Hogwarts Card System Chapter 146

Chapter 147: Duelling Club

“Sir, this dish is called—Life’s Impermanence!” Kaka, the house-elf, proudly declared.

“Life’s Impermanence? That’s quite a philosophical name. What ingredients is it made from?” Lockhart took another delightful bite, his face filled with nostalgia as he asked.

Kaka chuckled, “It’s large intestine! The ingredients are the large intestine of a Stonefang Boar. You have to repeatedly nest the large and small intestines together for the best texture.”

Lockhart’s hand suddenly froze. “Large, large and small intestines? Then, that strange taste I just had was…”

Kaka proudly stated, “The large intestine needs to retain some of its original flavor. Otherwise, you wouldn’t know you’re eating large intestine. I did it on purpose~”

A thunderous boom echoed in Lockhart’s mind, as if struck by lightning. He quickly grabbed the table, nearly falling over!

Lockhart: It was so delicious, I wanted to chop off my f*cking feet!

For the next few days, Lockhart felt his appetite was poor.

It wasn’t just because he had eaten the Nine-Turned Large Intestine, but also because he realized he had actually found it quite delicious!

However, business still needed to be handled. Professor Lockhart’s career ambition was still very strong.

In Dumbledore’s office, Lockhart delightfully handed over his proposal.

Dumbledore’s gaze, from behind his half-moon spectacles, held a hint of scrutiny as he looked at Lockhart. “Duelling Club? The school hasn’t had one of those in years.”

Lockhart puffed out his chest, raised his head, and flashed his signature toothy grin, attempting to blind old Dumbledore:

“Precisely! That’s why I’m applying to hold the Duelling Club again. I believe the children nowadays haven’t experienced much hardship and are too delicate. They need more practical combat experience.”

Dumbledore looked at the parchment in his hand and nodded slightly. “Hmm, if that’s the case, alright…”

By lunchtime, a new parchment had appeared on the notice board at the entrance of the Great Hall.

“Duelling Club?” The young wizards’ eyes lit up with excitement at the name.

“The school’s having a Duelling Club again?” A sixth-year student exclaimed in surprise. “The last time I heard about this was when I first started school. I heard it’s been suspended for almost ten years!”

“You’ve come at a good time!”

But some students started to pour cold water on the excitement: “A good time? I’m not so sure. Look at who the club’s指导教授 is?”

Many hot-blooded young wizards looked at the name and felt their blood run cold by half: Lockhart. Oh, never mind then.

Although Lockhart’s name dampened the interest of many students, there were still many young wizards who were interested in the Duelling Club.

Even if Lockhart wasn’t great, we could still spar in the Duelling Club, right?

Learning magic with nowhere to use it was like wearing fine clothes at night!

Lockhart holding a Duelling Club was like a dog growing horns—always doing something outlandish.

Standing in front of the notice board, the six-person group was reading Lockhart’s proposal. It stated that the first Duelling Club activity would begin on the second weekend of next month, and all young wizards were welcome to participate.

It was already late November, so it wasn’t long now.

Harry was quite impatient about this. “Lockhart’s starting a club. Can he even do it? He can’t, he doesn’t have the ability, you know!”

Ron: “Pah, he has no shame!”

Jerry: “First the house-elves, then the play, then the club, and finally nothing left to do!”

Neville also looked worried. After all, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts drama club, he was the male second lead, second only to Ted.

If Ted played the omnipotent and dashing protagonist Lockhart, then Neville was the unshakeable villain, playing werewolves, old hags, ghosts, Yetis, and so on.

Neville was physically and mentally exhausted: “Before, I had no roles. Now, I want to play a good person!”

If a Duelling Club were to be held, it was a given that he would have to make a fool of himself on stage again.

Neville was wondering if he should break one of his arms.

Hermione was even a little angry, asking Ted, “How much longer do we have this school year?” – How much longer until the curse takes effect?

Ted shrugged. “There’s still half a year left next year!”

…

Ted didn’t pay much attention to Lockhart starting the club, as it was a relatively well-known plot point in the original novel.

But the next day, he suddenly realized something was wrong…

The next day, Saturday, Ted had just finished washing up and was about to go for his morning exercise when he found his roommates already awake and enthusiastically getting dressed.

Ted asked Terry, who was teasing the still-asleep Ansu and getting his finger pecked by her, “Terry, why are you guys up so early today?”

Terry blew on his reddened finger, excitedly saying, “Of course, it’s because of today’s Quidditch!”

The Quidditch match today was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

A grudge match between father and son, of course, was exciting.

Ted thought for a moment and realized what he had overlooked.

In the original novel, during the Quidditch match, Dobby controlled a Bludger and broke Harry’s arm. Then Lockhart performed a “special bone-removing charm,” which turned a minor injury into a night’s stay in the infirmary.

And the potion Harry drank was the Bone-Regrowing Potion developed by generations of the Potter ancestors.

It was said that the first Potter was a herbalist.

The key wasn’t that, but rather Harry’s loyal fan, the first-year Muggle-born wizard Colin Creevey, who was petrified after secretly visiting his idol at night.

That was what led Lockhart to want to hold the Duelling Club.

Had it been moved up?

Also, would someone suffer tonight?

Although Dobby hadn’t been dealt with yet, Neville wouldn’t be playing in the match, so it wasn’t like a Quidditch player would fall and smash him into the infirmary, right?

And that kid Colin had already been educated by Ted. Now, when he took pictures, he would always ask the six-person group for permission beforehand.

After all, he never wanted to experience not being able to eat dinner because his teeth were too long again.

Fans, you have to train them, don’t you?

So, would anyone suffer misfortune after all?

…

The Quidditch pitch was packed with people!

Students from the four houses were scattered in an orderly fashion. Before the match even started, they were already shouting, cheering, and giving each other the middle finger.

Matches between other houses didn’t receive as much attention; the matches between the Lion House and the Snake House always carried a bit of personal animosity.

Usually, Ravenclaw students were more neutral. Although many disliked Slytherin, they wouldn’t openly support Gryffindor. After all, not taking sides was the smart choice!

However, not everyone was so “rational.”

For example, Luna.

Luna wore a lion’s head hat that covered her entire head, with only her fair, small face peeking out from the lion’s mouth. She was very conspicuous in the crowd.

Ted found it amusing. “Do you need my help?”

In Luna’s hazy eyes, Ted cast a spell on the lion hat.

The lion’s head immediately came to life, its two eyeballs darting around, and it opened its mouth wide to let out a roar: “Awoooo~~~”

Like the MGM lion logo, shaking its head and roaring~

Everyone nearby looked at Luna, and even she, uncharacteristically, blushed slightly.

And that lion hat, if no one stopped it, could roar all day!

Although everyone was cheering for Gryffindor, they weren’t much use when given the chance.

Gryffindor still lost, though the score difference wasn’t large.

The match process and result weren’t important to Ted.

During the match, Ted searched for Dobby, who might appear, but found nothing.

The little creature seemed to have given up.

And that night, Ted stayed up all night, staring at the Marauder’s Map, ready to move at any moment.

He ended up staying up all night, and other than seeing Harry and Jerry each wandering around until midnight, nothing happened.

Damn it~

Ted could clearly feel the changes in the original plot.

Last year was fine, but this year, his little butterfly wings were getting harder, and the wind he flapped was getting stronger.

The next day, his friends noticed, why was Ted wearing glasses?

Ted had made a pair of plain glasses, using all the techniques he could master: alchemy, artifact creation, spells… but he still couldn’t guarantee whether they could withstand the basilisk’s gaze.

…

It was already the end of the month, and Ted and the others were having a flying lesson.

Ted used this opportunity to fly high into the sky and, using his knowledge of Taoist principles, looked down at the castle.

Although he didn’t have a compass, he could generally distinguish the directions, combined with the terrain seen from above.

The Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, the mountains, and the castle on the hillside—Hogwarts’ Feng Shui was indeed excellent!

It was even a bit too good, suggesting some artificial modifications.

Just as astrology, astronomy, and calendars contain some magical principles, so too do terrain and ley lines contain the magic of the earth.

The so-called auspicious days and excellent Feng Shui truly showed the remarkable similarities between Eastern and Western mysticism.

However, Ted had no interest in the art of Feng Shui.

A top-tier artificial Feng Shui arrangement could make a family prosperous for five generations, but it couldn’t stop an Avada Kedavra.

This sort of thing might be useful when building castles, but it offered little help in combat.

That night, Ted routinely took out the Marauder’s Map to monitor the castle. As soon as he unfolded it, he found Neville.

Neville was also out at night?

No! The name next to him was Dobby!

Good! I’ve searched high and low for you, and now you appear! I should have just waited by the tree!

Ted immediately tiptoed out of the dormitory, then turned invisible and headed to the main tower.

Along the way, he wore those “must-not-die glasses,” and at every intersection, his spiritual crystal servant Puck went ahead to scout.

He was being extremely cautious.

(End of this chapter)