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Chapter 113: Dracula: disarming spells are really bad

To the students below the stage, Dracula's smile seemed rather sinister.

Given Snape's usual lack of popularity among students, except for those in Slytherin, the students from the other three houses were loudly cheering for Dracula, hoping he would teach the annoying Potions Master a lesson.

"Professor Dracula, give Snape a good beating for us!" Ron joined in the cheer.

However, perhaps because Snape was particularly attentive to Ron and Harry, even though there were several students shouting, Snape's sharp gaze still precisely swept over Ron when he shouted.

Ron immediately shivered and looked at Harry with a trembling body.

"Uh oh, Harry, Snape caught me bad-mouthing him again..." His face turned into a distressed frown, "What should I do? Will he deal with me under the guise of a duel?"

Harry sympathetically glanced at Ron and patted his shoulder, "Good luck, Ron!"

Ron's expression grew even more bitter.

He could only watch the stage in the hall, hoping that Professor Dracula would knock Snape out cold, so he might be spared...

On stage, Dracula, who was expected to perform well, and Snape stood facing each other at opposite ends of the stage.

"Dueling is a traditional activity in the wizarding world. It's not just about two people pulling out their wands and casting spells randomly; there are many rules and restrictions," Dracula explained to the students below, "For example, before a duel begins, both wizards should bow to each other to show courtesy."

He adjusted his black and red cloak and elegantly bowed to Snape.

Snape, with a serious expression, bowed as well, and then held his wand tightly in front of his chest.

The students, including Harry, were very surprised by this scene.

They had expected that, given Snape's usual disdainful attitude, he would likely not bow properly to his opponent.

However, today Snape's demeanor was unusually formal, and even his bow was conducted with strict propriety.

They had never seen such a solemn Potions Master before!

As the students looked on in amazement, Dracula and Snape completed their mutual bows and then raised their wands to their chests like swords.

"As you can see, duelists hold their wands in a specific posture," Dracula continued to the increasingly quiet crowd, "In a formal duel competition, a referee would count the time; for private duels like ours, the duelists can count together."

"At the count of three, we will cast our first spell. Of course, in a friendly duel like this, neither side will use deadly curses."

Hearing this, Ron looked extremely disappointed.

"I was expecting Professor Dracula to use a deadly curse to take care of Snape!" he muttered.

On the side of the stage, a very enthusiastic Gryffindor student had volunteered to be the referee for the duel, loudly counting for the two professors—

"One—Two—Three—"

At the moment "Three" was called out, Snape immediately raised his wand high above his shoulder.

"Expelliarmus!" he shouted.

A blinding red light flashed on stage, instantly hitting Dracula.

Dracula, struck by the spell, remained motionless, showing no reaction to the curse, but his wand was flung high into the air and fell directly into Snape's hand...

"What? Professor Dracula's wand was disarmed?!" The crowd below erupted in surprise.

The students couldn't believe that Professor Dracula, who was expected to take down Snape, had his wand disarmed with just one spell and was left defenseless.

How can one duel without a wand?

After a brief silence, several Slytherin students, led by Draco Malfoy, suddenly cheered and began clapping enthusiastically.

"The duel is over just like that?" Ron stared at the two professors on stage, feeling empty inside due to the huge letdown.

Harry's mouth was agape, "No... it can't be..."

Standing next to them, Hermione, holding a notebook and preparing to record the duel's key points, was also bewildered by the result, raising and lowering her quill, unsure of what to write.

"I think something's not right."

At that moment, a pleasant male voice sounded near them.

Harry turned around and saw Cedric Diggory, a fourth-year Hufflepuff student, had arrived near the stage and stood beside them.

Cedric was also holding a notebook and a quill, with intentions similar to Hermione's.

Beside Cedric, Fred and George Weasley, with their flaming red hair, gave Harry and the others a knowing wink.

"Harry, you can't go wrong listening to Cedric's analysis," Fred said. "He's quite the strategist and often sneaks off to get special training from Professor Dracula."

"So he definitely knows more about Professor Dracula than we do," George added. "That's why we specifically chose him as our technical consultant!"

"Technical consultant?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Exactly," Fred whispered. "We've placed a bet with the Slytherins on whether Professor Dracula or Snape will win, and also on how long it will take Professor Dracula to defeat Snape."

"To avoid another incident like last term's, where you gave us a hard time, we got a consultant to make sure the bet was foolproof!" George also whispered.

Harry paused, recalling his recent emotional outbursts. Seeing Fred and George's behavior, Cedric smiled at Harry with a hint of resignation.

Cedric, who was known for his integrity, originally didn't want to get involved in the twins' betting scheme. However, after persistent persuasion from the twins, he agreed to be their betting advisor. There were also other reasons—like needing extra money for gifts he was planning to buy for girls, and thought making some extra cash from the twins wouldn't hurt.

"In my view, this duel is far from over," Cedric said, analyzing the situation. "Do you notice anything unusual about Professor Dracula's wand? The one now in Snape's possession?"

Harry and Ron looked over in confusion and then shook their heads.

Hermione also looked and suddenly had a realization.

"Oh, right! Professor Dracula's wand isn't this one!" she exclaimed. "When he was teaching us, Professor Dracula's wand was pure black and very finely crafted. You couldn't tell what wood it was made from. But this one is light brown, almost like white ash wood, and resembles Ron's broken wand a bit!"

"But what does that have to do with the outcome of the duel?" Fred asked, leaning in. "Could it be that Professor Dracula's wand wasn't working well, and Snape's spell accidentally disarmed him?"

"I don't think so," Cedric said. "Look at the expressions of the two professors on the dueling stage."

Everyone turned to look and noticed that Professor Dracula appeared calm, seemingly unaffected by losing his wand, as if it was all part of the plan.

In contrast, Snape looked uncertain as he stared at the white ash wand in his hand, glancing up at Dracula.

"Dracula, what are you up to?" Snape growled through clenched teeth.

But Dracula didn't respond. Instead, he calmly addressed the students in the audience and began discussing the duel.

"Did you all see that? Professor Snape just used a very impressive disarming charm to neutralize my weapon," he said cheerfully, as if it wasn't his weapon that had been disarmed.

"The disarming charm was invented by the 14th-century dueling master, Eliza Smatchlin. It's been used effectively in dueling competitions ever since."

Dracula then recalled that over six hundred years ago, during the time he first met Nicolas Flamel, a famous dueling master had emerged in the magical world.

The wizard had become so proficient with the disarming charm that few could make it past the first spell in a duel with him. Dracula had fought against Smatchlin, only to find that while she was skilled with the disarming charm, she was easily thrown off by someone like Dracula who didn't rely on a wand. She was quickly defeated.

In this duel club demonstration, Dracula was now explaining the origin of the disarming charm to the students.

Moreover, he wanted to advise the students not to overly rely on wands, as they might face someone like Dracula who doesn't use one and end up at a disadvantage.

"As we all know, wizards in the magical world rely heavily on their wands, and some even lose their sense of security without them," Dracula explained seriously. "Thus, successfully casting the disarming charm can defeat most wizards."

"But there are exceptions—"

Saying this, Dracula suddenly raised his right hand's index finger—

"Disarm."

In the next moment, a more brilliant red light than Snape's disarming charm shot from Dracula's fingertip and struck Snape forcefully.

Snape was thrown off balance and was propelled backward off the stage, his wand soaring into the air and ultimately landing in Dracula's hand.

Snape's eyes widened, but he quickly reacted. Just as the disarming charm's light began to shine from the end of the white ash wand, he threw the wand away and fell sideways to the ground.

Thanks to his quick reaction, he narrowly avoided most of the disarming charm's force, only his left arm was slightly affected, becoming stiff.

However, Snape had forgotten that he was on the edge of the stage, so falling meant he was falling off the stage—

With a heavy thud, Snape fell hard to the ground below the stage.

The surrounding students quickly stepped back, afraid of becoming the target of the irate Slytherin head of house.

Thus, a rare clear space formed around Snape...

"And that's another thing I wanted to tell you," Dracula said, looking at Snape's pitiful state on the ground with a cheerful expression. "Don't use someone else's wand casually after disarming them; you never know what traps might be in place."