Chapter 48: Farce
Chapter 48: Farce
At eight o'clock in the evening, the School Hall.
The long dining tables had vanished, and in the center of the Great Hall stood a temporary, square, gilded stage, with a three-step wooden platform at its edges.
Hundreds of floating candles adorned the center of the Great Hall, making it look stunningly beautiful.
Harry and Ron hurried back to the Great Hall. Almost all the students were there, packed closely together, buzzing with excitement. The two of them pushed their way through the crowd toward the front. Harry accidentally knocked off a first-year witch's frog glasses and quickly apologized, “Sorry.”
The witch took her glasses and put them back on her forehead, humming softly. Harry didn't catch what she was singing.
They reached the Gryffindor young wizards' section, where Seamus, Dean, and Neville were. “Hey, Harry, over here,” they called out, relieved. “There are so many people.”
Neville Longbottom, with his round face, scanned the crowd. “Almost everyone is here. It seems everyone is curious about the dueling.”
At that moment, Hermione joined them from the other direction, holding a newspaper.
“You're a bit late. Where did you go?” Harry asked, craning his neck to look down the corridor.
“I went to see Professor Hup first and ran into Professor Mcgonagall on the way back.”
“Was there something important?” Ron asked casually, but before she could answer, he let out a heavy sigh, as did several other young wizards. They had seen Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed in a rich purple robe, stride into the Great Hall.
Beside him was Professor Severus Snape, looking stern. The two were a striking contrast—Lockhart was exuberant and Snape was somber; Lockhart was brightly dressed, and Snape was all in black.
Harry groaned. He detested both of these professors who were about to teach the Duelling Class.
Professor Lockhart, like a peacock spreading its feathers, gave a graceful speech. He spent ten minutes explaining how he had “persuaded Dumbledore with great effort to give everyone the opportunity to learn how to protect themselves,” sprinkling in familiar self-praise and book recommendations. The students were already immune to this routine.
In the last thirty seconds, Lockhart finally introduced his “assistant,” Professor Snape.
“Professor Snape is also well-versed in dueling. He has generously agreed to assist me with a small demonstration before the class—don't worry, I'll return your Potions Professor to you in one piece.” He flashed a wide grin.
Snape curled his upper lip into a polite smile, sending a chill down Harry's spine. If Snape ever smiled at him like that, he would have run for the hills.
During this time, Madam Pomfrey stood impatiently at the edge of the stage, carrying a white medical kit. Professor Felix Hap also quietly appeared in a corner of the Great Hall.
He was quite interested in this so-called “Duelling Class” and had some thoughts of his own. He decided to observe.
If Professor Lockhart messed up, perhaps he could take over…
Given his understanding of the professor, a disaster was highly likely.
This was a way to test his subconscious dissatisfaction with the mediocrity and chaos in the magical world and Hogwarts, but he decided to be cautious and wait and see.
…
The Duelling Class officially began. Less than three minutes in, Felix watched with a twitching eye as Professor Lockhart was sent flying by a “Disarming Charm,” his elaborate purple robe torn open in a long gash.
You're still as incompetent as ever, but can't you have a bit of self-awareness?
Professor Lockhart was helped up by a few young wizards and staggered back to the center of the stage. “Alright, everyone, did you see that!” His curly hair, standing on end due to the spell, looked quite ridiculous, but what he said next was even more absurd.
"This is how the Disarming Charm is used. I hope my demonstration just now left a lasting impression—" He glanced at Snape, "But don't take it personally, your intentions were quite clear, and if I wanted to stop you, it would have been effortless..."
"But the young wizards need to broaden their horizons. It might be good for them to see this..." Lockhart trailed off as Snape glared at him with a murderous look.
Lockhart wisely changed the subject, moving the class to the next phase. Without any concrete teaching, he paired up a dozen young wizards and had them stand in small squares on the stage.
"That's the end of the demonstration! Let's see what you've learned. Professor Snape, if you'd be willing to help me..."
What followed was a chaotic mess. Lockhart wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with Snape or any specific magical instruction, so he shifted his role to commentary and guidance. However, he overestimated the spell-casting skills and discipline of the Hogwarts young wizards.
Especially since Snape had intentionally or unintentionally paired his own house members with Gryffindors, a fight was almost inevitable.
Despite Lockhart's repeated emphasis on using only the Disarming Charm, the young wizards had never learned it—unless you counted Lockhart's "demonstration." After a few futile attempts at casting ineffective spells, various petty hexes began to fly among the students.
From Felix's perspective, the only somewhat interesting match was between Harry and Malfoy, though the two had no real concept of dueling. They took turns casting spells, one "Expelliarmus" followed by a "Tarantallegra", spending most of the time just staring at each other.
The other young wizards fared even worse. Neville and Justin both lay on the ground, panting heavily. If Felix wasn't mistaken, they hadn't managed to cast a single spell the entire time.
Ron repeatedly apologized to the ashen-faced Seamus, whose wand was still emitting a greenish smoke.
As for his assistant's group... their wands had long been lost, and they were now wrestling on the floor. The Slytherin girl, with her significant size advantage, had Hermione's head locked in her arm, while Hermione clung to the other girl's hair with one hand...
"Oh dear, oh dear!" Lockhart shrieked, but his cries had no effect on the chaos. Felix had to push through the crowd, casting several spells to separate the young wizards.
"Professor Hup..." Lockhart looked flustered and hesitant, but his attention was soon drawn to the state of the young wizards. "Miss Fawcett... squeeze it hard, the bleeding will stop. Boot, your nose is broken. And Ernie..."
Madam Pomfrey stepped onto the stage, pulling Lockhart aside. The skilled school nurse quickly cast healing spells and administered various potions to the young wizards. "Dumbledore shouldn't have approved this... It's ridiculous, absolutely absurd... Completely unprofessional..."
Seamus took a sip of a green potion, his face turning even greener. He belched, expelling a cloud of green gas.
"Letting young wizards engage in dangerous activities, disgracing the professors..." Pomfrey muttered, but she quickly resolved the issues, taking less than five minutes to get the young wizards back on their feet.
Lockhart seemed at a loss, "Um, ah..." He paused for a few seconds, "Let's thank Madam Pomfrey for her efforts. She is a valuable assistant in our Duelling Class... of course, Professor Hup as well."
He sneaked a glance at Felix, who stood on the stage with no intention of leaving.
(End of Chapter)
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