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Chapter 146
Lockhart staggered back to his feet. His hat had fallen off, and his carefully styled golden curls now resembled an upside-down broom.
"Excellent! As you have just seen, I have demonstrated the consequences of being unprepared," he said as he leaned awkwardly against the stage and climbed back up.
"That was the standard Disarming Charm. You see, had I not chosen to allow it, my wand would have been knocked away. Thank you, Miss Brown, for your excellent suggestion, and thank you, Professor Snape, for demonstrating the spell. It was indeed a fine idea. Of course, your intentions were rather obvious, Professor. Had I wished to stop you, it would have been quite easy. Still, I thought it best to let everyone learn from the experience."
Snape's expression darkened dangerously.
Whatever Lockhart whispered next, it was enough to keep Snape silent.
"Now then!" Lockhart announced loudly. "The demonstration is over. Professor Snape and I will divide you into pairs."
They moved through the crowd, assigning students to partners.
Lockhart paired Justin Finch-Fletchley with Neville Longbottom.
When Snape reached Harry and Ron, a cold smile appeared on his face.
"These two should be separated," he said.
"Weasley, you'll be paired with Finnigan. As for Potter…"
Harry saw the malicious gleam in Snape's eyes and instinctively took a step backward.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," Snape said coldly.
"Malfoy, come here. Let's see what sparks fly between the famous Potter and Mr. Malfoy. As for Miss Granger, you'll partner with Miss Bulstrode."
Malfoy approached with his usual Slytherin arrogance, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
Beside him was a Slytherin girl whose appearance reminded Harry of one of the illustrations in Lockhart's books. She was tall, broad-shouldered, and powerfully built, her bulky frame resembling a moving wall.
Hermione forced a polite smile, which was completely ignored.
"Face your partners!" Lockhart called from the stage.
"Bow!"
Harry and Malfoy bowed stiffly without taking their eyes off one another.
Their gazes locked.
"Raise your wands!" Lockhart shouted.
"When I count to three, cast the Disarming Charm. Remember, disarm only! We don't want any unnecessary aggression. One... two... three!"
Malfoy moved before Lockhart even finished saying "two."
A flash of white light shot toward Harry.
Thanks to his training, Harry ducked immediately, avoiding the spell.
"Expelliarmus!"
A brilliant red beam burst from Harry's wand.
Malfoy twisted aside like a snake and narrowly avoided it.
Then he shouted,
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Harry dodged again, slipping away like a boxer avoiding a punch.
"Rictusempra!"
A silver flash shot toward Malfoy.
Again, Malfoy escaped with astonishing agility.
Then his expression changed.
"Let's try something different."
He pointed his wand and shouted,
"Serpensortia!"
With a loud crack, a long black snake burst from the tip of his wand and landed heavily between them.
The snake raised itself high, tongue flickering, ready to strike.
Harry stared at it.
Malfoy stood behind the snake with his wand aimed directly at him.
For a moment, Harry hesitated.
Around them, students screamed and stumbled backward, abandoning the area entirely.
"My goodness!" Lockhart cried.
"I only said to disarm each other! I'll get rid of it! Stand back!"
He raised his wand toward the snake.
Before he could act, however, the snake suddenly leapt into the air and landed with a heavy thud.
Enraged, it hissed and lunged straight toward Harry.
Harry remained calm.
Throughout the duel, he had been unusually composed—more composed than most of the Slytherins.
Without even thinking, he spoke to the snake.
"Back."
A miracle occurred.
The snake froze.
Then it lowered itself and actually retreated a step.
Harry stared into its eyes.
Somehow, he could understand it.
The snake would never attack him.
He felt certain of it.
The sensation was strange and impossible to explain, yet he knew it was true.
Malfoy's expression became incredibly complicated.
He had completely forgotten about the duel.
His eyes were filled with disbelief, jealousy, hatred, and deep resentment.
Snape stepped forward and flicked his wand.
The snake vanished into a puff of black smoke.
Then he looked at Harry.
The expression in his eyes sent a chill through Harry.
It was calculating.
Thoughtful.
Cunning.
Dangerous.
For the first time, Harry felt uneasy.
Whispers spread through the hall.
Students stared at him strangely.
Whenever Harry met their gaze, they immediately looked away.
They whispered among themselves, and Harry felt a growing sense of dread.
Then Ron hurried over and grabbed his sleeve.
"Come on," he whispered urgently.
"Let's get out of here."
Ron led Harry from the Great Hall while Hermione followed behind.
As they passed through the crowd, the students instinctively moved aside, creating a wide path as though Harry carried some terrible disease.
Harry had no idea what was happening.
Neither Ron nor Hermione spoke.
They hurried back to the nearly empty Gryffindor common room.
Once inside, Ron shoved Harry into an armchair.
"You speak Parseltongue," he blurted out.
"You never told us!"
"What?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"I speak what?"
"Parseltongue!" Ron said sharply.
"Everyone saw you talking to that snake."
Harry suddenly understood.
"So that's what it was?"
"I've done it before. Back at the zoo, I accidentally released a boa constrictor. It went after my cousin Dudley. That was years ago—before I even knew I was a wizard."
"I thought it was normal," Harry said blankly.
"I figured all wizards could do it."
"No," Ron said seriously.
"Ordinary wizards can't do that. You were speaking a completely different language."
"A different language?" Harry repeated.
"It was the language of snakes," Ron replied.
"You hissed at it, gave it commands, and made it back away. The whole thing was terrifying. You scared everyone half to death."
(To be continued.)