The Top Student's Challenge Is Explosive / The Petrification Plot Unfolds in Stages

Hermione, who had been keeping quiet for a while, suddenly approached Harry yesterday and said that she had made progress on the truth he was looking for, and that she would definitely give Harry an explanation tonight.

Harry had been wondering what she was going to do, but now it seemed she was going to have him attend the Duelling Club gathering at 8 p. m. tonight.

The question is, why is the Duelling Club starting to operate at this time?

As a disciple of Professor Flitwick, the former dueling champion at Hogwarts, Harry was naturally familiar with the Duelling Club, a school-level club specifically established to facilitate students' learning of wizarding duels and to hone their spells and dueling skills.

The Duelling Club does not have a specific head; instead, a prefect from each college serves as the Prefect, and all activities are confirmed to take place after discussion and voting by the four heads.

In order to ensure that students can conduct duels in a more standardized and accurate manner, the club often appoints an honorary president to adjudicate and comment on the duels.

Until last year, Professor Flitwick had served as the honorary president of the Hogwarts Duelling Club.

However, he voluntarily resigned from this job when the school year started this year.

Harry knew the reason; Professor Flitwick was avoiding any appearance of impropriety.

Hogwarts students can participate in wizard duels of the same year starting from their second year, and by their fifth year, they can participate in open duels among the upperclassmen. Rather than acting as a referee and attracting controversy, Professor Flitwick clearly preferred to watch the Granger Siblings Cleansweep aside all opponents in duels as a teacher and spectator.

What Harry found strange was that the Duelling Club usually held its first event after the Christmas holidays and the start of the second term, but this time it was held now for some reason.

Is it because of the petrochemical incident...?

Considering the fear and unease caused by the monster in the Chamber of Secrets, and the need to learn some self-defense techniques, Harry thought that bringing the event forward a bit might actually be a good idea...

"Holy crap... why this thing?"

When it was eight o'clock in the evening and the Duelling Club held its first gathering, Harry couldn't help but feel that his previous assumptions were completely wrong.

In the Great Hall of Hogwarts, when Harry saw a guy standing arrogantly on the stage, smiling at everyone around him, he almost threw a spell at him.

Gilderoy Lockhart... Harry just wanted to ask if the four ministers of the Duelling Club were out of their minds. Of all people to choose, why pick someone like this to be the honorary president?

What useful things can these students learn from him? Are they supposed to learn how to smile and fawn over their rivals?

"Harry, keep watching." But just as Harry turned to leave, Hermione grabbed his hand. "Promise me, no matter how much you hate him, you have to watch until the end!"

"Hermione?" Harry raised an eyebrow, looking at Hermione's focused and even slightly nervous profile. He felt as if he knew what the girl next to him was about to do.

"Come over here, everyone!" Lockhart, dressed in a purple robe, shouted to those around him. "Due to the recent series of attacks on the school, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I feel it is my responsibility to teach you some self-defense techniques that I have used countless times. Although you can learn a lot from my published works, book knowledge must ultimately be put into practice."

To be fair, Lockhart's few beautiful words are quite profound, carrying a hint of "what you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand."

But seriously, doesn't this guy feel ashamed for not keeping his own promises?

"As you can see, we need to hold the wand in the standard dueling stance."

Neville and Terry Booth of Eagle House were unfortunately chosen by Lockhart as demonstration subjects, and had to perform stiff, disjointed movements on stage, such as bowing, stepping back to the dueling position, and waving their wands.

These actions, at first glance, seem a bit like monkey shows, but not all of them are worth criticizing.

At least for the final Expelliarmus, Lockhart's wrist flick was basically correct.

"Now you all should understand, right? So next, I need to pair you up... Oh, Miss Granger, do you have any questions?"

Just as Lockhart was about to group the students, he noticed Hermione's arm raised high.

"Professor Lockhart, I... can I request to be personally instructed by you? I've been waiting for this day for a long time. If I could have the opportunity to demonstrate alongside you, I would... in short, please!"

At this moment, Hermione perfectly demonstrated what it means for a girl to be so obsessed with her idol that she's practically smitten.

Chapter 142 The Challenge of the Top Student Girl is Exciting

"Oh, Miss Granger, are you trying to challenge me?"

Lockhart seemed caught off guard by Hermione's sudden 'challenge'.

"That's right, so I must ask you, I desperately hope to receive your personal guidance~"

Hermione bowed deeply to Lockhart, then crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes sparkling so brightly they seemed to shoot stars.

"Heh, still so mischievous~" Harry couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle when he saw Hermione's expression.

Would a top student really be completely swayed by a good-for-nothing? Absolutely not!

Therefore, Harry already knew exactly what Hermione was planning to do.

"I see...then please come up on stage, Miss Granger." Lockhart considered for a moment, then put on what he thought was a charming smile again and agreed to Hermione's request.

It's clear that Hermione's previous image as a crazy fangirl played a big role; if Harry Lockhart, he probably would have run away by now.

"Thank you so much, Professor Lockhart!"

Hermione thanked her sweetly, then pulled out her wand amidst a small group of girls' gazes that were either envious or hostile.

"Don't worry, I'm right behind you."

Harry quietly squeezed the girl's hand and whispered something in her ear with a chuckle.

"Hmm." Hermione nodded slightly, stepped onto the stage, and assumed the same dueling stance as Lockhart.

After both bowed simultaneously, Lockhart struck a series of flashy but impractical poses, while Hermione simply flicked her wand and then remained on high alert.

"Miss Granger, I need to confirm again that after the three calls, we will simultaneously cast the first spell."

Lockhart repeated the rules, and seeing Hermione nod slightly, he flashed his white teeth again. "One, two, three!"

"Expelliarmus!"

With three sharp sounds, the two on the stage simultaneously raised their wands. A dim red light shot out from Lockhart's wand first, straying crookedly towards Hermione's position.

"Protego!"

However, to the astonishment of all the students watching, Hermione instantly erected a barrier in front of her, effortlessly blocking Lockhart's seemingly ineffective spell.

"Stupefy!"

After that, Hermione took out her most familiar spell. A beam of light suddenly burst from the tip of her wand, quickly traversing the distance between them before striking Lockhart squarely!

"Oh no..."

Lockhart waved his wand in vain, but with his magic power, he couldn't even last three seconds before his eyes rolled back and he completely fainted.

So, to everyone's astonishment, Lockhart, who had already lost consciousness, staggered unsteadily and finally lost his footing, falling awkwardly off the edge of the dueling stage!

With a dull thud, Lockhart, still unconscious, slammed his rear end to the ground, giving all the readers a happy new year!

"Professor Lockhart... actually failed?"

"Granger, she actually knocked the professor out of the water?"

The entire Great Hall fell into a stunned silence as Lockhart lay prostrate on the ground, before erupting into a cacophony of noise like bees swarming from a hive!

No one expected that Gilderoy Lockhart, the 'powerful wizard' who has published countless best-selling books and has a near-perfect character, would be defeated by a second-year girl in a simple duel practice!

And it was the kind where they were knocked straight off the stage!!

At this moment, surprise, admiration, and even irrational criticism and abuse all came rushing towards Hermione.

Despite the surrounding noise, Hermione took a deep breath and shouted out what she wanted to say!

"You see, Gilderoy Lockhart... he's just a good-for-nothing fraud!"

For a moment, the entire Great Hall fell silent once again.

"What he talks about in class is all boring nonsense, his past experiences are all plagiarized, and he only makes things worse when things go wrong... This guy is a complete and utter idiot!!"

This is amazing!

Hermione's performance left Harry completely dumbfounded. He had initially thought that the academically gifted girl would kick Lockhart, but he never expected that Hermione would not only beat Lockhart unconscious in front of everyone, but also publicly express her absolute contempt for him!

So, is Hermione trying to prove herself in this way?

Harry was stunned when he subconsciously met the gaze of the academically gifted girl.

She was someone who could help him, someone who would always be by his side... Hermione, standing before Harry, had just proven this to be absolutely true in the most striking way!

"Shut up, all of you!" Harry roared, silencing the noisy students. He then jumped onto the stage, grabbed Hermione, and turned to leave.

"This farce is over, everyone can leave now."

"Wait! Hermione Granger just injured the professor, this needs to be addressed... um!"

An older student stepped forward to block Harry's path, but before he could finish speaking, Harry's cold, piercing gaze made him freeze, and he even had difficulty breathing.

"Get out of the way!" The voice, booming like thunder and carrying a magical quality, made the ears of the surrounding students ring, and they involuntarily stepped aside.

Harry, meanwhile, took Hermione's hand openly and strode toward the Great Hall entrance amidst a cacophony of ambiguous glances.

However, just as they were about to reach the door, they nearly collided with someone who suddenly rushed towards them.

Of course, the person coming wouldn't bump into Harry and Hermione; he would simply pass right through them, because it was Nearly Headless Nick.

"Something's happened... this is really serious!" Nearly Headless Nick shouted breathlessly, not even noticing his head had fallen behind him. "The fourth-floor corridor, Professor Sprout and... the Fat Friar, anyway... we'd better go check on them!!"

Upon hearing Nearly Headless Nick's piercing wail, the entire Great Hall fell into a deathly silence.

The headmistress of Hufflepuff House, the powerful witch Pomona Sprout, even she got into trouble?!

Unfortunately, by the time Harry and Hermione arrived, it was all too late.

The Hufflepuff ghost, a kind-hearted Fat Friar, whose body was no longer milky white and transparent, but had become pitch black, floated motionless in place.

Professor Sprout lay stiff and cold on the floor, her eyes wide with shock, staring blankly at the ceiling above her...

Dumbledore and several other professors also arrived, but after an on-site inspection, even the powerful headmaster could only shake his head in regret.

"Harry, I'm sorry... Actually, you're right, Hogwarts really isn't that safe..."

After the crowd dispersed, Dumbledore slowly approached Harry, his face, etched with the marks of time, showing signs of exhaustion.

"So Harry, you and Hermione are still..."

"We're not leaving!" Harry knew what Dumbledore was going to say, so he refused without thinking.

"In this school, there are many people I care about; some are facing threats, and some have even turned into cold stones!"

Harry gripped Hermione's hand tightly, responding to Dumbledore with unwavering resolve.

"So... Hermione and I won't run away; we're absolutely going to find that damn murderer!!"

(P. S. A big kick to Lockhart, and Happy New Year everyone!)

Chapter 143 The Petrification Conspiracy is a Step-by-Step Process

After the panicked crowd dispersed, Harry stood silently at the crime scene, remaining there for a long time.

From the Halloween Deathday Party to mid-December, in less than two months, there have been three attacks, involving three people, a cat, and a ghost, for a total of five victims...

Harry wasn't sure if he could dispel the dark cloud hanging over Hogwarts, but he would do his best!

"That's terrible! Professor Sprout has been petrified too!" Hermione, clearly worried, added, "This means our Herbology will have to be canceled..."

"Herbology... wait! I get it!" Hermione's words were like a spark, instantly igniting Harry's thoughts.

In an instant, he had completely connected the three seemingly separate petrification attacks!

"Hermione, let's go find Severus Snape right now!" Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and led her quickly toward the Slytherin Headmaster's office.

That's right... the so- Heir of Slytherin, the purge of all students from ordinary backgrounds in the school—it's all a facade, a cover-up using past legends!

These three attacks were actually a meticulously planned, interconnected, and progressively escalating conspiracy!

On the day of the Deathday Party, the murderer chose Colin as his first target, seemingly to use Colin's ordinary background to announce the opening of the Chamber and the emergence of the Heir of Slytherin.

But the real reason was that Colin owned a camera. This kid, who had a habit of following Harry around and taking pictures wherever he went, could easily have unintentionally captured some evidence!

In the ensuing chicken coop incident, the murderer took advantage of the fact that most people had left the castle to launch another attack, resulting in Filch and Mrs. Norris being caught in the crossfire.

This move effectively neutralized Hogwarts' only nighttime curfew!

With Filch and Mrs. Norris unable to keep watch at night, Dumbledore had no choice but to assign the task to the Prefect and teachers. But how could they be as adept at it as Filch?

Moreover, this would increase the likelihood of instructors being active at night, which in turn would give the perpetrator the opportunity to commit further crimes!