HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

The real trap was thus laid out in full view of everyone. If Voldemort were to repeat his old tricks, then no matter who he possessed, they would be immediately reflected in this mirror.

In the following days, Sagres visited Myrtle's washroom again to learn more.

But because he didn't help her teach Mischievous Ghost a lesson, she kept her head in the toilet the whole time, sulking and refusing to provide any information.

"You said you were going to teach Pimp a lesson!" Her wet voice echoed from the pipe.

However, this cannot be blamed on Sagres, who was also quite helpless about it, because Peeves' tracks were really too difficult to find.

As a harassing spirit of Hogwarts, the other party has a very peculiar property—the more you deliberately look for it, the more it disappears; but when you let your guard down and stop thinking about it, it will suddenly pop up and play pranks.

Therefore, Sargeras had to adjust his strategy—he began taking Harry on a tour of the castle, checking Hogwarts’ underground pipe system one by one.

The kitchen, the washroom, the drains—Sagres paid particular attention to areas frequented by students, because the consequences of the basilisk appearing in these places would be unimaginable.

“Demonstrate that pronunciation again.” He stopped in front of a weathered wall, his voice extremely low.

Harry swallowed nervously, then let out a hoarse, low hiss.

Then nothing happened.

Only Sagres squinted intently, mimicking the strange syllable.

Such scenes have been playing out frequently lately—while searching for the entrance to the secret room, they are also taking special language lessons.

Sagres can accurately repeat the series of simple Parsnip commands such as "start," "stop," and "obey," but this communication is one-way because he cannot hear the snakes' voices; he can only speak, not hear.

The "demon-revealing mirror" at the entrance of the auditorium remained completely still. Sagres often stopped in front of the mirror, calmly looking at its calm surface.

Some questions kept surfacing in his mind, such as whether the enemy was too cunning and had already seen through his plan? Or had he gone in the wrong direction from the very beginning?

Yes, Sagress also has his doubts. But whenever that happens, he gently strokes his wand and patiently moves on to the next suspicious corner.

He has always been very patient...

Chapter 83 Duel Club

Meanwhile, Lockhart was lounging on the pink and gold office sofa. After revising his signature style for the 101st time, he listlessly flipped through his black diary.

He clearly remembered the inscription he had written on the title page: "To my faithful reader—Giddro Lockhart." Below the flowing, elegant calligraphy was a playful heart.

Strangely, he had already flipped through the entire diary but found no writing at all, which puzzled him. So he took out a quill pen and rewrote the sentence on the title page of the diary.

[Dedicated to my loyal reader – Gilderoy Lockhart]

As soon as the quill pen left the paper, the ink suddenly spread out automatically, as if it were alive:

【Hello, dear Gilderoy, your signature is so unique; every turn reveals your exceptional taste!】

Lockhart sat bolt upright: "Merlin's stockings! A talking diary!" He glanced around to make sure no one had seen him, then grinned and continued writing:

Of course, my signature style is carefully designed; I must say—you have excellent taste!

New handwriting immediately appeared in the diary, the wording elegant and appropriate, filled with "sincere admiration" for Lockhart:

[Dear Mr. Lockhart, it is a great honor to leave my mark beside your calligraphy. Your signature is full of power and charm, just like the bravery and fearlessness you yourself displayed in "Walking with Trolls".]

Lockhart was very surprised, then extremely proud. "Ha! This must be a surprise gift carefully prepared by some enthusiastic fan. Gilderoy Lockhart, your charm is truly irresistible!"

Then, without hesitation, he dipped the quill in ink, and it danced merrily on the paper: [Let me formally introduce myself: Gilderoy Lockhart, Hogwarts' most popular Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, recipient of the Order of Merlin, Order of Merlin, Honorary Member of the League Against the Dark Arts, and five-time winner of the Wizarding Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award...]

As he wrote, he pondered—a talking diary! And a fervent admirer of his own! This was simply a wonderful gift from Merlin—perhaps it could become an Easter egg chapter in his next autobiography? At the very least, it would be a perfect confidant.

But... this belongs to that red-haired Weasley girl... should we give her a "forget everything" card to eliminate any future problems?

He tapped the paper lightly with his long, slender fingers, and finally shook his head.

The blond professor winked slyly, deciding to explore what other surprises this magical little notebook might hold before making any other decisions.

……

……

Life at Hogwarts returned to normal, and every day after school, Sagles would take Harry Potter to wander around the castle, persistently searching for the entrance.

Meanwhile, Lockhart, after much pleading and cajoling, finally got Dumbledore to approve his perfect proposal for the "Duel Club".

He pinned a piece of parchment with gold foil to the bulletin board, on which the time and place of the dueling club, as well as the participants—all students—were written in ornate cursive script.

Whether the basilisk will fight humans or not is not important. What is important is that he has another chance to show off in front of the young wizards, and he has already rehearsed countless times in his mind the scene of his elegant victory.

He's confident that this will gain him even more fans, setting a new record for the number of his admirers.

……

After class that day, Harry unusually asked Sacramento for leave. Both of his friends were attending the Duel Club, and he didn't want to miss this rare opportunity for a group activity.

Even more surprisingly, Malfoy, who was still in confinement, made the same request. Although Sagles was reluctant, he ultimately did not refuse.

In Sagrais's opinion, Lockhart was all show and no substance, yet he always liked to cause trouble at Hogwarts.

A dueling club, huh? Just wait, he'll go teach these little wizards a lesson tonight, and Lockhart one too.

……

The dueling club was set up in the auditorium at 8 p.m. sharp.

As the students arrived, they discovered that the place where the long tables had been placed had been transformed into a gilded stage, with hundreds of suspended candles illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime, and a deep galaxy flowing across the ceiling.

The entire school's faculty and students were present, filling the huge auditorium to capacity. The young wizards, each holding a wand, were filled with anticipation and eager to try their hand at magic.

"Who do you think will guide us tonight?" Hermione asked, standing on tiptoe to look around, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

“It has to be Professor Flitwick!” she said to herself. “He was the champion of the dueling tournament when he was young, and there is no one more suitable than him.”

Ron scratched his red hair, puzzled. "But doesn't a duel require two people? How can one person demonstrate? Are you going to mimic your own shadow?"

"Anyone will do, as long as it's not Snape!" Harry shrugged, his tone clearly showing his disdain.

Ron suddenly grinned mischievously: "Hey, you haven't forgotten Lockhart, have you? I remember you said he was your latest nightmare last time, right?"

Harry's face immediately scrunched up: "Okay, okay, I'll correct you—anyone but Snape and Lockhart is fine!"

He paused, then lowered his voice and added, "Actually, I'd most like Professor Greengrass; he'd definitely be a formidable duelist, but he's been busy with other things lately, so it's unlikely he'll come here..."

“Speaking of which,” Ron suddenly leaned closer and asked mysteriously, “is he really learning Parsley from you? Why would a professor learn that?”

Harry shook his head blankly: "He said it was 'better safe than sorry,' but I don't really understand what he meant..."

Halfway through his sentence, his gaze was finally drawn to the extravagant decorations on the stage—gilded railings, floating ribbons, and magically conjured confetti effects.

An ominous premonition suddenly welled up in my heart.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!

Lockhart, dressed in a scarlet robe adorned with gold thread, strode onto the stage like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sighed in unison, their faces filled with despair.

To make matters worse, they saw a gloomy black figure following Lockhart—with that signature greasy black hair and hooked nose, who else could it be but Snape?

A chorus of voices erupted in the auditorium.

Lockhart attempted to cast "Loud Voice" by pressing his wand against his throat, but his first attempt failed, and the sound he made was like a duck being choked.

After two embarrassing attempts, the spell finally took effect.

"Quiet! Please be quiet!" He waved his hands exaggeratedly, solemnly announcing to everyone in what he thought was a perfect bubble voice, "Although you all already know me, I still want to give you a brief self-introduction. I am Gilderoy Lockhart, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a recipient of the Order of Merlin, a third-class medalist, an honorary member of the Anti-Dark Magic League, and a five-time winner of the Wizarding Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. But I never mention that, because I don't use smiles to drive away the ghost of Warren. Also, as the author of 'Wandering with Ghouls,' I am also..."

The young wizards below the stage exchanged knowing glances.

After spending most of the semester together, anyone who isn't an absolute genius can see the professor's true level of expertise.

Lockhart, however, remained smug on stage, mistaking the students' whispered boos for admiration.

Chapter 84 Duel Tutorial (Part 1)

“As you can see,” Lockhart continued, “Headmaster Dumbledore gave me special permission to establish this dueling club so that you could learn how to defend yourselves—just like I did in My Magical Stories. Of course, if you want to see more detailed examples, I suggest you buy my complete works.”

For the next half hour, Lockhart's incessant self-praise echoed through the auditorium.

Only when yawns rose from the audience did he reluctantly point behind him and spend ten seconds introducing Snape: "Oh right, I almost forgot to introduce him. This is Professor Snape. He claims to have 'some knowledge' of dueling and is 'honored' to assist me in demonstrating."

Lockhart flashed his signature bright smile. "But rest assured, I will be careful and will not harm a single hair on your dear Potions professor's head."

“I’d like something unexpected to happen,” Ron said to Harry in a low voice, “preferably something that results in both of us getting seriously injured and spending a few days in the hospital.”

"It would be best to stay until the end of this semester..." Harry couldn't help but add.

On the stage, the two professors finally got into position.

Lockhart gave an exaggerated bow, his hands tracing complex paths in the air, as if he were paying homage to a king.

In contrast, Snape merely shook his greasy head slightly, with extreme impatience and almost insulting manner.

“Look closely,” Lockhart said, holding his wand upright in front of his chest like a sword. “In a formal duel, you first bow, and then hold your wand like this.”

He turned to Snape, “We will unleash the first spell on the count of three. Of course, this is just a demonstration; none of us will be in real danger.”

A cold smile crept across Snape's face, and a dangerous glint flashed in his dark eyes.

The students in the audience held their breath in unison.

They had no doubt about Lockhart's words—their only doubt was whether Snape might "just happen" to slip up and silence the garrulous Defense Strategy professor forever.

"one two three!"

The two professors simultaneously brandished their wands, and Snape's deep voice rang out almost at the same time as the count: "Expelliarmus!"

A blinding red light shot out from the tip of his staff, striking Lockhart precisely in the chest.

With a muffled thud, Lockhart was sent flying like a human doll by the spell, tracing a pathetic arc in the air before crashing heavily into a stone wall five meters away.

His wand spun through the air and flew out so fast that no one had time to blink.

It was at least much shorter than when he introduced Snape.

"Merlin's beard!" Ron gasped, instinctively clutching his chest. "That's going to hurt terribly!"

Harry stood on tiptoe to look closer: "Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be seriously injured..."