Professor Snape's defeat was inevitable.
After two time loops, William's proficiency in magic had reached a remarkable level.
He had the undivided, 24-hour personal tutoring of the professors, exclusive one-on-one private lessons, and the assistance of Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel... It was practically an all-star luxury lineup!
William's combat experience was equally abundant.
As for Professor Snape, being unable to use Dark Magic limited a portion of his combat power.
Moreover, he hadn't fought in a long time, spending most of his days teaching at Hogwarts, brewing potions in his free time, or taking the opportunity to tease and "cultivate" Harry.
Meanwhile, William, having experienced multiple duels with Snape during the time loops, had developed an in-depth understanding of Snape's combat style.
It was as if William could predict Snape's location... duels where visibility was obscured by smoke or other distractions had appeared dozens of times during the loops.
Every single time, Snape would move toward the right, this was simply a habit ingrained in his combat behavior.
It was difficult for William not to know Snape's exact location.
The Slytherin students looked as pale as ash, while the students from the other houses gazed at William with reverence.
Since the time he had slain the basilisk, this was the first time William had demonstrated his abilities in public again... and his strength far surpassed that of an adult wizard!
William was only a third-year student. If nothing unexpected happened, he was bound to become a wizard as great as Dumbledore.
Lockhart walked over enthusiastically and draped an affectionate arm over William's shoulders, giving everyone the impression that the two had an excellent relationship.
To an outsider, it might even seem like William was Lockhart's protégé!
Why not, after all?
Lockhart had already decided that after he returned to his office, he would add this encounter to his new book, portraying himself as William's favorite mentor.
The book would also mention that Lockhart spent two hours alone with William every evening!
Absolutely flawless.
"Alright, time to get the students paired up for practice," Lockhart called out, signaling for Snape to assist him in organizing the dueling pairs.
William's little group didn't need to be paired.
Cedric and Cho formed a pair, while the Weasley twins paired up as usual, this had been their regular arrangement during their prior training sessions.
William had been teaching the four of them how to fight, even before he began training Hermione.
As a result, they were much stronger than the average young wizard, especially Cedric... he was truly a genius!
Cedric hadn't gone home for two summers, spending part of his time helping out at Ollivander's wand shop and the rest staying at Hogwarts, working with Professor McGonagall to accelerate his Animagus training.
Annie clung to William, begging for a sparring match, while Hermione walked toward a Slytherin girl.
She wanted to pluck a few hairs for use in the Polyjuice Potion.
Harry, meanwhile, was furious at Ron, he had just been about to invite Cho when Ron had swooped in and intercepted him!
How infuriating!
"Come on, Harry, I've learned several new spells recently," Ron said eagerly, wrapping an arm around Harry, "Let me show you how good I've gotten!"
"No, I believe you two should be separated," Snape approached briskly, sneering, "Weasley, you can pair with Finnigan.
"As for Potter—"
Snape's lips curled into a taunting smile. "Malfoy, come over here. You'll be dueling with Potter. Let's see what the Boy Who Lived is truly capable of."
Malfoy's hands trembled with excitement as he hurried over, a look of anticipation lighting up his face.
"Face your partners!" Lockhart returned to the stage, calling out, "Bow!"
The students gave a series of half-hearted bows as the majority of them had already begun to duel.
The scene quickly descended into chaos.
Marietta's wand accidentally set Blalid's robes on fire.
A faint green smoke spread across the hall, while Neville and Justin lay sprawled on the floor, exchanging weary glances and panting heavily.
Harry and Malfoy's wands had fallen to the floor, and the two had resorted to wrestling.
Harry attempted a vicious monkey steal the peach move, which Malfoy barely managed to evade. Malfoy leapt high into the air and retaliated with an improvised "Crow on a Plane" maneuver.
Harry, being much weaker, was no match for him. Malfoy pinned him down, holding his hands and tugging on his robes.
"Merlin's beard!" Lockhart was jumping frantically through the crowd, "Stand up, Ernie... Watch out, Miss Fawcett… Hold it tight, the bleeding will stop soon.
"Malfoy, be gentler, don't be so rough…"
"I think we need a proper demonstration," Lockhart said anxiously to Snape.
If anything went wrong, he had no idea how he'd explain it to Dumbledore.
Snape seemed to agree.
"Let's have a volunteer pair, Longbottom and Finnigan, how about you?" Lockhart suggested.
"That's a terrible idea," Snape said, "Even with the simplest spell, Longbottom is capable of catastrophic damage. We'd be sending Finnigan's remains to the hospital wing in a matchbox.
"Potter... Malfoy, you two step up."
Malfoy stopped tugging at Harry's robes and picked up his wand, heading toward the stage. Snape leaned in close, whispering instructions into his ear.
Harry, adjusting his belt and rubbing the bite mark on his neck, was reluctant to follow.
Snape was undoubtedly teaching Malfoy some advanced spells.
Suddenly, Ron summoned an unexpected burst of courage and shouted, "I'll fight for Harry!"
Before Harry could object, Ron had already climbed onto the stage.
Surrounded by so many students, his excitement caused his hands to tremble, and his face flushed bright red.
Snape frowned at Ron but eventually nodded, sneering, "Since Potter doesn't dare to step up, you'll do, Weasley..."
"Weasley… trying to steal the spotlight?" Malfoy walked up, lowering his voice, "Or do you really think you're a match for me?"
"You don't know yet, do you?" Malfoy, who wouldn't dare provoke William, showed no such restraint with Ron.
"My father recently wrote to the Ministry, calling for an investigation into the misuse of Muggle artifacts department. That's your father's department, isn't it?"
Malfoy sneered disdainfully. "What will your family do without a job? Beg on the streets?"
Ron clenched his wand tightly in both hands. "Go to hell, Malfoy!"
His spell missed and hit the corner of the room instead.
Malfoy quickly raised his wand and shouted, "Serpensortia!"
A long black snake shot out, landing heavily on the floor between them. It raised its head, poised to strike.
The crowd screamed and quickly retreated, creating an open space.
"Don't move, Weasley," Snape said lazily, "I'll handle this."
But Ron was glaring at Malfoy with fury. He flicked his wand and shouted, "Obscurus Boltus!"
A crossbow-like bolt made of black mist shot forward, piercing the snake's head and continuing on to strike Malfoy.
Blood spurted from Malfoy's chest as if the bolt had gone straight through him.
He staggered backward before collapsing to the ground, his wand falling from his limp right hand.
"No—not me—" Ron stammered, rushing forward and kneeling beside Malfoy.
Malfoy lay in a pool of blood, shuddering uncontrollably. His pale hands clutched his blood-soaked chest, his eyes filled with terror.
Snape stormed over, his face livid.
He shoved Ron roughly aside and knelt by Malfoy's side. Drawing his wand, he muttered a spell in a sing-song rhythm.
The bleeding seemed to slow.
Snape then pulled a vial of blood-replenishing potion from his pocket and dripped it onto the wound, where new flesh quickly began to grow.
Snape turned his gaze toward Ron, as if seeing him for the first time.
The hall fell into an eerie silence.