The hall was completely transformed at this moment. The long dining table disappeared, and a gilded stage appeared along one wall, illuminated by hundreds of candles floating in the air. The ceiling became dark like velvet again, and almost all the students in the school came, crowded together, each holding their own wand, with excitement on their faces.

The four of them relied on their small size to squeeze into the crowd. Hermione said with difficulty, "I wonder who will teach us. I heard that Professor Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young. Maybe he will be the one."

"It doesn't matter who it is, as long as it's not--" Harry hadn't finished speaking when he saw two people he least wanted to see walk onto the stage. One of them was Lockhart, who was radiant in a purple robe, and the other was Snape, who looked gloomy. He looked in stark contrast to Lockhart, who was wearing a black robe that had never changed for thousands of years.

Harry's unfinished words turned into a mournful groan.

Hermione was very happy. She still thought Lockhart was as great as he was in the books! As for his stupid behavior, it was all ignored by Lockhart's shining face.

It is hard to imagine that Hermione would be so irrational. Lockhart alone fascinated her. Sure enough, even in the wizarding world, appearance is as powerful as a potion. Otherwise, Tom Riddle would not have been so successful.

He is just a scumbag who relies on his good looks to deceive young girls, rich women, married men...

He even deceived female ghosts!

condemn!

Must be condemned!

What? This is what I look like now?

That's okay.

"Come around, come around! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Great!" Lockhart felt the enthusiastic support of hundreds of female students, and suddenly became more excited and performed with all his might.

"Well, Professor Dumbledore has allowed me to start this little duelling club to fully train you all in case you ever need to defend yourself in the way I have done so many times before - see my publications for details.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, grinning. "He told me that he knew a thing or two about dueling, and he generously agreed to help me with a little demonstration before class. I said, I don't want to worry you little guys - after I demonstrate with him, I will return your Potions Master to you intact, so don't be afraid!"

"Wouldn't it be great if they both suffered heavy losses in the fight?" Ron whispered in Harry's ear.

"Come on, I'm afraid Lockhart can't even withstand a single move from Snape." Cyrus shook his head and said, "I heard that Snape is the most powerful among the four headmasters."

If Snape could use dark magic to his heart's content, then he was indeed stronger than the other three deans. Even Voldemort appreciated his talent, after all, he was a genius who had developed several kinds of magic during his school years.

And according to Sirius, at the age of eleven, Snape knew more curses and hexes than most seventh-year students.

Harry agreed very much with what Cyrus said, because he saw Snape's upper lip curled up, revealing a very terrifying expression, and he looked at Lockhart as if he was looking at a ridiculous prey.

"It's sad that there are always people who are deceived by lies. Don't you think so?" Cyrus whispered in Harry's ear.

Ron looked at him in surprise.

"Are you not shy now?"

Cyrus ignored him.

At this point, Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed. Lockhart moved his hands in many different ways, while Snape just shook his head impatiently. Then, they raised their wands to their chests.

The students all fell silent, watching the scene nervously. They were like a group of spectators watching two masters fight on the top of the Forbidden City, afraid that the slightest noise would affect the two masters.

"I wouldn't bet on that." Snape smiled, showing his teeth.

They both jerked their wands over their shoulders.

"one two three--"

Snape recited the spell at lightning speed:

"Expelliarmus!"

There was a sudden flash of blinding red light, and Lockhart was knocked off his feet. He flew backwards across the stage, hit the wall, and slid down to the floor, where he crumpled. He was almost knocked unconscious.

Didn’t we agree that you’re just a potion maker?

Why is it so strong?

Malfoy and several other Slytherin students applauded.

Hermione jumped up and down on her tiptoes. "Do you think he's all right?" she screamed, putting her fingers to her mouth.

"Whatever!" said Harry and Ron at the same time.

Lockhart staggered to his feet, his hat falling off and his wavy curls standing on end.

Looking at the suspicious eyes of the little wizards, Lockhart realized that he had to regain control of the situation and cover up his embarrassment. So he rushed back to the stage, the residual power of the spell made him dizzy and walked crookedly.

"Well, you see! It's a Disarming Charm - as you can see, I've lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown."

He turned to Snape: "Yes, Professor Snape, it is a good idea to show them this trick. However, please don't mind me saying that your intention to do this just now was too obvious. If I want to stop you, it would be effortless. I think it would be a good idea to let them see it in order to broaden their horizons..."

"He is so shameless." Cyrus' mouth twitched. He dared to say that even though his skills were obviously inferior to his. Snape must be regretting that he had used "Expelliarmus" instead of "Swordsman".

Sure enough, Snape had a murderous look on his face. Lockhart probably noticed it, so he said quickly: "The demonstration ends here! Now I will come to you and divide you into groups of two. Professor Snape, if you are willing to help me..."

They moved through the crowd, pairing people up. Lockhart paired Neville with Justin Finch-Fletchley, but Snape got to Harry and the others first.

"I think the dream team should be broken up," he sneered. "Weasley, you can pair up with Finnigan. Potter -"

Harry moved closer to Hermione subconsciously.

"I don't think so," said Snape, with a cold smile on his face. "Malfoy, come here. Let's see what you can make of the famous Potter. Miss Granger - you can be paired with Miss Bulstrode. As for you - Ginny Weasley -"

The corners of his mouth turned up in an evil smile.

(End of this chapter)