Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 331, Section 330: Lockhart Falls
Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed. At least Lockhart bowed, making a lot of hand gestures, while Snape just watched coldly.

Then, they held their wands up to their chests like arrows.

"As you can see, we hold our wands in the usual dueling stance,"

Lockhart, trying to remain calm, addressed the quiet crowd.
"We'll count to three, then we'll cast the first spell. Of course, neither of us will take the other's life."

"really?"

Sheen heard Ron swallow.

"one two Three--"

The two of them simultaneously raised their wands sharply over their shoulders.

Snape shouted:
"Except your weapons!"

Suddenly, a dazzling red light flashed, and Lockhart was knocked off his feet.

He flew backward off the stage, crashed into the wall, and then slid down, curling up on the floor.

Malfoy and several other Slytherin students applauded and cheered.

Sheen was already sighing. Professor Snape certainly didn't intend to let Lockhart off the hook.

"See, he's fine."

Hermione seemed relieved.

"I always felt it wouldn't be that simple."

Justin frowned.

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

"Okay, everyone saw that!"

He staggered back onto the stage and said...
"This is a disarming spell—as you can see, I've lost my wand—ah, thank you, Miss Brown."

Yes, Professor Snape, showing them this trick is a brilliant idea. But don't take offense, your intention to do this was all too obvious.

If I wanted to stop you, it would be effortless. I think, to broaden their horizons, we should let them see…”

Snape's murderous intent had vanished; he didn't even look at Lockhart.

Soon after, Lockhart collapsed, and the young wizards exclaimed in surprise, all thinking that the disarming spell had caused him to fall and break his head.

But Sheehan knew that Professor Snape had actually cast more than one spell at the same time.

"Won't he be killed by the curse?"

Ron looked at Lockhart and said with a smug look on his face.

"Hopefully."

Harry always thinks the same way as Ron.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Hermione replied irritably.

She wasn't worried about Lockhart, but any young wizard who had read Grimm's Notebook and attended classes diligently would know just how skilled Professor Snape was at potions.

Losing their Potions professor because of a con artist doesn't seem like a good deal at all.

……

Lockhart was admitted to the university hospital, and no one knew when he would be back.

Offstage, Sheen pondered whether Voldemort's curse was too powerful.

Being in the thick of it all, Sheen found it hard to believe that it was all just a coincidence.

He had inadvertently provoked Professor Snape's anger; Lockhart had inadvertently started the Duel Club; and Professor Snape had inadvertently been provoked by Lockhart during a demonstration at the Duel Club...

Magic was indeed too vast; Sheen couldn't even trace the principle behind this curse. He looked at Professor Snape, who still wore a forced smile, but the atmosphere was much better than before.

"This demonstration is now complete. Work in pairs."

Professor Snape said.

He efficiently divided the work into groups.

Sheen saw that Harry and Malfoy were grouped together, Ron was grouped next to Goyle, and Hermione was facing Pansy.

It must be said that the professor's grouping was very well thought out.

Everyone has their own grievances.

The only ones who are somewhat better off are Justin and Neville.

A large open space had been left next to Sheen, and even though the young wizards were very passionate about dueling, none of them wanted to face an opponent they couldn't defeat.

Flint lasted only a minute; he didn't even know what spell his opponent had cast.

"Follow me—"

At that moment, Professor Snape walked up to Sheehan, glanced at him, and strode away. He was always very concise with words.

Because he walked so fast, Sheen had to walk quickly to keep up with him.

"strangeness,"

Hermione watched this scene and asked Justin,
"I have a feeling that Professor Snape and Sheehan are a bit..."

What followed were all sorts of bizarre duels among the young wizards.

A plume of green smoke filled the entire venue.

Ron tried to trip Goyle, who was running towards him, with a Polymorph spell, but he didn't expect that the guy wouldn't even use a spell.

Hermione and Pansy cast spells at each other, and Hermione eventually defeated her by knocking her unconscious.

If Justin and Neville were the most entertaining among the younger students—both were highly skilled in spells and possessed both offensive and defensive abilities, resulting in a back-and-forth battle—then Harry and Malfoy were the most brutal.

At first, Harry abruptly raised his wand over his shoulder, but Malfoy made his move just as the two had counted to "two":

His wand struck Harry hard, and Harry felt as if he had been hit on the head with a frying pan.

He staggered slightly, but thankfully, everything seemed to be working again, so Harry seized the opportunity, pointed his wand directly at Malfoy, and shouted:
“Rictusempra! (Grinning widely!)”

A beam of silver light struck Malfoy in the stomach, causing him to fall to his knees. He laughed so hard he was limp and unable to move.

Harry hesitated, vaguely feeling that he shouldn't cast a spell on Malfoy while he was lying on the ground, as it would be against the rules of the game; however, he was wrong.

Malfoy, panting heavily, pointed his wand at Harry's knee and said, laughing and panting, "..."

"Tarantallegra!"

Immediately, Harry's legs began to twitch uncontrollably, as if he were doing a quickstep.

Not far from them, Sheehan had been following behind Professor Snape, listening to him precisely point out the mistakes of the young wizards.

Along the way, he saw all sorts of strange spells from the senior wizards, and the wizards also showed different ways to deal with these spells.

With the attitude that knowledge is never too much, Sheen carefully observed the wizards' duel and listened to Professor Snape explain how to resolve it in the simplest and most effortless way.

Professor Snape glanced at him from time to time, his gloomy expression softening slightly, and the two walked up to Harry and Malfoy.

Malfoy lay on the ground, raised his wand again, and roared:
"A black dragon emerges from its cave!"

His wand head exploded. Harry watched in horror as a long, black snake suddenly lashed out, landing heavily on the floor between them, then raising its head, ready to attack. The crowd screamed and quickly backed away, clearing a space.

"Don't move, Potter."

Professor Snape said slowly, clearly feeling a little better seeing Harry standing there motionless, staring at the angry snake.

(End of this chapter)