Dueling Club's "Iconic Scene" (3)

On the dueling platform, the silvery sheen was fading. Lockhart stood where he was, his wand hanging at his side, a complicated expression on his face. It was neither disappointment nor anger, but the relieved satisfaction of finally being able to cut loose before a true opponent.

"Professor Snape," Lockhart said softly, every word clear, "what was that move you just did called?"

Severus Snape did not answer. His lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

The silence below the platform lasted a full three seconds. Then the Gryffindor section exploded.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?" Seamus Finnigan's voice rose so high it nearly cracked. He grabbed Dean Thomas's arm, his nails almost digging through the other boy's sleeve. "That move—that lean-back—how did he do it? Is his spine made of springs?"

Dean did not answer. His mouth was still hanging open, his eyes fixed on the direction Snape had vanished, the afterimage of that silver-white beam still lingering in his pupils. Several seconds passed before he swallowed, his voice sounding as though it came from a dream. "That classic lean-back dodge... it was Wonder Man!"

Seamus whipped around, his eyes lighting up. "Right, right, Wonder Man! Last time I went to my Muggle cousin's house, he showed me Wonder Man's serialized comics. He's our local superhero! He transforms just by shouting Kimota!" As he spoke, he gestured with his hands and leaned backward himself, nearly crashing into someone behind him.

Several Muggle-born students nearby also gathered around, chiming in all at once.

"Exactly! That's how Wonder Man dodges bullets—he bends backward in slow motion, and the bullets fly past his face!" A boy named Kevin Ent lowered his voice, his face flushed with excitement. "But Snape didn't have slow motion. He was really that fast!"