In the bustling auditorium, two people stood facing each other on the magnificent stage, looking ready to fight.
In fact, it was Professor Snape unilaterally suppressing Lockhart. Lockhart couldn't even get his wand back.
Looking at Professor Snape's expressionless face, Lockhart couldn't help but shiver and swallowed hard.
Forcing a smile, he whispered, "Professor Snape, the wand!"
Professor Snape said nothing but simply let go of the wand, looking as if he didn't want to waste any more time.
Lockhart immediately understood what Professor Snape meant. So he said loudly, "The demonstration has ended. Now I'll come down among you and divide you into pairs."
Then, looking at Professor Snape, he said, "Professor Snape, if you're willing to help me..."
Professor Snape didn't say a word. He walked straight up to Harry Potter and sneered:
"It's time for the Golden Trio to split up. The famous savior needs a good opponent to show his abilities."
"Potter vs... Malfoy!" After arranging the opponents, Professor Snape scanned the surroundings with his eyes and noticed Light, who was holding a strange statue and grinning as he watched the show.
His heart sank. The most troublesome guy had come. So he started to play dirty and put Light and Neville in a group.
At the same time, in order to avoid being detected, he randomly grouped the other students. Professor Snape really went all out to prevent the Slytherin house from being completely defeated.
Neville, who was standing next to Light, looked at him in horror.
"Heh - heh - heh!" Light didn't say a word. He imitated Voldemort and gave Neville a creepy grin, almost scaring him to tears.
Seeing Neville's about - to - cry expression, Light had to put away his goofy smile and comforted him, "Don't be afraid. Just go through the motions later!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Harry Potter and Malfoy were the first to step onto the stage.
They stood on either side and both were given a brief instruction. Malfoy learned the Snake - Summoning Spell.
Harry Potter stared blankly at Lockhart, who was twirling his wand around like a kid, showing off some fancy tricks.
Harry Potter looked at the confident Malfoy and Professor Snape, then at Lockhart who was still doing some fancy wand - twirling. His heart filled with anxiety.
As Malfoy took his stance, Harry Potter had no choice but to walk to the opposite side.
As Lockhart started the countdown, Harry Potter raised his wand and focused all his attention on his opponent.
"Start!"
"Snake - Summoning Spell" Malfoy waved his wand, and a black viper shot out from it and landed in the middle between them.
The black snake showed its fangs and reared its head high, ready to attack at any moment.
The surrounding students were frightened by the suddenly - appearing snake and quickly moved away from the stage.
Light and Neville were also pushed away from the stage.
"Stay still, Mr. Potter!" Professor Snape slowly took out his wand and prepared to step forward.
"Let me do it! I'll get rid of it." Lockhart showed no fear when he saw the black snake. He took his wand and walked forward.
He raised his wand and waved it at the black snake. With a loud "bang", the snake not only didn't disappear but flew several meters into the air.
Soon, the black snake fell back onto the stage. It hissed, raised its head, and slithered towards Lockhart, intent on biting to death the man who had made it fly through the air.
Lockhart, terrified, quickly backed away. Just then, Harry Potter instinctively rushed forward and shouted at the black snake, "Stay away from him!"
The aggressive black snake immediately stopped and obediently lay still right there. After seeing that the snake had become non - aggressive,
"Is it over?" Harry Potter let out a sigh of relief. He looked up, about to speak, but saw the fearful expressions on the faces of those around him.
Before Harry Potter could explain, Professor Snape quickly stepped forward, waved his wand, and turned the black snake on the ground into a puff of black smoke. At the same time, his look at Harry Potter was filled with scrutiny and suspicion.
Amid the growing murmurs around them, Ron rushed over and pulled Harry Potter, and they quickly left the scene with Hermione.
They didn't even have to push through the onlookers; the crowd separated like water around a boulder.
The uneasy and fearful looks on their faces seemed to show that they were afraid of getting involved with him.
Neville looked at Light hesitantly, who had a calm look on his face.
"Yes, this is Parselmouths!" Light nodded gently.
Meanwhile, the whole auditorium became as noisy as if it had been hit by a bomb.
"The heir of the Chamber of Secrets is the savior."
"So... the heir of Slytherin is..."
"Definitely. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth."
...
Lockhart couldn't stop the discussions echoing throughout the auditorium, and Professor Snape had no inclination to do so.
Finally, the Dueling Club ended in a hasty manner.
Taking the worried Neville with them, they returned to the Gryffindor common room, where many young wizards had gathered together.
They were arguing about Harry Potter's identity, and the common room was in a mess.
"Come on, Neville. Now that all the students are here, this is a perfect chance for you to spread the news!" Light egged Neville on from the side, urging him to go and spread the news about the rooster's crow.
"But, but..." Looking at the crowded people, Neville was on the verge of crying.
Seeing Neville's near - crying face, Light stopped joking and comforted him apologetically, "It's okay. I'll show you how to do it."
After saying that, he took out his wand and pointed it at his throat. Immediately, a loud voice boomed throughout the common room, drowning out all the chatter.
"Hey, I've got an announcement to make. Everyone, look this way!"
After attracting everyone's attention, Light continued,
"I've got something to say. Listen up! We now know what's been Attacking the students lately, and we've also found a way to stop it."
The students, who had been whispering to each other, instantly fell silent, waiting for what was next.
"What's been Attacking the students is a basilisk. If you look it straight in the eyes, you'll die. If you catch a glimpse of its eyes out of the corner of your eye or see them through reflective objects, you'll be completely Petrification."
"And the basilisk's weakness is that it's scared of a rooster's crow. A rooster's crow can scare it off!"
After saying that, Light tossed the rooster statue he was holding up into the air. He waved his wand, and the statue instantly sprang to life, turning into a real, live rooster.
The big rooster stood on the table and let out a loud crow. After doing all this, Light glanced at the stunned Neville and thought to himself:
"Forget it. If I give this credit to Neville, it'll be difficult for him to survive an Attack."
"But if I step forward, I won't be able to draw the snake out of its hole. I almost got burned to death by the Fiendfyre curse the first time, and was blasted away by five layers of Spells the second time."
"The chances of it showing up in front of me again are really slim."
Glancing at the young wizards who were gradually getting restless, Light let out a soft sigh:
"Forget it. Let Harry Potter handle it! He's a Parselmouths and has Old Dumbledore's attention. He should be safe."
"Also, it'll help clear his name and stop people from pointing fingers at him."