A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

As for her assistants' group... their wands had long been lost, and they were wrestling with each other. The Slytherin girl had the upper hand due to her large size, and her arm was clamped around Hermione's head. However, Hermione also had one hand tightly gripping the hair of the other girl...

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Lockhart screamed, but it did nothing to change the situation. Felix had to push through the crowd, waving his wand and casting a dozen spells to separate the young wizards.

“Professor Hyp…” Lockhart was flustered and hesitant, but his attention was quickly drawn to the young wizards’ miserable state. “Miss Fawcett… pinch it hard, the bleeding will stop immediately. Boot, your nose is broken, and Ernie…”

Madam Pomfrey stepped onto the stage, yanked Lockhart aside, and the distinguished school nurse quickly cast spells, pouring various potions into the young wizards' mouths. "Dumbledore shouldn't have approved it... It's absurd, ridiculous... Completely unqualified..."

Simo took a sip of the green stuff, his face turned even greener, and finally he burped, exhaling a puff of green gas.

“Making young wizards do dangerous things is a disgrace to the professors…” Pomfrey muttered to herself, but she quickly resolved the problem. In less than five minutes, the young wizards were standing up again.

Lockhart seemed a little flustered. "Um, ah..." He paused for a few seconds. "Let's thank Mrs. Pomfrey for her efforts; she's a great helper in our dueling course... and of course, Professor Hyp."

He glanced at Felix furtively; Felix was standing on the stage, showing no intention of leaving.

Chapter 48 Exhibition Match

“So next…” Lockhart stammered, “I think it would be best to teach you how to stop unfriendly magic, yes, unfriendly, like the personal experiences I recorded in my book.”

"Let's have a couple volunteer to come up—Longbottom and Finley, how about you? Professor Hyp, Professor Snape, we'd better leave the stage to them..."

Felix casually toyed with his wand. “A good suggestion, Professor Lockhart. But before that, I think it’s necessary to let the young wizards know what a real duel is like, even if it’s just a performance.”

Lockhart's expression froze. "This, I..." He looked around and saw that the young wizards below the stage were very interested in it, and he couldn't say anything.

“Professor Snape, what’s your opinion?” Felix asked Snape, who had been silent.

The Potions professor gave him a deep, surprised look, then grinned. "Would you like to duel me, Felix?"

"It was just an exhibition match."

Neither of them took Lockhart into account.

Snape gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and simply drew his wand.

Lockhart, who had been awkwardly standing to the side, suddenly realized that he had miraculously escaped from the center of the vortex, and his face became enthusiastic again. "It seems that our class will have to add a duel on the spot. Let's welcome the two professors!"

This time, the applause from the audience erupted. Ron excitedly told Harry, "Honestly, I've been waiting for this day for far too long! Do you think Snape will end up in the hospital?"

As a staunch supporter of Professor Hepburn, he naturally sided with Felix.

“That was just an exhibition match,” Hermione emphasized, though she still tiptoed up and down.

Lockhart stepped back to the edge of the stage and cast a "loud voice" spell on himself—thanks to his book signing speeches, he was quite adept at this mantra.

"Now I will give my commentary. Although this is just an exhibition match, a real duel is not like this; it requires a much more acute ability to detect danger in advance—for details, please refer to my published works." Lockhart spoke eloquently. "However—this will still be very beneficial to you. Now, with a bow..."

However, neither of the two players paid any attention to him; instead, they exchanged a few words with each other.

"Felix, what do you want to do?"

"Professor, I just happened to be passing by and wanted to lend a hand."

"Don't lie to me!" The two were so close that only they could hear the conversation.

"Is it because the professor is proficient in Legilimency?" Felix joked.

Snape snorted. In his eyes, his former student was extremely purposeful in his actions, and his current behavior was naturally categorized as "Felix's first step in preparing to seize power."

The two bowed, each took seven steps back, turned around and looked at each other, simultaneously raising their wands to their chests.

“As you can see, the two professors are holding their wands in a typical dueling stance,” Lockhart explained, “This is one of the three common dueling stances. I will count to three, and then they will cast their first spell.”

The students below held their breath; it was a completely different atmosphere from Lockhart's "demonstration" just now.

"One...two..."

"Snape won't get killed instantly, will he?" Ron shouted excitedly.

“I don’t think so, my God—” Hermione was about to say that Professor Hyp highly praised Snape, but she was quickly stunned by the dazzling scene on stage.

"three!"

Snape shouted, "Expelliarmus!" A dazzling red light flashed, and the spell swiftly flew to Felix's side.

Felix twirled his wand, smoothly unleashing an "Ironclad Charm." An invisible magical barrier appeared in front of him, deflecting Snape's spell. Then, he flicked his wrist, and the magical barrier emitted a dazzling white light, flying swiftly forward.

Snape cast two spells in quick succession before breaking through Felix's armor spell, and the magical barrier quickly dissipated.

However, the white light of the Ironclad Charm obscured Snape's vision. As he instinctively shifted his position—a habit he had developed over the years that saved him—three dim black lights brushed past him, the closest one almost touching his nose.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, from Snape's strong initial move to Felix's defensive counterattack, and then using the white light as cover to quickly unleash three spells for a sneak attack, all in less than three seconds.

Lockhart: "..."

The little wizards: "..."

The duel continued, and Snape dared not let his guard down. He had not fought for almost ten years. Although he had never given up his exploration of magic, his main focus was on improving potions.

However, he is quickly picking up his old combat experience, and after several close calls, he finally began to fight back.

Their spells flew around wildly, but they both tacitly avoided accidentally harming any students.

Various defensive, offensive, and disarming spells ripped through the air with sharp whistling sounds, causing the distance between the two to rapidly close and widen, their feet constantly shifting slightly.

Lockhart wisely jumped off the stage after a spell flew past his hair, but he still loudly commented, "The duel is getting intense... See their footsteps? Move, move, don't stand still like idiots!"

Lockhart was quite capable; at least he was very eloquent. Through his explanations, many young wizards suddenly understood, which somewhat redeemed his image.

Snape, however, scoffed at this, deftly deflecting a spell and seizing the opportunity to counterattack. He sensed that Felix's spells were gradually gaining power, which was putting increasing pressure on him.

Damn it, this kid is putting pressure on me!

"Why does Professor Hyp's spell seem to be getting thicker and thicker?" Even many young wizards noticed this, but with their limited knowledge, they could only judge the strength of the spell from its "appearance".

Snape's wand trembled violently as an enhanced "Protective Armor" appeared in front of him. Two beams of intense red light collided with it, producing a "thud" sound, and a hole was torn in the magical barrier.

Amazing magical skills...

A bead of sweat had formed on Snape's face.

The young wizards below the stage were dazzled. For the first time, they realized that a duel was not just about foolishly casting spells face to face. There were too many intricacies involved, such as casting speed, timing, defensive methods, footwork, and awareness.

But they didn't know that neither of them was using their full strength.

Felix easily dodged a red beam by tilting his head, and used the brief opening to spin his wand and cast a spell, quickly assessing the potions professor's limits in his mind.

Professor Snape's abilities shouldn't be this great...

The next second, Felix was suddenly alert. He threw out three Ironclad Spells in succession, sending them flying far away to block the only way.

A powerful, crimson spell streaked through the air, swiftly passing through the first and second barriers, before hurtling fiercely toward the third.

The young wizards stared wide-eyed. They might not be able to judge the strength of the spell, but they could clearly see that Snape's spell left a burning trail in mid-air and pierced through the armor's protective barrier.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar echoed throughout the auditorium.

Felix's third Ironclad Charm worked, deflecting Snape's surprisingly powerful spell.

He sensed a hint of dark magic...

Professor, you've really surprised me by incorporating the characteristics of dark magic into a disarming spell.

Do you have an even stronger spell? Do you have any backup plans...?

Snape's situation was far from easy. He did indeed possess some spells, but they were all dark magic and could not be used in public. Judging from Felix's performance, even if he were to use them, the effect would be minimal.

He has surpassed me...

Snape had never realized this so clearly.

Chapter 49 Exposure

The two stopped casting spells at the same time, as if by unspoken agreement.

"Brilliant! A closely fought battle!" Lockhart's voice rang out at the opportune moment. "Did you see that? How well they coordinate! I bet the two professors practice spells together quite often in private, those two cunning fellows!"

Snape's face was dark and grim. He walked off the stage without saying a word. However, he didn't leave but stood in the shadows.

The exchange between the two was less a duel and more a test.

He did indeed still possess a few dark spells, but those were learned from the Dark Lord, and he hadn't used them since that incident, so they were of little use. And Felix… what about his ancient magic? His alchemical artifacts? His dark magic?

During the duel, his magical power kept increasing. Would that be his limit by the end of the duel?

Snape tried to describe Felix's strength, but he found himself unable to see it clearly.

Felix calmly walked off the stage, and the crowd automatically parted to make way for him. The young wizards' awe-inspiring gazes shifted between Snape and Felix.

From the young wizards' perspective, the duel was evenly matched, with no clear winner. Although Professor Hyp appeared quite composed overall, hadn't Snape also pierced through two Ironhide Charms with a single spell?

That was the strongest defensive magic known to most young wizards.

"Snape is that strong!" Ron was clearly surprised.

“Professor Hyp greatly admires Snape,” Hermione whispered. She was somewhat worried; to complete the Polyjuice Potion, they would most likely have to break into Snape's private collection room, and if they got caught…

Harry remained silent, the duel still exhilarating; he wished he could take the place of either of them. But he realized that while he might be able to see through every spell, if they were in his shoes, he might not even be able to dodge the first one.

At this moment, Professor Lockhart returned to the center of the stage and delivered a spirited speech, "It seems that the exhibition match just now went quite well. I think you are all eager to think - 'Oh my god, I want to cast spells as smoothly as the three professors,' but don't be too ambitious. You are still far from that level!"

Ron muttered something below, which Harry didn't hear clearly, but he instinctively thought it was a rebuke of Professor Lockhart, since he thought the same thing.

"—Next, as planned, we will select two representatives to demonstrate for everyone. How about Longbottom and Finley, whom I just mentioned?"

“I don’t think that’s appropriate, Professor Lockhart.” Snape regained his composure and quickly ascended the steps, his robes billowing as he glided lightly across the stage like a bat.

“Longbottom can cause unexpected destruction even with the simplest spells. If we let him come up here,” Snape’s gaze was quite cold as he swept his eyes over Felix, “we’ll have to put Fenrir’s remains in a matchbox.”

The Slytherin students laughed.

"How are Malfoy and Porter?"

“Excellent!” Lockhart quickly agreed, he would agree to whatever Snape proposed.

He gestured for Harry and Malfoy to move to the center of the stage.

Seeing Snape and Malfoy whispering to each other, Harry first glanced at Professor Hyp, who seemed lost in thought on the other side of the stage. He could only turn to Lockhart and ask, "Professor, could you demonstrate the Disarming Charm to me again?"

Lockhart: "..." He leaned closer to Harry, paused for about ten seconds, then straightened up, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Just do as I say!"

"What?" Harry asked in surprise, but he found that Malfoy was already standing on the other side.