Snape teaches the fool to duel - 44

                                    

                                          
   "Did you hear about the new dueling club!?" Daphne asked with an excited glint in her eyes one early morning before breakfast. Despite being raised to be the perfect heiress, Daphne was quite strong spirited and was not about to let a boy tell her what to do. She was a powerhouse and dueling related magic was one of her favorite and best subjects. "Dueling? Do you think professor Flitwick is behind it? After all didn't he used to be a dueling champion?" Blaise asked, his early state of exhaustion completely forgotten. "Sounds reasonable, but why wouldn't he have set it up before?" Theo stated from behind a book. Vincent and Gregory just shrugged and asked if they could all head to breakfast and the discussion was forgotten until later that day. 
   Theo was surprisingly the one to bring the topic back up in the common room before dinner when he came back from the library in a huff. He had recently become a type of study buddy with a Ravenclaw girl named Hermione Granger who refused to believe Lockhart to be a fake. He ranted for the next few minutes about her refusing to believe anything in a book could be false and that she had informed him that the dueling club was actually being sponsored by their least favorite professor. Tracy and Pansy collectively groan at the same time at this and giggle at their identical reactions. The date set for the first meeting was in three days and the group decided to go for a chance to watch the man make of fool of himself again.
   Many children from ages 11 to 18 stood around chatting with one another when Lockhart arrived in his usual fancy clothing. He was dressed in a long robe on top of his dueling robes which was a horrible idea considering one could trip over them in a fight or get caught on something. This was yet another fact that the man was a fraud but the second years kept silent and waited to watch the drama unfold. The vain man hopped onto the stage and flashed his "dashing smile" and frowned when he received little applause. By now most of the boys hated Lockhart and some girls did too. He still had a few loyal fan girls like Hermione Granger who clapped excitedly and seemed ignorant of the lack of others sharing her enthusiasm. 
   Gilderoy Lockhart flirtatiously winked at the underage girl making many feel sick but their reactions remained unnoticed as he dramatically waves his wand around. "Gather 'round, gather 'round! Can you all see me? Can you all hear me?" He loudly proclaims as he spins around to see many faces staring up at him. "I'm so glad you all came here today! I was discussing one of my many adventures with professors Snape when he told me you children have never truly seen a wizard in action! With headmaster Dumbledore's permission, I have created this club to show you such and teach you to maybe even become as great as me..." The man lowers his voice at the end and looks quite smug as several students eagerly lean forward to capture his every word. Most of the Slytherins on the other hand smirk as they realize the head of their house has something planned up his sleeve and eagerly await for the entertainer to arrive. 
   "As thanks for giving me such a wonderful idea, I have asked your professor Snape to help me in my demonstration today! Don't worry, he'll still be in one piece when I'm through with him!" Snape silently glides up to the podium and winks as he walks past his two godsons. Gilderoy pulls off his robe and tosses it to Hermione who had pushed herself to the front for a better view. Several girls around her rushed to feel the robe and giggled as Hermione clutched it tightly in her hands with a look of awe. Hadrian heard a scoff and turned to see a grumpy look on Theo's usually neutral mask. Pansy seemed to notice too and teased him to cheer up as Snape was about to put on a show. They watched in anticipation and excitement as the two men bowed and took five steps away from one another. Snape spun to face his opponent with a sneer with Lockhart practically twirled and stood in an unpractical stance to duel in. 
   "3... 2... 1!" The author yelled out and Severus immediately called out the disarming spell which threw the defender across the stage. He landed in what sounded like a painful thud and groaned before pulling himself up with a smile. "Excellent spell to show the children, excellent work, however had I wished to stop you I easily could!" The man said arrogantly. "How about we have two students come up to demonstrate for their classmates, Hadrian and Hermione, come on up!" Wanting to give Hadrian an opportunity to royally embarrass the weasel, Severus intervened. "The girl is all book smarts, she struggles to do the most basic spells without time to practice and review. I would suggest Ronald instead. His spell work isn't the best but this spell should be at least feasible, even for him." Lockhart happily agreed, not noticing the insult thrown at the boy and Ron sneered at both Slytherins on the stage as he was helped up by the DADA professor.