Chapter 92: In the Palm of the Hand

Now that Filch was retrieving Tom Riddle's diary, it was only a matter of time before the diary fell into his hands. There would be no need to fight the basilisk, the Chamber of Secrets would remain sealed, and over time, it would just be a rumor. Even Ginny would be relieved from becoming one of Voldemort's countless victims.

But now he had to set other things in motion. Before going to classes, he sent all the letters to Castelobruxo using an owl and returned to the castle for his classes. Today, he had one of his favorite classes, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

He was one of the last to arrive in the classroom. Lockhart and he made eye contact, and the tension was palpable.

"Mr. Rosier," Lockhart mentioned, "you're late," pointing to the clock on the wall with an image of himself shaking his head negatively.

William gave a slight smile and took out one of Lockhart's books. "I'm sorry, professor, I was very engrossed in your books."

"My books?" Lockhart asked, looking at the book in William's hand.

"Exactly, these books have so many things inside them. I used to be skeptical about their content, but I realized I had been narrow-minded all this time."

In the classroom, everyone stared at William as if they were seeing another person. Harry and Ron were the most surprised, without a doubt.

On the other hand, Hermione narrowed her eyes. With the time they had spent together, she got to know William better than others and knew he wasn't being honest. He was just saying the words Lockhart wanted to hear, but the real question was, why?

"It's a pleasure that one of my students can appreciate all the effort I put into my books. I mean, each of the events in my books were moments I lived through myself, all the dangers and suffering I captured in these books is what I bring to this class so that each of you," he pointed to all the students in the room, "can achieve in life, so that all of you are prepared for any event that happens in your life and then you'll remember my teachings, you'll remember your handsome and brave professor."

The girls in the room began to clap with smiles on their faces. For Lockhart, the applause and smiles on the young witches' faces were all he needed to live.

The applause slowly died down, but a specific pair of hands kept clapping slowly, drawing the attention of the rest, including Lockhart himself.

From the students' seats, Ron looked at Harry with a smile on his face.

"It's finally starting," he whispered. "William never hesitates to confront Lockhart. I knew he couldn't just turn into one of his followers out of nowhere; he always has a plan up his sleeve."

Harry nodded while watching his classmate.

"Professor Lockhart, I have a suggestion."

"A suggestion?" Lockhart looked at him.

"Yes," William raised Lockhart's book in his hand. "These books..."

Everyone watched him.

"They have too much knowledge for us to learn in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. There are many things that can't be learned in class." William shook his head slowly.

"Yes, what you say is true," Lockhart admitted. "But there's not much we can do; the school plan was set a long time ago. I can't just make changes..."

"I have a solution," William interrupted. "The dueling club."

"Yes!" Lockhart exclaimed almost excitedly. "I... you... we think the same thing. It's incredible. I had thought about the dueling club."

"The dueling club?" Harry asked, looking at Ron and Hermione.

"It's as the name says, a club that exists for the school's wizards to learn magical dueling techniques, including the codes of a duel. But at Hogwarts, the dueling club doesn't exist, or well, it doesn't anymore," Hermione explained.

"I had planned to reinstate the dueling club at Hogwarts, especially with the dangers the Chamber of Secrets might present. I want all students to be ready to face any threat. I, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, am committed to training all students in the art of dueling."

William had a smile on his face. With this, the start of the dueling club would be brought forward. Now he just had to get Lockhart out of the way, and for that, he had another plan.

"Considering the professor has so many things to do in his day-to-day, he should select a representative to supervise the training within the dueling club. In Castelobruxo, they had a president or captain."

"That's an excellent idea, Mr. Rosier. I love your enthusiasm with this initiative. But who could be suitable for such a daunting task?" Lockhart asked himself, looking at all his students, who raised their hands in the air. Lockhart had an even brighter smile at this moment.

"If I may," William drew attention again, "in Castelobruxo, the dueling club captain had to be the strongest student. After all, when the guiding professor isn't present, someone has to take charge of the students and lead them."

"That's true. Whoever represents me in the dueling club has to have the potential to replace me. They not only have to have charisma but also strength, be brave, and above all, outstanding. But who could it be?"

"In this case, I can save you the headache and offer myself for the position," William said, smiling at Lockhart. "I not only have the blood of one of the most important noble families in the magical world but also the experience of real combat that I can demonstrate to my classmates."

Lockhart looked at William intently, then a bright smile appeared on his face. "Excellent! There's no one better than Mr. Rosier for this position in the dueling club. After all, you're one of the best students at Hogwarts, recognized not only by our school and Castelobruxo but also by the Ministry of Magic itself. I'm sure that under my guidance, your future will be as bright as my books."

Hermione kept looking at William, who simply had a triumphant smile.