"Oh, I see." Ron nodded, "That rat is a bit timid, we all know that, never mind, it will always come back, won't it?"
"Yes." Harry nodded, "I think you're right, it will always come back."
After dinner, under the anticipation of everyone, Professor Lockhart's Dueling Club made its dazzling debut.
The long dining tables in the Great Hall vanished, and along one wall appeared a gilded stage, illuminated by hundreds of floating candles.
The ceiling once again turned velvet-black, adorned with something resembling a nebula, quite stunning.
Almost all the students were there, packed together, each holding their own magic wand, faces full of excitement awaiting Professor Lockhart's arrival.
"We shouldn't have just one professor, right?" Hermione said with anticipation beside them, "I mean, besides Professor Lockhart—he's got to have an opponent, doesn't he? I guess it might be Professor Flitwick, I heard that when he was young, Professor Flitwick was a duel champion."
"Hard to say." Ron laughed, "I'd rather have Professor Lockhart's opponent be Professor Snape, that way Lockhart could flatten his big nose..."
"Well said, Weasley." Snape's voice sounded from behind Ron.
Ron turned around in horror, meeting Professor Snape's smile.
"Alright then, Gryffindor will lose two points for you speaking ill of professors behind their backs, Mr. Weasley." Professor Snape grinned sinisterly, billowing his black robes as he swept aside.
Not long after, Professor Lockhart, dressed in a purplish-red robe, arrived in the Great Hall, looking radiant as ever.
Beside him was Professor Flitwick, taking small hurried steps, clearly having a hard time keeping up with the brisk Lockhart.
Professor Lockhart stepped onto the platform, facing everyone with his signature smile.
"Welcome, welcome to my Dueling Club—as I mentioned in class, Professor Dumbledore has permitted me to establish this little Dueling Club, to adequately train everyone here, just in case you ever need to defend yourselves using the various methods I have employed countless times—check out my published works for details on these."
"Allow me to introduce our special guest for this Dueling Club." Professor Lockhart continued with a smile, "Professor Filius Flitwick, a former duel competition champion! He's here to share some little tips about dueling."
Professor Flitwick stepped onto the stage, waving to the crowd.
The audience broke into applause, giving the Professor of Curse the heartiest applause.
Especially the Ravenclaw students, cheering and clapping, looking joyful and proud.
"And also Professor Severus Snape!" Lockhart continued the introduction, "He told me he knows a thing or two about dueling himself, and he generously agreed to assist me with a little demonstration before class starts."
"But I must say, I don't want you kids to worry—as soon as we're done demonstrating, I'll return your Magic Potion teacher to you without a scratch, so no need to fear!"
"I truly hope he disassembles Snape's bones," Ron said under his breath, heedless, "Throw them into a Magic Potion cauldron, and you'd have a top-grade poison…"
Harry couldn't hold back, lowering his head and chuckling.
Hermione was the same, lightly hitting Ron while laughing quietly, looking truly amused.
Professor Snape seemed to notice the laughter directed at him, scanning the area sinisterly, but remained silent.
"I think I should let Professor Flitwick explain to you all what a wizard duel is." Professor Lockhart raised his hand to signal for silence, "After all, though I know a lot about dueling, I am not quite on par with a duel master."
Professor Flitwick stepped forward, speaking in a sharp voice to everyone, "Listen up—a duel consists of several steps: first, bow to each other, hold your magic wands and walk to the sides, after counting to three, commence the attack—absolutely no physical contact is allowed during a duel, I hope you all understand this."
"Now, let's have Professor Snape and Professor Lockhart demonstrate to everyone how a wizard duel is conducted!" Professor Flitwick said again.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lockhart and Snape stood on the dueling platform, bowing to each other.
Then, they raised their magic wands like arrows at their chests and walked back.
Reaching the edge of the dueling platform, under Professor Flitwick's countdown, their duel officially began.
Professor Snape adopted an elegant posture, loudly chanting, "Expelliarmus!"
A dazzling red light shot from the tip of his magic wand, straight at Professor Lockhart.
A semi-transparent shield suddenly appeared before Professor Lockhart, blocking Snape's spell.
"Expelliarmus!" Professor Lockhart was equally unwilling to be outdone, casting a spell.
Both sides went back and forth, evenly matched, adhering to the rules set by Professor Lockhart, they utilized only Expelliarmus, avoiding any other spells.
The duel lasted for four or five minutes, with neither showing any sign of weakness.
"Alright, I declare the duel a draw!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed, "An excellent duel, if you two were still students, I would certainly award points to your respective houses!"