Chapter 55
The Chamber of Secrets incident had left the entire school in a state of panic and unease.
Professor McGonagall had come to believe that teaching the students some basic duelling skills would help them protect themselves.
So, not long ago, she had finally approved Snape's request to co-found a Duelling Club with Lucian.
By eight o'clock on Thursday evening, a large group of students had already arrived early and taken up the best spots in the Great Hall.
More students kept hurrying in right up until the last moment.
By five minutes to eight, almost every Hogwarts student—from first year to seventh—had crowded into the hall, packed shoulder to shoulder, each clutching their wand, faces alight with excitement.
The long dining tables had vanished. Along one wall now stood a gilded stage, illuminated by hundreds of floating candles. Once again, the enchanted ceiling had turned into a deep, velvet-black night sky.
Filch stood near the entrance, eyes glinting as he stared fixedly at the centre of the stage, clutching his alchemical wand tightly in both hands.
Amid the students' cheers, Snape and Lucian stepped onto the platform together.
Seeing that Lucian remained expressionless and showed no intention of speaking, Snape raised an eyebrow slightly and took a step forward.
The enthusiastic applause from the crowd immediately dropped—except for the Slytherins, who clapped frantically for their Head of House.
A faint, almost mocking smile curled at the corner of Snape's thin lips.
He had waited for this day for a very long time. Dumbledore had always blocked him before.
If he couldn't be the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, then founding a Duelling Club was at least a way to quench his thirst.
"Just looking at your faces tells me most of you came here knowing absolutely nothing. Perhaps you're even expecting something like a Quidditch match—fancy spells, dramatic falls, theatrical entertainment."
Snape's lips twisted into something close to a sneer.
"If that's what any of you are hoping for, you may leave now."
No one spoke. No one moved.
Snape gave a small nod and continued "Duelling is an activity renowned for its efficiency. When two wands are raised against each other, only two things matter. The first one being who casts their spell first, and whose spell is more effective."
With that, he suddenly pointed his wand toward Lucian behind him.
In that instant, Lucian—who had stood motionless until now—swiftly raised his own wand and precisely blocked Snape's spell.
Snape's cheek twitched almost imperceptibly.
He had aimed to slice off the hem of Lucian's robes in one clean cut. How was this guy so quick?
"Duelling does indeed prize efficiency," Lucian said calmly, stepping forward to stand level with Snape, "but it also values courtesy. Who told you, Professor Snape, that you may attack your opponent before the formal bow?"
"I was merely providing a demonstration," Snape replied, matching Lucian's deadpan expression. "What's the matter? Are you telling me you couldn't block that little attack?"
"WOW~~~"
The students below, who had been somewhat intimidated by Snape's aura, suddenly exploded with excitement at the sight of the two professors facing off so sharply.
"Show him, Professor Lucian!" Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted.
The hall instantly turned chaotic.
Dozens of voices shouted at once, the ones who loved a good spectacle cheering loudly for their favourite professor.
"Professor Snape! Take down that homework-obsessed tyrant!"
"Professor Lucian! Smash that overgrown bat!"
"Professor Lucian! Avenge our House Cup points!"
"…"
Lucian's and Snape's names rang out again and again, but the Slytherins were hopelessly outnumbered. Soon Snape's name was drowned out completely.
Snape's upper lip curled.
He fixed Lucian with a cold, venomous stare and began to back away, opening the distance.
"It seems words won't be enough. Perhaps demonstrating to these trolls what a real duel looks like will be quicker?"
"I agree, Snape." Lucian drew his wand and held it casually at his side.
When they had reached a proper duelling distance, they locked eyes, and slowly bowed to each other.
The noisy crowd instantly fell silent. Every student stared wide-eyed at the centre of the stage, afraid to even blink.
Both men raised their wands sharply over their shoulders at the same moment—no countdown.
The next instant, Snape moved first.
"Expelliarmus!"
A blinding red jet shot from the tip of Snape's wand at incredible speed. To the watching students, it seemed the spell had reached Lucian almost the moment it was cast!
But to their astonishment, Lucian showed no sign of preparing to defend.
He gripped his wand tightly but didn't cast—instead, the tip of his foot tapped lightly. A flash of blue light passed beneath his sole, and in the blink of an eye his body slid sideways more than half a metre.
Even while moving at such speed, his wand remained perfectly steady, still aimed at Snape.
"Petrificus Totalus."
A brilliant blue beam shot from Lucian's wand, drawing gasps from the young witches and wizards below. They recognized it immediately—one of the two spells Lucian had emphasized in class: the Full Body-Bind Curse.
But the way Lucian cast it was completely different from anything they could manage!
Whoosh!
The tightly compressed blue light streaked toward Snape like a meteor. Its power was so immense that no one doubted anything it touched would be petrified exactly as the incantation promised.
The sheer force of the spell pushed Lucian backward through the air. He landed quickly and steadily, already chanting the next spell—
"Obscuro!"
"Tch!"
Snape realized that his earlier carelessness had cost him the chance to keep attacking.
"Protego!"
An invisible magical shield materialized in front of Snape, precisely intercepting the incoming blue beam. But by then, Lucian had already vanished from his line of sight.
Boom!
Amid the students' startled cries, the entire stage floor suddenly sank! Seven conical stone pillars erupted from every direction around Snape, threatening to trap him in the centre within moments.
Snape's eyes darkened. His wand slashed downward, the tip bursting with blinding silver light.
"Bombarda Maxima!"
The Blasting Curse exploded with perfect timing between the floor and the oncoming pillars. Shattered stone and thick dust instantly obscured everything.
Lucian, still in mid-air, kept his wand trained on the cloud of dust. If not for the students watching, he would have already dropped a Judgment of Doom right there.
For now, though, he lightly flicked his wand toward the swirling smoke—
"Incendio!"
Thick, blazing lines of fire surged forward in a ring, rapidly devouring the dust cloud. In the blink of an eye, every trace of smoke was consumed and sealed within layers of roaring flame.
A towering wall of fire encircled Snape, who stood in the centre, his face streaked with soot, looking distinctly dishevelled.
Hiss——————!
A flame serpent, easily half the height of the Great Hall, reared up from the fire. Its tail connected to the end of the blazing ring as it lowered its massive head, staring intently at the trapped Snape.
"I think that's enough of a demonstration, don't you?"
Lucian's wand remained firmly pointed at Snape, but he made no further move.
Snape's brows were tightly knit. He gripped his wand hard—Lucian's strength had far exceeded his expectations. But being so thoroughly suppressed in front of the entire school was something he could not accept.
Moreover, he hadn't even used a single truly powerful curse yet—though he knew perfectly well that Lucian hadn't gone all out either.
While he hesitated, a single clear clap suddenly rang out from below the stage.
Then another, and another—until applause crashed like thunder, rolling on and on without end.
Finally, Snape lowered his wand arm in defeat. He walked stiffly to Lucian's side and hissed through gritted teeth:
"Don't think you've won. You didn't even touch me. Next time—"
"I know. Next time, show me that famous Sectumsempra of yours."
"You will see it!" Snape snarled, and with that, the demonstration came to an end.
***
TL/N: Want to read more of this [20+chapters] and support me; join me - Patreon.com/DawnOfBlood