you think?"
"Couldn't be better." Professor Snape sneered, "It will be interesting to see the dueling abilities of Slytherin and Gryffindor."
Professor Lockhart averted his gaze, dispelling a bit of his apprehension, and then looked at the crowd below, "Please, one pair come forward voluntarily, but be careful not to have students from the same House."
Soon, various colors appeared on the stage.
Only a few groups used the Expelliarmus spell as Professor Lockhart had instructed. Most students were using this stage to test their magic abilities, and of course, some students had specific intentions.
Hermione chose Crabbe as her opponent. After several rounds of combat, she used the Aqua Eructo spell to wash his hair and then pretended to accidentally drop her wand on the ground, successfully picking up a few strands of hair.
Ron, on the other hand, chose Goyle as his opponent, but perhaps he cast the spell with too much force, and the green light directly bounced back at him, knocking him off the stage.
Goyle walked to the edge of the stage and laughed without restraint.
Ron angrily returned to the stage. This time, he abandoned his unreliable wand and lunged directly at Goyle, punching and kicking him.
But Goyle was larger, and although initially caught off guard, he quickly used his physical advantage to overpower Ron, clamping his head tightly.
Harry immediately went up to separate the two and pulled at Goyle's head, making him wince in pain.
The three met in a corner of the Great Hall. Hermioneproudly pulled out a few strands of black hair she held, "I got them, Crabbe's hair. What about you two?"
"Done." Harry stuffed a few short hairs into Ron's hand, "I had a hard time pulling these off."
"Let me state this beforehand: if this hair isn't sterilized, I won't drink the Polyjuice Potion even if it's perfectly brewed."
"You should be glad you have any; you're still complaining." Hermione rolled her eyes, "Only Malfoy is left."
Harry nodded and turned his gaze to the other side of the stage, where Draco was busy scolding his two cronies, looking particularly angry.
He could accept Crabbe losing; after all, Hermione was a top student and not weak.
But Goyle disappointed him somewhat; a Weasley without a wand could even fight him to a draw, which was simply a disgrace to Slytherin.
In the subsequent duels, some people were hit by the Tickling Charm, laughing uncontrollably and becoming limp; others were hit by the Dancing Feet Spell, their legs twitching non-stop, dancing in the Great Hall.
These were the better situations; some students were hit by powerful magic, injured and bleeding, and two students were simultaneously hit by each other's Petrificus Totalus, falling stiffly onto the stage.
The scene became increasingly chaotic, and Professor Lockhart also started to panic.
But he was clearly unable to stop it all, only able to stand by and offer commentator-like remarks such as "Be careful," "Watch out," "You can do it," and "Get up."
If Professor Snape hadn't timely used the Finite Incantatem spell, dispelling the other spells, many students would likely have suffered more harm.
"Professor Lockhart, you truly surprise me." Professor Snapesneered, "I recall you telling Dumbledore that you would teach them to stop unfriendly magic, but…"
"But that is precisely why I asked you to be my assistant, Professor Snape." Professor Lockhart said, feigning composure, "How simple is the Finite Incantatem spell? Am I incapable of it?
But sometimes, verbal support is more powerful than spells. These underage students need strong hearts, not strong magic."
Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. He instinctively felt that Professor Lockhart was talking nonsense, but the words were so well-phrased that he couldn't find any fault with them.
"Can we proceed with the final match?
I believe Draco Malfoy is already impatient."
"Excellent." Professor Lockhart smiled, heartily applauding his own quick thinking while signaling Harry and Draco to come to the stage.
The two simultaneously ascended the stage from opposite sides, looking at each other with particularly calm expressions as they walked towards the center.
Professor Lockhart felt the atmosphere settle and sneered, "The dozens of duels before were too complicated. This time, you two will decide the winner with the Expelliarmusspell.
Expelliarmus, understand? Expelliarmus."
Draco grinned, and Harry also remained silent. They both knew this was no ordinary duel.
"Alright, start preparing!" Professor Lockhart said, about to step off the stage.
"Wait, Professor, can you teach me the Finite Incantatem spell?" Harry asked somewhat nervously.
This was the one time he most hoped Professor Lockhartwould be reliable. If Malfoy ambushed him later, Professor Snape certainly wouldn't save him immediately, and Professor Lockhart might be in trouble.
But by learning this spell, he would at least have some chance of self-preservation.
"Uh… well, there will be an opportunity." Professor Lockhart said vaguely, walking past Harry without giving him a chance to speak.
"Are you scared, Potter?"
"You wish!" Harry gritted his teeth.
The two assumed their attacking stances, and Professor Lockhart began to count down: "Three… two… one."
"Expelli…"
"Illusio Erupto!"
Malfoy's movement was slightly faster, and a pale golden shockwave shot from the tip of his wand, striking Harryhard.
Harry felt dizzy, stumbling around twice before barely regaining his senses.
He seized the opportunity and immediately shouted, "Rictusempra!"
A silver light hit Malfoy in the stomach, knocking him to the edge of the stage, the pain in his abdomen making him gasp for breath much faster.
Harry hesitated at the sight. At this moment, should he follow the rules and wait for Draco to recover, or should he take advantage of his weakness and press the attack?
However, Draco clearly didn't give him time to think. He quickly raised his wand and roared, "Serpensortia!"
A black cobra landed on the stage, flicking its tongue and slithering forward.
The onlookers screamed, quickly backing away, trying to get as far as possible from its attack range.
Harry seemed to be frozen in fear, staring at the snake, completely still.
"Don't move, Potter." Professor Snape walked forward calmly, "I'll get rid of it."
"Allow me, Professor Snape." Professor Lockhart said confidently, drawing his wand before Professor Snape.
He was somewhat grateful to Draco; summoning such a small snake allowed him to boost his reputation. Compared to the previous duels, repelling a venomous snake would clearly leave a deeper impression.
"Alarte Ascendare!"
The spell hit the snake, and it shot up seven or eight meters before falling back down.
This seemed to enrage it, revealing its fangs and rearing up, looking for a target.
"More trouble than it's worth." Aaron rolled his eyes. He really hadn't expected Professor Lockhart to be unable to handle even a snake.
Generally, a Wizard who has lived for twenty or thirty years, even if their talent is poor and their potential is exhausted, can barely reach the level of an Intermediate Wizard. But Professor Lockhart's combat power didn't match his age at all; he was practically like a first-year student.
In a way, for him to have gotten to where he is today, he must be some kind of talent.
Just as the snake approached Justin from Hufflepuff, Harry, as if by some strange impulse, moved his feet and uttered obscure, incomprehensible sounds.
The snake immediately stopped its attack, turning its head to look at Harry, but its eyes were filled with affection.
Professor Snape waved his wand, and the snake vanished into black smoke.
The crisis was averted, but the people present were stunned, and their gazes towards Harry were filled with suspicion.
This was Parseltongue, the language of snakes. Among the founders of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin happened to know this foreign language. Connecting this to the recent buzz about the Chamber of Secrets, they didn't think this was a coincidence.