The students felt remarkably improved after Tom Riddle's latest Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, having gleaned insights into handling vampires and a few useful dark spells. However, as soon as class ended, Tom Riddle vanished without a trace. The next time the young wizards saw Gilderoy Lockhart, his face was a bruised and battered mess.
...
The afternoon arrived beneath a sky laden with gloomy clouds, though it thankfully remained dry. Despite Lockhart's frequent mishaps, and thanks to Severus Snape's grudging guidance, the Dueling Club was swiftly established. The young wizards gathered, their curiosity piqued as they examined the newly opened grounds.
Seeing that all the students had arrived, Gilderoy Lockhart theatrically tossed aside his malachite green robes and strode onto the dueling platform. "After a thorough discussion with Albus Dumbledore, we have decided to establish this Dueling Club to hone your combative skills."
Lockhart, his hands impeccably gloved in dragonhide, glanced around at the young wizards arrayed before him. "Now, I formally introduce my assistant, Professor Snape."
With a flourish, Lockhart gestured for the students to turn their attention to Snape, who strode onto the stage with his usual grim expression.
"My assistant has very kindly agreed to assist me with a small demonstration." Lockhart's delusion remained intact; he still seemed to think Snape wanted to practice with him.
Standing in the corner, Tom Riddle munched on Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, watching the two duelists with mild amusement. Tsk, what a joke.
In the dueling arena, Snape and Lockhart stood facing each other, wands held at the ready. They bowed simultaneously. "One, two, three!"
But as Lockhart finished counting and attempted to cast a spell, he realized he had forgotten nearly everything except the Forgetfulness Charm.
Snape, of course, was not concerned with Lockhart's shortcomings. "Expelliarmus!"
He chanted the spell, pointing his wand at Lockhart, and a jet of red light shot forth, striking the flamboyant professor squarely in the chest.
Bang!
Lockhart's wand flew from his hand, and he was sent hurtling backward several meters.
"Oh… this seems… not right…" Lockhart lay sprawled on the ground, questioning his own existence.
Watching his utterly useless subordinate, Tom Riddle decided he would need to find an occasion to have Lockhart's predecessors properly teach him the rudiments of magic.
Back on the stage, Snape ignored Lockhart's howls from the ground, knowing that his Disarming Charm wasn't that harmful; Lockhart was merely feigning injury, as usual.
"Next, Malfoy and Potter, please come up and demonstrate for us." Snape finished speaking and stepped off the stage.
"Ahem… my assistant is quite right!" Lockhart scrambled to his feet. "Please, Malfoy and Potter, do come up here!" He then dashed off into the wings of the dueling arena.
Hearing this, Malfoy and Harry Potter exchanged grins, then sauntered onto the stage.
Once on stage, the two began exchanging insults immediately. "Surrender, Scarface! You can't beat me!"
"Malfoy, dream on! I'm second-in-command around here!"
"You'll regret this!"
"Hmph!"
Malfoy and Harry Potter stood facing each other, bowing as Snape and Lockhart had done before.
"Petrificus Totalus (Petrify Charm)!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Two spells were cast simultaneously, but neither had any effect. Malfoy dodged Harry Potter's "Expelliarmus" by diving to the ground, while Harry Potter rolled away to avoid Malfoy's "Petrificus Totalus (Petrify Charm)."
Thanks to Tom Riddle's occasional extra tutoring, although both had evolved into melee mages, their mastery of spells was in no way inferior to their original counterparts, and had perhaps even surpassed them. But for them, spells were ultimately just supplementary; mastering the Illumination Spell was sufficient.
"Potter/Malfoy!"
"Let's settle this!"
As the words fell, Harry Potter pulled a hammer from his pocket, and Malfoy produced a length of hose.
???
This seemed… slightly off, didn't it?
Everyone present was stunned.
Was this how wizard duels were conducted? It didn't seem so, did it?
Watching Harry Potter and Malfoy charge at each other and begin fighting, Snape's lip twitched involuntarily. He remembered teaching Malfoy a spell not long ago, didn't he? That's right – the 'Oolong Spell'.
But Snape didn't know that Harry Potter could speak Parseltongue, and that Malfoy knew it too. So Malfoy hadn't planned to use Snape's "Oolong Spell" because it would be useless.
Watching the two locked in a heated battle on the stage, the young wizards below felt their blood boil.
Seeing this, Snape quickly warned, "This is a bad example! Do not imitate them!"
Harry Potter and Malfoy didn't fight for long in the dueling arena, because although they had cast Lumos, that was all they used. Although their skin had become relatively thick from repeated close combat, they were still within the range of ordinary people.
Malfoy was struck in the chest by the hammer and instantly felt like he was about to meet his grandmother. Harry Potter got hit on the head by a water pipe and nearly passed out.
In less than three minutes, Malfoy was lying on the ground, bruised and battered. Only Harry Potter remained, looking disheveled, standing in the dueling arena, hammer raised high.
"Whoa!!!"
"No wonder he's our second-in-command!"
"He's practically the Death Eater of Death Eaters!"
Watching the completely misled little snakes, Snape, the Head of Slytherin House, remained silent, his face dark with disbelief.
"Ahem… this round doesn't count. Anyone else want to come up for a proper wizard's duel?" Lockhart coughed twice, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
"I'll go!"
A confident voice rang out, and the man who seemed destined to play the role of the one getting slapped in a "face-slapping scene" stepped into the dueling arena.
That man, whose obnoxiousness rivaled even Malfoy's, was none other than Darren Travers. Having found the Horcrux diary, he had learned a couple of moves from Voldemort's remnant soul, and was confident he was now the strongest among the younger generation.
"You want to fight? Fine! I'll fight you!"
Another familiar voice rang out.
A tall, slender figure in black robes stepped into the dueling arena.
"Not you, buddy?" Darren was completely dumbfounded.
"Ahem… Professor Tom Riddle, isn't this… a bit inappropriate?" Snape subtly reminded him, "A world-class boss like you shouldn't be bullying people in the beginner's village."
As for Lockhart, Tom Riddle was his boss, and whatever the boss did was right!
"No, I simply want to fight him." Tom Riddle showed no embarrassment whatsoever about bullying the younger student. After all, he and Darren were only two or three years apart, practically peers; it wasn't really bullying.
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The Top 10 is within our reach, and every Powerstone is a step closer. Smash the vote button and share your best theories in the comments so I can see who is really paying attention to the plot!