Hogwarts i am snape

After their Care of Magical Creatures class, Snape and his two companions followed the flow of students towards the Great Hall. As they passed through the Entrance Hall, they saw a small, noisy crowd gathered around the notice board, all chattering excitedly about a newly pinned piece of parchment.

Abbott, having squeezed in for a quick look, immediately called out to Snape with excitement.

"The Duelling Club," he said. "First meeting tonight. It hasn't been held for years, I wonder why they suddenly decided to restart it."

"It'd be weirder if it wasn't there, actually," Snape said, also pushing his way in and staring at the words on the parchment. "When you run into dark wizards, they won't exactly be polite to us."

It was, indeed, somewhat baffling that a duelling club, such an excellent way to train students' practical skills, hadn't been held at Hogwarts for decades. According to the course of history, it would be another decade or so before it would briefly reappear in Harry's second year, thanks to Gilderoy Lockhart's showboating nature. After that, Hogwarts students' practical training would have to rely on the illegal student organization, Dumbledore's Army. It truly made one suspect there were bad apples within the school's administration.

"I don't think I'll join," Pandora said, looking at the two of them. "Wizard duels only ever use wands; it's quite uninteresting."

"What else would you want to use?" Abbott couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Many things," Pandora replied briefly, patting her pockets.

"It's probably for everyone's safety that you don't participate," Snape commented.

While Snape wasn't particularly interested in duelling his classmates, it also meant he'd have the opportunity to legally use magic on them. There was no reason not to join! Both Snape and Abbott decided to give it a try, and Pandora didn't mind observing.

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That evening, after a leisurely stroll by the Black Lake, the trio hurried back to the Great Hall before eight o'clock. The neatly arranged four long tables in the Great Hall had vanished, replaced by a spacious stage. Hundreds of bright candles floated in the air above the stage, making the sparkling stars on the enchanted ceiling appear dim by comparison.

Almost the entire student body was there, clamouring and buzzing with excitement and anticipation, each clutching their wand tightly.

"Quiet, please—make way—"

A somewhat familiar voice suddenly echoed through the crowd, but the students looked around, unable to see who was speaking, and so they paid no mind to it. Then, amidst a gasp, the crowd "whooshed" open, parting into two streams as if gently pushed by an invisible hand.

It was then that Snape saw Professor Flitwick, with his short legs, making his way from the entrance towards the stage, followed slowly by a portly Professor Slughorn.

As Professor Flitwick walked, he pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, "Sonorus!" Then, his words boomed like thunder, drowning out all the noise in the Great Hall and clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Students, from today onwards, I—" Professor Flitwick took a small leap and landed on the stage—"Filius Flitwick—the eleventh All-England Duelling Champion, will serve as your practical duelling instructor and referee."

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"You should consider yourselves fortunate; the Headmaster rarely manages to convince the Board of Governors to allow us to reopen the Duelling Club. It was no easy feat."

"I'll explain the arrangements," Professor Flitwick raised his wand high. "For the first few days, all years except seventh year will have a preliminary competition by year group. The winner will earn fifty House points for their House."

"And, in order for you to reasonably assess your own strength, and also to serve as a warning to the older students, the champion of a lower year will have the right to challenge a champion from a higher year, and the older student cannot refuse."

"The winner of an inter-year challenge—" A burst of dazzling fireworks shot from the tip of his wand—"will win the opponent's points. Of course, if you're in the same House, it's up to you whether you want to give your senior a bit of a break."

"Now, Professor Slughorn and I will give you a demonstration."

"If you wouldn't mind, Horace," Professor Flitwick beckoned Slughorn, gesturing for him to come up to the stage. Slughorn smiled, walked through the crowd, and slowly ascended the stage, taking a position at one end while Professor Flitwick stood at the other.

They turned to face each other, bowed, and then raised their wands like arrows in front of their chests.

"As you can see, we hold our wands in the standard duelling stance," Professor Flitwick explained to the now quiet students. "On the count of three, Professor Slughorn will cast a spell, and I will defend."

"One—two—three—"

Both raised their wands sharply over their shoulders almost simultaneously. Slughorn shouted, "Incarcerous!"

In a flash, a rope appeared in mid-air, rushing towards Professor Flitwick like a nimble snake. But Professor Flitwick reacted instantly, casting a Shield Charm—"Protego!"

The rope hit an invisible, solid barrier with a 'thud', then flopped limply to the ground and vanished with a soft 'poof'.

The Great Hall erupted in enthusiastic applause, students craning their necks and standing on tiptoe, eager to jump onto the stage to get a closer look. Everyone applauded, standing on tiptoe, wanting to get onto the stage.

"Thank you, Horace," Professor Flitwick said cheerfully.

"My pleasure," Slughorn said, one hand on his stomach and the other behind his back, as he stepped off the stage and moved to the side of the Great Hall.

"Oh, right, the Headmaster asked me to emphasize the rules—" Professor Flitwick conjured a high stool at the edge of the stage, painstakingly climbed onto it, and called out to everyone, "First, no highly injurious curses are allowed; Second, only wands may be used, strictly no magical creatures or plants; Third, no snapping of another's wand; Fourth, no intentional verbal insults towards your opponent!"

"Now, first-year students, please come forward."

The first-year students immediately erupted into a chaotic surge forward. Professor Flitwick had to scramble off the stool again, rearranging them into groups one by one, finally managing to get the competition underway.

"I feel like these rules are specifically aimed at me," Snape whispered to Pandora. "But I must say, those cabbages really came in handy. Could you conjure up something else...?"

---

The first and second-year matches were far more amusing than dangerous. The first-year champion was a blonde little girl who used the Tickling Charm with impressive speed and accuracy. In every duel, despite losing, her opponents collapsed, laughing uncontrollably, though it was hard to say they weren't enjoying themselves. However, because most of the young competitors preferred to laugh themselves to exhaustion rather than forfeit, only the first and second-year duels were completed that day.

It wasn't until the following evening that the third-year duelling competition finally began. Snape had expected it to be as uneventful as the previous day's matches, but as soon as Gilderoy Lockhart stepped onto the stage, everything changed.

Lockhart wore a handsome lilac robe, and his golden curls were styled in elaborate waves, dazzling under the candlelight. He didn't bow to his opponent like the other competitors; instead, he gracefully turned to face the admiring students, flashing a charming smile. Several younger girls even let out a few cheers.

"Something's wrong..." Snape instinctively felt trouble brewing, narrowing his eyes warily as he scanned the surroundings. "This fellow is no lightweight..."

Sure enough, purplish clouds of smoke suddenly appeared all around, and then, portraits of Gilderoy Lockhart with his handsome smile appeared on the Great Hall walls. Lockhart completely ignored the boos from the crowd, maintaining the same charming smile as his portrait.

"Greetings, everyone, allow me to—"

But Lockhart hadn't finished speaking when his opponent, face flushed with anger, furiously cast a spell at him: "Petrificus Totalus!" A blinding white light flashed, Lockhart's smile instantly froze on his face, his arms snapped to attention, and he toppled off the stage with a thud, wobbling under everyone's gaze.

"Ah—" A scream rose from the crowd.

Professor Flitwick struggled off his chair again, scurried over to Lockhart, and carefully checked on him.

"Gryffindor wins, but no points will be awarded!" Professor Flitwick told Lockhart's opponent. "Mind your duelling etiquette!"

"That's not fair, Professor!" the Gryffindor student shouted, clearly disgruntled. "It was his fault!"

"Yes, his fault," Professor Flitwick said, waving his wand to release Lockhart from the Full Body-Bind Curse. "But remember, he's your classmate!"

The victor walked off the stage, looking resentful.

---

Despite being un-cursed, Lockhart still lay on the ground, maintaining that rigid smile. If his face hadn't first turned from red to white, and then from white back to red, Professor Flitwick would have thought his spell hadn't worked.

"Get up, Lockhart," Professor Flitwick poked Lockhart with his wand. "Come on, stop lying around, we need to continue."

After this small interlude, the efficiency of the subsequent matches significantly improved. The fourth and fifth-year matches, both fierce contests, concluded in less than an hour.

The fourth-year winner was Barty Crouch Jr. He possessed exceptional mastery of various spells, with few opponents lasting more than ten rounds against him. The fifth-year champion was Dirk Cresswell, the Hufflepuff student proficient in Gobbledegook. Relying on powerful defensive and disarming spells, he achieved numerous victories by forcing opponents to concede.

Finally, the sixth-year matches began. Snape was in the seventh group to compete, and his first opponent happened to be Remus Lupin.

The two walked onto the stage, bowed to each other, and held their wands defensively in front of them. Snape and Lupin stood about ten metres apart, their eyes locked, and raised their wands almost simultaneously.

Lupin launched the first attack, a Stunning Spell flying towards Snape. Snape, with a flick of his wand, easily deflected the red light.

"Moony," Snape said unhurriedly, "long time no see, don't be in such a rush."

"Severus," Lupin said calmly, slowly shifting his feet within a small area, "Incarcerous—"

Again, Snape almost lazily flicked away Lupin's spell.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" Lupin asked, wand raised. "Don't you want to win?"

"Do you always think you're so innocent?" Snape's lips curled into a cold sneer. "You always just watched from the sidelines. Oh, no, that's not right, you'd cover your ears and close your eyes on the sidelines, never getting involved in anything unpleasant."

"Do you know, in the far eastern island nation where the only magical school in Asia, 'Mahoutokoro,' is located, a comic was published a few years ago?"

"Impedimenta!" Lupin attacked again.

Snape sidestepped, dodging the incoming spell.

"There's a character in that comic, the strongest one physically, who constantly bullies another scrawny character. But many people chose to just watch from the sidelines, choosing to remain 'neutral', just like you, choosing to look down and pretend you're engrossed in a book..."

"Professor, he's using verbal attacks—" James's voice rang out from the crowd.

"He is not insulting his opponent, Mr. Potter. This is within the rules," Professor Flitwick shook his head, not stopping Snape from speaking.

Lupin continued his attacks, constantly casting spells.

"Blocked again, blocked again, Remus," Snape said, flicking his wand to parry the spells repeatedly, his tone filled with thinly veiled sarcasm. "I can block your spells, but can you block the fear of your friends abandoning you?"

This remark seemed to hit a raw nerve for Lupin; he practically let out a wail, his wand slashing through the air with a whooshing sound. The candles above the stage transformed into rockets, flying fiercely towards Snape.

Facing this inferno, Snape drew a large circle with his wand. The rockets instantly transformed into silvery-white orbs, which then reversed course and pressed in on Lupin.

A look of terror appeared on Lupin's face. He stumbled back several steps and fell off the stage.

"Remus, the Headmaster made you a prefect not so you could stand by and watch," Snape said coldly from the stage.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

James and Sirius pushed their way through the crowd, reaching Lupin's side to help him up, with Wormtail timidly trailing behind them.

"Professor," James said, gritting his teeth to Professor Flitwick, "next, can I go up and duel him?"

Upon hearing this, Wormtail moved from behind Sirius to the side, to get a better view of the stage. His face showed an eagerness to see the anticipated event unfold quickly.

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