Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 144 Duel Club

"Come around, come to the front! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me?

"As the notice says, Professor Dumbledore has allowed me to open a dueling club. I, with my extensive experience, will train you and teach you the correct way to protect yourselves. Although you've already read about this in books, the text and the instruction are different..."

The long tables and chairs at the guest-of-honor seats against the wall of the school auditorium were all removed and replaced with a makeshift gilded stage. Hundreds of candles floated in the air, and the magic dome turned into a pitch-black velvet color, like a theater curtain.

Lockhart was wearing a gorgeous purple robe, his carefully groomed hair was smooth and shiny, and he had a bright smile. He seemed to be radiant with the brilliance of a protagonist in a stage play.

At the side hall door against the wall, Professor Sprout couldn't help but complain, "Isn't this the club opening? Why are they dressed up like this?"

Flitwick was also puzzled. "Usually, we have to apply for permission to purchase a few teaching aids. How can he use so many candles to decorate the stage? How did Minerva agree to this?"

Professor McGonagall was unable to answer his question because she was upstairs checking the list of students staying at school for Christmas and was not attending the club event tonight.

Then several professors turned their eyes to Professor Dumbledore in the corner.

Dumbledore spread his hands and shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he didn't know either, he was just a headmaster who didn't care about anything.

The old principal is pretending to be confused again.

Melvin curled his lips. He did the same thing when he was watching the snow in the courtyard a few days ago. He used the topic of memory to hint at the Horcrux, but did not reveal it completely. He was an old riddler.

If you don't tell me, then I won't tell you either...

Melvin also chose to pretend to be confused that day and chatted with the old principal about philosophical topics for half an hour. In the end, the two of them inexplicably reached some kind of tacit understanding, and the topic of Horcruxes came to an end.

But he did know about the stage decorations for tonight.

"These were the leftover candles from last year's Christmas dinner. I found them when I was cleaning out the storage room a while ago. I bought new ones this year, but they weren't very useful anyway, so I gave them to Professor Lockhart's club," Melvin explained.

“Why don’t you make teaching aids for me…”

Professor Flitwick muttered, looking at the expectant little wizards and shaking his head slightly, thinking that they would probably be disappointed.

The audience surrounded the gilded stage tightly. Almost all the students in the school came, crowded together shoulder to shoulder, clutching their wands, their faces full of excitement.

Just a few hours after the Duel Club notice was posted, it became a hot topic among the student community. Compared to the choir, drama club, or Gobstone Club, this club involving combat and magic was more attractive.

Professor Lockhart's performance was mediocre in the first few months of school, but he has now adapted to the environment of Hogwarts and repaired his damaged wand. The legendary adventurer's dueling teaching is really exciting.

After a few days of fermentation, the club's opening ceremony attracted students from all over the school to participate.

“Welcome everyone again!”

Lockhart tried hard to make his voice heard in every corner of the hall.

Attracting the attention of the whole audience, and ears filled with admiring praise.

The feeling was so wonderful that even a hundred bottles of concentrated joy potion couldn't compare to it, and even a powerful happiness spell couldn't bring such happiness. Lockhart was immersed in praise and glory, and his whole body felt comfortable.

He originally planned to seal his own memory and preside over the opening ceremony in the style of the old wizard in Xuecun, but he couldn't resist the temptation and was reluctant to wait for everyone to leave, so he returned to the office at night to savor the belated vanity.

As for how to ensure the quality of teaching and deal with the situation at hand, Lockhart had also made preparations in advance. He cleared his throat and said, "First, let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape!"

The Potions Professor, who stayed in the sunlight-free basement all day, surrounded by crucibles and specimens. He looked weak and was not good at dueling.

Is there a better assistant than this?

Lockhart couldn't help but grin. "Professor Snape claims to know a thing or two about dueling, and is willing to assist me with a small demonstration before the formal class."

Snape, dressed in a black robe, walked out of the shadows, his lips curled up slightly, forming an ugly, polite smile.

The students then noticed that there was an assistant teacher next to them, who was Snape. They all opened their eyes wide and a small discussion broke out from the audience.

"hiss……"

Harry took a deep breath and said to his friend beside him, "If Snape smiled at me like that, I would just turn around and run."

Ron nodded repeatedly, agreeing deeply.

Hermione said nothing, her expression agreeing.

"Listen to me, little ones, don't worry, don't be afraid. After Professor Snape and I finish the demonstration, we will return your Potions Master to you, guaranteed to be intact!"

Snape still had a polite smile on his face.

The professors who were visiting from a distance were silent, exchanging glances with sympathy and pity.

Professor Sprout, who was kind-hearted, sighed and said, "Good luck to him."

……

"one two Three!"

【Expelliarmus】

"boom……"

He flew backwards and hit the wall, then slid and fell to the ground. Curled up on the carpet, Lockhart felt as if his bones were about to fall apart, his vision went black, and he was a little breathless.

The first thought that came to my mind was that the robe was torn, and then I realized that the teaching assistant had picked the wrong person.

This Potions professor is not only good at potions, but also good at dueling.

"Cough cough..."

Lockhart stumbled to his feet, staggered back onto the stage, and tried to excuse himself: "Well, everyone saw it! I demonstrated a Disarming Spell for everyone, which made me lose my wand, my wand..."

He looked around and saw Lavender in the front row handing him the wand she had picked up, with a complicated look in her eyes.

"Thank you, Miss Brown."

Lockhart took the wand and thought quickly, trying to think of a way to redeem himself while subconsciously saying, "Professor Snape, that's a good trick, but your intention is too obvious. It would be easy to stop you. But I'm actively cooperating to broaden the students' horizons. Now it's your turn to cooperate with me..."

Snape's eyes turned cold.

Lockhart stopped talking quickly, his eyes darting around. He saw several professors watching from a distance, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "Levent... Professor Levent!"

"Professor Levent and I are more in sync. We can probably achieve a better presentation, Professor Levent? Professor Levent?"

He felt that Melvin would definitely cooperate with him. Even if he didn't, what kind of ability could such a young professor have?
Lockhart's face flushed with excitement. Seeing him shaking his head, he refused to let it go. He turned around and encouraged the young wizards in the audience: "Let's give Professor Lewinter some applause, okay?"

Of course the students applauded and cheered, giving a warm welcome.

Several professors suppressed their laughter and looked like they were enjoying the show.

"..."

Melvin looked distressed.

What are these students doing?

Didn’t you see that Professor Snape didn’t even smile when he was washing Lockhart?

There was a certain degree of etiquette involved in wizard duels, just like medieval knight duels and western gunslinging competitions, which required both parties to be evenly matched. In a duel with Lockhart, winning was not worth being happy about, but losing would make one feel disgusted for months.

Amid the clamor, Snape tilted his head slightly, looked at Lockhart, and sneered softly, "Have you forgotten that he has an Order of Merlin to be awarded soon?"

Lockhart's smile froze, his body stiffening on the spot. Melvin Levent, during his trip to Romania, helped control a multi-headed dragon riot and subdue a group of dark wizards stealing dragon eggs. In recognition of his achievements, the Romanian Ministry of Magic applied for the Order of Merlin, First Class, which was later upgraded to the Order of Merlin, Second Class, after review by the Order of Merlin. The awarding ceremony has not yet been determined.

Lockhart suddenly felt guilty about the young professor who could defeat the fire dragon and the dark wizard gang. He was not sure whether Melvin would cooperate with him.

If you don't cooperate...

Lockhart pressed his aching abdomen and considered whether he should feign a concussion and pass out, then try to make amends once he got through the night.

Snape took in his expression, waited until the students' booing died down, then walked past Lockhart, stood in front of the stage, and said calmly, "Let me demonstrate to Professor Lewynter."

Lockhart disappeared quietly and was spotted by several sharp-eyed students in the front row. They made excuses saying that they were not feeling well, their wand was broken, or they had a cold and felt dizzy.

Melvin glanced at Dumbledore beside him, and without further excuse, he walked along the path that the students had made way for and stepped onto the stage.

About half a minute later.

Under the gaze of the entire school, Melvin and Snape faced each other, stood opposite each other, bowed, raised their wands in front of them, and counted down in unison:

"Ready, three, two, one!"

【Expelliarmus】

【Iron Armor】

A dazzling red light streaked across the stage, its path blocked by an invisible magical barrier, and an even more dazzling brilliance burst forth during the collision.

Melvin flicked his wand lightly, and the red light returned to its original path. Snape cast another disarming spell, and the two red lights collided with each other, turning into star-like fragments of light.

It is very beautiful, complemented by the floating candlelight.

The Disarming Curse that could have directly knocked Lockhart away seemed to have become an obedient performance prop in the hands of these two professors.

One show ends and another begins.

[fainted to the ground]

【Iron Armor】

【…】

The auditorium gradually became quiet, with only the sound of the two professors casting spells echoing. The spells whistled past, and many little witches couldn't help but exclaim.

When they calmed down, they soon realized that the two professors were just demonstrating. Unlike the fierce fight that the little wizards had expected, the two professors fought back and forth, one attacking while the other defending, and then looking for opportunities to seize the opportunity to attack.

The spells released were concentrated in the middle and upper grades, and their difficulty was slightly beyond the level of most students, but still within their reach.

The casting speed is slow, almost a textbook standard action.

They showed more of a rhythm, close to a real wizard duel, but slowed down the process and broke it down so that every student could see it clearly.

[All Immobilized]

【Total Petrochemicals】

【…】

Percy and his girlfriend Penelope stood in the front row, their eyes bloodshot as they didn't blink, not wanting to miss any of the action.

The other students in the audience were also fascinated by the performance.

Several professors watching from a distance noticed something was going on. Duelist Master Flitwick narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the two figures engaged in a fierce duel. He chuckled softly, "I knew it! How could they possibly work so closely together..."

After a few more spells were cast, the audience suddenly discovered that the sound of the professors' spells colliding became lower.

Two beams of light of different colors collided with each other, making a roar like boulders colliding.

Percy and Penelope were so close that they could even feel the strong wind brushing their cheeks and blowing their hair. Percy still didn't want to blink, and tears were glistening in his eyes.

【Thunderbolt Explosion】

【Split into pieces】

【…】

Various defensive and offensive spells cut through the air and whistled across the stage. The battle had already reached a fever pitch, but the two professors remained unhurried, demonstrating every detail clearly. The movements of extending and retracting their wands were unhurried, light and flexible, and even had a hint of elegance.

【God's Shadowless Sword】

[Fire Rage]

"boom!"

The last two black magic spells collided with each other, and orange flames with a scarlet tinge splashed everywhere. When they were about to fall off the stage, they were wrapped in an invisible bubble film, and the bright and hot flames quietly disappeared.

The two professors on the stage stopped at the same time, and their figures bowed, their figures imprinted on the walls of the auditorium.

The young wizard's eyes followed them as they left the stage, and they no longer cared about what Lockhart, who came on stage later, was saying.

"Who do you think is more powerful, Professor Lewynter or Professor Snape?" Seamus, the little troublemaker, tried to stir up trouble.

"Professor Lewynter, he can subdue dragons!" This is a well-informed Hufflepuff.

"I think it was Professor Snape. He was the one who could have poisoned Professor Levent." This was a Slytherin who slandered his own head of house.

Lavender tried to join the discussion: "What about Professor Lockhart?"

All the young wizards around looked up at the professor. His robe was torn and his curly hair was messy. He was no longer as bright and handsome as at the beginning. He was still boasting nonsense.

Regardless of which college they were from, they all looked at each other with disdain.

Lockhart was unaware of this, or perhaps he noticed but didn't care. "The two professors just presented us with a fantastic exhibition match. It was very exciting, but it also had many shortcomings, such as the slow casting speed...

"If I were to fight a snow monster or a werewolf, this slow casting would result in them being torn to pieces by their sharp teeth and claws before I could even finish the spell.

"Okay, that's the end of the demonstration!

"Now it's your turn to divide into groups for duel practice. Form two by two, and let's begin the real duel!"

……

"Li Huo?"

Returning to the group of professors watching, Snape gave Melvin a deep look and said, "Professor Lewyn is also very good at the Dark Arts. How surprising."

"I'm also surprised that Professor Snape is good at normal duels," Melvin replied softly.

"..."

Snape's face darkened.

Several professors nearby began to hold back their laughter again.

Melvin had a faint smile on his face.

He did not deny that he had a stereotype of Snape, thinking that this double agent had a dark and negative personality, and was only good at potions and dark magic. However, after experiencing this duel, his opinion changed a little. This professor was indeed very suitable for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class and he was capable of doing it.

(End of this chapter)