"So next, Ron?" Lockhart looked toward Ron.
Harry and Malfoy's duel was the main event. He wanted to save it for last.
"Alright," Ron nodded and walked toward the centre of the stage.
"Good luck," Hermione brushed past Ron with a very happy smile as she walked back.
On the other side, Goyle also stepped out, gripping his wand tightly.
"I'll emphasise once more. You can only use the Disarming Charm, understand?" Lockhart said loudly.
Both Ron and Goyle nodded, but no one knew whether they'd follow Lockhart's requirements in the upcoming duel.
After all, Hermione and Parkinson's battle situation was right there for everyone to see.
"Three, two, one..." Lockhart began the countdown.
"Expell..."
"Expelliarmus!"
Both cast spells almost simultaneously, but Ron was obviously faster and more composed. By the time Goyle's incantation wasn't even finished, Ron's spell had already been cast.
A red light illuminated the entire venue, then struck Goyle's body.
Bang.
His large body was knocked over by the tremendous force, falling to the ground, while his wand flew directly out and landed at Ron's feet.
"Seems really quite simple," Ron shrugged his shoulders and turned away casually.
"Ron, Ron, Ron!" Gryffindor cheered loudly.
"I lost," George gave Fred a silver Sickle. "But seeing Ron defeat his opponent so cleanly, this silver Sickle was worth it."
"Exactly," Fred happily accepted the coin.
This was Ron's rare moment of glory. Everyone was surprised by Ron's strength.
After all, compared to the others, Ron was the least conspicuous one. He wasn't a dragon rider, nor a top student, much less the boy who lived. But this person who'd always been overlooked by everyone had cleanly defeated Goyle, who came from a pure-blood family.
Visibly, the Slytherin side all had very ugly expressions.
This was simply a disgrace to pure-bloods.
If calculated by best of three, their Slytherin side had already lost.
"Very good, very good," Lockhart clapped enthusiastically. "Ron Weasley has shown us how to quickly and accurately cast the Disarming Charm. You can tell he's been listening carefully in my classes."
"Wasn't that spell taught to us by Dudley? What's it have to do with Lockhart?" Seamus and others said with obvious dissatisfaction.
When Dudley had substitute-taught before, he'd taught everyone this spell. Many people could cast this spell because of Dudley. It had nothing to do with Lockhart.
But at this moment, no one wanted to stand up and refute anything. After all, Lockhart at least appeared to be on Gryffindor's side. If they pushed him too hard and he sided with Snape, then Gryffindor would truly be isolated and helpless.
Dudley also didn't mind Lockhart's self-aggrandising behaviour. Apart from loving face and bragging, this person didn't have any particularly detestable points.
Let him be.
"Alright, alright..." Lockhart pressed down with both hands, signalling everyone to quiet down.
"Finally, we have the duel between our famous Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. I'd say this should be a very exciting battle. Don't you agree?"
"Yes!" Everyone shouted loudly.
"Malfoy, defeat him!"
"Slytherin must win!"
"Go! Malfoy!"
The Slytherin crowd desperately cheered for Malfoy.
Honestly, Malfoy was indeed one of the few second-year students Slytherin could put forward. The others were basically no different from Goyle.
As long as Malfoy defeated Harry in the final duel, all the previous setbacks could be recovered.
This was the truly crucial duel.
"Harry, Hermione and I just didn't use silent wandless spellcasting. You still have the element of surprise," Ron said to Harry in a low voice.
In their recent duels, they'd easily defeated their opponents without needing such advanced magical techniques.
This also meant that Malfoy and the others still didn't know Harry's trump card. If Harry demonstrated silent wandless spellcasting now, then Malfoy would have no power to fight back.
This was the advantage Ron and Hermione had secured for Harry.
"Don't worry, dealing with Malfoy might not even require it," Harry said confidently.
"Don't underestimate Malfoy," Dudley reminded from the side.
Ever since the Night Emperor had pressured Malfoy, this kid had been quite diligent in his studies. Moreover, as a wizard from a pure-blood family, he could access much more magic than Harry could. He might very well have some magic unique to the Malfoy family that could catch Harry off guard.
"I understand," Harry nodded.
While the group was talking, Lockhart launched into another long speech, boasting about how he'd taught Dudley and the others, while also whetting everyone's appetite.
"Harry, Draco, are you ready?" Lockhart asked.
Both nodded simultaneously.
"Good, then let the duel begin."
Harry and Malfoy walked toward each other, bowed to each other, and raised their wands.
"Scarhead, are you scared?" Malfoy asked with a cold laugh.
"Dream on! You're the one who should be scared, Malfoy," Harry shot back.
"Don't think just because your two friends won that you're so great. I'll show you how formidable pure-blood wizards are," Malfoy said in a low voice.
After speaking, Malfoy immediately turned around, not giving Harry a chance to retort.
Harry could only snort coldly and return to his position.
"Listen to my countdown," Lockhart announced. "Three, two, one..."
However, Malfoy struck directly when Lockhart counted to two.
Seeing this, Harry also immediately struck without hesitation.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Both simultaneously cast the Disarming Charm. Red lights suddenly flew out, collided together, and exploded with a roar.
"Stupefy!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Tarantallegra!"
"Rictusempra!"
Boom boom boom...
One spell after another continuously erupted. Various coloured lights flashed through the air, making the entire Great Hall look like an entertainment centre.
The crowd below occasionally let out exclamations and panicked screams, because some spells that the two had dodged shot directly toward the audience below, hitting quite a few people.
"Ventus!"
"Incendio!"
Both cast spells very quickly, almost one after another.
They couldn't stop, nor did they dare give their opponent a chance to breathe. Otherwise, they'd be directly suppressed and unable to raise their heads, or even be hit by continuous spells.
Neither of them wanted to lose.