Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 224, Section 223: Snape vs. Lockhart
Harry didn't know how Lockhart did it, but the lineup of assistants he found was indeed very impressive. Apart from Professor Sprout, who was an expert in gardening, three of the four heads of Hogwarts' houses were his assistants, and the last one was Harry, who was currently recognized in the British wizarding world as a combat-oriented professor who had mastered very powerful elemental magic.

To put it simply, if Lockhart wants to upgrade his lineup further, then he'll have to bring out Dumbledore.

Upon hearing who these assistants were, the students cheered. Having already seen through Lockhart's true nature, they had no intention of learning anything from him. However, the other professors were all capable, and compared to them, Lockhart, the founder of the dueling club, seemed more like the assistant doing the odd jobs.

"Great! It's Professor McGonagall! We're saved!"

Fred was still there, clapping his hands excitedly.

"Thank you! Thank you all for your support!" Seemingly unaware of what the students were cheering for, Lockhart waved his hand proudly. "Yes, I am also very pleased that Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick—especially our Professor Potter—have agreed to become my assistants. I believe you will all learn something under our tutelage."

For the first time, the students felt that he had said something correct.

"Let's get started, Professor! We can't wait!" someone shouted at the top of their lungs.

“Oh, I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t rush,” Lockhart said cheerfully. “Before our teaching officially begins, I’m afraid we need to clarify a few things.”

"First, you absolutely cannot use any magic other than the magic you have learned in class—you are all smart kids, you should understand what I mean, such as poisonous curses or evil spells that can have serious consequences, or even black magic."

“The students don’t know black magic, Professor Lockhart,” Professor McGonagall said coldly from the side of the stage. “They wouldn’t use such magic on their classmates either.”

“Of course, Professor McGonagall, we all agree on that. I’m just stating it beforehand,” Lockhart nodded repeatedly. “Anyway, there’s a second point: magical duels must be fought with wands—hey, don’t laugh!”

The students laughed even louder, since Lockhart's words sounded like he was saying that you have to have noodles to eat noodles, which was ridiculous.

What else can you use in a magic duel if you don't have a wand?
“I know you all find this ridiculous. We are wizards. What can wizards use in a duel if not wands and spells?” Lockhart raised a finger and shook it. “But don’t forget, even a master of magic like Lockhart was once your age—no one knows better than me how kids your age react when they’re anxious.”

"After all, compared to a great wizard like me, you don't have enough spells, and your magic isn't very powerful. So you'll be surprised to find that the damage you do from exchanging spells with each other for several minutes is probably less than the damage you would do if you threw down your wand and punched your opponent—don't laugh! Don't laugh! Even Professor McGonagall probably can't deny that."

Professor McGonagall remained expressionless, pretending not to hear.

"In short, this is the second rule you must follow: don't let me see you use your fists to fight your opponents... although it is a wizard's last resort when he loses his wand," Lockhart said, laughing as he spoke. "Of course, there is also the most important third point."

"Given that we—well, I should say the vast majority of people here are wizards, and will probably only be wizards in the future—in order to allow most students to learn something truly useful in duels that they can use in the future, Professor Potter, I'm afraid I regret to inform you that those novel spells you and your apprentices have are probably not usable."

Suddenly steer the conversation toward Harry, Lockhart grinned and said:

"After all, not everyone can become a shaman, nor can everyone learn the kind of magic you use. We are all just wizards, so naturally we also need to learn how to duel in a wizarding way. Of course, you don't need to worry about Professor Potter. When I invited him to be my assistant, he generously agreed to help me give you a small demonstration before class."

Lockhart certainly didn't say that shamanic magic couldn't be used; he just invited Harry to be his assistant... but clearly, the students didn't know that.

They were simply discussing whether Professor Potter could defeat Lockhart without using his elemental magic—and surprisingly, the discussion became quite heated.

If Professor Potter were allowed to use elemental magic, the students unanimously believed that Lockhart would be burned to pieces like the basilisk, but what if he couldn't?

He grew up with Muggle relatives and only entered the wizarding world to study magic last year. In other words, Professor Potter himself was just a second-year student at Hogwarts. He became a professor because of the new magic he invented. And just by looking at the fact that he has to attend other professors' classes every day, we can draw some conclusions.

How so? A worthy opponent?
Second-year students versus an incompetent professor?
Honestly, it's kind of exciting to think about.

"That old idiot! He's just trying to bully you because you just started school, Harry!" Ron complained loudly, a die-hard Harry fan. "Why can't you use the magic you learned on your own? I see now, he's just looking for an excuse to bully you, as if it makes him seem so great!"

"Sneak a lightning bolt at him, Harry!" Hermione, who had previously shown no interest in Lockhart's talent, said fiercely, "Just say it's a new spell you invented!"

Lockhart could certainly hear the students' chatter, but he pretended not to.

“There’s absolutely no need to worry. Professor Potter has a reputation and skill known throughout the wizarding world, and I, Gilderoy Lockhart, am also a renowned master of magic—this is just a small spar between us,” Lockhart said loudly. “Of course, I’m not a bad person either. To prevent you from thinking that I’m bullying the weak or, well—anyway, I’ll start with an opening demonstration with my assistant, Professor Snape.”

Upon hearing Lockhart mention his name and staring at him with a murderous glare, Snape reluctantly walked to the front of the stage.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Professor Snape,” Lockhart said without even glancing at Snape, continuing to the students below, “Don’t worry, I don’t want you little ones to worry. After I’ve finished demonstrating with him, I’ll return your Potions Professor to you unharmed. Don’t be afraid!”

Snape's gaze no longer seemed to suggest murder; instead, he was stroking the handle of his wand with one hand, his eyes lingering menacingly on Lockhart's neck, like a butcher deciding how to strike.

Can't wait.

The students were already cheering for Snape.

Lockhart, with his ever-smiling expression, and Snape each walked to opposite ends of the dueling stage, bowing to each other in accordance with wizarding duel etiquette—both of them giving a light nod, which could be considered a bow.

"Listen carefully, Professor Snape and I are currently using the normal etiquette for a wizarding duel—that is, we bow to each other as a sign of respect, then hold our wands in the usual dueling stance, and cast our spells together on the count of three." "To reiterate, this is normal wizarding duel etiquette. If you encounter any danger in the wild, you don't need to bow to your enemy... nor do you need to wait for your enemy to bow to you."

The students burst into laughter. They weren't some old-fashioned fools; the battles between Gryffindor and Slytherin often started with sneak attacks in the corridors or washrooms.

"Hurry up and stop talking nonsense," Snape urged impatiently.

"Okay, then one—two—three—!"

Lockhart counted down quickly, and as he called out the third time, Snape suddenly drew his wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

A dazzling red light shot from the tip of Snape's wand toward Lockhart, so fast and intense that many students didn't even have time to react—Clang!
With a sound like metal clashing, the red light was deflected back even faster in a very short time, so fast that Snape almost didn't have time to react—at the very moment he was about to be hit by his own spell, Snape instinctively dodged with a quick step.

Many Gryffindor students breathed a sigh of relief when Snape was unharmed, but what made them gasp even more was that the red beam, after being deflected, shattered a decorative stone statue on the side wall of the Great Hall.

Although Professor McGonagall immediately restored him to his original state with a Restoration Charm, anyone could see the power of Snape's spell. It didn't even exert the unique effect of the spell itself; the sheer force of the impact was enough to shatter a stone... If that had hit a person, would it have been any better?

Snape was absolutely determined to kill Lockhart when he cast the spell!

“Very good, that’s it.” Watching Snape’s disheveled dodge with nonchalance, Lockhart did not take the opportunity to pursue him, but instead began to teach a lesson. “The spell that Professor Snape just used is called the Disarming Charm. The spell is very simple, it’s just the phrase ‘Disarm your weapon.’”

"If I had been hit by the spell just now, my wand should have left my hand by now... well, maybe I would have been flying through the air?" Lockhart glanced casually at the shattered stone sculpture.

“I know what you’re all curious about—how I managed to block Professor Snape’s attack—right?” Lockhart said with a smile. “But answering questions is something that should be done after the duel is over. Let’s continue this duel to the end, Professor Snape—or did that attack hurt you?”

There was no answer. Snape glanced in Harry's direction, feeling ashamed that he had lost face in front of his godson... cough cough! Snape meant that he felt embarrassed in front of Harry and was now ashen-faced.

"It's surrounded by clouds and mist."

With a simple Cloud Mist Charm, Snape no longer needed to worry about embarrassing himself in front of Harry—because the entire Great Hall was now filled with a bluish-gray cloud, making it impossible for even the two duelists on stage to see each other, let alone the students below.

Snape had decided to get serious. After that brief exchange, he suddenly realized that he didn't seem to know his colleague very well... The spell Lockhart used to deflect the Disarming Charm wasn't complicated; it was the Armor Charm that a fifth-year student could theoretically learn.

The spell is simple, but there aren't many wizards who can summon it suddenly and bounce it back perfectly like Lockhart.

what happened?

Snape was momentarily puzzled. Judging by that reaction speed and that skillful use of the Ironclad Charm—was this really a spell Lockhart could use? That usually boastful bum?
Let's try again.

On the other side, Lockhart, even without a wide field of vision, didn't seem nervous at all; instead, he laughed even more heartily.

“Ah, this is certainly not some kind of dark magic or forbidden spell, but how can this class proceed if the students can’t see it?” Lockhart waved his wand. “Disappear.”

This spell was essentially the reverse of the Cloud Curse, so the clouds that had just engulfed the Great Hall vanished in the blink of an eye. Even so, Snape had already achieved his goal.

"He collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious!!"

clang!
It's the Ironclad Curse.

"Confinement quickly!"

clang!
It's still the Ironclad Curse.

"Flying sand and flying rocks!"

The sand and gravel kicked up by the shattered stage couldn't penetrate the Ironclad Curse's defense. Lockhart was like a great demon king waiting for a hero to challenge him. No matter what spell Snape used to attack, he would counter with one spell—the Ironclad Curse.

From the start of the duel until now, Lockhart hasn't even moved a step.

The students stared wide-eyed, as if they had seen a ghost, at what was happening on the dueling platform—Lockhart was toying with Snape.

Yes, even though Lockhart hasn't used a single new spell since the beginning, and Snape has been constantly attacking Lockhart, the students, seeing Lockhart's calm demeanor and Snape's unpleasant expression, all mentally ranked them in terms of superiority.

Lockhart even taught that the Armor Charm itself is an invisible shield, but after he summoned a cloud of silver dust with another spell, the students could clearly see how the Armor Charm appeared and how it blocked Snape's spell.

(End of this chapter)