"Dueling Club"

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"Dueling Club"

"I-I'm f-fine, ahem, I hope you all enjoyed the joke to lighten the mood. Don't worry, everything was calculated," Lockhart said as he dusted off his jacket, trying to walk as if nothing had happened.

"With that demonstration, let's pair up in groups of two, face to face."

As the students formed their groups, Lockhart discreetly leaned on a desk, trying to endure the pain.

"Alright. Harry and his partner, come up," said Lockhart, having recovered a little.

"It would be unwise for Potter to duel with Weasley and his wand. Unless he doesn't mind ending up in the infirmary inside a bucket," Snape said, looking at the two boys as they climbed onto the stage.

"You're right, Severus, let's see..."

"If I may choose someone, I can suggest someone from my own house: Malfoy," Snape said, not allowing Lockhart to object, as he signaled Draco Malfoy to step up.

The blond boy arrogantly climbed onto the stage, looking at Harry, who only observed him with an expression as if he were facing a clown.

When Draco stood before Harry, he looked at him as if he had already won.

"Scared, Potter?" Draco asked with a proud smile.

"Not at all," Harry replied calmly, observing the idiot who thought he was his arch-nemesis.

"Very well. Greet each other and take your positions, wait for the countdown," Lockhart said. They briefly greeted each other and stepped a few meters apart.

"3, 2..." And before Lockhart could finish counting, Draco Malfoy cast the first spell.

"Levicorpus!" This spell makes a person hang upside down by their ankles. Snape had quietly told Draco to use it, as a small revenge against the Potter name.

Normally, this spell would have hit its mark and made Harry scream several times before falling, but Harry was no longer the same. Thanks to training with the twins, who often launched surprise attacks, Harry had developed excellent reflexes. So he easily dodged the spell by stepping aside.

"Expelliarmus," Harry said, mimicking Snape and casting the Disarming Charm in an exaggeratedly slow and loud manner, aiming it directly at Draco's chest, sending him flying several meters backward.

Everyone was shocked, especially Snape, who had planned the duel so that Harry would struggle a bit against the spell he himself had taught Draco, one that Harry's father used to torment Snape.

Harry smirked with disdain as he stepped down from the stage amidst the Gryffindors' cheers and the Slytherins' glares of hatred.

"Serpensortia!" Draco shouted, refusing to give up and furious over his humiliating fall. He quickly got up and conjured a snake that lunged at Harry.

"Don't worry, leave it to me," Lockhart said upon seeing the panic on some students' faces. He pulled out his wand and cast a spell, but all it did was send the snake flying upward, enraging it even more.

"There's no need for such idiocy," Stephen said, moving his hand and reducing the snake to ashes.

Harry looked at Stephen, as he had been about to speak to the snake, but he wasn't too bothered and continued stepping down from the stage.

"You owe me one," Stephen said with a smile as Harry passed by him, accompanied by an excited Ron, leaving Harry wondering why he had said that.

"Alright. Who wants to go next?" Lockhart said, flashing a big smile, convinced that his class was a resounding success and that he would be talked about at Hogwarts for a long time for hosting the best dueling lesson.

"Us!" the twins shouted quickly and, without waiting any longer, climbed onto the stage before Lockhart or Snape could stop them.

"Well, we have two eager young men," Lockhart said with a smile. "Then, greet each other and take your positions."

The twins greeted each other exaggeratedly, like old-fashioned nobles, making everyone laugh, and then they stepped apart.

"Alright then, 3, 2, 1, begin!"

"Sigh…" murmured Stephen, knowing what was about to happen, as he started moving his hands to create a shield. The Gryffindors, seeing him, quickly positioned themselves behind him. The other students were confused, but the Ravenclaws, always quick to pick up on things, joined the Gryffindors. After all, they were Ravenclaws for a reason.

As everyone sought refuge, the twins began their duel.

Fred was the first to attack, pulling out his wand and casting spell after spell. "Expelliarmus! Flippendo! Petrificus Totalus!"

George defended himself easily, with simple movements.

"Tsk, then let's get serious!" Fred said, seeing that common spells had no effect. He put away his wand and, with a quick gesture, pulled out his light swords.

"That's more like it!" George exclaimed excitedly, also pulling out his dual swords and starting to throw them.

Fred quickly protected himself, striking one of the swords and sending it flying near the students. As he ran towards George, everyone watched as the flying sword grazed a Slytherin student, who fainted upon seeing the sword embed itself inches from his face.

While everyone took cover, the twins continued their battle.

As he observed the fight, Stephen noticed that although Fred had launched the first attack, George was defending himself with simple movements. "Well, I'll show you the fruits of my training with Misty," George said as he stepped back a few meters. Then, he made a hand seal and split into three identical copies.

"Ah, I also trained with Misty," Fred replied, doing exactly the same. Now there were six identical figures on the stage, leaving everyone astonished.

Watching the six Freds and Georges fighting with swords, no one could tell who the real ones were anymore, but excitement quickly grew, and everyone started cheering.

Suddenly, the two teams separated. Fred looked at his team and gave them a nod.

Then, everyone watched as their teams changed suddenly. One had a large shield and a mace, another kept both swords, and the last one pulled out a light staff.

Obviously, everyone recognized what was happening. Thanks to Stephen—or rather, Magitech, who had created magical video games—every teenager was familiar with RPGs and the famous trinity.

Seeing this, George did the same.

"These idiots are just playing," Stephen said with a smile, realizing that they weren't even fighting seriously and were just showing off to everyone.

As the two teams prepared to fight, excitement grew among the spectators. The Gryffindors, and even some Slytherins, joined in cheering, though others simply watched with increasing resentment.

Lockhart, seeing this, quickly grew envious and stepped onto the stage.

"That's enough!" he shouted, trying to stop the fight just as it was about to begin, earning loud boos from everyone, especially the boys. Meanwhile, the girls immediately jumped to Lockhart's defense.

"It would be fantastic to witness this incredible battle. However, I regret to say that we have little time, and others must have their turn," Lockhart said with a smile, attempting to appear magnanimous before the students.

This made the girls support him, while the boys only expressed their disdain, knowing they couldn't argue against a professor.

"What do you think, boss? A good presentation, right?"

"The best advertisement," the twins said as they stepped down and returned to their place among the Gryffindors, who were still excited.

"I suppose," Stephen said indifferently. He didn't really care who learned; after all, he had only started teaching the Gryffindors because they had asked him after seeing him train. Helping them grow stronger wasn't something he minded.

After the twins' fight, Lockhart tried to regain his popularity. So, he continued calling up other students to duel.

However, he soon realized that every time a Gryffindor stepped up, they stole the spotlight, showcasing excellent magic, summoning weapons, explosions, and even giant saws that ended up cutting through one of the walls. Quickly, he decided to stop calling Gryffindors and turned to the other houses.

"You, from Slytherin, and... the little Blonde from Ravenclaw, step up!" Lockhart said, choosing two new students, one of whom was Luna Lovegood. As she stepped up, many Ravenclaws made weird faces, while the Gryffindors smiled.

"Stop calling Gryffindors for their strange and powerful magic only to call the one person with even stranger, flashier, and stronger magic," Stephen said with a grin, watching Luna happily wave at him. He quickly returned the gesture.

"Professor Lockhart, how about letting me be Luna's opponent? Obviously, I'll only defend myself to demonstrate to my classmates what we learned from you about defense," Stephen said quickly.

Lockhart hesitated momentarily, but Snape, always perceptive, realized who Luna was and the kind of magic she was learning. Normally, all the professors saw her summoning some kind of creature from time to time.

"Very well, Flamel, step up," Snape said, leaving the Slytherin student bewildered, as he had just unknowingly been saved from disaster.

"Thank you, Professor," Stephen said, quickly stepping onto the stage, while Lockhart regretted not rejecting him immediately.

"Hello, little sister. Aren't you excited? How about giving it your all?" Stephen said with a smile, making Luna even more cheerful.

"I was going to show everyone Blacky anyway," Luna replied happily. Stephen, with a stiff smile, suddenly realized he had just saved another life.

"Sigh… You know what to do," Lockhart said tiredly, seeing yet another Gryffindor stepping up. However, he perked up, thinking that Stephen had said he would only defend himself. So, when they took their positions, he started the countdown.

"3, 2, 1—begin!" Lockhart shouted.

Stephen saw Luna start making the same movements as the Gryffindors, but a bit slower and more deliberate. That gave him a bad feeling.

Luna was almost the only one who knew summoning magic, but it still took her a few seconds to complete the movements while mentally recreating the summoning. Moreover, her summoning magic wasn't the original type that brought forth dimensional beasts—it created imaginary creatures through high-level illusions and a few additional spells.

Seeing that Luna was about to finish, Stephen quickly created a shield. But after thinking for a second, he decided to create several layered shields.

Then, everyone watched as a giant circle, like a portal, suddenly appeared, and from it emerged the massive head of a black dragon. It was far larger than most known dragons in the wizarding world. The dragon looked directly at Stephen and unleashed a violet flame from its mouth. Fortunately, Stephen had placed multiple shields, as the first one shattered instantly.

When the dragon's head retracted back into the circle and it disappeared, the entire hall fell into silence. Meanwhile, Luna, delighted, said:

"That's Blacky! Unfortunately, he can only come out for a few seconds to play."

Everyone remained silent for a moment before whispering: "Unfortunately?! No! Thank God he can't come out more often!"

"Sigh…" Stephen wiped away his psychological sweat while watching everyone look at Luna as if she were a monster. "At least now I know no one will mess with her or bother her, haha."

After a few moments of silence, the Gryffindors were the first to break it, cheering and celebrating Luna. Even though they had seen "Blacky" multiple times, each time he appeared, they were even more amazed.

The most shocked of all was Lockhart, trembling like jelly, almost bolting out of the hall.

"W-well, I think that's enough for today. Let's end the class here. I hope you all enjoyed it. Now, I have things to do, so if you'll excuse me," Lockhart said before quickly leaving the hall without a second thought.

Everyone was surprised, but happy that class was over.

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