The Reopened Dueling Club (II)

"I'm running the Dueling Club not so a select few students can show off." Lockhart straightened up, his tone turning solemn. "It's so most children can learn how to run, how to dodge, and how to stall until a professor arrives when they're caught. If you think it isn't necessary, then I won't hold it. At worst, when something really happens, the Daily Prophet's headline will become something like, 'Acting Headmistress McGonagall Sternly Refuses Professor Lockhart's Efforts to Protect Students.'"

The air in the office fell silent for several seconds.

McGonagall stared at Lockhart for a long while. Then she put on her glasses, picked up her quill again, and signed the application.

"Friday night, eight o'clock. The Great Hall. I'll notify Flitwick and Severus Snape to assist you." She handed him the document. "Be careful."

Lockhart accepted the document and gave a slight bow. "Rest assured, Headmistress McGonagall. I won't let the students become a monster's dinner."

He walked to the door, then looked back. The star on his brooch flashed several times. "After all, I'm a professor too."

The door opened, then closed.

McGonagall sat behind her desk, staring at the closed door without moving for a long time.

Outside, night had already fallen. The treetops of the Forbidden Forest had become a blurred swath of ink in the twilight. Lockhart walked through the corridor with unhurried steps. His fingers felt the signed application in his pocket, and the curve of his smile never faded.

At the corner of the corridor, he stopped and turned to look at the moonlit Forbidden Forest beyond the window.

Friday night. The Dueling Club. He would stand on the stage in the Great Hall and display his strength before every student once again. Not for vanity, but to make that lamp light