The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 106 A Duel Club Without Basilisks (Second Update)

After making an appointment with Professor McGonagall, Ino returned to his dormitory with the certificate and the prize money.

While waiting for the thunderstorm, he also planned to stay quiet for a while.

Since the start of the school year, he has felt a sense of detachment, perhaps influenced by the magic of ice and snow, but overall he has not been grounded.

Snape's earlier warning and his conversation with Professor McGonagall today both made him realize his shortcomings.

The most beneficial thing for him during the exchange was not the information from Vagado, nor the influence of the Animagus transformation.

The biggest benefit came from Professor McGonagall's casual remark: "Throw away your wand and conjure a needle out of a match for me!"

A simple sentence shattered the last shred of pride in his heart.

……

"Arrogance stems from ignorance, while humility comes from wisdom!"

In the dormitory, Ino sat on the edge of the bed, murmuring to herself.

If you throw away the wand, you can't even turn a needle into a magician.

No matter how many excuses there are, no matter how skillful the ice and snow magic is, no matter how frightening the anaconda is.

But the fact remains: without his wand, he cannot use Transfiguration.

Looking at the Best Newcomer Award certificate in my hand now, it seems rather glaring.

The red wax seal looks more like the nose of a circus clown, comical and ridiculous.

Ino stood up, opened the box beside the bed without hesitation, and then put the Best Newcomer Award at the bottom of the box.

……

Time always flows by slowly and steadily.

Three days after Halloween, Hogwarts welcomed its first snowfall.

With the arrival of the first winter snow, the temperature dropped rapidly, and the entire castle was covered in a blanket of white, appearing exceptionally clean and dazzling. Perhaps because of the cold, the young wizards preferred to huddle in the common room, where the huge fireplace, fueled by a warming spell, made the whole room warm and cozy.

Perhaps it was really because of the weather, but the whole castle looked rather listless, and the young wizards were also somewhat dispirited.

But when you get sleepy, someone will naturally offer you a pillow.

After their Charms class on Friday morning, Ino and Draco were walking through the foyer when they suddenly saw a small group of people gathered around the bulletin board, reading from a piece of parchment that had just been nailed up.

The young wizards gathered around, all looking very excited, discussing the contents of the parchment.

When it comes to watching the excitement, Draco is always the most enthusiastic. He quickly pushed through the crowd and squeezed in, making way for Ino as well.

"A duel club? Lockhart! They've all gone mad..."

The contents of the notice board were unbelievable to Draco. He couldn't understand when Lockhart had become capable of running a club, let alone a dueling club.

"Ino, what do you think?" Draco asked, turning his head.

"I don't even look at it. I'd rather spend that time reading in my dorm."

Upon hearing Ino's answer, Draco couldn't help but roll his eyes. His good roommate had reverted to his old-fashioned, first-year student state, caring about nothing and spending all his time either in the library or the dorm.

"I mean, how dare Lockhart start a dueling club? Who gave him the courage?"

"Courage?" Ino chuckled softly, correcting him:

"That's fate! The rabbit walked into the trap for the grass, and the donkey got bridled for the radish. It was all predetermined; they couldn't escape it, especially with an old hunter watching."

"You're saying something I don't understand again!" Draco muttered helplessly.

"Ino, are you coming? Come along, it's the weekend anyway, it'd be nice to see some fun."

Seeing Draco's enthusiastic expression, Ino decisively refused.

"No! I need to study the weather! Theoretically, England's winter climate is usually influenced by the North Atlantic Current and westerly winds, exhibiting a typical temperate maritime climate. Winter temperatures are relatively mild, with precipitation mostly in the form of rain and quite frequent, but thunderstorms cannot be ruled out..."

"Damn, another one gone mad." Draco looked at the ceiling of the Great Hall with a weary expression.

He always feels like he's not fully awake, or that he's drunk some kind of hallucinogenic drug.

……

evening.

The Slytherin common room was unusually quiet, or rather, all four house common rooms in the castle were quiet.

Because more than 80% of the young wizards had gathered together, though their purposes differed—some were there to watch the spectacle, others were genuinely looking forward to it…

In short, the Duel Club has attracted a lot of attention, since the castle has been too peaceful this year. There have been no fights or even jealousy.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Ino.

The round table in the dormitory was covered with various books about weather and climate.

At this moment, he is troubled by the winter thunderstorms.

It's been almost half a year since I last entered the fantasy world, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, this next one will definitely be before Christmas.

This is also the reason for his distress; he wants to complete the Animagus before entering a new story.

However, in the last decade, England has experienced only a handful of thunderstorms in winter.

Time passed by, second by second.

Unlike the quiet of the dormitory, the auditorium was bustling with noise and excitement.

The long tables representing the four colleges disappeared, and a gilded stage appeared along one wall, illuminated by hundreds of candles floating overhead, while the ceiling once again turned as black as velvet.

Despite being knocked down twice by Snape, Lockhart stubbornly got up, and didn't forget to take a comb from his inner pocket and carefully tidy his messy hair.

"Did you see that? To make you see clearly, I didn't hesitate to be knocked down twice, even though fighting back would have been very easy for me."

Seemingly noticing Snape's somewhat unpleasant expression, Lockhart quickly changed the subject:

"Now it's your turn, Harry! Come on up, don't be shy!"

After Harry stepped forward, Lockhart looked around and announced loudly, "I need someone to fight Harry, preferably someone in the same year, so that the duel will be fair..."

"I'll do it!" Draco stepped forward, interrupting Lockhart's performance, and then looked at Harry with disdain.

"Hey! Potts, you better pray you're wearing underwear today."

A seemingly ordinary sentence caused Snape to suddenly open his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly revealed a look of anticipation.

On the other hand, Harry, though not caring what the fight had to do with underwear, still retorted defiantly.

"Malfoy! You're everywhere, like a noisy toad! Why can't you just be quiet? Sometimes I really don't want to talk to you, but you always have to come crawling at me!"

Faced with Harry's almost malicious accusations, Draco's face instantly turned red.

He didn't say anything more, simply drew his wand, stood opposite Harry, and made his stance clear through his actions.

Meow! Double monthly passes for the May Day holiday! Don't save them up, give them to Xiao Di... otherwise they'll expire.

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(End of this chapter)