0154 The Notice

"The notice board?" Harry repeated, his eyes immediately sharpening with concern as Luna's cryptic words echoed in his mind. After hearing Luna's reminder about the gathered crowd, Harry turned to look at his two friends with urgency. "Let's go take a look immediately. Maybe something happened during the night." His thoughts immediately flew to the voice he had heard echoing through his mind in the early morning hours. The last time he heard this kind of voice, the petrification incident had occurred. Harry's expression immediately became serious. When Harry finally managed to squeeze through the unusually noisy and excited crowd that had gathered in the entrance hall to reach the large notice board, his tense shoulders finally began to relax with visible relief. The situation wasn't nearly as catastrophic as his rich imagination had conjured. Nothing particularly dire had happened during the previous night, and no new victims had been discovered petrified in the corridors. Instead, what met his eyes was genuinely good news—or at least what appeared to be good news at first glance. The notice board was filled by an extravagant, golden-bordered announcement announcing the establishment of the Hogwarts Dueling Club. "Sounds rather exciting, doesn't it—dueling," said Seamus Finnigan, Harry's roommate, who was also standing in front of the notice board. "Tonight is the very first meeting, right here in the Great Hall. I think we should be able to learn some genuinely more lethal spells there—you know, the kind of magic they don't usually teach in regular classes." Actually, Harry thought with amusement that Seamus's spells were already quite lethal enough, considering that whatever magic he attempted to perform would most likely end up as some form of spectacular explosion, regardless of his original intentions. As Harry had observed many times before, Seamus had an absolutely extraordinary and seemingly innate talent for creating explosions of various sizes and intensities. While this might not be the most conventional magical skill, Harry had to admit that such a talent would probably be useful in any kind of dueling situation—few opponents would expect to face someone who could turn a simple Lumos charm into a blinding flash-bang. "Should we attend this?" Ron asked from beside Harry, his voice carrying a note of eager anticipation that made his excitement obvious to anyone listening. After all, the concept of organized dueling had incredibly strong appeal for children their age, it was the combination of authorized rule-breaking, dangerous magic, and the opportunity to watch their professors in action was almost irresistible. "Why not?" Harry replied with a genuine smile, his eyes showing a clear trace of anticipation that matched Ron's enthusiasm. "We're bound to learn quite a lot there, even if it's just from watching the demonstrations." In fact, Harry was already feeling genuinely impatient for the evening to arrive. Not long ago, through his intensive private training sessions, he had already become reasonably proficient in using many combat spells like the Shield Charm and Disarming Charm. However, despite all his theoretical knowledge and practice sessions, he had never experienced genuine combat training against multiple opponents or in an unpredictable environment. His previous sparring partners had only been Adrian, Devil's Snare, and occasionally Remus when he was free. Honestly, while training and sparring with them had certainly improved his technique, it gave Harry absolutely no realistic idea of his actual combat level against opponents his own age and experience. This was mainly because every single time they engaged in practice dueling, Adrian would suppress him quite thoroughly. At eight o'clock in the evening, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived at the Great Hall exactly on time to attend what would be the inaugural meeting of the dueling club. Along their journey through the corridors filled with other eager students, Hermione had been carrying a thick book clutched against her chest, and she seemed somewhat more nervous than usual. Harry managed to catch a glimpse of the book's cover, which read in golden lettering: It was clearly a book thesis on the formal aspects of magical dueling, with historical precedents and theoretical contexts. However, despite Hermione's obvious faith in academic preparation, Harry felt that such textbook knowledge wouldn't be very useful in an actual dueling situation. In his experience, practical combat was the most effective training method. Finally, after crossing corridors packed with excited students all heading in the same direction, they reached their destination and stepped through the oak doors into the Great Hall. The familiar space had been completely transformed for the evening's event. Hundreds of candles floated mysteriously in the air at various heights, creating a warm, flickering lighting. The enchanted ceiling, which normally reflected the sky outside, had turned completely pitch black. Most striking of all was the decorative stage that had been erected at the far end of the hall, where the staff table usually sat during meals. A large crowd of students from all four houses had already packed themselves into the center of the hall. The buzz of conversation filled the air as friends speculated about what they might learn and which professors would be conducting the demonstrations. The moment Harry's eyes fell upon that ostentatiously decorated stage, his heart skipped a beat and then began racing with a distinctly unpleasant sensation. An ominous premonition settled over him, and he felt his stomach drop with sudden dread. As far as he knew from his year and a half at Hogwarts, there was only one professor in the entire castle who would choose to use such flashy decorations for an educational event. That dubious honor belonged exclusively to Gilderoy Lockhart! Unfortunately, Harry's pessimistic premonition came to be absolutely accurate. The very next second, a flamboyantly dressed figure made his grand entrance with all the flair of a stage performer taking his bow before an adoring audience. Lockhart, in robes of deep purple-red silk, walked with exaggerated pride to the center of the stage. Then that familiar and increasingly headache-inducing voice rang out throughout the Great Hall, amplified by magic to ensure that every student could hear his grandiose announcements clearly. "My dear, dear students," Lockhart began with dramatic emphasis, spreading his arms wide as if embracing the entire crowd, "welcome to what will undoubtedly be Hogwarts' first and most spectacular dueling club in the entire glorious history of this ancient institution." He paused dramatically, allowing time for his words to sink in and for the anticipated applause that didn't quite appear as enthusiastically as he had clearly expected. "Headmaster Dumbledore has allowed me to organize this absolutely essential dueling club," he continued while performing an elaborate and entirely unnecessary flourish with his wand that sent sparkles falling through the air, "specifically designed to help you face the many dangers of our world with significantly more confidence and to teach you the vital skills needed to protect yourselves and your loved ones." His voice rose to an even more pompous roll as he launched into what was clearly his favorite part of any speech. "And I, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin Third Class, five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award, and acknowledged luminary in the field of Defense Against the Dark Arts will personally guide each and every one of you in learning to use both elegance and decisive action to defeat enemies in the dangerous Wizarding world!" A round of polite but notably moderate applause came from below. It seemed that Lockhart's credibility among the students hadn't been completely exhausted yet. "Can we still leave now without causing a scene?" Harry asked with a slight frown, whispering to Ron and Hermione who were pressed close beside him in the crowd. "Let's see how this develops before we make any decisions," Ron replied, gesturing with his chin toward the packed crowd around them. "Besides, look at this mob—they're blocking all the exits like living walls. We'd have to fight our way out, and that would probably draw more attention than staying." Meanwhile, at the side of the stage where they could observe the events without being drawn into Lockhart's dramatic nonsense, Adrian stood together with Professor Snape. "Well..." Adrian said in his casual tone to Snape beside him, his dark eyes taking in the ridiculous spectacle unfolding in front of them, "I genuinely didn't expect you to show up for this circus, Professor Snape." Indeed, although Lockhart had sent his golden invitations to virtually every professor in the castle, boasting about all the faculty members who would be participating, only Adrian and Snape had actually appeared in the end. After hearing Adrian's quietly amused observation, Snape's mouth twitched in what might have been a sarcastic smile. He turned his cold eyes toward Lockhart, who was still showboating at center stage like a peacock displaying its feathers, and spoke with the venomous disdain that made him legendary among students, "I came here to prevent that incompetent fool from teaching students to be as stupid as he is himself. Someone with actual magical knowledge needs to supervise this disaster." "I find myself in complete agreement with that sentiment," Adrian replied with genuine feeling. In this particular regard, Adrian and Snape could definitely reach a strong consensus. Neither had any desire to see Hogwarts students receive dangerous misinformation about magical combat from someone whose practical experience was limited to fabricated stories. On the stage above them, Lockhart intentionally walked a complete circle around the platform's edge, moving with exaggerated grace to ensure that every student in the hall could properly admire his exquisite and undoubtedly expensive attire. Then he raised his chin to what he obviously considered a dashingly heroic angle, struck what he was convinced was an irresistibly charismatic pose, and announced in a high-pitched voice, "Now, my eager students, I will provide you with an absolutely unforgettable demonstration of proper dueling technique. Of course, as you can surely understand, I cannot accomplish this alone—I need an assistant, preferably a professor with equally extraordinary magical skills to help me demonstrate the thrilling reality of an exciting wizard's duel." Lockhart's gaze moved back and forth between Adrian and Snape, as if considering whom to choose. The hundreds of students also followed Lockhart's gaze toward the two professors standing at the side of the stage, and an excited murmur began to went through the crowd as they realized they were about to witness a genuine confrontation between Professors. Adrian raised his eyebrows with slight interest but maintained his composure. He didn't particularly mind the prospect of being called up to participate, but neither did he make any active gesture to volunteer himself for what was likely to be an embarrassing spectacle. Given his temperament, if Lockhart did request his participation on stage, Adrian would at least give Lockhart a somewhat dignified ending. As for Snape, he was currently wearing a cold expression, as if he could freeze the surrounding air. Of course, Snape always had this expression. "Let us all welcome with tremendous enthusiasm," Lockhart's amplified voice paused intentionally to build maximum suspense, his smile growing even more intense as he prepared to announce his choice, "the formidable and highly skilled—Professor Snape!" He spun with dramatic flair and pointed directly at Snape with a gesture that was probably meant to look imposing but came across as simply pompous. Adrian glanced sideways at Snape's expression and immediately noticed that his already intimidating demeanor had somehow managed to become even more grim and ominous. Adrian thought. He sincerely hoped that Lockhart had taken the time to prepare himself mentally for what was about to unfold, because the next few minutes were likely to provide a memorable lesson. Adrian shook his head, already feeling a mixture of anticipation and secondhand embarrassment for what was about to occur. The students erupted in genuine excitement and commotion, and many began applauding with real enthusiasm. The thought of witnessing a magical confrontation between two professors was exactly the sort of entertainment they had hoped for when they decided to attend the dueling club. Professor Snape was a particularly interesting choice of opponent although every student knew he was genuinely frightening in his own cold, intimidating way, they had rarely if ever seen him demonstrate his actual magical abilities in a combat situation. At this moment, Harry breathed a genuine sigh of relief, feeling some of the tension leave his shoulders. Fortunately, this dueling club wouldn't be limited to having only Lockhart as an instructor and guide. With both Adrian and Snape present to provide supervision, the club should be able to proceed safely, regardless of whatever foolishness Lockhart might try to perform. However, as Harry watched Lockhart's confident posture and Snape's increasingly ominous expression, one thought appeared his mind: That Lockhart actually had the audacity to choose Snape as his dueling opponent—Harry had to admire the man's courage, even if he seriously questioned his intelligence. ________________ You can read more chapters on: /IamLuis