True Champions…

For some reason, Adam suddenly had a bad feeling when he heard Lockhart’s words.

Especially when Professor Snape’s expression actually improved slightly at that moment, and he even glanced at Adam.

It had to be said that Lockhart did have some skill. After Adam had no time to bother with him, he had managed to win back some of his formerly die-hard supporters through sheer eloquence, and his speech drew a round of applause.

"Thank you—thank you all for your encouragement. Now, how about we invite that little assistant up here?"

Lockhart winked mischievously at Professor Snape, looking as though he and Snape were on excellent terms.

Professor Snape’s face tightened briefly before he revealed a somewhat gloomy smile.

"Adam Reed."

Adam: "???"

Me?!

Wait… nobody told me there was an extra event today!

While Adam was still dazed, Professor Snape had already looked at him again.

"Come here. Quickly."

"Don’t be shy! Relax! Adam—where are you?"

Lockhart did not suspect a thing. Although he had once suspected that someone was plotting against him, he had never doubted the students. After all, what impressive abilities could a student possibly have?

That was precisely why, when Professor Snape suggested having a student take his place in a sparring demonstration, Lockhart agreed without hesitation. He even thought it suited him perfectly—a student would be much easier to deal with than a professor.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Adam silently stepped onto the dueling platform and looked at Professor Snape beside him.

"Relax."

Professor Snape’s expression did not change. He raised a hand and gently patted Adam’s shoulder, his voice almost inaudible.

"Use the spell I taught you—you know which one."

Adam’s mouth twitched.

You taught me two spells in total: Levicorpus and Sectumsempra. There is quite a difference between them. Could you be more specific about which one I am supposed to use?

When Lockhart saw Adam step onto the dueling platform, his expression became slightly unnatural. Painful memories of being bitten into the Hospital Wing by the Chinese Chomping Cabbage immediately flooded back…

He did not take attendance in class, and his lessons had gone rather poorly before. As a result, he still could not match students’ names to their faces. Only when Adam came onstage did he realize who Adam was.

But Lockhart quickly adjusted his mindset. The previous incident might have been painful, but it had been magic arranged in advance. It did not prove that this student was particularly strong.

This was the perfect chance…

"Come here, child. I won’t hurt you. Just relax and follow the procedure—"

Lockhart beckoned to Adam with a bright smile.

Professor Snape patted Adam’s shoulder and stepped down, leaving Adam and Lockhart alone on the dueling platform.

"First, Mr. Reed and I will each go to one side of the dueling platform, then we bow—yes, that’s right!"

After bowing, Lockhart twirled his wand around his hand a few times and slowly began to speak.

"Expel—"

"Levicorpus!"

"Tut…"

"Wow—!" xN

Amid the students’ astonished gazes, Adam looked innocently at Lockhart, who was hanging upside down in midair.

"Professor, weren’t we allowed to attack after bowing?"

"…"

Lockhart’s face turned bright red, presumably from all the blood rushing to his head. In any case, he remained silent for several seconds before speaking.

"Ah, yes, of course I knew that. I merely wanted to demonstrate that—your intent to attack was far too obvious. In a real duel, I certainly would not fall for such a little trick."

Adam nodded and glanced at Professor Snape, who had clicked his tongue amid the commotion. It seemed he had guessed wrong… But wouldn’t Sectumsempra have been a bit excessive? What if all that blood scared the other students?

Compared to that, he still preferred the murder mystery game he had prepared for Lockhart before. Killing without spilling blood.

Lockhart struggled twice in the air and began telling everyone about his past duels with Dark wizards, as well as how he had defeated a former dueling champion. Every now and then, he cast Finite Incantatem or some other spell Adam had never heard before on himself.

At last, with his vision beginning to darken in waves, Lockhart gave Adam an awkward smile.

"Mr. Reed, I would like to test how well you have learned the counterspell for this charm. It is not that I do not know the spell, of course. I saw this little trick several times during my travels…"

"I haven’t learned the counterspell for this charm yet, Professor."

Adam suddenly spoke, wearing the innocent expression unique to a pure-hearted little badger.

"So you should come down by yourself."

"…"

Lockhart’s face reddened further, even turning a little purple.

"Er… yes… then I’ll come down now… hey!"

He thrashed wildly in midair like a fish hooked on a line, then gave the students a weak smile.

"My wand seems to have a bit of a problem. Could someone help me contact Pomfrey… please…"

To the students’ shock, Lockhart’s head lolled to one side and he fainted. Foam even seeped from his mouth.

"Ahhh, save him—quick!"

"Quiet."

Professor Snape stepped onto the platform and flicked his wand. Lockhart dropped with a thud. Adam thought he heard something like a bone breaking. Hopefully the dueling platform was all right.

After glancing at Lockhart, Professor Snape seemed to be in a rather good mood. He swept his gaze over the students below and drawled,

"It seems your Professor Lockhart has suffered another serious injury… The dueling club will likely have to be postponed. Go back to your dormitories."

"No! Wait… I’m fine!"

To everyone’s astonishment—Professor Snape’s eyelid twitched—Lockhart struggled back to his feet. His face was still flushed in a strange way, but he managed to force out a smile.

"It is all right. That was merely a small accident… I was not injured. I’m still perfectly fine."

"Professor Lockhart…"

Adam spoke with mixed feelings. Now that was a true champion. Rarely, there was even a hint of respect in his voice.

"Why don’t you go to the Hospital Wing and have them take a look…"

Look at those bloodshot eyes and the nosebleed running from your nostrils… Don’t die on this dueling platform!

"Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m very well! During my travels, I encountered situations far more difficult than this more than once—er, I mean wand malfunctions."

Lockhart gripped his wand and tried to perform a few flashy movements, only for it to fly out of his hand halfway through. Without changing expression, he ran over and picked it up again.

"Ahem, that was only a demonstration. Now comes the official duel. We will demonstrate a true, proper duel for everyone, so let us first establish the procedure—"

Lockhart did not want to experience being hung upside down again, so he said,

"We will bow first, then use Expelliarmus together—surely you know that spell?"

Lockhart relaxed when he saw Adam nod.

To avoid being hit by any more strange and unusual spells, he had just thought of having them both use the same spell.

Expelliarmus was one of the few spells he could cast proficiently. If Adam said he could not use it, that would be terrible—Lockhart could hardly compete with Adam in using Memory Charms, could he?