Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 327, Section 326: Duel Club
Outside the Ravenclaw lounge.

Which came first, fire or the phoenix?

The door knocker raised a question.

"This is a cycle."

Sheen answered.

The door opened, and he immediately saw Luna still in the lounge.

She held an upside-down magazine, and when she turned it over, the title "Singing the Quibbles" remained unchanged, as if it had been enchanted by some special magic.

Her nose was smudged with dirt, and her hair was tied in a knot on top of her head. When she saw Sheehan, her bulging eyes seemed to spark with excitement.

"Oh, I saw your bookstore in the newspaper. I guess you didn't start writing the book for Galleons in the first place..."

She asked as if she were dreaming.

"Ah."

Initially, Sheehan's notes were for his own use, but after Justin compiled and published them, they became paid content.

Sheehan often felt that Justin should get a larger share of the royalties, but in the end, the two still split the money 50/50.

"I don't think Dad would pay someone to write an article,"

Luna said in a daze,

"They write it because they feel honored, and of course, also because they want to see their names in the newspaper."

She wrapped herself in a blanket and, while talking, actually fell asleep.

Sheen stared at her; her shoes were gone again, and her hair was tangled...

He sighed silently.

……

Moonlight spills onto the windowsills of the Ravenclaw Tower, where a mist that seems both real and unreal always hangs in the air.

Following these strange wisps of mist, one can vaguely make out a sign that reads "Children's Home".

A black cat always sets off from here, with an exquisite stone talisman on its chest, which is now emitting a faint glow.

Beside a bizarre, foggy cloud, the black cat tried many times, but it seemed unable to pull Harry and Voldemort in together.

The bad news is that it sensed a faint resistance, which is likely the root cause of its failure.

The good news is that this resistance isn't very strong. It has a premonition that once its Soul Transformation proficiency advances, it will be able to pull the frail Voldemort into its territory.

This means that the black cat, or Sheen, will need to spend more time on soul transformation.

This also means that he has to avoid those enthusiastic members of the Castle Cat Club.

The panel can also be opened at the boundary:
[You have practiced Soul Transformation to the standard of a master, Master-level Proficiency +10]

[Matter Transformation: Expert Level (10/3000)]

【Soul Transformation: Beginner (210/300)】

It's almost there.

On Sunday morning, when Sheen opened his eyes, he saw the winter sun shining brightly in the dormitory.

There's a notice board in the Ravenclaw common room that sometimes displays interesting announcements, but more often it just shows class schedules and extracurricular activity notices.

Now, the signboard is surrounded by Ravenclaws.

"It's a newly issued notice..."

"Duel Club? What does that mean?"

"Literally, you idiot."

Amid the noise, Sheen moved closer. Some of the crowd silently made way.

With just one glance, Sheen roughly understood.

Lockhart seemed to sense that the Hogwarts students were somewhat resistant to him, especially Hermione, who asked him a series of tricky questions.

Therefore, eager to make a name for himself, he hastily opened a dueling club. Sheehan even suspected that this was the effect of the Defense Against the Dark Arts' curse.

With that thought in mind, Sheen carried the book and walked into the auditorium.

Lockhart didn't need to worry too much; Sheen was more concerned about the cellar tonight. He not only had to practice potions, but also had to face Professor Snape because of the Chamber of Secrets.

In the Great Hall, a small group of people had gathered around the bulletin board, reading from a piece of parchment that had just been nailed up. Harry, Hermione, Justin, and Ron looked excited and beckoned Sheehan over.

"They're going to start a dueling club!"

Ron said he was very excited.
"Tomorrow night is the first party of the night. All that time I've been learning Transfiguration is finally going to come in handy..."

"I wonder if the monsters of Slytherin would duel?"

A Gryffindor nearby said worriedly, but he was also reading the notice with great interest.

"It will always be useful."

Harry said,
"Sheen, are you going?"

Keep in mind, Sheen defeated the Basilisk single-handedly, and they were even reviewing the incident with Professor McGonagall last night...

Although Professor McGonagall's expression didn't look too good for some reason.

Now, Harry even believes that even an Auror wouldn't be able to easily defeat Sheen.

The cabin members instinctively surrounded Sheen in the center. Sheen looked at the newly attached parchment and pondered for a moment.

He wanted to see exactly how the curse worked.

The basilisk problem has been solved. Even if Lockhart is incompetent, how can the curse make him leave Hogwarts halfway through?
in the afternoon.

The Duel Club was beginning to take shape.

Inside the auditorium, the professors stood together, seemingly experimenting with the setup for the dueling club.

The long dining table disappeared, and a gilded stage appeared along one wall, illuminated by hundreds of candles floating in the air.

The ceiling turned as black as velvet once again, and almost all the students in the school came to see it, crowding together, everyone with excited faces.

"Looks promising, but I wonder who will be teaching us?"

Justin said softly that they were standing sideways outside the chattering crowd.

“Someone told me that Professor Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young, so maybe he’s the one who taught us.”

Hermione said.

"We'll find out tomorrow—I hope we'll have a chance to face off on stage—"

Ron was full of excitement. He stayed in Hope Hut all day practicing and didn't go out at all.

After a year of hard work, his shapeshifting skills had barely reached the level of "expert".

He was now itching for a duel, eager to have a fair fight with some utterly wicked Slytherin.

Sheen glanced at the cabin members.

Suddenly, I realized that everyone had undergone tremendous changes.

Hermione and Justin are obviously skilled, Harry has mastered many of the spells, Neville's two wands are incredibly difficult to defend against, and even Ron has made significant progress.

The environment can sometimes really change a wizard.

Sheen thought to himself, Professor Snape's last Potions class of the afternoon was about to begin.

In this lesson, Gryffindor students attended the class with Slytherin students.

Starting from first grade, three days a week, after the young wizards finished their classes, Sheen would go to the cellar in the evening to practice brewing potions.

The cellar. In an exceptionally tense atmosphere, Potions class finally ended.

The wizards flew out of the dark underground classroom like birds released from their cages.

Harry was naturally kept after Potions class, and Snape told him to stay and wipe the caterpillars off the table.

Sheen had already appeared at the cellar entrance, looking at Harry. Harry inexplicably met his gaze, and neither of them looked too good.

(End of this chapter)