Start by logging into the Old Man's Ring at Hogwarts

Just as Harry was about to ask for more specific information, footsteps came from outside the school infirmary.

Dobby heard it too, snapped his fingers, and left using the magic unique to house-elves.

Harry quickly lay down on the bed and pretended to be asleep, his back to the door. He heard Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall talking...

Chapter Ninety: Someone's been petrified! Master-Disciple Showdown

Professor McGonagall: "I think he was petrified. Look, maybe he took pictures of the attackers."

Then Harry heard a soft explosion.

Professor McGonagall's voice rang out again: "What does this mean, Arbus?"

Dumbledore: "This means that our students are in a dangerous situation."

Professor McGonagall: "How should I talk to the faculty and staff?"

Dumbledore: "To be honest, Hogwarts is no longer safe. Just as we feared, the Chamber of Secrets has indeed reopened."

After the professors left, Harry turned around and saw the person who had been petrified.

His little fanboy, Colin.

His camera lay to the side, and it looked damaged.

The next morning, Harry, whose bones had grown back, was discharged from the hospital.

He hurriedly summoned Zicomo and the others, and told them what he had seen and heard the previous night.

However, people are more concerned about something else than this.

That is, the statue in the Ravenclaw lounge has come to life, and it is said to embody the wisdom of Ravenclaw.

Hermione kept nagging Zicomo, wanting to go and see for herself.

However, Zikomo remained unmoved; he had already talked enough last night.

The Ravenclaw common room is now filled with all sorts of people, all from the four houses who are interested in Ms. Lorna.

Ron was also very interested in this; he was curious about what the statues from a thousand years ago actually looked like.

Could it be like an enlarged version of Wizards Chess?

"Hey guys, can we be serious? Hogwarts is under attack by some unknown monster!" Harry shouted, drawing everyone's attention.

Ron shrugged and said, "You said it yourself, it's an unknown monster. We won't get anywhere discussing it here."

Zicomo was more concerned about something else than that.

“Harry, I remember giving Filch a large piece of mandrake root, didn’t he make a potion for Snape? If he did, Colin’s petrification should have been lifted by now.”

Zicomo gave him enough mandrake root to make ten doses of the antidote, which is why he asked that question.

Hermione raised her hand to indicate that she knew the answer to this question: "I know about this. It is said that Lockhart approached Filch and confidently claimed that he could make the antidote. Given his skill level, you can imagine the outcome."

Zicomo understood. No wonder he hadn't heard Mrs. Lorris's meows during his nightly strolls these past few days; she was still petrified.

“Sigh, now we just have to wait for Hermione to finish the Polyjuice Potion so she can ask Malfoy about the Chamber of Secrets,” Harry sighed.

Hermione gave an OK sign.

"Don't worry, the potion brewing is going very smoothly, and it will be finished in a while."

"So, you're certain that Draco opened the secret room?" Zicomo asked.

Harry had only been skeptical at first, but after entering the school infirmary, he immediately identified his target.

"Of course, Dobby said the Chamber of Secrets was opened before. And Dobby is the Malfoy family's house-elf, so the fact that he knows this means that Lucius was the one who opened the Chamber last time."

Moreover, he had been trying to stop me from returning to Hogwarts even before school started, saying that Hogwarts was dangerous. Doesn't that mean he knew back then that the Chamber of Secrets would be opened again?

Harry's reasoning was quite reasonable, but who could have imagined that it was Voldemort's Horcruxes that actually opened the Chamber of Secrets?

During this period, even Dumbledore was unaware that Voldemort had created Horcruxes.

Poor Draco, who was seriously learning magic from his godfather, was inexplicably framed.

Around noon, the school bulletin board announced the petrification of Colin.

The young wizards who had been enthusiastically discussing the Ravenclaw statue were now gripped by panic.

Zicomo burst out laughing when he saw the line "Hogwarts is no longer safe."

Hermione, who was standing next to him, asked what was wrong, and Zicomo replied with a smile.

"Here's a joke: Hogwarts is the safest place in the entire British wizarding world."

Hermione thought about her battle with Voldemort last semester and shook her head speechlessly. Just then, a flamboyant peacock walked up to the bulletin board and posted a new notice.

Hogwarts has no shortage of young witches who idolize Lockhart, and they all swarmed around him, pushing Zicomo and the others aside.

However, this does not prevent them from knowing what the notice says.

Because someone in front of us read it out loud.

"The first Duel Club class, hosted by me, will be held this Wednesday afternoon. The primary target audience for this class is second-year wizards, but wizards of other grades are also welcome to attend. For details, please visit classroom XXX. Your beloved Professor Lockhart."

If possible, Zicomo and the others hoped that the student would not read the last sentence aloud.

Clearly, Professor Lockhart, seeing all the big things happening at Hogwarts lately, couldn't resist stirring things up himself.

So, under the guise of training young wizards, he applied to Dumbledore for this club activity.

Dumbledore knew that this guy was unreliable, so he appointed Snape as his assistant to help Lockhart carry out his activities.

While it's called assistance, it goes without saying who actually holds the reins.

Zicomo wondered with interest what Professor Flitwick's reaction would be upon hearing this news.

In his youth, he was the champion of the International Wizarding Duel Tournament.

Now Dumbledore wants to start a dueling club without even consulting Professor Flitwick.

It's unclear whether he thought it was a joke and was too embarrassed to invite Professor Flitwick, or whether he never intended to invite him at all.

As it turned out, Professor Flitwick still harbored resentment after receiving the news.

On the day the Duel Club started its activities, several teachers came to watch, but Professor Flitwick was not among them.

"Alright, everyone. Come closer so you can all hear me."

Lockhart stood on a stage made from a table that was more than ten meters long, and beckoned the young wizards to come closer and stand in line.

He wore a bright silver lining and dark green trousers, with a cape embroidered with delicate patterns draped over his shoulders.

This contrasts sharply with Snape, who is dressed entirely in black, at the far end of the table.

"In light of the series of horrific events that have occurred in recent weeks, Dumbledore has granted me permission to establish this dueling club. I will train you thoroughly to ensure that you can defend yourselves in the event of danger, just as I have done in my countless adventures. For details, please refer to my books."

Lockhart paced back and forth, delivering his prepared opening remarks, and at the end, he didn't forget to promote his books.

After saying this, he took off his cloak and invited Snape to the stage.

"Now, let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape."

Snape walked slowly up from one end of the long table, looking displeased.

Zicomo found it quite amusing from a distance, because Professor Snape's body didn't sway at all during his steps onto the stage, as if he were riding an escalator.

But he held back from laughing out loud because he was currently under the 'Disillusionment Charm'.

Yes, he sneaked over to watch the excitement.

As mentioned before, he only attended one Lockhart class, and afterwards he went on dates with Lani during Lockhart's classes.

He was worried that if he appeared in front of Lockhart now, Lockhart would cause him trouble.

He wasn't afraid of Lockhart, but rather found him troublesome.

Moreover, he doesn't like crowded, huddled environments.

So using a 'Disillusionment Charm' to stay at a distance and watch the show is a good idea.

"Professor Snape and I will give you a little demonstration. Of course, don't worry, I will return your Potions teacher to you safely after the demonstration."

Lockhart continued talking to himself, completely unaware that Snape's expression was growing increasingly worse.

"Okay, let's get started."

Snape said nothing, and took out his wand in preparation.

The two bowed to each other, turned their backs to each other, and each took five steps forward, reaching a considerable distance.

It looks just like a Western cowboy duel.

Lockhart turned around and solemnly counted one, two, three.

Snape waited for him to finish counting before giving him an "Expelliarmus" shot.

Interestingly, when Snape uttered the first syllable of the spell, he even paused for a second, giving Lockhart a chance to react.

Unfortunately, he failed to catch it and was knocked away, almost falling off the stage.

The young wizards around them split into two groups: the boys burst into laughter, while most of the girls were worried for Lockhart.

Lockhart got up, still stubbornly arguing, "A good demonstration, Professor Snape. But if I may be so bold, your intentions were far too obvious and easy to see through. I was just trying to show you the effect of this spell."