The Cornish Pixie incident, along with the miraculous display of the Law of All Things, spread through Hogwarts like two explosive shockwaves beneath a calm lake.
Lucian Thornwick's name gained an even more legendary reputation among the students.
Some of the younger students had even begun nervously bowing when they encountered him in the corridors.
Meanwhile, Gilderoy Lockhart's reputation had fallen into the abyss—arguably even into negative numbers.
Students no longer called him Professor Lockhart in private.
Instead, they used a variety of mocking nicknames:
"Professor Airhead""Sir Wig""Pixie's Best Friend"
Faced with such an irreversible collapse of his reputation, Lockhart's fragile and overinflated pride forced him to do something to reclaim his dignity.
So during another Wednesday dinner in the Great Hall, he loudly announced exciting news using a Sonorus Charm.
To "teach" students proper dueling techniques, he would personally host the creation of a Hogwarts Dueling Club.
The announcement triggered completely different reactions.
Many girls applauded out of habit.
But most boys—especially the second-years who had witnessed the Pixie disaster—wore expressions that clearly said:
Let's see how you embarrass yourself this time.
The First Dueling Club Meeting
The first meeting was scheduled for Friday night in the Great Hall.
When the students arrived, they found the four House tables gone.
In their place stood a long golden dueling platform along the wall.
Thousands of floating candles illuminated the hall like daylight.
Lockhart stood proudly on the platform, wearing an extravagant deep-purple robe embroidered with golden thread.
He spread his arms dramatically.
"Gather round! Gather round!"
"I can see the desire for knowledge in your eyes!"
"Yes, in these dangerous times, learning proper dueling skills is essential—for protecting yourselves… and your future partners!"
He winked toward the girls in the crowd.
"But!"
He raised a finger theatrically.
"I cannot teach everything alone."
"So I require an assistant…"
He paused dramatically.
"I am honored to invite our Potions Master—Professor Severus Snape!"
From the shadows, Snape stepped forward in his usual black robes.
His expression was darker than ever.
His eyes showed obvious irritation and reluctance.
Clearly, Dumbledore had "persuaded" him to be here.
"Don't worry, everyone," Lockhart said cheerfully, patting Snape on the shoulder like a senior instructing a junior.
"I'll demonstrate everything first. Then you'll see there's nothing to fear, Professor Snape."
Snape's mouth twitched in silent disbelief.
The Demonstration
The two stood facing each other on the platform.
"Now I will demonstrate proper dueling etiquette!"
Lockhart lifted his wand to his chest and bowed with an exaggerated theatrical flourish.
Snape merely nodded impatiently.
"Excellent!" Lockhart announced.
"Prepare your wands! One—two—"
He intended to build dramatic tension.
But Snape had no patience for that.
Before Lockhart could even say three, Snape moved.
Fast as lightning.
"Expelliarmus!"
A blazing red spell shot across the stage like a cannon blast.
Lockhart's confident smile hadn't even faded when the spell slammed into his chest.
BOOM!
He flew backward as if struck by an invisible bull.
Lockhart soared through the air and crashed onto the far end of the platform like a sack of potatoes.
His elegant wand spun through the air and landed off the stage.
Silence filled the hall.
Five seconds of absolute silence.
Then—
Slytherin exploded with laughter.
The laughter spread like wildfire.
Soon the entire Great Hall was roaring.
"Oh Merlin—did you see that?!"
"One spell! Just one!"
Lockhart staggered to his feet, straightening his robes with a forced smile.
"Oh—ha! As you can see! A brilliant Disarming Charm!"
"I of course allowed him to do that intentionally—so you could observe the spell's power!"
"Yes, thank you, Professor Snape. A perfect demonstration!"
Snape's lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.
Ignoring the excuse, he addressed the students in a silky, dangerous voice.
"Since everyone has seen the spell…"
"Perhaps we should allow the students to practice."
"An excellent idea!" Lockhart said hurriedly.
"We'll need volunteers! Potter, Weasley—"
"I think," Snape interrupted coldly, "I will handle the pairings."
His eyes scanned the crowd like searchlights.
They finally landed on Harry Potter.
Then shifted to Draco Malfoy.
Snape's thin lips curved again.
"Let us try an interesting pairing."
"Malfoy, come up."
"And… Potter."
He looked at Harry with faint contempt.
"Let us see whether the famous Boy Who Lived is as capable as our… professor."
Malfoy's Challenge
Malfoy strutted onto the stage.
Harry followed reluctantly.
The two rivals who had clashed since their first day at Hogwarts now stood face to face before the entire school.
Harry gripped his wand tightly.
Snape watched from the side, clearly anticipating Harry's humiliation.
But then something unexpected happened.
Malfoy glanced at Harry—
And sneered.
"Potter," he said arrogantly.
"You're not worthy of being my opponent."
The hall erupted in murmurs.
Harry's face turned crimson.
But Malfoy ignored him completely.
Instead, he pointed his wand toward someone in the crowd.
"Lucian Thornwick!"
"Do you dare come up here?"
"Tonight I'll make you—this so-called genius—lose face in front of the whole school!"
The hall fell into stunned silence.
Then whispers exploded everywhere.
"He's insane!"
"He's challenging Lucian?!"
Ron bent over laughing.
"I swear he must've replaced his brain with a pig's!"
Snape's face turned darker than midnight.
Malfoy's stupidity had just ruined his plan to humiliate Potter.
Lockhart, on the other hand, looked delighted. The more chaotic things became, the less anyone would remember his earlier embarrassment.
Every eye turned toward Lucian.
The boy standing quietly in the corner finally reacted.
He lifted his head.
For the first time, a trace of irritation appeared in his eyes.
Like someone reading peacefully while a fly buzzed endlessly nearby.
Troublesome.
Before Lucian could even respond, Snape spoke coldly.
"Since Mr. Malfoy seems so eager…"
"I myself am quite curious about Mr. Thornwick's… non-traditional magic."
His voice held unmistakable interest.
The Law of All Things had deeply shocked him.
This was a perfect opportunity to observe Lucian's magic up close.
"It's settled," Snape declared.
"Potter, you may step down."
Harry flushed with humiliation but obeyed.
Lucian handed his bag to Hermione and calmly stepped onto the golden dueling platform.
"Excellent!" Lockhart shouted enthusiastically.
"Bow!"
Malfoy performed a sloppy bow.
Lucian didn't even look at him.
"Three! Two! One! Begin!"
Serpensortia
The moment the count ended, Malfoy shouted the curse he had learned from his father.
"Serpensortia!"
A flash of silver shot from his wand.
But instead of hitting Lucian, the spell exploded in midair and transformed into swirling black smoke.
The smoke twisted—
Condensed—
And took shape.
Gasps erupted.
A massive black snake, over three meters long, appeared on the dueling platform.
Its triangular head rose high.
Its forked tongue flicked through the air.
Yellow vertical pupils glowed with cold killing intent.
Screams spread instantly through the hall.
Students stumbled backward in panic.
The dueling club became a disaster scene.
The snake slithered across the stage—
Then locked its gaze onto a terrified Hufflepuff student in the crowd.
Justin Finch-Fletchley.
The snake coiled, muscles tightening.
Its jaws opened wide, revealing dagger-like fangs.
"Run, Justin!"
But it was too late.
Just as the snake prepared to strike—
A strange sound suddenly echoed through the hall.
It wasn't any known language.
A series of eerie hissing sounds.
The voice came from—
Harry Potter.
In panic, he forgot to even raise his wand.
Instead, he instinctively hissed at the snake in a strange, serpentine language he himself didn't understand.
Parseltongue.
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