The Slytherin students erupted in cheers, celebrating their Head of House's victory. Snape's triumph was theirs as well, and they basked in it with pride.
Meanwhile, a chorus of gasps and cries of concern came from the girls in the crowd, as though they were the ones who'd been blasted across the stage.
Louis snapped his fingers beside a dazed Hermione and smiled.
"So? Feeling disillusioned yet?"
Hermione nodded blankly. "How could he be that… weak?"
"Who knows? Maybe after getting famous he stopped practicing," Louis said with a grin. "If someone cast a Priori Incantato on his wand, I bet the results would be… interesting."
—Probably a whole string of Obliviate spells.
On stage, Lockhart had already scrambled back to his feet.
He brushed the dust off his robes with exaggerated elegance, pretending nothing had happened.
"This was merely a demonstration!" he announced, forcing a broad smile. "I wanted to show you all what it looks like to be struck by a spell! How was that performance, hmm? Quite realistic, wasn't it? I even dropped my wand! That, my dear students, was the Disarming Charm! Remember it—use it when you duel!"
Hermione's expression twisted in confusion.
"What is he even saying? Does he think we'll learn Expelliarmus just by watching him get hit once?" she muttered indignantly. She had spent weeks mastering that spell—it wasn't something you could teach by example once.
"Who knows?" Louis said lightly. "Maybe Mr. Lockhart assumes everyone has the same 'natural talent' as he does."
Hermione gave him a strange look. "That sounded… like there was a hidden meaning in it."
Louis only smiled.
The farce on the stage continued. Even after being publicly humiliated, the clownish Lockhart refused to give up his bravado.
"In fact, Professor Snape," Lockhart proclaimed, puffing out his chest, "your spell had quite a few flaws! If I weren't holding back for the demonstration, I could've disarmed you in a single move—"
He stopped mid-sentence, because Snape's gaze had grown dangerous. One more word, and he might've found himself hexed through the nearest wall.
"Ahem! Anyway!" Lockhart coughed hastily. "Children, that concludes our demonstration! Now, let's move on to some one-on-one practice. Professor Snape, any suggestions?"
"Suggestions?" Snape's dark eyes swept the room, pausing briefly on Harry Potter. For a moment, he seemed tempted to use the boy—who looked so much like his old nemesis—as target practice.
But then he remembered Slytherin's recent loss in Quidditch. Perhaps now was a good time to earn his House a few points instead.
"Before the practice begins," Snape said silkily, "I believe we could use a proper demonstration. The earlier one was far too brief, wouldn't you agree, Professor Lockhart?"
Lockhart's smile froze, a bead of sweat forming on his temple.
"Mr. Wilson." Snape's robes billowed dramatically as he turned, looking very much like an enormous bat. "Why don't you come up here and show everyone what a real duel looks like?"
Louis, who had been quietly enjoying Lockhart's downfall and Hermione's crushed expectations, blinked in surprise.
"Me?" He pointed at himself, bewildered.
"Yes, you. Up you go," Snape said with a curt nod.
Well… he was Snape's potion supplier. Might as well humor the man.
With a resigned sigh, Louis stepped onto the dueling platform.
"Now then," Snape continued, scanning the crowd, "do we have anyone willing to duel Mr. Wilson?"
The entire hall fell silent.
"No one?" Snape arched an eyebrow in mild surprise—until he noticed a single raised hand among the students.
A blonde girl stood out clearly from the crowd. With elegant poise, she lifted her arm, head held high, her pale neck exposed in proud defiance, as if silently mocking everyone else's hesitation.
"Cassandra?" Hermione gasped in shock.
"Miss Vole, very courageous," Snape said approvingly, giving the girl a rare nod. "Come on up."
Two Slytherins facing each other—no matter who won, he'd have an excuse to award House points.
Cassandra Vole.
Louis raised an eyebrow as he looked at the blonde girl stepping onto the platform.
"I'm here to challenge you," Cassandra said gracefully, bowing with poise before raising her wand. "Though this is only the first step."
"So you were serious about that challenge after all," Louis said, recalling her bold declaration on the very first night of term.
"I never joke," Cassandra replied coolly. "I only hope your performance won't disappoint me."
"Ahem! Then—let the duel begin!" Lockhart, though clearly displeased with Snape's interference, couldn't exactly back down now that the duel was underway. He hurried to stand between them and shouted, "Ready—three! Two! One—"
"Sta—"
He didn't even finish the word before Cassandra made her move.
But instead of attacking, she cast a defensive spell.
"Protego!"
Her wand swept through the air, and a shimmering blue barrier formed before her.
The Shield Charm!
Snape's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise, while Lockhart's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
The Shield Charm was no simple spell—it was notoriously difficult to master. To give a sense of scale… more than half of all Ministry employees who graduated from Hogwarts couldn't cast it properly.
In other words, Cassandra had just demonstrated a level of skill that surpassed the majority of grown wizards.
Several upper-year students bowed their heads in embarrassment, realizing they'd just been outperformed by a first-year girl.
"A very fine Shield Charm," Louis said with an amused smile. "You cast it quite fluently."
His compliment, however, didn't seem to please her. In fact, Cassandra's expression hardened, her eyes turning icy.
"Are you mocking me?" she said coldly.
"No," Louis chuckled. "I'm giving you a chance. But it seems you don't appreciate it. In that case, don't blame me if I don't hold back."
He spoke in an unhurried tone, twirling his wand like an old man stretching before a leisurely stroll. Across from him, Cassandra's eyes narrowed and she immediately began her next spell.
With the Shield Charm protecting her, she figured she had the advantage—one spell ahead, one layer of defense. How could he possibly beat her now?
"Expelliarmus!" Cassandra cried.
A flash of red light shot toward Louis—only for his wand to intercept it effortlessly. With a casual flick, he redirected the spell aside.
Whether by accident or on purpose, the deflected Disarming Charm struck Lockhart squarely in the face.
And for the second time that evening, Lockhart was blasted off his feet and sent flying across the hall.
Neither Cassandra nor Louis paid him any mind. Cassandra's expression turned focused and fierce as she rapidly cast a chain of spells.
"Impedimenta!"
"Ventus Turbulentus!" (Whirling Gale!)
"Confringo!" (Blasting Curse!)
Each incantation came faster than the last, the spells growing more dangerous in intensity. Aside from the first one, the latter two were not the sort that could simply be brushed aside.
It wasn't that Louis couldn't deflect them—he could—but their blast radius was wide. If he reflected them now, it wouldn't just be Lockhart getting hit… half the audience might end up in the hospital wing.
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