Chapitre 114: Chapter 114
After receiving treatment from Snape, Lockhart began organizing the young wizards into pairs for dueling.
Since he was in the spotlight, Lockhart seemed especially enthusiastic.
"Weasley, you can team up with Finnigan. Potter, come here!"
"Adrian, you too! You two are in the same year, so you should definitely form a team and show everyone what a duel is like."
Lockhart loved having famous individuals in the mix.
One of them was the famous savior, and the other was about to become the youngest recipient of the second-class Order of Merlin.
In the future, after leaving Hogwarts, he could write a book titled My Years as a Professor at Hogwarts.
It would include how Harry Potter and Ethan Adrian had an amazing wizard duel under his teaching and guidance.
"Wait, Adrian, step aside for now!"
"Malfoy, come up and duel with Potter."
Ethan, who had just walked over, was stopped by Snape. His eyes shifted to Draco Malfoy, who had been staring at Harry from the start.
Although Snape didn't know why Malfoy had his eye on Harry, the two were of similar strength, and their duel could give Harry a chance to learn. If it were Ethan, he would have been defeated in one encounter.
Then all Harry would experience is a blow, which wouldn't have any teaching value at all.
Although Snape was harsh in mocking Harry and deducting points, Harry was still the son of his beloved Lily after all.
"Professor Snape, I am the head of this duel club."
Lockhart approached Snape, reminding him directly.
How could Snape ruin his plan?
"Do you have any objections?" Snape asked, raising his wand.
"No objections," Lockhart replied awkwardly. "You're here to assist me, so of course, you can divide them into groups."
Lockhart laughed twice, deciding to compromise.
He had just remembered how dangerous Snape could be, especially with that invisible spell. What if Snape used it on him? "I wouldn't even know how I'd die," he thought.
Ethan, watching the performance between the two, felt a little disappointed. He had hoped for a classic showdown, but it ended like this?
"Jerde, you duel with Adrian."
After arranging Harry's duel, Lockhart didn't forget about Ethan. But since there were no other good options, he had to find a seventh-year student from his own house.
Grover Jerde, who had earned seven O.W.L.s, was among the top ten Slytherin graduates.
Ethan and Jerde moved to the other side of the stage. Jerde was a tall, thin wizard with a sharp face.
Meanwhile, Malfoy, replacing Ethan, stood opposite Harry, a smug smile on his face.
He had set his sights on Harry ever since Lockhart announced the duels.
On the other hand, Cassandra, who had been pulled away earlier, approached Hermione again. Hermione had originally been unwilling to duel with Cassandra for Gryffindor's defence.
But after being provoked by Cassandra, Hermione reluctantly agreed.
There was no other choice. Surrounded by so many Slytherins and Gryffindors, a Gryffindor couldn't back down from a Slytherin's challenge. If Hermione refused, she'd be mocked when she returned to her house, which would be more unbearable than losing.
"Face your partners!" After everyone found their partners, Lockhart returned to the stage and shouted, "Bow!"
Ethan and Jerde followed the rules, just as Lockhart and Snape had demonstrated earlier.
"Raise your wands and get ready!"
"When I count to three, cast your spells!"
Before Lockhart's voice even finished, Jerde was sent flying several meters as if hit by a truck.
Lying on the ground, Jerde stared up at the ceiling, wracked with pain.
He began to question everything.
He had imagined countless outcomes—being evenly matched, winning by luck, or even losing—but never did he expect to be knocked out so effortlessly by a single Repulsion Charm.
Ethan, having lowered his wand, scanned his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was Harry, who had spun 1080 degrees in the air before landing in a tucked position.
As the savior, Harry had proven to be resilient. He immediately got up, tougher than he had been last year.
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry, on his feet again, quickly cast a spell aimed at Draco's stomach.
At that moment, Draco, still smug, didn't react in time. He ended up just like Harry, spinning 1080 degrees in the air before crashing down, sprawled like a goose hitting the ground.
After landing, Draco was laughing uncontrollably, unable to move.
However, Harry, like Draco, didn't know when to finish off his opponent.
After catching his breath, Malfoy immediately pointed his wand at Harry's knees.
"Tarantellegra!"
Harry's legs twitched uncontrollably under the spell, as if he were dancing a quickstep.
Snape couldn't bear to watch any longer and quickly cast a counterspell, removing the enchantment from both Harry and Malfoy.
Ethan turned his head with some disappointment. The duel between the two was almost like a turn-based system, not much different from last year's final exam. There had been no improvement at all.
As Ethan looked around, he realized that many others weren't faring any better than Harry and Malfoy. Many failed to cast their spells properly and fell to the ground.
Some had cast spells with no effect, panting heavily by the end, but with zero damage done, just like Ronald and Goyle in last year's final exam. Some even resorted to close combat.
Only the upper-year students performed better. The younger students' duels were, frankly, painful to watch.
However, Ronald had managed to defeat Seamus early on. It seemed that Ronald had made great progress under the guidance of Voldemort's diary!
Cassandra was still on the offensive, suppressing Hermione. Neither of them was using the protective necklaces that Ethan had given them; they were relying solely on their own strength.
Ethan noticed that Hermione was focused on defense and seemed particularly cautious—likely still traumatized by the Front Teeth Growth Charm from their earlier duel.
Cho Chang's opponent was Marietta. Their duel was going back and forth, resembling a turn-based system as well.
Even though Ethan had taught Cho some spells, she wasn't the most eager learner and usually spent more time practicing Quidditch. As a result, she didn't have the overwhelming strength to outmatch her peers.
Penelope had already finished her duel. Her opponent, Martin Jesse, a half-blood wizard and sixth-year prefect of Ravenclaw, had been bested with ease.
Before this, Penelope hadn't been sure if she could defeat him, but now it had turned out to be surprisingly effortless.
Amid these duels, Lockhart was drawing attention as well.
He darted around the room, constantly reminding the younger students: "Stand up, McMillan… be careful, Miss Fawcett… press hard to stop the bleeding, Boot…"
Meanwhile, Harry remained focused, ignoring everything else. For some reason, the sight of the snake reminded him of the voice he had heard in the corridor on Halloween.
He realized he could understand the snake, just like the boa constrictor he had spoken to at the zoo. It had told him it had never been to Brazil.
Could that mysterious voice from last time have come from a snake too?
Seeing Harry's determination, Snape didn't intervene. He figured Harry could deal with it and might as well suffer a little.
"Hiss!"
With a hissing sound from Harry, the venomous snake, which had been poised to strike, collapsed onto the floor and became completely non-aggressive.
"Can you understand snakes?" Ron asked in disbelief, pointing at Harry. "Parseltongue, Harry, you're a Parseltongue! Why didn't you tell me?"
The last famous Parseltongue was the Dark Lord himself.
The surrounding young wizards stared at Harry in horror, clearly understanding what this meant.
Many recalled the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltongue, and now Harry was too. Maybe he was the Heir of Slytherin, or a descendant. Has Dumbledore been deceived by him?
"Parseltongue? What's that?" Harry asked, looking around at the others, confusion mixing with the fear he saw in their eyes.
"It means you can talk to snakes, Harry!" Ron explained.
"That can't be rare! Lots of wizards can do it, right?" Harry said, hoping for a reassuring answer from Ron.
"They can't, Harry. It's not a common skill. Slytherin's symbol is a snake, and Slytherin himself was a Parseltongue," Ron explained, still not daring to mention that the Dark Lord was also a Parseltongue.
At that moment, Snape approached, looking at Harry with an expression of surprise. With a wave of his wand, he turned the venomous snake into black smoke, which dissipated.
Snape and Lockhart then announced the end of the club's activity.
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
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