Lockhart and Snape walked to opposite ends of the stage, Morris could fully anticipate what would happen next.
He didn't quite understand why Lockhart, knowing his own shortcomings, could still project such a confident and in control demeanor.
Lockhart then struck a fancy starting pose and said, "I'll count to three, and then we'll cast spells on each other simultaneously."
. three!"
" Expelliarmus."
Snape's voice wasn't loud, even somewhat muffled, but the speed of the spell was unbelievably fast.
A condensed red beam of light instantly crossed the stage.
"Bang!"
Lockhart didn't even have time to react before he was sent flying, crashing hard into the wall behind the stage, sliding down the wall, and collapsing to the ground.
"Tsk."
Morris had expected Snape to use some more aggressive spells, but it turned out to be just a Disarming Charm.
However, this Disarming Charm is also very powerful.
Lockhart scrambled to his feet, returned to the stage, and stubbornly insisted, "Aha, that was brilliant! That's exactly what I wanted to show you. What I did just now... well, it was mainly to enhance the demonstration and help you see the spell's effect more clearly."
He seemed not to hear the jarring laughter, or rather, he selectively ignored it.
Morris suddenly realized that Lockhart was an extremely strong person.
His composure under such circumstances is remarkable; no wonder he's been able to swindle people for so many years.
In fact, Hogwarts still has many fans at Lockhart.
After offering a forced explanation, Lockhart almost impatiently announced the start of the student practice session.
The two professors stepped down from the stage and moved among the students, beginning to divide them into groups.
Morris also got his partner, Neville Longbottom.
The chubby child visibly relaxed upon seeing him.
"Hello," Neville said softly, "I'm so glad I met you, Morris."
Morris looked at Neville, who was gripping his wand tightly, and nodded slightly. "Let's go over there."
The two broke away from the crowd and found a corner to stand at the edge of the Great Hall.
After standing still, Morris smiled at Neville, who was still trembling slightly. "Don't be nervous, I won't hurt you. Hmm... let's do some practice first."
Neville calmed down. "Okay."
He simply lacked the confidence to use spells on others.
Morris tapped the ground with his wand, and a gray-white skeleton about 1.5 meters tall materialized out of thin air.
The skeleton stood there silently, a bone dagger in its right hand and a small bone shield hanging from its left arm, like a soldier awaiting orders.
Neville's eyes widened in disbelief, and he nearly dropped his wand. "This... this is..."
"Your opponent, Neville," Morris patted him on the shoulder, "Is not aggressive and won't fight back. You can use Disarming Charm on it, or any spell you're good at."
"Of course, you can spar with me if you want."
Upon hearing this, Neville shook his head vigorously.
"No, no need, this is fine."
Morris, seemingly anticipating his reaction, said enthusiastically, "Then let's begin, Neville. I remember you've already learned quite a few spells."
Upon hearing this, Neville immediately composed himself and focused all his attention on the skeleton.
Meanwhile, several students nearby were also drawn over and began whispering among themselves.
"It's Black's magical skeleton!" a Ravenclaw student pushed up her glasses. "That's not easy to deal with."
Neville suddenly became uneasy.
When he saw Morris's encouraging look, he gritted his teeth, no longer hesitated, waved his wand, and chanted the spell.
A Levitation Charm struck the skeleton's bone sword, which instantly slipped from its grasp and slowly floated upwards.
"Well done," Morris said.
Neville scratched his head sheepishly, then chanted a Leg-Locker Curse, " Locomotor Mortis!"
This time, the spell was faster, striking the skeleton's knee precisely, causing its legs to stick together instantly, and it collapsed to the ground.
It worked!
Neville was both surprised and delighted—he hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.
It was worth it for him to get up every morning to practice spells.
Morris glanced at Neville with some surprise; he was certain that Neville's level of proficiency surpassed that of most of his classmates.
The surrounding students also looked surprised.
After all, Neville has always been perceived as clumsy and forgetful.
"Try the Disarming Charm again." Morris pointed his wand, and the skeleton's legs parted, stiffly rising from the ground, the bone sword that had floated up automatically flying back into its hand.
" Disarming Charm? I don't know that," Neville said blankly.
"It's okay, we'll learn now. The incantation is ' Expelliarmus,' and the action is like this."
Morris demonstrated with a wave of his wand. "It should be easy for you, Neville, after all, you're a genius."
He deliberately pronounced the word "genius" very loudly.
Neville's face flushed red.
"Try it quickly," Morris urged with great interest. "Remember to focus and keep your mind firmly on taking the enemy's weapon."
Neville immediately took several deep breaths.
His thinking was simple: since Morris had said so, he could definitely do it.
Finally, he braced himself, swung his wand at the skeleton, and shouted, " Expelliarmus!"
You're lucky!
Morris knew the spell had succeeded the moment Neville's incantation was cast.
It's a pity that the accuracy was a bit off.
The spell flew out crookedly, making an absurd turn, heading straight for Snape, who was standing in the center of the Great Hall with his arms crossed!
Snape didn't turn around; his wand flicked, and the Shield Charm instantly materialized.
"Bang!"
Neville's Disarming Charm struck the barrier with a muffled thud, scattering red light in all directions.
Undoubtedly, it had no effect.
But Snape's face was so dark it could drip water.
The students watching gasped, and many even covered their mouths.
A Gryffindor was watching the spectacle gave Neville a thumbs up and shouted, "I admit I underestimated you, Longbottom. You actually dared to ambush Snape!"
Why are you shouting so loudly?
Neville clutched his wand, trembling.
Should he... run away as soon as possible?
However, Snape had already strode up to them.
" Professor Snape," Morris spoke first, "That was just an accident."
His Potions Class professor was relatively kind to him.
"Watch your wand, Longbottom." Snape's icy gaze swept over Neville, finally settling on Morris's face. "And you, Black, keep a close eye on your foolish friends."
After he finished speaking, he turned and left.
At this moment, Neville was so nervous he was almost suffocating.