Regardless of Hermione's deepening suspicions, another complicated and bizarre day was passing at Hogwarts.
While the school had certainly been abuzz after the attack on Filch, this time, it was on a different level.
In Filch's case, not only was the target who he was, but the fact that he was a Squib had become the bigger topic of conversation.
Besides, in a place like Hogwarts where all sorts of incidents occurred, an attack on the caretaker was hardly unprecedented. If Aisen hadn't been away on his secluded training, he might have seen it, nodded, and dismissed it as an annual event.
There were always vicious students everywhere, and this was especially true in the 19th century.
In contrast, the impact of this new incident was entirely different.
The new victim was Colin Creevey, a Gryffindor first-year.
Seeing a fellow student meet with such a fate felt completely different from the misfortune of a mere caretaker. It was an indirect realization that they, too, could become the next victim.
And so, a strange atmosphere of fear quickly spread not just through Gryffindor, but among the students of all houses.
Of course, Slytherin seemed to be slightly removed from this atmosphere.
"Who cares if some Mudblood dies?"
"If anything, isn't Hogwarts a little cleaner now?"
The snickering Slytherin students didn't change their attitude, regardless of the dirty looks they received from other houses.
No, in fact, they seemed to enjoy the attention.
Their confidence stemmed from the belief that, at the very least, there were no "enemies of the Heir of Slytherin" within their own house.
Of course, considering that not all Slytherin students were pure-bloods, this was a remarkably flimsy basis for their confidence.
Amidst this situation, Harry paced the common room with his hands behind his back, thinking.
'He hasn't killed anyone yet… so if I can just handle this properly, it should be fine, right?'
His master Aisen's moral line was simple: there were those who deserved to die and those who didn't.
Learning the Dark Arts didn't necessarily put one in the former category. By that logic, his master and Harry himself, who used the Unforgivable Curses quite adeptly, would be first on the list.
His master had no mercy for those who crossed the line. The moment someone used the Dark Arts to harm another, they were as good as dead.
This standard wasn't just applied to humans. If the snake were to kill someone, Aisen would turn it into a leather hide without a moment's hesitation.
As Harry was pacing the common room, lost in these thoughts, Ron burst in.
"Harry, did you see it?"
"See what?"
"The Dueling Club! They're reviving the Dueling Club at Hogwarts!"
Sometimes, one piece of news is best covered by another.
This was one of those times.
Unable to resist Ron's nagging, Harry let himself be dragged by the hand to see the announcement for the Dueling Club.
Ron said excitedly, "I guess the atmosphere in the school has gotten pretty grim because of the Chamber of Secrets, so they're opening a dueling club so we can learn to defend ourselves!"
"Oh… I see."
From Harry's perspective, he wondered if it would even be meaningful.
Having been through several real battles, Harry knew that fighting a person and fighting a monster were two completely different things.
Most powerful magical creatures possessed their own inherent magic resistance, often requiring entirely different methods than those used against a wizard.
In that sense, Harry couldn't help but question the professors' decision to open a dueling club, as they surely knew this fact. It was better than nothing, but why a dueling club specifically?
After a moment of thought, Harry saw the expectant gazes of the numerous students gathered around the notice and finally nodded.
…Well, it was certainly better to foster an atmosphere of anticipation for a dueling club than to let everyone be consumed by a vague fear of the Chamber of Secrets.
Harry said, "We should tell Hermione. Ron, have you seen her?"
"Huh? She's probably in the library. She's been cooped up in there every day lately. Oh, wait, never mind. Here she comes now."
Speak of the devil. No sooner had Harry mentioned her name than the door to the Gryffindor common room opened and Hermione walked in.
Harry waved to her. "Hermione, look! They're starting a Dueling Club!"
But Hermione's reaction was a little odd.
"A Dueling Club? That's an interesting idea."
Even if Hermione was a bookworm, she wasn't the type to be uninterested in this kind of event. One could tell just by how she faithfully went to cheer at every Quidditch match.
And yet, Hermione showed little interest in the Dueling Club. It was as if she was so focused on something else that she couldn't concentrate on anything new.
Was it because she was so absorbed in her research on the Chamber of Secrets in the library?
"Did you find anything in the library?"
"Hm? Oh, yes. I have a lead on something, but I'm not certain yet. I'll tell you when I'm sure."
"Okay, please do."
Then, as Hermione was heading to her room, she asked Harry in passing, "By the way, Harry, do you know where Ardeura is?"
Harry tilted his head at Hermione's sudden question about Ardeura but answered nonetheless. "Ardeura? Aisen probably took her with him since he's on break from school. Why do you ask about Ardeura?"
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. I just suddenly wanted to see her. It's nothing."
Hermione muttered something as she went into her room. He couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but he thought he caught the word "squid."
…Squid? Must have been my imagination, right?
***
A few days later, at the Dueling Club.
Hermione, who had somehow become interested—or more accurately, had become interested after learning that Lockhart was the professor in charge—was heading to the club with Harry and Ron, looking quite excited.
"Oh my gosh, Professor Lockhart is hosting the Dueling Club! This is incredible. Professor Lockhart is a master of dueling!"
"Ah, yes, I'm sure he is in his books. But Hermione, do you still believe him?" Ron scoffed.
Certainly, if Lockhart had accomplished even half of the feats described in his books, the disgraceful displays he put on in class would be impossible.
Nevertheless, Hermione's faith in Lockhart was at the level of a religion. Her cheeks flushing slightly, she made an excuse on his behalf.
"Ron, if Professor Lockhart used his full power, there would be nothing for us to learn. And there's no way a book selected as a textbook could be full of lies."
"Ah, of course. I'd rather have Professor Flitwick. I heard he was a dueling champion back in his day."
When they arrived at the Dueling Club classroom, Ron's hopes were mercilessly crushed.
"Alright, everyone! For your own safety, I've made a special request to Professor Dumbledore to open this Dueling Club. If you watch this Lockhart's beautiful dueling, even you beginners will have an epiphany in no time!"
Not only was the Professor Lockhart that Ron so disliked present, but…
"And this is Professor Snape. He has graciously agreed to be my assistant for this Dueling Club!"
…the person Ron disliked second most—who had, until last year, been number one—Professor Snape, was also there.
Despite this, Ron's expression didn't darken too much, thanks to Lockhart's next words.
"Now then, I shall first show you all a perfect example of a duel! Professor Snape, if you please."
Lockhart and Snape were about to duel.
Ron whispered to Harry, his face flushed. "No matter who wins, one of them has to lose! This is brilliant!"
"I'd rather Snape win. I think that's better than Lockhart winning."
Ron considered this deeply, then nodded. A consensus was formed: neither of them wanted to see Lockhart win and look smug about it.
And—Snape responded to their expectations perfectly.
"Now, of course, Professor Snape cannot be compared to this Lockhart, but he possesses quite excellent dueling skills. As such, no matter how weak Professor Snape may seem, his opponent is me, so you must absolutely not underestimate him!"
One thing was certain: that comment had struck a nerve with Snape.
"Professor… Lockhart. I would like to begin."
"Ah, my apologies! Of course. Now then. Three, two, one!"
"Expelliarmus."
In an instant, Lockhart's body was lifted into the air and slammed into the wall.
Harry let out a gasp of admiration at Snape's movement.
Harry recalled the first wizard he had ever fought. Bellatrix Lestrange. Although she was irredeemable scum, she had taught him a valuable lesson.
One of those lessons was that you could predict the next spell by watching a wizard's movements. Most spells had characteristic wand flourishes. To use the American sport of baseball as an analogy, it was like a batter predicting the type of pitch by watching the pitcher's motion.
Since then, Harry had learned to roughly predict the next spell by observing the wand movements of various wizards.
But with Snape, such predictions were difficult. He minimized his movements, thrusting his wand forward in an instant while restricting any side-to-side motion. It was a level of skill that even his master would surely praise.
He had spoken the incantation for the students' benefit, but in a real battle, he would undoubtedly have used non-verbal magic without a sound.
With an opponent of Snape's caliber, there was no way Lockhart could have mounted any kind of response.
"Ugh, ugh."
Lockhart, who had been knocked into the wall, let out a strange groan and climbed back onto the platform.
Ron whistled at the sight.
Hermione spoke up before anyone else could. "…Maybe he just let his guard down? Even Professor Dumbledore can let his guard down."
As if he had heard her, Lockhart dusted off his clothes and said, "Ha, haha. Dear me, I let my guard down!"
Harry spoke coolly to Hermione, who was squeezing her eyes shut. "Hermione, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't let his guard down like that."
While Hermione pouted, Lockhart, with a straight face, said, "Now, class! You've just seen the duel between myself and Professor Snape. Now it's your turn to try. Hmm… yes, Harry. Would you like to go first? Come on up."
"What? Me?"
Startled by Lockhart's summons, Harry walked up to the platform.
"How about you choose the other person, Professor?"
"Ah. In that case. Draco Malfoy, come on up."
Harry didn't feel much of anything seeing Malfoy walk up.
His skill level had already far surpassed that of his peers.
No matter what childish things Malfoy said, it had little effect on Harry, who already considered himself a strong wizard.
Harry was just thinking of subduing Malfoy without injuring him and getting off the platform quickly.
'No Unforgivable Curses… no Diffindo either. What's a peaceful spell I can use?'
…He did, however, realize that he knew surprisingly few ways to non-lethally subdue someone.
'Hm?'
But then, Harry noticed that Malfoy's face wore an expression of extreme confidence.
"You'd better be ready, Potter."
Harry, of course, let Malfoy's words go in one ear and out the other, but a moment later, his expression hardened.
"Bombarda! Confringo!"
BOOM!
Magic far beyond the level of a first-year erupted from the tip of Malfoy's wand.
Although Harry managed to block it with Protego and a basic charm, he was stunned by Malfoy's unexpected skill.
He glanced over at Snape and saw that his pupils had widened in surprise.
The fact that even Snape, the Slytherin professor closest to Malfoy, was surprised, told him that Malfoy's skills had improved suddenly and recently.
But that created a problem.
…With the limited number of subduing spells known to the extremely practical-minded Harry, he couldn't think of a way to defeat Malfoy.
In that case, it seemed best to use the subduing method his master had taught him.
Harry said, "You brought this on yourself, Malfoy. Aguamenti!"
***