In December, yet another attack happened at Hogwarts.
This time, the victim was Eloise Midgen, a Gryffindor student.
Ever since the previous two attacks, Eloise had been in low spirits, walking around in a daze, she looked more like a mix between Luna Lovegood and Professor Trelawney.
Whenever William saw the poor girl, he couldn't help but feel pity. Her face was already disfigured, and now it seemed like her mind was falling apart too.
Poor thing.
During one of Professor Trelawney's Divination classes that Wednesday, Eloise didn't show up.
When they found her, she was lying unconscious outside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Professor Trelawney immediately puffed herself up, claiming that she had foreseen this event with her "Inner Eye," though no one believed her.
Cormac McLaggen immediately asked, full of concern, whether Harry Potter was behind the attack.
Trelawney gave a mysterious smile and confirmed his suspicion.
However, Cho Chang questioned this directly, pointing out that Harry's name didn't even have the letter "L" in it.
Trelawney shot Cho a venomous glare and sneered at her, accusing her of lacking the spiritual sensitivity required to study the "noble art" of Divination.
The story spread quickly, and Harry was both touched and emotional. He even used Ron's sleeve to wipe his nose.
Cho had stood up to a professor for his sake... If this wasn't love, then what was?!
Well... in reality, Cho simply disliked Trelawney and was looking for an excuse to provoke her. Harry just happened to be a convenient pawn in her argument.
But Harry didn't see it that way. He swore he would clear his name and became even more convinced that Malfoy was behind the attacks.
After all, Malfoy's name did have an "L" in it.
A "Harry Potter Anti-Fan Club" soon formed at Hogwarts. Whenever anyone saw Harry, they would steer clear of him, whispering and pointing from a distance.
Meanwhile, Akali's Mystery Shop saw another surge in business.
On the twins' suggestion, William spent an entire night creating a batch of simple alchemical defense items.
There was the Charm-Repelling Hat, enchanted with a Shield Charm that would reflect hexes back at the caster.
There were also anti-curse cloaks and gloves, anything that provided some level of protection was quickly bought up by the students.
William and his friends made a quick profit.
This also opened up a new business opportunity for Akali's Mystery Shop. They could refine these products and expand to Diagon Alley.
After all, things like anti-curse hats weren't very advanced and were easy to copy.
In fact, this was just one of the many small ideas the twins had, they had an entire notebook filled with clever inventions.
In the midst of this tense atmosphere, a notice appeared on the Ravenclaw common room's bulletin board one December morning:
A Dueling Club was going to be held in the Great Hall!
"Do you think it'll be Professor Flitwick?" Bradley, one of William's dormmates, asked excitedly. "I heard that he was a dueling champion in his youth!"
William shook his head. "It's probably not Professor Flitwick. I was discussing some spells with him yesterday, and he didn't mention anything about it.
"This level of flashy, over-the-top pomp... I'd bet it's Lockhart."
"No way..."
Hearing this, the surrounding students groaned in disappointment. Lockhart's reputation among Ravenclaws had plummeted to rock bottom.
At 8 PM, everyone arrived at the Great Hall on time.
The long dining tables had disappeared, replaced by a gilded stage along one wall, illuminated by hundreds of floating candles overhead.
The ceiling once again became as velvet-black as the night sky. Nearly the entire school had gathered, each student holding their wand and brimming with excitement.
Some students were already dueling on the stage, casting small spells at each other, causing a few to tumble off the stage with loud thuds.
"If that stage had blades at the bottom, you'd be dead by now!"
Lockhart strode onto the stage, addressing the reckless students with an exaggeratedly serious tone. "That is NOT how you duel!"
Snape followed closely behind him, wearing his usual black robes that looked like they hadn't been washed in months. A cold smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Originally, Lockhart had suggested that Professor Flitwick act as his assistant, but Snape had eagerly volunteered instead.
He had been waiting for a chance to humiliate Lockhart for a long time!
Lockhart waved for everyone to quiet down and then called out in a booming voice:
"Gather around! Gather around! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Wonderful!"
"It's like this, Professor Dumbledore has permitted me to host a Dueling Club to teach you all how to defend yourselves, using methods I have employed countless times in my illustrious career. For more details, you can consult my published works."
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," Lockhart continued, flashing a broad smile, "He told me he knows a little about dueling and was eager for a demonstration."
Snape gave a cold, disdainful sneer and, without wasting any words, drew his wand.
Lockhart gave an exaggerated bow, his hands performing unnecessary flourishes as he showed off, nearly dropping his wand in the process.
Such flashy movements were a deadly mistake in a real duel. Flitwick's very first lesson to William had been simple: hold your wand firmly!
Sure enough, a bright red flash shot through the air a second later.
Lockhart was flung backward off the stage, slamming into the wall before sliding down to the floor in a crumpled heap.
Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered to William, "That's it? That's all he's got? If I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered coming, we could've trained in the Room of Requirement instead."
William crossed his arms and nodded, bored.
"What training?" Annie's sharp gaze flicked between them suspiciously.
"Where do you two sneak off to every night? I've looked for you all over the castle, but you're always gone!"
William ruffled Annie's hair affectionately to calm her down, but she clung tightly to his arm, refusing to let go.
William had hit his growth spurt and was much taller than his peers, while Annie, being two years younger, was considerably shorter.
When William casually raised his arm, Annie dangled off it comically.
Hermione burst out laughing, which only irritated Annie further. She glared and snapped, "What are you laughing at?"
Hermione stuck out her tongue playfully. "I'm not telling you!"
William sighed, feeling a headache coming on.
Maybe I should let them duel it out on stage? Whoever wins has to listen to the other for a week.
Meanwhile, Lockhart lay on the ground for several seconds before he finally got up, clutching his lower back.
His hat had fallen off, and his wavy hair stood comically on end.
"The floor is... very slippery," Lockhart muttered, using the lamest excuse he could think of.
"The stage is so... narrow," he added, coming up with yet another excuse.
Seeing the skeptical looks from the students, he cleared his throat twice.
"Alright, you all saw that, didn't you? That was a Disarming Charm. Now, Professor Snape—no offense—but your intentions just now were rather obvious.
"If I had wanted to counter you, it wouldn't have taken me any effort at all. However, for the sake of demonstration, I thought it best to show the students—"
Snape's face darkened, and he raised his wand again, his expression filled with deadly intent.
Lockhart quickly raised his hands and declared, "Demonstration over! Now, I'll come among you and pair you off—"
"Wait." Snape interrupted coldly. "No more games. Dumbledore wanted the students to witness a real duel... Stark—if you don't mind?"
Snape's lips curled into a malevolent smile as he beckoned William forward with a flick of his hand.
William smiled back.
During the time loops, he had dueled Snape countless times, he knew every trick up Snape's sleeve.
Snape, on the other hand, knew nothing about him.
In the words of a certain charecter: "Are you forcing me to kill you here?"