Amid the panic of many wizards, Lockhart stepped forward and slapped his chest, promising to catch the heir.
With a confident smile on his face and his shiny teeth exposed, coupled with such reassuring remarks, he really won back a lot of popularity.
Lockhart also acted very quickly. In order to increase his popularity, he went all out and convinced the professors within a few days.
After the eager waiting of young wizards, they finally got the news.
After dinner, Neville excitedly dragged Light to the common room's bulletin board to read the notice.
Light, holding a rooster statue in his arms, stood in front of the bulletin board with Neville, looking at the newly nailed parchment on it.
"Light, do you think the Dueling Club they're starting can really improve my combat skills?" Neville looked very conflicted.
"It won't hurt us to go and have a look. Anyway, with Professor Snape there, it'll be somewhat useful!" Light was quite interested. After all, it was fun to see people get embarrassed.
As the two walked towards the auditorium, Neville glanced at the rooster statue in Light's arms more than once, hesitating to speak.
"Are you curious why I'm holding this thing?" Seeing Neville nodding constantly, Light continued to explain:
"Legend has it that there's a monster called the basilisk. Its body can grow to over 50 feet long. It's extremely venomous, and its gaze can instantly kill any human or animal that looks directly at it."
As night fell in the castle, Light described this terrifying monster in his melodious voice, combined with the spreading rumors about the Chamber of Secrets' heir, it felt even more eerie.
Neville couldn't help but swallow hard. He craned his neck and looked around, then said with a quivering voice, "Do you mean it's the basilisk that's been Attacking people?"
"No!" Light denied with a smile.
Before Neville could relax, Light dropped another bombshell, "Maybe it's even worse. The basilisk is uncontrollable. Only Parselmouths can communicate with it!"
"What do you mean?" Neville still looked completely confused.
"It means this turmoil will continue." Instead of answering directly, Light started being mysterious.
Neville asked several more times but didn't get a direct response.
Neville's face scrunched up. His sense of justice made him very conflicted.
"Don't you want to know the basilisk's weakness?" Light looked at the conflicted Neville with a mischievous smile, like a creepy uncle.
Reminded by Light, Neville's eyes suddenly lit up. He hurriedly asked, "So does the basilisk have any weaknesses?"
"Roosters. The basilisk is afraid of a rooster's crow. Its crow can drive the basilisk away."
"You can find some time to remind the scared classmates around you."
Neville nodded continuously, then said doubtfully, "Why don't you go and inform them?"
"Because I want to catch the person controlling the basilisk, so I need a meat shield to draw the fire for me. It'll be convenient for me to catch the culprit."
After Light finished explaining, they reached the auditorium. Light pushed through the crowd and walked in.
Neville scratched his head, remembering that Light had never told him why he was holding a rooster statue.
At this moment, the long tables in the auditorium had disappeared. A gilded stage extended along the walls, and countless candles floated in the air, illuminating the area around the stage completely.
There were many wizards in the auditorium. Almost all the students in the school had come to watch. Each wizard held a wand, their faces full of excitement.
Neville squeezed next to Light and looked at the magnificent stage, saying excitedly, "I wonder who will guide us in the magic Spells duels?"
Light raised the corners of his mouth and directly shattered Neville's expectations. "Lockhart. Only he would be so exaggerated."
Before Neville could ask further, Lockhart stepped onto the stage amidst cheers.
At the same time, Professor Snape quietly followed him onto the stage.
Their dressing styles were completely different. Lockhart was dressed like a peacock, in contrast to Professor Snape in his black robe.
Looking at their positions, it seemed as if a master was bringing his attendant to a dance.
"Come here, come here! Can you all see me? Can you all hear me?" Lockhart enjoyed this atmosphere of being in the spotlight after a long time.
After enjoying the moment, Lockhart spoke loudly as if giving a speech, "I reasoned with the headmaster and set up this Dueling Club."
"I'll train you all so that if you ever need to defend yourselves one day, you can use the skills I've taught you to protect yourselves."
After saying that, Lockhart spread his hands, showing his shiny white teeth, and contentedly accepted the students' applause.
After a long time, when the applause died down, Lockhart began to introduce Professor Snape, who had been standing by idly.
"This is my assistant, Professor Snape."
"He said he knows something about dueling, so I invited him to help me with a little demonstration."
Saying that, he pulled Professor Snape onto the stage. Lockhart continued in a joking tone,
"After I finish the demonstration with your dear Professor Snape, I'll return him to you in one piece. Don't worry."
After that, he flashed a hearty smile and winked at the onlookers with his right eye.
The crowd immediately erupted into a deafening wave of cheers and screams.
Looking at Professor Snape's eyes that almost seemed to be spitting fire and his constantly twitching mouth, Light knew there was going to be a good show.
Amidst the students' screams, Lockhart gracefully took off his cloak and then casually tossed it away, which sparked another round of screams.
In the spotlight of everyone, Professor Snape and Lockhart stood at opposite ends of the stage respectively and began to bow to each other according to the ancient ritual.
Looking at this scene, Light was a bit puzzled. Wouldn't it be better to just launch a surprise attack?
Or, before the opponent comes to duel, just run him over with a big truck. Wouldn't that solve everything? What sane person would bother with dueling?
After they finished bowing, they raised their wands to their chests.
Lockhart said excitedly, "After counting down from three, we'll cast our first Spell! Of course, we won't use lethal Spells."
"Three, two, one…!"
As soon as he finished speaking, both of them raised their wands almost simultaneously.
Expelliarmus
"Bang… Crack!"
Lockhart, struck by the Spell, was sent flying off the stage, hit the wall, and then flopped onto the ground with a thud.
Professor Snape remained incredibly calm. He caught Lockhart's flying wand and stared expressionlessly at Lockhart, who was scrambling up in a sorry state.
Numerous screams and cheers erupted from the Slytherin students as they praised Professor Snape.
Lockhart staggered to his feet and forced himself to say, "Everyone saw that! It was the Disarming Charm."
As he gave an explanation, he staggered onto the stage while still boasting about himself.
"Professor Snape showed you this Disarming Charm. It's quite effective," he said.
"However, the intention was too obvious. It would have been quite easy for me to stop it, but it's good for them to gain some insights, so I let them have a look."
While Lockhart was talking, he attempted to retrieve his wand from Professor Snape, only to find that the professor was gripping it firmly and he couldn't tug it out.