8 p. m., Hogwarts Great Hall.
The long dining table disappeared, and a huge gilded stage appeared along one wall.
Hundreds of candles floated in the air, their Winky light illuminating the stage and turning the ceiling as black as velvet.
Before the gathering even started, many interested students arrived at the Great Hall one after another, making the originally spacious Great Hall somewhat crowded.
"Damn it, why is it so crowded!" Ron muttered as he squeezed through the crowd. "Did the entire school come?"
He carefully put his wand away, as if afraid it would break.
Harry felt a little annoyed as the people around him jostled and pushed him.
Compared to the two of them, Hermione was much happier.
Because of the crowd, she naturally sat close to Silan, her radiant smile almost melting her cheeks.
Silan led Hermione by the wrist, using her hands to part the crowd so that no one could push her.
He actually dislikes crowded, stuffy, and noisy places; they're annoying.
Fortunately, there was Hermione.
The two slowly made their way through the crowd to the vicinity of the stage, where Ron also squeezed his way out of the crowd.
Harry, who was lagging behind, craned his neck, jumped up, and looked at the stage, but saw nothing.
"Silan, is Professor Flitwick here to teach us?"
Harry asked hopefully from the crowd.
"No." Silan shook her head.
Harry settled for second best. "Is that Professor McGonagall?"
Although Professor McGonagall is rather strict, she is undoubtedly a trustworthy and good professor.
Therefore, Harry felt that if it were Professor McGonagall, it wouldn't be unacceptable.
Ron felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the person stepping onto the stage. He turned back and gave Harry a wan smile, "Unfortunately, it's not him."
"No matter who it is, as long as it's not..."
Harry pushed his way through the crowd, but before he could finish speaking, his words turned into a painful groan.
He saw Lockhart, the last person he wanted to see.
Lockhart was wearing a dark red robe today. Beside him was the second person Harry didn't want to see right now.
Snape.
Harry immediately tried to turn and run away, but was blocked by the young wizard behind him.
"What bad luck!" Harry exclaimed angrily as he squeezed next to Ron.
"Don't be angry, Harry." Silan smiled at him. "They might just start fighting later."
Lockhart and Snape fight?
Harry imagined the scene and was secretly looking forward to both sides smashing each other's brains out.
But then he realized that Lockhart was a good-for-nothing who couldn't even handle a House-elf.
Let him hit Snape?
Harry preferred to believe Hagrid could keep the secret.
However, seeing Snape punch Lockhart's brains out wasn't so bad, was it?
"Quiet, students, quiet!" Lockhart said loudly, flicking his dark red robe triumphantly. "Come closer, come closer, I have something to say."
He coughed lightly, as if to be serious.
"Professor Dumbledore has permitted me to start this small Dueling Club, to train you all thoroughly so that you can better protect yourselves, just as I have done countless times."
"For more details on this, please refer to my published works."
Lockhart flashed a bright white grin and gave the students what he thought was an incredibly charming look.
Snape stood opposite him, somewhat irritated, his fingers lightly twirling his wand.
"I really don't know how Dumbledore could allow this stupid club to exist."
He glanced at Harry with a hint of boredom, then subtly scanned his eyes before looking at Silan and Hermione.
Snape subtly twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a barely perceptible smile.
Lockhart, after rambling on and on, finally finished his opening remarks.
"This is my assistant, Professor Snape. He generously agreed to help me with a small demonstration before class."
Lockhart grinned and laughed. "Of course, I'll return your Potions Master to you unharmed. Don't worry about me hurting him."
Snape remained expressionless, his cold gaze fixed on Lockhart.
After the two exchanged dueling greetings, the demonstration finally began.
Harry and Ron both became excited.
"I really hope they can fight to the death!"
Silan also kept a close eye on Snape.
He hadn't seen Snape make a move since he enrolled.
"One two three!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Snape and Lockhart simultaneously raised their wands high above their shoulders.
Snape's wand traced an elegant arc in the air as he pronounced the words precisely.
"Expelliarmus!"
He chanted the Spells slowly, and everyone heard it clearly.
The young wizards all held their breath.
Watching professors fight during their free time is quite an interesting thing.
A dazzling red light flashed from Snape's wand and flew towards Lockhart.
"Protego!"
Lockhart waved his wand and cast a Shield Charm on himself, blocking Snape's Disarming Charm.
After blocking the attack, Lockhart waved his wand and quickly chanted a spell.
"Diffindo!"
A beam of Spells light flew toward Snape, fast and swift.
Snape frowned, somewhat surprised.
Instead of running away, they attacked me?
He casually waved his wand. "Impedimenta!"
A thick stone slab instantly appeared on the stage, blocking Lockhart's Spells.
The stone slab and the Spells collided and shattered into Diffindo, sending fragments flying in all directions.
"Watch out, back up!"
The surrounding students instinctively stepped back.
Lockhart's admirers applauded him.
They didn't like Snape at all and were happy to see him get his comeuppance.
I really hope Lockhart can give Snape a good beating and break his nose!
Malfoy and some Slytherin students were booing Lockhart and then loudly cheering for their own headmaster.
"Go for it, Professor Snape!"
"Give him Killing Curse!"
Hermione waved her wand, stopping several flying stones.
"I really hope you can use Spells with a wider range next time."
Ron jumped aside, dodging a piece of rubble. "Those rocks couldn't have hit Silan at all. You should have stopped our side."
"Don't worry, Ron," Hermione said without turning around, "Madam Pomfrey will heal you."
Silan looked at Lockhart on the stage and thought, "He can actually hold his own against Snape?"
Is Tom's Diary working its magic?
Snape also noticed the anomaly, frowning as he stared intently at Lockhart, becoming even more serious.
Lockhart shifted his feet and struck again with lightning speed.
"Incendio!"
A blazing, bright flame erupted from his wand, like a giant fire python, and slammed into Snape.
The heatwave rolled and hissed, distorting the very air with its intense heat.
The young wizards in the audience gasped in surprise.
Snape remained still and deftly recited a spell.
"Aguamenti!"
Water and fire collided, causing water vapor to rise and instantly spread across the stage, even leaving water droplets on the hair of nearby young wizards.
Lockhart and Snape's figures also became blurred.
The young wizards in the audience all opened their eyes wide and looked towards the stage, trying hard to find the two figures.
Snape seemed to have grown tired of this boring game, and he started chanting the spell much faster.
"Expelliarmus!"
A flash of red light appeared in the mist, and a figure flew out, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Snape won?" Harry stood on tiptoe, craning his neck to look at the stage.
"Probably," Ron said, squinting.
Silan saw Lockhart in a corner of the stage.
He climbed back onto the stage somewhat awkwardly and struck a pose in the mist as if nothing had happened.
After the fog cleared, Lockhart flicked his robe, as if he had won.
Snape stared at him with an unfriendly expression, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Although his first Disarming Charm wasn't cast quickly, it didn't have its power deliberately reduced, yet Lockhart managed to block it?
Furthermore, the Spells Lockhart unleashed afterward were surprisingly powerful.
This puzzled Snape greatly.
Lockhart, however, paid him no heed and stood on the stage, declaring loudly, "Professor Snape's dueling skills are on par with mine; everyone has witnessed that."
He paused, glanced at Snape, and continued, "But I believe that the most important thing for a professor is to be able to teach students. So I have an interesting suggestion."
Proposal?
The students below the stage fell silent, eagerly awaiting Lockhart's next words.