Starting with Hyuga, traversing countless heavens

"V, I'll give you fifty to see your strength. I am Qin Shi Huang, transfer 1 to my account, and I'll appoint you as the Great General Protector of the Nation. Kidnapping, selling kidnappers. The Jiangnan Leather Factory has gone bankrupt."

Harry Potter swore it was the most talkative snake he'd ever seen in his life. Then the entire dormitory was awakened by the basilisk's hissing.

"sizzle"

The sound that reached Harry Potter's ears was probably equivalent to a "hehehe" laugh.

Voldemort Youth Edition is making me feel terrible. What's this called? Basilisk Rising?

Under Hinata Hoshino's control, the basilisk's voice kept repeating in the sewer pipes, waking up many people.

Ignoring the curfew, they all left their dormitories. Then they heard Filch's wailing.

"Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Lawrence! What's wrong? How can you bear to let me, an old woman, bury my young son?"

Filch saw the cringeworthy, chuunibyou-esque words left by Hinata Hoshino on the wall, but he didn't understand them. Turning around, he spotted Harry Potter, who had arrived first. He rushed over and grabbed Harry Potter by the collar without hesitation.

"It must be you, it must be you. It was you, Harry Potter, who killed my cat."

The remaining students and the four deans arrived. Professor McGonagall looked at the petrified Mrs. Lorris, a flicker of pity crossing her eyes. How could she petrify such a cute cat?

Then, glancing to the side, she spotted Dean Thomas hiding in the darkness. It was unavoidable; the castle was dimly lit, and he was wearing a black school uniform with red trim, plus his dark complexion, so Professor McGonagall hadn't noticed him at first glance.

Hyuga Hoshino arrived at the scene carrying Hermione and Dumbledore at the same time, and Dumbledore waved the Elder Wand to separate Harry Potter and Filch.

“Argus, I understand how you feel, but I don’t think Mr. Potter is capable of mastering such advanced dark magic right now. Let me take them to the school infirmary to have Mrs. Pomfrey examine them properly.”

“Look at whatever you want. You all have classes tomorrow, so go back and rest. Also, since Philch thinks Mr. Potter is behind this, let Mr. Potter come with us.”

"Professor McGonagall..."

Lily was about to say something when Snape interrupted her, taking her hand and signaling her to trust him.

Hinata Hoshino raised an eyebrow. Snape and Lily's relationship is progressing very quickly.

Hermione blushed; with so many people around, Hinata Hoshino simply wouldn't let her go.

Dumbledore used the Levitation Charm to carry Mrs. Norris and Dean to the infirmary. On their way, they encountered a dejected Lockhart, who also appeared to be heading there.

Lockhart forced a smile and proceeded to punch the sewer pipe repeatedly, first with his face and then with his buttocks. He felt like his body was about to fall apart and had no choice but to seek help from Mrs. Pomfrey.

"Principal, professors, hello."

Dumbledore looked at Lockhart with a dark cloud hanging over him, feeling as if Lockhart's death star was shining brightly.

He sensed that Lockhart might not have much time left. Dumbledore felt a headache coming on; if Lockhart didn't make it to next year, what would happen to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professorship?

In the entire wizarding world, there are not many talented people left to choose from for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professorship. Most capable wizards, upon hearing that they are to be appointed as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, show an expression as if they are about to be cut off from someone's livelihood.

"Hello, Mr. Lockhart, are you feeling unwell?"

"It's just a minor ailment, thank you for your concern, Principal."

Mrs. Pomfrey was awakened and gasped when she saw Mrs. Lorris and Dean. Her eyes lit up with impatience when she saw Lockhart.

Chapter 143 Wizard Duel Club

“Professor Lockhart, I remember you were here not long ago, when it was just a scratch.”

Hinata Hoshino chuckled to himself, leaving Hermione feeling helpless. Her boyfriend was so childish, what should she do?

Hinata Hoshino knew, of course, that Lockhart had come to the school infirmary after class after being injured by the fairy that day, crying and begging Mrs. Pomfrey to treat him as soon as possible.

Dumbledore tapped the man and the cat twice with the Elder Wand. He told Filch with great certainty that Mrs. Lorris was perfectly fine, just petrified.

“Argus, please don’t worry. Your cat is just petrified, as is Dean. Pomona, if I remember correctly, the mandrakes we planted last year should be almost ripe by now.”

“That’s right, Headmaster. In about a month or two, the mandrake will be ripe, and then Professor Snape can prepare the potion to remove petrification.”

Under Lily's gaze, Snape's lips twitched into an awkward smile, and he nodded to indicate that there was no problem.

This amazed Harry Potter. He never expected that Snape, that old bat, would be so easily subdued by his mother. This must be what they call one thing subduing another.

Harry Potter thought this was fine. At least in Appearances class, Snape no longer had the same oppressive aura as before.

Snape always gave Lily a rather awkward smile before explaining to them how to brew potions. In Potions class, he never called them troll heads again.

Hinata Hoshino looked at Snape with some helplessness. Although Snape could no longer put on a sour face in Potions class, he still had a lot of sour faces when teaching him in private. Although he didn't dare to scold him or say any more swear words, it still made Hinata Hoshino very unhappy.

"If you let me try, I probably can't save the cat, but I should be able to save the person."

Hyuga Hoshino put Hermione down, who was only wearing pajamas. Dumbledore nodded and stepped aside, indicating that Hyuga Hoshino should try to see if he could remove the petrification from Dean.

Filch was somewhat dismissive; he was a Squib, that was true. But his knowledge was still quite broad. If even Headmaster Dumbledore couldn't break the petrification curse on them, then it seemed that Hyuga Hoshino wouldn't be able to either.

Despite being in considerable pain, Lockhart watched Hinata Hoshino with an air of schadenfreude. Although he had no memory of being possessed by Voldemort's youthful form, he had a vague feeling that Hinata Hoshino was unable to break free from this petrification.

Hinata Hoshino flicked her finger, her index fingernail cutting her thumb, and a drop of blood fell into Dean's mouth. Dean suddenly opened his eyes, straightened up, and looked around blankly.

This startled Filch, and Lockhart's smile froze.

Just as Filch was about to beg for help, Dean suddenly collapsed again. Lockhart seemed about to say that he was treating human life like dirt, but Dumbledore spoke up instead.

Because Dumbledore re-examined Dean the moment he collapsed and found that the petrification curse on him had indeed been broken. The reason he was unconscious was that the power that broke the curse had a great conflict with the curse, which made his body weak.

“Argus, Mr. Zhang did indeed break the spell, but he’s right. Even a junior wizard’s physical condition couldn’t withstand the impact of breaking a spell, let alone Mrs. Lorris.”

Filch's face instantly darkened. He thought that his Lady Loris could only remain in this state until the mandrake matured in a month or two to break the curse. He felt a pang of sadness. After all, this cat had been with him for so many years, always his only companion on night patrols, and now he was alone again.

Mrs. Pomfrey realized that Dean's curse had been lifted, so she was relieved and prepared to examine Lockhart, because Lockhart's complexion was indeed bad, his expression was listless and somewhat pale, and he did look like he had suffered a serious injury.

“Oh my God! Professor Lockhart, how did you get so badly injured? It looks like you were hit hard in the face with a steel pipe and then fell from a great height.”

Hyuga Hoshino thought to himself, "Hogwarts is indeed a place where hidden talents abound." Madam Pomfrey's account perfectly matched what had happened to Lockhart.

With the problem temporarily resolved, Hinata Hoshino took Hermione back to the Room of Requirement to play cards, determined not to give up halfway.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall made an excuse to leave. Snape, Lily, and Madam Pomfrey worked together to concoct a healing potion for Lockhart.

During this time, even Lily, who had just been resurrected, found Lockhart annoying after hearing about his exploits. So, a potion that only required Snape to brew ended up requiring three people to do it.

Professor Sprout also left early, citing the need to tend to the mandrake. Only Professor Flitwick, whose legs weren't long enough to run fast enough, was stopped by Lockhart.

Lockhart began to boast about his experiences, and as he spoke, he started to extoll Professor Flitwick's status as a former wizard dueling champion.

Lockhart remembered that Hogwarts once had a wizarding dueling club, but it had been closed for a long time. Eager to make a name for himself, he couldn't let any opportunity slip by. He wanted to reopen the wizarding dueling club, so he naturally sought advice from Professor Flitwick.

Professor Flitwick, who had been somewhat impatient, became interested when he heard that Lockhart was preparing to apply to reopen the Wizards' Duel Club.

Professor Flitwick still remembers his outstanding performance in the wizard duels.

Furthermore, Professor Flitwick also sensed that the young wizards today lacked a deep understanding of wizarding duels. Even in their later years, the few combat spells they could learn were rather unfamiliar.

Professor McGonagall once complained to Hyuga Hoshino about this. In recent years, the number of wizards who pass the test to become Aurors has been decreasing.

Because the minimum requirement for becoming an Auror is to know the Disarming Charm and the Armor Charm. However, the Aurors who had passed the test had become rusty with the Armor Charm after sitting in the office for so long.

After drinking the healing potion, Lockhart was noticeably better. He excitedly returned to his office and began writing a proposal to apply for the reopening of the Wizarding Duel Club.

Voldemort's younger version clearly disdained Lockhart's actions, but he also wanted to take this opportunity to observe Harry Potter's abilities up close. He had already seen in Lockhart's memories that he had been defeated by Harry Potter.

This seemed incredibly unbelievable to the younger version of Voldemort. Judging from Lockhart's recent performance in class, most of the young wizards were really quite weak. Thinking about it that way, how could a newborn Harry Potter possibly defeat his future self?

Chapter 144 Lockhart's Provocation

Dumbledore was somewhat troubled after seeing Lockhart's application. Although Lockhart later performed reasonably well, Dumbledore firmly believed that Lockhart's ultimate goal in restarting the Wizarding Duel Club was to show off.

And to showcase his personal charm, though it's possible Lockhart wanted to promote his book.

However, Dumbledore thought again that reopening the Wizarding Duel Club would also have its advantages; at worst, he could have the heads of the other houses help Lockhart.

In this way, these young wizards can still learn something, and at the very least, they can protect themselves if anything changes in the future.

When Hinata Hoshino and Hermione went to the hall for breakfast in the morning, they saw a notice posted there, which clearly stated that Lockhart was going to reopen the Wizard Duel Club.

All junior wizards will be invited to attend, and the heads of the four houses will serve as secondary leaders of the club.

Hinata Hoshino found it very interesting. During this period, his main task was to replicate the photo frame and have his wood clone study the runes and delve into the power of the bloodline.

Then, apart from playing poker with Hermione, he seemed to have nothing else to do.

Then Draco saw the announcement and went straight up to Hinata Hoshino to provoke her.

"See that? You country bumpkin from abroad, do you even know what a wizard duel is?"

"Although I don't quite understand what a wizard duel is, I know that if you keep jumping around in front of me, I can easily turn you into a ferret."

"伱......"

Draco clearly wanted to say something more, but his two henchmen, Goyle and Clara, held his hands.

They forcefully took him away. After all, they should stop him from walking into the line of fire. Everyone knows that Hyuga Hoshino's strength is unfathomable. He is not their master at all. Draco can go up and cause trouble.

Night fell. Hinata Hoshino and Hermione headed together to the classroom where the Wizards' Duel Club was located.

Lockhart kept nagging Snape, and if Lily hadn't been sitting below as the Potions Consultant, Snape probably would have already given him a good whack.

Hyuga Hoshino could probably guess what Lockhart was thinking.

Professor McGonagall has been the Head of Gryffindor for many years. Her abilities are clearly not to be underestimated.

Professor Flitwick, as the champion of the Wizarding Duels, how could his strength be weak?

Professor Sprout's words seemed more like those of a peasant woman than a professor. Lockhart felt that even defeating her would be dishonorable, let alone being defeated by her.

From this perspective, although his hair was a bit oily, Snape was one of the younger ones in the group, and he also appeared to be very well-dressed.

If Lockhart could have a match with Snape, or even defeat him, it would undoubtedly bring him immense fame.

Not to mention Hogwarts, which, apart from Slytherin, didn't have a single house that liked Snape.

"That's right. Professor Dumbledore has allowed me to start this little dueling club to train you all thoroughly in case you need to defend yourselves one day, using the methods I have used countless times—for details, please see my published works."

This statement is very much in line with Lockhart's personality. However, what's surprising is that Lockhart actually used an amplification spell on himself.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He knows a little about dueling and has agreed to help me with a demonstration before class. After I've finished demonstrating with him, I will return your Potions Master to you in perfect condition."

Hyuga Hoshino noticed Snape's lips twitch slightly. He probably wanted to swear, but after glancing at Lily sitting below, he decided to just smile.

As Lockhart's performance in class improved over this period, many people who had previously believed he was a fraud began to change their minds.

Of course, this doesn't include Hermione. She only believes what she sees, and Lockhart, who captured a group of elves that day and was teased by them in that way, really didn't seem like a skilled wizard.

"As you can see, we hold our wands in the usual dueling stance, and on the count of three, we will cast our first spell. Of course, neither of us will take the other's life."