Chapter 167. Christmas Gathering
"That…" Hermione didn't react at once. She blinked, then said in delight, "Professor, are you going to start another Duelling Club?"
"Sort of, but only a small gathering over the Christmas holidays," Adrian Wesson set down his fork and said lightly. "It's just for students who are interested. Would you like to come, Hermione?"
"Of course!" Hermione's eyes lit up at once. "I've got to tell the others."
"Perfect," said Wesson. "Could you do me a small favour, Hermione? Spread the word to the students staying at school. Anyone who wants to come should meet in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom at three o'clock this afternoon."
"Of course!" Hermione nodded, thrilled. "But… I can't promise I'll reach everyone."
"That's enough," Wesson nodded. "I've no wish to make a grand show of it like Gilderoy Lockhart."
There weren't many students staying for Christmas to begin with, and with little time to spare, only a dozen or so turned up on the dot in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom that afternoon.
Gryffindors made up most of the group, with a few scattered Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.
As for Slytherin—there wasn't a single one.
Wesson spotted several familiar faces among them: Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Weasley twins, Percy…
All Gryffindors.
"All right," Wesson clapped his hands to draw their attention. "As you've probably gathered, this is a small gathering to exchange duelling techniques."
Heads nodded in unison; everyone already had a wand in hand.
"Excellent." Wesson nodded in satisfaction, his gaze sweeping the room before finally settling on Percy.
Percy felt Wesson's eyes on him and drew himself up proudly.
Though he was the eldest here, it was fair to say he was also the most capable.
And he had every right to be proud.
Professors liked students who excelled and followed the rules, and Percy was the very model of such a student.
Wesson was no exception.
"Percy," Wesson said suddenly, "was your badge always like that?"
Percy started and looked down at his chest. At some point, the word on his Prefect badge had changed to "Pinhead."
Percy's face went scarlet at once. He immediately shot a glare at Fred and George standing nearby.
Sure enough, the twins were struggling not to laugh, their eyes squeezed nearly shut.
Noticing Percy had caught on, they promptly put on innocent expressions and stared up at the ceiling—though their lips kept twitching.
"Fred! George!" Percy hissed through his teeth. "This is the second time. Is it amusing?"
Indeed, they had pulled the exact same prank at the Christmas feast.
Wesson grasped the gist at once. He flicked his wand, and Percy's badge reverted.
Even so, Percy's expression remained thunderous.
Naturally, everyone else was shaking with laughter.
"All right, that's enough fooling about," Wesson clapped again for quiet. "Where was I… ah, yes. This is a small duelling gathering, and the main purpose is to train your practical combat ability."
At the words "practical combat," the students perked up at once.
Harry and Ron exchanged a look, tightened their grips on their wands, and could hardly contain their eagerness.
To be honest, they hadn't had their fill at Lockhart's Duelling Club last time.
"Professor," Percy sat up straighter and raised his hand, "may I choose my own opponent?"
As he spoke, he gave a meaningful smile and fixed his eyes on George and Fred.
Perhaps it was time they felt their elder brother's authority.
Unfortunately for him, Wesson shook his head and declined Percy's request. "In fact, I've already prepared your opponents."
Everyone looked puzzled.
The twins, however, breathed a sigh of relief. If they had to face Percy, it would be no use even if they went together.
Though Percy usually looked mild and harmless, they, as his younger brothers, had always known that he was formidable—both in practice and theory.
Hermione raised her hand, frowning. "Professor, who are our opponents?"
Wesson didn't answer at once. He only smiled mysteriously and drew a bulging cloth bag from his robes.
"Just a moment," he said, turning the bag upside down and giving it a shake towards the floor.
"Clatter—"
Almost everyone leaned forward instinctively.
A few small objects tumbled out of the bag, looking like wooden dolls of some sort, each no bigger than a palm.
Wesson gave his wand a slight wave and murmured an incantation.
The dolls swelled rapidly. In the blink of an eye, a dozen humanoid dummies stood before them.
Each was as tall as a real person, but faceless, with a slender replica wand in its hand.
Yes—these were the practice targets Wesson had prepared for the students.
He had used such dummies for the end-of-year exam last year.
Only this time, he had strengthened them all.
"These will be your opponents."
Wesson walked to the front of the dummies, turned, and faced the students. "No need to be too nervous. They only use two spells."
"Two?" Harry raised his eyebrows and couldn't help a breath of relief.
In that case, it didn't sound too hard.
"Exactly," Wesson nodded, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "One is the Slug-Vomiting Charm, and the other is the Shield Charm."
"The Slug-Vomiting Charm?" Ron's face went very odd indeed; he gagged a little.
Unpleasant memories surged back. He could still recall that slick, slimy taste.
"First, the lowest difficulty: all of you together against one."
Wesson flicked his wand. The rank of dummies stepped back at once, leaving a single one standing alone.
"Now—begin!"
At the word, everyone raised their wands; the lone dummy moved at once.
It swung its wand with mechanical precision—but at startling speed—and a bolt of spell-light shot straight at Fred amid the crowd.
"So fast!"
That was Harry's instinctive thought.
Yes—the dummies' Slug-Vomiting Charms were unbelievably quick. Harry could only just make out the trajectory.
In Fred's eyes the spell suddenly loomed large. Reflexively, he threw up both hands to block—but of course, hands were no defence against magic.
George didn't even have time to shout. The spell was already at his brother's nose.
At the last second, a silvery barrier flashed into being before Fred.
"Protego!"
Percy stood at Fred's side, wand raised high.
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