Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 29 Duel Club

When Mo Ran first encountered the Harry Potter film series in her previous life, she thought the original books were nothing more than children's literature. This feeling was especially pronounced when watching "The Sorcerer's Stone," "The Chamber of Secrets," and "The Prisoner of Azkaban."

No matter how terrifying the dangers and disasters in the storyline were described, the three main characters always managed to escape unscathed. But as the story progressed and became increasingly dark, with many of the good guys dying tragically one after another, he began to realize that Harry was in a magical world, not a fairy tale world.

Was Hogwarts safe during the time of The Chamber of Secrets?

No, absolutely not.

Having personally experienced the recent attacks, Mo Ran finally realized that the so-called three-year safe period was just wishful thinking on the part of the audience.

A basilisk that can kill with a mere gaze is extremely deadly. During its first two attacks, Mrs. Lorris and Colin might have been able to save their lives using the water on the ground and their camera.

But what happens next? Will Justin Finley's view be blocked by Nick, who is almost headless, when he encounters the Basilisk? What if other students unfortunately encounter the Basilisk? Faced with this level of danger, even Hogwarts, with Dumbledore in charge, had to suspend classes.

Mo Ran had no doubt about Headmaster Dumbledore's determination to protect his students, or his ability to deal with the Basilisk. However, it seemed that, apart from wizards like Salazar Slytherin who possessed the Basilisk, no one else could possibly find the Chamber of Secrets. Otherwise, even if Lucius Malfoy had a thousand lives, he wouldn't dare put the diary into Ginny's cauldron. (Given Lucius Malfoy's fickle nature, unless he had received news of Voldemort's impending resurgence or discovered a way to benefit the Malfoy family, he would never have taken such a risky action.)

Then, while Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets seems to tell the story of the hero Harry fighting the Basilisk, it actually has a hidden plot of "Voldemort trying to be resurrected with the help of Lucius Malfoy and Horcruxes".

A careful recollection of the Hogwarts school board's mindless actions in the movies reveals the truth. Upon hearing the words "Chamber of Locked Room attack," they immediately turned into brainless idiots, agreeing to expel Dumbledore, the only one capable of deterring evil, from the school based solely on a few threats from Lucius Malfoy.

But what happened after the greatest white wizard left Hogwarts? Tom Riddle immediately bared his fangs. He ordered the Basilisk to kidnap Ginny Weasley, a pure-blood child, and attempted to use her life to resurrect himself in the diary.

Once Mo Ran understood all the logical connections, she felt her mind instantly become much clearer.

After his soul was split into multiple pieces, even Tom Riddle at sixteen no longer possessed the ability to plan meticulously. Although he feared Dumbledore, he would still act rashly due to his arrogance and madness.

When Harry arrived at the Chamber of Secrets, he could have ordered the Basilisk to hide Ginny's body and then reappear to kill her after the resurrection ritual. However, Tom, confident of victory, insisted on staging a grand, ceremonial reunion, resulting in… not only being interrupted by the resurrection ritual, but also the Basilisk, who originally only obeyed the Slytherin heir, meeting a tragic end at Harry's hands. Even more ironically, the Basilisk's venom happened to be able to destroy Horcruxes. After all these twists and turns, Voldemort, who had orchestrated a semester of terror attacks, hadn't killed anyone and had even lost his underwear.

"So, the diary won't be lost. I can even just wait until Dumbledore is forced to leave the school and someone goes missing, then I can find the Horcrux and its owner in the Chamber of Secrets... But if I do that, how can I protect my classmates from dying in the upcoming attacks?"

Having reached his new conclusion, Mo Ran had no time to rejoice. Just as he had worried before, since the plot of the movie and the novel had been disrupted by his appearance, would the luck that had once favored the Hogwarts students continue on this timeline affected by the "butterfly flapping its wings"? To put it bluntly, even before transmigrating, Mo Ran felt that the reason those petrified victims survived was simply because J.K. Rowling hadn't yet planned to "go on a killing spree" when writing the second novel.

"Should we call Dumbledore and head straight to the Chamber of Secrets to kill the Basilisk? If we do that, even someone as mad as Voldemort would sense something is wrong and run away, right? It would be better to guide Harry to discover that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is the Basilisk. That way, at least we can spread the knowledge of how to prevent attacks among the students."

……

Mo Ran, who had been analyzing and planning to himself in the live stream for several days, finally received news from the Duel Club on Friday afternoon. Near the entrance hall, a large crowd had gathered around the bulletin board, and the young wizards all showed excited expressions as they looked at the announcement written in cursive script on the parchment.

"Professor Lockhart is hosting a dueling club, and tonight is the first gathering!"

"But will the monster fight you?"

"Who cares! It's always useful to learn some dueling techniques!"

Hearing the discussion between Seymour Finnigan and Dean Thomas, Ron's initial enthusiasm cooled considerably. He said:

"Why is it Lockhart? Couldn't some other professor be hosting it? I don't even want to go."

Hermione firmly disagreed with her friend's argument, stating righteously:

“Since Professor Lockhart is willing to teach us some dueling techniques, we should learn them well. He has so many legendary experiences; even if we only learn a tiny fraction, it might save our lives one day. Harry, what do you think?”

Harry didn't care who ran the Dueling Club; Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore had both suspended the tutoring program after Mrs. Norris's attack. Now, consumed by guilt and unable to numb himself with studying, he desperately needed something to distract himself.

I want to go take a look.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"It doesn't matter which professor organizes it!"

That evening, the young wizards ate at the fastest pace in the history of Hogwarts. Before eight o'clock, the four long tables that were originally arranged longitudinally in the Great Hall were replaced with a stage covered with a gilded velvet carpet at the students' enthusiastic request.

"Why isn't Professor Flitwick teaching us? I heard he was a dueling champion in his youth!"

"How could a competition championship be more valuable than experiencing countless adventures firsthand? If it really came down to a fight, Professor Lockhart might not be weaker than Professor Flitwick! In my opinion, he's the teacher with the most practical combat experience in the school!"

"No, no, none of that is right! Have you all forgotten who our headmaster is? Professor Dumbledore is a wizard even Vanderlei fears!"

"But he looks so old, honestly, he looks over 150 years old!"

In the crowd, students of all grades, holding wands, chattered incessantly. By the time Harry and his friends finally managed to squeeze through the throng of students to the vicinity of the stage, Gilderoy Lockhart had already begun to take the stage to show off his newly made magenta robes.

Ron, who scoffed at Lockhart, instinctively looked away, but unexpectedly caught sight of Professor Snape, whose face was beaming with joy.

"Harry! Look who's that!"

Ron greeted them:

"Isn't he a potions teacher? What's he doing here?"

Before Harry could answer, a sound like a musical performance came from the stage:

"Children! Come here, all of you, come here!"

"Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me speaking?"

"Excellent!"

"Due to the recent attacks, Professor Dumbledore specifically invited me to open this dueling club. He seems to think that if I were to train everyone, the safety of Hogwarts would be greatly improved. I have to admit, he's very farsighted, isn't he?"

"As my classmates know, I have already subdued countless monsters in numerous spectacular adventures. Even if you can only learn a little bit from me, it will be enough to protect yourself someday when you need to defend yourself. Of course, if you are interested in the details of the adventures, please purchase my work directly."

At this point, Gilderoy Lockhart winked at a group of girls on the left side of the stage, which instantly drew screams from the audience.

"Professor Lockhart, you're so cool!"

"You must protect us!"

Lockhart, having received support from fans, waved to signal them to quiet down, and then continued:

"Let me introduce my assistant—Professor Snape!"

“Even the greatest heroes need an opponent when demonstrating dueling techniques, and Professor Snape just happened to tell me that he himself knows a little about dueling. So, I invited him to give you a small demonstration before class.”

"Oh, by the way, whether you are Slytherin students or students from other houses, please don't worry. I will control the power of the spell and return the Potions Master to you all unharmed after the demonstration."

Ron nearly burst out laughing when he heard this. He covered his mouth with his hand and whispered to Harry:

"Hahaha! Do you think those two might just fight to the death on stage?"

Harry was also about to lose his composure. He had never seen Professor Snape look so sour. Even at last year's House Cup awards ceremony, he managed to force a smile when shaking hands with Professor McGonagall. He replied:

"Impossible, Ron. Professor Snape is very powerful, possibly even the most powerful professor in the school besides Dumbledore. Look at his expression now, I bet Lockhart is going to get a really bad time."

Having already witnessed Lockhart's blunders, Hermione still held a sliver of hope for her idol, and she retorted to Harry:

"Professor Lockhart is, after all, Dumbledore's specially appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Although he may have had some flaws in his teaching methods, how could he possibly be no match for the Potions professor in a duel?"

Harry didn't directly refute Hermione; instead, he looked at Professor Snape's expression meaningfully and said:

"Hmm, perhaps you have a point. But I must remind you, Hermione, if you ever see Professor Snape glaring at you with his upper lip curled up, don't stand still like Lockhart. Just turn around and run for your life, understand?"

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, Lockhart and Snape walked face-to-face to the center of the stage. Then, one performed a graceful, arm-flipping bow, while the other mechanically swayed slightly before moving on in the opposite direction.

"A good stance is essential for a duel. Stand with your feet staggered, wrists relaxed but wands firmly in hand, and eyes looking straight ahead. I'll count to three, and then we'll unleash the first spell."

"one two Three!"

"Expelliarmus!" (Expelliarmus)

Professor Snape practically shouted the Disarming Charm.

A dazzling red light streaked across the stage like a meteor, knocking Lockhart's wand from his hand and sending him flying. It was the first time Harry had heard Gryffindor and Slytherin reach a consensus on something.

"Well done... cough cough."

"That's it! Teach this flamingo a lesson!"

Lockhart, who had finally managed to stand up, straightened his robes and then combed his hair before taking the wand back from the little fan.