The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 66: Duel Club

"There really is a duel!" Ron clapped excitedly, while Hermione and Harry both looked thoughtful.

Professor Hamilton doesn't seem to be very good at dueling... and I've never heard of her before... Hermione, who has been investigating for a long time in the Hogwarts Library, is not optimistic about Professor Hamilton.

She subconsciously assumed that Professor Hamilton would lose to Lockhart.

Harry, on the other hand, had the opposite view. He remembered her performance when she encountered Professor Hamilton in Knockturn Alley... She not only dodged the Killing Curse in some unknown way, but also defeated the dark wizard in an instant.

He didn't think Lockhart had that ability; after all, he had heard a lot of people talk about Lockhart's performance these past few days.

"Who do you think will win?" Ron asked at just the right moment. "Professor Hamilton or Lockhart?"

"Professor Hamilton!"

"Professor Lockhart!"

Hermione and Harry both gave their answers.

"Professor Lockhart is a very experienced wizard," Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "Harry, you probably don't know that he once single-handedly defeated more than a dozen trolls."

"He even tamed a fire dragon."

"He wrote it himself," Harry said, shaking his head. "Professor Hamilton, I saw it with my own eyes."

"You didn't see it either," Hermione corrected. "Weren't you temporarily disoriented because of the Killing Curse?"

"But after a moment of confusion, the dark wizard collapsed."

Seeing the two suddenly start arguing, Ron laughed: "How about you make a bet?"

"Whoever loses has to buy snacks for the other person and me."

"Why are you in here?" Harry and Hermione both looked at Ron. "Whose side are you on?"

“Ah… I don’t support either of them.” Ron shrank his neck and said, “One is Lockhart… and the other is…” He glanced at Loila with a hint of fear.

It was clear that the memory of the Killing Curse would stay with him for some time.

The professors standing on the stage were naturally unaware of what the students were thinking, especially Loila, who was practically standing on the stage with her eyes closed.

She was a little nervous... Although she had participated in Durmstrang's Duel Tournament twice before, she hadn't participated as a professor then.

It's not shameful to lose... but I'm a professor now!

If I lose too badly, wouldn't that be... wouldn't that be bad?

Loila gripped her wand tightly and slowly leaned back to back with Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart was a full head taller than her, and Loila's head barely reached Lockhart's shoulder.

Huff... Deep breath... Deep breath...

Loila let out a few soft breaths and opened her eyes. She gripped her wand tightly, listened to Lockhart's commands, took a few steps forward, and then turned around.

When she met Lockhart's smiling face, Loira felt herself suddenly calm down.

It's just a wizard duel... Just like Muller said: When facing an enemy, as long as you give it your all, it doesn't matter if you lose.

Oh right... you can't use dark magic at Hogwarts, right...? Royla pursed her lips, reminding herself to avoid accidentally unleashing some dark magic and causing unnecessary trouble.

"You flatter me, Professor Hamilton," Lockhart said with a slightly exaggerated manner, then swept his robes and bowed.

Loila pursed her lips and bowed silently as well.

"three."

"two."

"one."

"start!"

As Lockhart's voice fell, Loila raised her wand, and time seemed to slow down in that instant.

What spell will Mr. Lockhart use? Will it be Fiendfyre or Shatter? Ah… this is Hogwarts… so it should be the Disarming Charm?

His hand movement was slow, even slower than many of the students Loila had seen... but she didn't relax and instead gripped the wand tightly.

Believing herself to be weaker, she planned to dodge Mr. Lockhart's first spell first, and then seize the opportunity to counterattack... Initiating an attack first would ultimately expose her weakness.

but……

Mr. Lockhart's wand is too slow...

Loila felt she could unleash three or four spells in that instant... but Mr. Lockhart simply raised his wand slowly, not even having completed the initial motion of casting a spell.

Is this a flaw? Or is it an exposed...trap?

Loila was undecided for a moment, so she simply held up her wand and looked at Lockhart.

"Disarm you!"

Finally, Lockhart flicked his wrist and released the spell, a very thin spell, perhaps only the thickness of a finger.

But this also makes it faster and more stealthy...

Mr. Lockhart is really amazing!

Then I can't show weakness either!

"Buzz!"

"Whoosh!"

A silver spell streaked through the air, passing through the black figure but only shattering it. Then, with the next flicker of the candlelight in the hall, or perhaps just a blink of an eye, the black figure materialized before Lockhart.

The first thing that appeared was a wand, a silver wand that was pointed precisely at Lockhart's throat.

Huh? That's too fast!

All the young wizards stared wide-eyed at the scene before them.

In their view, Professor Lockhart waved his wand and cast a disarming spell, and then Professor Hamilton vanished from the spot in an instant.

The next second, she was already pointing her wand at Lockhart's throat.

The entire battle probably lasted only a little over a second.

But in that mere second... Professor Hamilton won.

No one could believe it would happen so quickly...

Lockhart stood there blankly, his wand still outstretched, while Loira was equally surprised. She stared at Lockhart with wide eyes, unsure whether she should use the spell...

She had expected that Mr. Lockhart would likely use the Ironclad Charm or Apparition to create distance immediately.

She was even ready to cast a Stunning Spell at the next moment... but Mr. Lockhart didn't move. Instead, he stood quietly in place, waiting for her to Apparate in front of him and raise her wand.

Did Mr. Lockhart go easy on him?

This was Loila's first reaction.

The auditorium was quiet, and after a brief silence, only Miss Luna Lovegood began to applaud.

"Ah...hahaha..." After a few suffocating seconds, Lockhart let out an awkward laugh: "Professor Hamilton is really something."

He waved his hand and raised his wand: "I lost."

"Ah..." Loila put away her wand in a daze, and she didn't come to her senses until Lockhart raised her hand to announce her victory.

Mr. Lockhart, you definitely went easy on me, didn't you? Loila looked up at him and saw the same smile as before, only now it was paler.

"Well done, Professor Hamilton," Lockhart continued. "You have successfully demonstrated to the students the essentials of wizard dueling."

"That means keeping moving," he said, looking at the students below the stage. "Don't be surprised."

"This is a mistake that Professor Hamilton and I discussed beforehand."

Is this... really like this?

Loila's face behind the mask was full of confusion. How come I didn't know about this?

Or perhaps... Mr. Lockhart actually gave me a hint before, but I just didn't notice?

Before Loila could recover, Lockhart had already started calling the other young wizards up to practice.

In some ways, Mr. Lockhart's use of the "Confusion Charm" was masterful.