Hogwarts' Golden Glory

Before he could speak, Lockhart had already turned to face the class: "Now! Let's review this spell correctly—30% magic, standard hand gesture, plus..."

He blinked. "...A charming smile!"

"Abolish your weapon!" Lockhart waved his wand lightly.

A beam of light struck Sirius's wand.

The wand trembled slightly and did not slip from her hand—but that was enough to elicit gasps of admiration from the girls.

"Control, children, the key is control!" Lockhart straightened his tie smugly. "I wrote it in my book, *Precision Magic*..."

Harry noticed the veins bulging on Sirius's right hand, while Kane's lips curled into a barely perceptible sneer.

Even more strangely, wisps of unnatural black smoke were rising from the tip of Lockhart's wand.

Like an overused Muggle appliance.

"Since everyone is so enthusiastic about the Disarming Charm..." Sirius suddenly thought of something and raised his voice.

This interrupted Lockhart's boastful talk.

"How about a practical test?" He waved his wand, and a silver-plated arena rose up in the center of the classroom.

"Volunteers will compete in pairs, and the top three groups will receive..."

He glanced at Lockhart's pile of works on the podium, "...anti-curse gloves personally signed by the professor."

Lockhart's smile froze.

Those gloves are a limited edition that he plans to sell for 10 Galleons a pair at his autograph session next week.

Sirius's smile appeared particularly wild against the backdrop of his scars. "Now everyone stand up, two people per pair..."

Lockhart suddenly squeezed between the two, the pungent scent of his perfume causing Harry to take a half-step back: "As the professor in charge, I must emphasize safety protocols!"

He tried to retrieve his wand, but Sirius Black dodged him with a raised hand. "Unguided practice can lead to..."

"To make the students learn real skills?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, Gilderoy, I'll keep an eye on these little monsters and make sure they don't damage your precious hairstyle."

Several Slytherin students chuckled.

Lockhart's face turned a deep purplish-red.

He suddenly straightened his back and adjusted his tie with an exaggerated gesture of pity: "Since Professor Blake is so eager to demonstrate... as a senior, I should certainly give the young man the opportunity. Assistant Professor Blake can demonstrate first!"

Sirius Black didn't hold back and immediately took the main speaking position!

"Who knows the standard disarming charm?" Sirius's voice echoed in the classroom.

Only a few hands were raised in response—Harry and Hermione.

And Harry's success is due to what he taught him before!

When Ron saw Sirius's gaze fixed on him, he almost reached under the table.

Neville buried his face in "Breaking Up with the Ghost".

Sirius's eyebrows almost flew into his messy hair: "Merlin's reading glasses, you know? James and I mastered that in our first year..."

"Now you know how important my explanation was," Lockhart's voice drifted from behind Black, carrying a silken sarcasm.

The air in the classroom seemed to freeze instantly.

Harry saw his godfather's gray eyes narrow—the expression he wore when he was about to pounce on his prey.

"That further proves that we need to conduct live-fire drills!"

"I think..." Sirius's voice suddenly became suspiciously light, "Potter, Kane Malfoy, could step forward and demonstrate."

Harry's heart sank into his stomach.

He knew Kane's strength all too well—last year, this Slytherin had disarmed several upperclassmen at the same time with a silent spell.

But Sirius's expectant gaze forced him to bite the bullet and step onto the makeshift arena.

He couldn't let his godfather lose face in this situation!

"Standard rules." Sirius Black drew a shimmering boundary line with his wand. "Only disarming charms are allowed. Three, two..."

Harry took a deep breath and forced himself to concentrate.

He recalled the technique Sirius Black had taught him during the summer vacation: to use the wrist like casting a fishing line, and to imagine magic shooting out from the tip of the staff the instant the spell was uttered...

"one!"

"Go for it, Potter!" Ron was still cheering for Harry from the sidelines!

"Exterminate you, Wu—"

Harry's spell got stuck in his throat halfway through.

Kane didn't even raise his wand, just flicked his index finger lightly—no spell was cast, no dazzling light effects, Harry just felt his right hand suddenly go numb.

His holly wand spun and flew toward the ceiling, where it was gently caught by a silver-blue mist at its highest point and slowly fell back into Kane's outstretched palm.

The entire classroom was completely silent.

Hermione's pocket watch made a crisp "click" sound—0.8 seconds.

Ron's mouth was wide enough to fit a chocolate frog!

Draco's face was filled with ecstasy!

Lockhart, meanwhile, was all smiles! A crazy glitch!

"That's fantastic, Mr. Kane!"

"Nice wandless spellcasting," Sirius's voice was dry. "But wouldn't it be better to use the standard procedure for a classroom demonstration?"

Kane bowed gracefully and returned the wand to Harry.

"Sorry, it was a reflex." Kane's voice held no apology. "I was assuming no one would wait for me to finish the incantation in actual combat?"

Harry's ears burned.

He didn't even see how Kane made his move!

What's even more humiliating is that the other party didn't even use a wand, treating it like dealing with a Muggle child who doesn't understand magic.

"One more time," Sirius suddenly said, a dangerous glint in his gray eyes. "This time, with a wand, the complete spell."

A string of runes flowed across Kane's gold-rimmed glasses: "As you wish, Professor."

The two stopped again.

Harry gripped his wand tightly; this time, he decided to strike first.

"Disarm you!"

A red light burst forth from the tip of Harry's wand, and almost simultaneously, Kane's wand traced a path.

The two spells collided in mid-air, and Harry's red light scattered like waves crashing against an iceberg!

But the opponent's light strangely took a detour, bypassing the obstacle and heading straight for Harry's wrist.

"Snapped!"

Harry felt a numbness in his hand, and the wand slipped from his grasp again.

Kane could clearly sense that neither the buttons on the other person's body nor the buttons on his own body were working!

This means that the other person's button cannot protect against damage from other button wearers!

Sirius Black strode forward and examined Harry's wrist where he had been struck. A faint red mark had already appeared there.

He knew the other party was very strong, but he didn't expect the gap between them to be so big!

Then he turned to Kane, suddenly revealing his gleaming white teeth, "Since Mr. Malfoy is so skilled, how about we try a different game?"

"Let me, your teaching assistant, test your abilities!"

When Sirius Black said that, all the students held their breath, thinking they had misheard.

After all, how could a student possibly beat a professor!

Even Lockhart felt it was inappropriate. "I'm shameless enough, but I didn't expect you to be even more shameless than me!"