Lockhart was able to bring Snape over because he must have drunk more than one bottle of Felix Felicis.
"Look, Snape's winking," George said with a mischievous grin. "He must have been kidnapped by Lockhart; he's hinting that we should rescue him!"
Cedric stopped in his tracks, expressionless, and didn't dare to move any closer.
Because Snape on the stage was staring at the twins, he clearly heard those words.
Fred wasn't scared at all and laughed along with George.
Apart from Vincent and Hermione, the other students in the neighborhood stayed quite far away from them.
Stared at by those sinister eyes, the twins laughed even harder.
Just as Snape was about to go down and do something, Lockhart waved to quiet the students.
His eyes swept over, and he became even more impatient.
"After observing for a while, I've found that none of them have much practical experience—"
Lockhart looked at Vincent below, "Of course, a very small number of students do, but that's clearly not enough to face a more terrifying evil!"
He spread his hands toward Snape, "Let me first introduce my assistant, Professor Snape Severus Snape."
In the afternoon, I kept thinking about who would be the most suitable person—
Snape's lips twitched slightly.
Then I ran into him!
He said he knew a little about dueling and generously agreed to give me a small demonstration before class.
Lockhart was completely unaffected by him. "Everyone, please rest assured!"
"After I and he finish demonstrating, I will return your Potions Master to you unharmed!"
Perhaps it was a case of things going to extremes, but Snape's thick lips actually curled up slightly.
This situation suggests that someone is likely to suffer.
Lockhart, still smiling, said, "Professor Snape, we may begin."
As the two turned and separated, Fred muttered to himself, "It's unlikely to happen, but I really hope they both suffer heavy losses."
George pouted. "Perhaps we should say goodbye to Professor Lockhart sooner rather than later."
The curses from the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor are getting more and more powerful; what used to be a year is probably going to become a semester.
"Shh—" Hermione reminded them.
Lockhart and Snape were not far apart on the stage, and they bowed to each other.
At least Lockhart bowed, and made a lot of fancy hand gestures.
Snape, sitting opposite him, shook his head impatiently.
After the pre-duel rituals, both men held their wands upright in front of their chests.
Lockhart's posture was very standard. "As you can see, this is how you usually hold your wand in a duel."
"Count to three," he said casually, "And we'll cast the first spell."
He even winked at the person opposite him, "Of course, neither of us will take the other's life."
Snape's clenched teeth expression was incredibly convincing.
They definitely won't die, they'll just get a beating.
At this very moment, a student who deeply sympathized with the sentiment was secretly delighted.
"One--"
He clenched his little hands tightly with excitement.
"Two--"
He had already imagined a giant pig's head.
"Three--"
Another big pig's head appeared.
The two on stage raised their wands over their shoulders almost simultaneously.
Snape had the upper hand, uttering the spell. "Expelliarmus!"
Lockhart was a bit slower, but he still managed to shout the same incantation.
Two dazzling beams of red light passed each other and shot towards the two people respectively.
"Bang—" Lockhart's feet left the ground, and he flew backward off the stage and crashed into the wall.
Snape, his face filled with disbelief, also flew off the stage.
As he slid down the wall, he still couldn't understand why he had been hit.
Underestimate the enemy?
Impossible!
The Great Hall fell into a deathly silence.
Fred and George were speechless with astonishment.
Draco rubbed his eyes hard.
"Sigh—I was still a little slow." Lockhart staggered to his feet. "After all, I still had to count, so don't feel sorry for me."
He staggered back onto the stage. "Professor Snape, are you alright?"
I was holding back just now. If I had used my full strength, you would have passed out on the spot.
Still questioning his existence, Snape quickly stood up, his eyes filled with barely concealed murderous intent.
Luck?
They probably drank a whole Felix Felicis!
Lockhart turned to the students as if he hadn't noticed.
"Don't let my swaying fool you, Professor Snape's injuries are actually much more serious than mine."
He shifted his gaze to Draco, who was still questioning his existence, and said, "Go on, Draco."
If you don't take your dean to the Hospital Wing right away, he might suffer some terrible long-term consequences.
The look in someone's eyes when they want to kill them cannot be hidden.
Snape pushed Draco, who was walking towards him in a daze, back to him. "I'm fine."
His steps toward the stage were steady, showing no signs of any aftereffects.
"Uh—" Lockhart hesitated for a moment, "By the way, Professor Snape, why don't we give the rest of the time to them?"
"That's fantastic!" He didn't give Snape a chance to speak at all. "I'm coming down right now and splitting you all into pairs!"
Fred and George were starting to feel oxygen deprived.
Over the years, the only person who could ever defeat Snape was Vincent.
From now on, there will be one more Lockhart.
In a sense, this can truly be described as a lose-lose situation.
"Let me think about the candidates for the first group—" Lockhart approached Vincent.
He looked at Hermione. "How about we do something dramatic and have Wayne and Glenn—"
"I don't think so!" Snape, radiating a menacing aura, stood firmly before him.
"How about something more dramatic, put Wayne in a group with the professors?"
Vincent made no attempt to hide the contemptuous look he gave him.
Everyone knows that Snape was careless.
Saying she'd be in a group with the professors was clearly just a way to get revenge for him.
He's so stubborn, no wonder he lost to Harry's dad.
"Professor Snape, why don't you and Vincent—"
"My injuries are more severe than yours."
"This—this is not possible."
Vincent pretended not to understand Snape's look.
As expected of Dumbledore's men, they never give any benefits.
"Wayne defeated a professor last year."
"But—but I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself."
Snape gritted his teeth again.
This time, he was looking at Vincent.
"Wayne is our best student, he should be worthy of the famous Gilderoy Lockhart, right?"
They're just playing dumb!
Dumbledore wouldn't dare to be so blatant, Vincent's temper flared up immediately.
"Professors, how about we do something truly dramatic?"
He drew his wand. "Let's form a group of three and show you what a free-for-all is like."
Regardless of Lockhart's skill level or whether Snape was truly careless, the outcome is not a loss.