That Wasn't Luck
There were only a few days left before the Polyjuice Potion would finally be finished, and once it was, they would at last be able to infiltrate Slytherin in search of answers.
Until then, they had to keep going about their days as though everything were perfectly normal.
It wasn't until the following day that something finally caught the students' attention.
A crowd had gathered around the notice board, where everyone was packed together reading the parchment that had just been pinned up.
"A Dueling Club?" Percy asked without even needing to read the notice himself, since every student around it seemed excitedly talking about it.
"Yeah, the first meeting's tonight. I wouldn't mind getting a few dueling lessons," Seamus Finnigan said excitedly. "They could come in handy these days."
"Great, that actually sounds fun," Percy added, getting caught up in the excitement himself.
"Don't get too excited. It's probably not going to involve sword fights," Harry immediately said, reading his brother's thoughts with ease.
The moment he said it, Percy's excitement visibly deflated.
"What were you expecting? It's a school of magic," Harry added, rolling his eyes.
Even so...
He looked fairly interested in this so-called club himself.
For the rest of the day's classes, the students couldn't stop talking about the club that would begin in the Great Hall at eight o'clock.
And the moment the time came, everyone moved at once, hurrying to make it there before it started.
Harry and his group, of course, were no exception.
When they arrived at the Great Hall, the long dining tables had vanished.
Instead, a raised golden platform had been set up along one wall, illuminated by thousands of candles floating overhead.
The enchanted ceiling had turned black once more, and nearly every student in the castle was gathered beneath it, eagerly waiting with their wands in hand.
The only one who looked fairly indifferent was Percy.
Though even he was curious to see what all the fuss was about.
"I wonder who'll be teaching it," Ron asked with interest, looking around at the excited faces of his classmates and the students from the other years.
"I heard Professor Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was younger. Maybe it'll be him," Hermione said hopefully. "Or maybe—"
"Don't say it," Percy cut in, as if he already knew exactly who Hermione was about to name.
It was far too obvious.
Hermione didn't even have to say the name.
The excited sighs coming from several nearby girls already said enough.
Then the masked hero appeared.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, whom Harry and the others already knew was actually named Lockhart thanks to Mark.
Wearing his dark plum-colored robes and smiling beneath his mask, he walked proudly and elegantly onto the platform.
Beside him, providing a complete contrast to his appearance, was none other than Snape, dressed in his usual black robes.
The moment the two professors appeared, Percy, Harry, and Ron all visibly lost their enthusiasm.
If either of those two was running this club...
It was already a waste of time.
Lockhart had already proven during his very first lesson that he didn't exactly seem like an impressive wizard.
Every class afterward had amounted to nothing more than reenacting scenes from his own books without teaching them anything remotely useful.
And as for Snape...
The farther away they stayed from him, the better.
It seemed, however, that Lockhart would be leading the Dueling Club after all.
He stepped onto the center of the platform and raised one hand, asking for silence.
"Come closer, gather around," he said, motioning again for everyone to move in so they could hear him better. "Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me clearly? Excellent," he said with his trademark smile.
"Professor Dumbledore has kindly given me permission to start this modest Dueling Club and prepare you properly in case you should ever need to defend yourselves, just as I myself have done countless times. For further details, I recommend consulting my published works," he added, winking at several of the girls, who immediately let out excited little squeals.
"Allow me to introduce my assistant," Lockhart continued, gesturing toward Snape, who stood not far away wearing a distinctly sour expression. "Professor Snape tells me he knows a little about the noble art of dueling and has generously agreed to help me demonstrate it for all of you. Of course, there's no need to worry. Your Potions professor will still be in one piece when we're done. I'll do my best not to injure your beloved professor."
At those words, Harry noticed a faint look of contempt appear on Snape's otherwise expressionless face.
It disappeared just as quickly, returning to its usual mask while Lockhart continued smiling.
If Snape had ever looked at Harry the way he was looking at Lockhart now...
Even Harry would've turned around and walked away.
Because that expression could only mean one thing.
A truly dreadful punishment was about to fall on someone.
An especially unpleasant one, without a doubt.
Percy seemed to feel exactly the same way.
Even demigods fear punishment.
While Harry was thinking about that, Snape and Lockhart bowed to one another, with Lockhart making somewhat exaggerated flourishes with his hands while Snape merely dipped his head in a foul mood. Then they raised their wands in front of themselves as though they were swords.
Now Percy actually looked interested, seeing the dueling etiquette, which was quite similar to duels between knights.
The professors each took one end of the platform before settling into a guarded stance, pointing their wands at one another.
"When I count to three, we will cast our first jinx. Though it should go without saying that neither of us has any intention of causing harm," Lockhart explained to the class.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Ron said, seeing the murderous look Snape kept fixed on Lockhart.
"One, two, and three."
Both of them moved their wands at the same time.
But Snape seemed to be slightly faster as he shouted:
"Expelliarmus!"
Lockhart, who hadn't even managed to say his spell, watched the flash of red light fly toward him at great speed.
Lockhart had been left in a somewhat awkward attacking position.
His eyes widened with a flicker of panic beneath the mask, but at the same time his wrist moved quickly, and just as the spell was about to strike him in the chest, the tip of his wand suddenly seemed to catch it.
Then he turned his entire body while holding the spell at the tip of his wand and managed to redirect it almost perfectly.
Or, well, almost perfectly.
Because halfway through, the spell slipped free from his wand and shot away, forcing the students to throw themselves to the floor to avoid it before it struck the nearby wall.
"Oh, sorry about that. It seems I'm a little out of practice lately. It's been quite some time since I had a formal duel," Lockhart said immediately with a smile, adjusting his mask as though he wanted everyone to believe it had gotten in his way instead of admitting that he had simply failed.
But Snape's face showed genuine surprise for a moment.
He stared at Lockhart as though he couldn't believe that idiot was capable of dodging at all, much less deflecting his spell.
Even Ron looked just as surprised, having expected the spell to hit him and send him flying into the wall.
Harry couldn't help watching Lockhart with interest.
Or, more specifically, the movement he had just made.
"That wasn't luck, was it?" Percy asked, also staring closely at Lockhart.
"No," Harry said.
Both of them had seen how Lockhart's wrist had suddenly moved with precision, catching the spell with ease.
"But I think that should be enough, don't you? That was a simple Disarming Charm and a basic deflection technique. Nothing too complicated for an experienced duelist. Professor Snape was far too obvious about what he intended to do, so I thought it would be better for all of you to see how easily his attack could be redirected," Lockhart added, looking toward Snape, whose gaze seemed to sharpen even further, filled for a moment with very clear murderous intent.
"But enough demonstrations," Lockhart quickly clarified, as though he hadn't noticed. "It's time for all of you to pair up. Come along," he added, urging them on.