104: Chapter 104 Duel Club Part 1

The Great Hall had been cleared to make space for a long platform, with the four house tables pushed against the walls. Students crowded the sides, and the shadow of the Chamber of Secrets hung over every wand.

Draco stood in the front row of Slytherin, his fingers gripping his wand.

"Are you really not going up?"

Allen Potter stood in the back two rows, holding an unopened copy of The Standard Book of Spells.

"I said so before I came."

"What if Snape calls on you?"

"Not feeling well."

Zabini leaned against the side and chimed in.

"A convenient excuse is the safest one."

Nott closed his notebook, his gaze falling toward the long platform.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is here."

Gilderoy Lockhart ascended the platform wearing purple robes, his smile dazzlingly bright.

"Students, thank you all for attending the Dueling Club I have initiated. Recently, a slightly unsettling incident occurred at the school, and appropriate training will help everyone maintain their composure."

Snape walked up from below the platform, his black robes dragging across the wooden boards.

Zabini watched him.

"He doesn't look like he's here to assist."

Allen Potter opened the book.

"He's here to tear down the stage."

Draco asked, "How do you know?"

"Look at Gilderoy Lockhart still smiling."

Gilderoy Lockhart turned to Snape.

"To let everyone see the process clearly, I invite Professor Snape to demonstrate. Rest assured, I will control my strength."

Snape raised his wand.

"First, remember, Gilderoy Lockhart, you must bow before a duel."

The two stepped back. Gilderoy Lockhart was still explaining etiquette to the students when Snape had already counted to three.

"Expelliarmus."

A red light struck Gilderoy Lockhart, sending him flying backward. His cloak covered half his face. The Great Hall went quiet for a beat, then laughter erupted.

Gilderoy Lockhart scrambled up and threw off his cloak.

"Excellent! Professor Snape demonstrated a slightly rough version. I could have blocked it, but for the sake of teaching, I chose to let everyone see the effect clearly."

Snape looked at him.

"Of course."

Gilderoy Lockhart clapped his hands.

"Now, in pairs, practice the Expelliarmus. Only this one."

Snape scanned the crowd.

"I will arrange it."

Draco's fingers tightened.

Allen Potter closed his book.

"Standard incantations, hold back your strength, don't use what they taught you at home."

"I remember."

Snape's gaze fell on Draco, then shifted toward Gryffindor.

"Mr. Malfoy."

Draco lifted his chin.

"Professor."

"Mr. Potter."

Harry was pushed onto the platform. Ron immediately shouted, "Professor, this isn't fair!"

Snape turned his head.

"Mr. Weasley, if you want to take his place, I can arrange that."

Ron shut his mouth, and Hermione pulled on his sleeve.

Harry and Draco stood their ground, and murmurs rose from below.

Pansy stared at the stage.

"Let Draco win."

Allen Potter looked at Draco's wand.

"Just make sure he doesn't lose too badly."

Pansy frowned.

"You look down on him?"

Nott opened his notebook.

"The person opposite is Harry Potter, and the Professor is watching too. Winning isn't necessarily worth it."

Draco looked back at Allen Potter.

Allen Potter lifted the spine of his book.

"Don't forget the strategy."

Harry saw this motion too, and his brows knit together.

Gilderoy Lockhart stepped between the two.

"Mr. Potter of Gryffindor and Mr. Malfoy of Slytherin, this will be a friendly demonstration."

Snape spoke.

"Step back, Gilderoy Lockhart."

Gilderoy Lockhart moved to the side.

"Of course, that is exactly what I was about to do."

"Bow."

Both bowed perfunctorily.

"Raise your wands."

Two wands were raised simultaneously. The Great Hall fell silent; even the pie in Crabbe's hand stopped near his mouth.

Snape spoke.

"Begin."

Harry made the first move.

"Expelliarmus."

Draco dodged to the side, the red light grazing his robe, and he immediately counterattacked.

"Expelliarmus."

Harry took two steps back, his wand still in his hand.

Someone from Slytherin shouted, "Malfoy, don't dodge!"

From the Gryffindor side, someone shouted, "Harry, don't let him pin you down!"

Draco gritted his teeth, still using only the Expelliarmus.

Harry deflected it and counterattacked. The red light struck Draco's shoulder, and he retreated to the edge of the platform, his heels scraping against the wooden boards.

Pansy grew anxious.

"He's going easy on Potter."

Zabini stared at the platform.

"He still remembers how to lose."

Allen Potter did not look away.

"It's not over yet."

Harry gripped his wand tighter.

"Is that enough, Malfoy?"

Draco sneered.

"Do you think pushing me back two steps is enough?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"How very merciful."

Gilderoy Lockhart hurriedly intervened.

"Good, both of you performed well. We can stop for comments."

Snape did not call a halt.

"Continue."

Hearing this, Draco's expression darkened further. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Flint standing below, arms crossed, laughing.

"Malfoy, are you clearing the way for Potter?"

Adrian Pucey also chimed in.

"Don't just use first-year spells."

Allen Potter looked toward the platform.

"Ignore them."

Nott closed his notebook.

"He can't hear them."

Zabini looked at Draco's hand.

"He hears something else."

Harry frowned.

"Malfoy, don't listen to their nonsense."

Draco stared at him.

"I don't need you to remind me."

Snape's fingers twitched on his wand, but he did not call a halt.

Allen Potter's gaze fell on the tip of Draco's wand.

"Don't change the spell."

Pansy asked, "What is he going to change to?"

No one answered.

Harry raised his wand again.

"Expelliarmus."

The red light struck Draco in the chest, and he slid back half a step, his wand nearly slipping from his hand.

Ron shouted from the Gryffindor side, "Well done, Harry!"

The atmosphere on the Slytherin side changed.

Draco tightened his grip on his wand and raised it toward Harry. Before the spell could leave his lips, Allen Potter had already stepped forward.

"Draco, don't use it."

Draco did not look back.

"Serpensortia."

A black light landed on the wooden platform and transformed into a black snake.

Students in the front row backed away, and Gilderoy Lockhart immediately raised his wand.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it."

Snape raised his hand.

"Don't touch it."

Gilderoy Lockhart's spell was already cast, and sparks erupted from the tip of his wand. The black snake, startled, raised its head and turned toward the crowd below.

Harry took half a step back.

"Malfoy, what are you doing?"

Draco's expression changed.

"I didn't tell it to go that way."

The black snake slithered off the platform and moved toward Hufflepuff. Justin Finch-Fletchley was squeezed into the front row, his escape route blocked by the crowd.

"Make it stop! Someone make it stop!"

The Hufflepuff side was in chaos.

Gilderoy Lockhart was still raising his wand.

"I certainly can, as long as everyone stays still."

Snape's expression darkened.

"Gilderoy Lockhart, put down your wand."

Allen Potter stood behind the crowd, his fingers gripping the blackthorn wand inside his sleeve.

Inside his Portable Space, Void raised its head, its silver slit pupils fixed on the black snake.

Nott noticed his movement.

"Are you going to intervene?"

Allen Potter did not look at him.

"It's not my turn yet."

Zabini looked toward the platform.

"Harry is looking at the snake."

Draco saw it too and gritted his teeth. "Potter, don't just stare! Get rid of it!"

Harry did not answer.

The black snake was only a few steps away from Justin Finch-Fletchley, its tongue flicking in and out as it slid across the wooden boards. The students around were crowding together, becoming more chaotic.

Allen Potter's wrist tightened; Spatial Displacement was already poised around the snake's body. If Harry were a beat too slow, he could throw the snake back onto the platform.

He did not move.

Harry stared at the snake and spoke in a series of hissing sounds.

The sound did not belong to English, nor to any classroom incantation.

Allen Potter's fingertips rested at his cuff, the sleepiness in his eyes dissipating, his gaze locked on the distance between Harry and the black snake.

The critical juncture had arrived.