Chapter 33: Duel Club

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At eight o'clock in the evening, Cyrus and Harry returned to the auditorium together.

The appearance of the auditorium had completely changed at this moment. The long dining table disappeared, and a gilded stage appeared along one wall, illuminated by hundreds of candles floating in the sky.

The ceiling became as dark as velvet again, and almost all the students from the school were here, crowded together, everyone holding their own wands, their faces full of excitement.

The four people squeezed into the crowd relying on their small size.

Hermione said with difficulty: "I don't know who will teach us. I heard that Professor Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young. Maybe it will be him."

"No matter who it is, as long as it's not Snape or Lockh—" Before Harry could finish his words, he saw two people he least wanted to see walking onto the stage.

One of them was.... the dazzling Lockhart in a purple robe and the other...? It was Snape with a gloomy face, who wore black robes that had remained unchanged for thousands of years.

 His appearance looked like a stark contrast to Lockhart.

Harry's unfinished words turned into a sad moan.

"Oh, Merlin! Profesor Lockhart will teach us duel."

Hermione is very happy, she still thinks that Lockhart is as great as what is written in his books!

As for his stupid behavior, they were all ignored under Lockhart's shining face.

It's hard to imagine that Hermione could be so irrational. Lockhart alone made her fascinated. Sure enough, even in the wizarding world, appearance is a thing comparable to a magic potion. Otherwise, Tom Riddle wouldn't be so successful.

He's also just a scumbag who goes around deceiving young girls, rich women, and high-ranking officials just because he's good-looking.

He even deceived female ghosts!

condemn!

Must be condemned!

What? Now I look like him, right?

That's okay then.

"Come inside, be quiet! Haha! No need to be so excited! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Great!" Lockhart felt the enthusiastic support of hundreds of female students, and suddenly became more excited, sparing no effort- The performance started.

"That's right, Professor Dumbledore allowed me to open this small dueling club to fully train everyone in case you need to defend yourself one day. Protect yourself in the same way that I have used countless times - for details on this, Please see my published work.

"Oh! Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," Lockhart said, grinning broadly.

"He told me that he himself knew a thing or two about dueling, and he generously agreed to help me with a small demonstration before class," he said,

"Ahaha, I don't want to worry you little guys - after I finish the demonstration with him, I will return your potions teacher intact to you. You guys, don't be afraid!"

"Wouldn't it be great if they fought it out and both sides got injured?" Ron whispered in Harry's ear.

"Come on, I'm afraid Lockhart can't even catch Snape's move." Cyrus shook his head and said, "I heard that Snape is the most powerful among the four head professors."

If he could freely use black magic, then Snape would indeed be stronger than the other three head professors. His talent was also appreciated by Voldemort. After all, he was a genius who developed several types of magic during his school days.

And according to Sirius, at the age of eleven, Snape knew more charms and curses than most seventh-grade students.

Harry agreed very much with what Cyrus said, because he saw Snape's upper lip curled up, showing a very scary look - like a cat playfully playing with a mouse - and he didn't understand that.... Why the hell is Lockhart still smiling? If Snape had looked at him like that, he would have spread his legs and run in the opposite direction.

"There are always people who even deceive themselves in lies. It's really sad, don't you think?" Cyrus whispered in Harry's ear.

Ron looked at "Ginny" in surprise.

"Are you not shy now?"

Cyrus ignored him.

At this point, Lockhart and Snape turned to each other and bowed.

Lockhart did many tricks with his hands, but Snape just shook his head impatiently. Then they held their wands to their chests like arrows.

The students all fell silent and watched this scene nervously.

It was like a group of people watching the duel between two masters at the top of the Forbidden City, fearing that the slightest noise would affect the two masters.

"As you can see, we hold our wands in the normal dueling posture," Lockhart told the hushed crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spell. Of course, none of us will use strong spells and harm the other person's life."

"I don't dare to bet." In response, Snape showed his teeth and smiled lowly.

They both jerked their wands over their shoulders at the same time.

"one two three--"

Snape recited the curse at lightning speed:

"Expelliarmus!"

Suddenly a dazzling red light flashed, and Lockhart was struck unsteadily. He flew backwards off the stage, crashed into the wall, then slid off and curled up on the floor. He was almost fooled.

Didn't he agree that he is just a magic potion-refining person?

Why is he so strong?

Malfoy and several other Slytherin students applauded.

Hermione jumped up and down on tiptoe. "Do you think he's okay?" she screamed, covering her mouth with her fingers.

"Whatever!" Harry and Ron said at the same time.

Lockhart staggered to his feet, his hat falling off and his wavy curls standing on end.

Looking at the doubtful looks of those young wizards, Lockhart realized that he had to regain control of the overall situation and correct his ugly appearance.

"Eh..ehehe.." So he rushed back to the stage, the remaining power of the spell making him dizzy and walking crookedly.

"Well, you see! It's a disarming charm - as you can see, I lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown." He got his wand back.

He turned to Snape: "Yes, Professor Snape, it's a great idea to show them this move. However, don't mind what I say. Your intention to do such a move just now was too obvious. I could have stopped you without any effort. But, I think that in order to increase their knowledge, I might as well let them see..."

"He is so shameless." Cyrus twitched the corner of his mouth. He dared to say that even though he was obviously inferior to others. Snape must be regretting that he just used "Expelliarmus".

Sure enough, Snape looked murderous. Lockhart probably noticed it, so he quickly said:

"This is the end of the demonstration! Now I will come among you and divide you into groups of two. Professor Snape, if you are willing to help me..."

They walked through the crowd and paired people up. Lockhart asked Neville and Justin Finch-Fletchley to form a pair, but Snape walked in front of Harry and the others first.

"I think the dream team should be broken up," he said with a smile. "Weasley, you can form a pair with Finnigan. And Potter—*scoff*"

Harry subconsciously moved closer to Hermione.

"I don't think so." Snape said, with a cold smile on his face, "Malfoy, come up here. Let's see what kind of person you can make the famous Potter into. Miss Granger - you can be paired with Miss Bursted. And as for you - Miss Ginny Weasley....."

The corners of his mouth turned up into an evil smile.

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