Apart from Harry, apparently no one else had noticed anything wrong with Lockhart. Beside him, Hermione was staring in disbelief at Lockhart, whom Snape had sent flying a considerable distance with a single spell.
But whether Snape had held back, leaving his spell short of power, or Lockhart was simply good at taking a beating, Lockhart had already climbed back up after landing flat on his back, though he staggered a little, as if he could barely stay on his feet.
Lavender Brown retrieved Lockhart's wand from below the platform and handed it back to him.
Lockhart took his wand and gave Lavender an elegant smile. "Thank you, Miss Brown." Then he straightened up and looked at Snape, nodding with an easy expression.
"Not bad, not bad, Professor Snape. Showing them that move was an excellent idea. Quite ingenious, really. Young wizards certainly ought to master the Disarming Charm, but I tend to speak rather frankly, so I hope you won't mind..."
As he spoke, Lockhart raised a finger on his left hand and wagged it.
"Your opening stance and your intentions were both rather too obvious. Had I wanted to stop you, it would have been child's play. Still, I thought that, to help them understand the spell's effects, I might as well let them see what actually happens when it hits."
"How very thoughtful, Professor Lockhart." Snape's face was stern, his voice icy. Only the faint upward curl of his lips betrayed a little of his mockery.
"But I wonder whether demonstrating how to block it might not be a better idea?"
"Ah... a fair point, ha." Seemingly noticing the murderous aura around Snape, Lockhart chose not to engage with him further and turned to the students instead.
"I think that will do for the demonstration. You should