<h4>Chapter 112: Ron: We don''t stop badmouthing Snape.</h4>
In the afternoon''s Defense Against the Dark Arts ss, as Harry had found out, Professor Drac didn''t resort to any severe training, nor did he repeat the devilish drills from the first week.
The young witches and wizards sat in the ssroom, watching as Drac took out a Niffler from its cage and earnestly exined its unique characteristics. He meticulously detailed the methods to avoid being deceived by the Niffler, then had the students practice facing the Niffler one by one.
The practical approach, using a real creature as a reference, was quite popr with the students. Their progress was swift, and most of them learned how to handle the Niffler during the ss.
Even those with slightly less aptitude quickly grasped the methods for dealing with the Niffler. With a bit of practice and familiarization with the relevant spells, they managed to meet the subject''s requirements.
The students reluctantly left the ssroom only when the bell rang to signal the end of ss.
After leaving the ssroom, Ron, still in disbelief, touched his face and said, "I can''t believe I actually survived Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
"Professor Drac really didn''t make us go through another round of devilish training?" He looked at Harry in shock. "Harry, why don''t you p me? I''m starting to think I''m dreaming!"
"You''re not dreaming, Ron!" Harry nced at Ron''s face, suppressing the urge to p him, and replied helplessly. "Hasn''t Hermione already guessed this? Professor Drac hasn''t suddenly changed his nature; he''s just saving the severe training for the evening''s Duelling Club."
"Better be prepared, Ron; we''ll have our share of it soon enough!"
...
The time quickly approached six in the evening, with less than half an hour remaining before the first Duelling Club meeting started.
Students in the Great Hall had already finished their meals, handed their trays to house-elves for cleaning, and were curiously looking around the otherwise usual Great Hall, searching for the setup for the club meeting.
Meanwhile, as the sun was mostly hidden behind distant mountains and twilight began to fall, Drac leaped out of his office window, transforming into a bat, and flew to the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle''s main tower.
"Shall we go down together, Dumbledore?" Drac transformed back into human form,nding on the windowsill of the headmaster''s office and cheerfully looking at the white-bearded old man sitting behind the desk.
He had decided that for this Duelling Club meeting, he definitely wanted Dumbledore to be his assistant!
Before officially starting the club activities, Drac nned to invite Dumbledore to spar with him under the guise of demonstrating duelling techniques.
After the duel, it would be time to torment the young witches and wizards!
"You''re here so soon, Professor Drac?" Dumbledore greeted him with a smile, unaware of Drac''s true intentions. "I was about to send Severus down to find you!"
"Severus?" Drac frowned, turning to look at the side of the office near the door, and noticed another professor had arrived before him. "Professor Snape? What are you doing here?"
Snape nced sideways at Drac, with a barely perceptible smirk.
"What a coincidence, Professor Drac—" he said slowly, "if all goes as expected, it seems we''re here for the same purpose."
"Same purpose?" Drac was surprised and thought, ''Does this guy also want to have a duel with Dumbledore?''
Of course, Drac didn''t voice his thoughts.
He was a bit concerned that if he revealed his desire to duel with Dumbledore, Dumbledore would likely be on high alert, and future opportunities to duel would be scarce.
''I didn''t expect Snape, who usually obeys Dumbledore, actually wants to have a duel with him too,'' Drac mused, eyeing Snape with a strange look that made Snape uneasy.
"Professor Drac, Severus is indeed here for the same purpose," Dumbledore said with a smile, though his expression showed no real sign of apology. "For tonight''s Duelling Club meeting, Severus will be your assistant!"
"What?" Drac diverted his gaze from Snape to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, I recall that the idea of the Duelling Club was proposed by you first. I''m just an interim person."
"It''s one thing not to take the main role in proposing the n, but now you don''t even want to be an assistant? That seems rather inappropriate, doesn''t it?"
Drac crossed his arms, clearly displeased.
He was starting to understand how Selina felt when dealing with him as a hands-off boss. He wanted to cast an Avada Kedavra on this indifferent fellow!
Of course, his feelings were quite different from Selina''s—
Selina thought it was unfair to ce all the troublesome management of the castle on her shoulders, while Drac was simply unhappy about losing the opportunity to duel with Dumbledore.
"I''m afraid you''ll have to excuse me, Professor Drac," Dumbledore said with a smile that didn''t reflect any real apology. "Professor Snape will be a good assistant. As you know, he''s wanted to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for many years, but I''ve never given him the chance."
Snape''s expression darkened, and he gripped his wand tightly. He was rare in aligning with Drac''s thoughts, wanting to give the headmaster a piece of his mind.
But he ultimately restrained himself.
"If you still have even a shred of the punctuality expected of a professor, I think you should be on your way, Drac." Snape gave Drac onest sideways nce before heading up the rotating stairs of the headmaster''s office.
The revolving stairs soon carried him around the corner, and his figure disappeared from view before Dumbledore and Drac.
"''But I''m perfectly on time,''" Drac nced at the clock in the headmaster''s office, casually shrugged, "''I could even have another drink before going down.''"
Saying this, he indeed pulled a bottle of red wine from his seamlessly extending pocket, poured it into a goblet, and elegantly observed, smelled, aerated, and tasted the wine...
After leisurely finishing his drink, Drac put away the goblet and returned to the headmaster''s office window, spreading his arms and lying back.
His figure descended rapidly in thest rays of the setting sun, his ck and red cloak billowing in the wind...
A few secondster, Drac''s descent unexpectedly slowed to an almost gentle pace, and he softlynded on the tiles above the Great Hall''s roof.
He straightened his somewhat disheveled robes and leaped off the roof again,nding in the entrance courtyard of Hogwarts Castle.
At the same time, Snape was swiftly descending the marble staircase from the entrance of the Great Hall to the second floor.
Seeing Drac in front of the Great Hall, he couldn''t help but show a look of surprise, then deliberately averted his gaze and walked into the Great Hall first.
When Drac entered the Great Hall, it was precisely 6:30 PM, to the second.
The hall was already packed with students, who were loudly discussing what to expect from the uing Duelling Club, specting on how the hall, usually used for meals and banquets, would be transformed into a duelling venue.
The bustling scene resembled another all-inclusive wee ceremony or end-of-term feast being held in the Great Hall!
Drac habitually nced toward the Gryffindor table, and as expected, he saw Fred and George Weasley engaging in another bet, apparently debating where the duelling matches might take ce.
The twins were convinced that Professor Drac would have students duelling on the long tables, perhaps even setting different tables for different houses, with the first house to have all its members fall off the table being eliminated;
Their roommate Lee Jordan, on the other hand, thought they would stand between two long tables, using the tables as a boundary, and anyone who stepped out of bounds or touched the table would lose...
Watching this chaotic scene, Drac took out a parchment from his pocket, tapped it twice, and then waved at the students—
The four long dining tables abruptly vanished, and every student seated beside the tables felt a light but irresistible force lifting their bodies from their seats,pelling them to stand up.
Immediately, all the seats also disappeared along with the long tables.
Amidst the students'' bewildered expressions, a golden stage slowly rose from the center of the hall, illuminated by hundreds of floating candles from above, shimmering brightly.
The ceiling no longer reflected the outside sky but had turned a velvety ck, seemingly to focus all the attention on the stage in the center of the hall.
The students in the hall automatically moved away from the golden stage, standing packed on either side, each tightly gripping their wands with excited faces.
Drac looked at the scene before him, nodded in satisfaction, then lightly touched the ground with his toes and floated to the center of the stage.
"Good evening, dear little wizards!" he cheerfully addressed the crowd on either side of the stage, "It looks like almost all of you have chosen to join the Duelling Club? I''m delighted to see this."
"I hope that during your time in the Duelling Club, you can learn things not covered in ss. Simrly, I also hope you''ll have a ''great time'' in the Duelling Club..."
Hearing this, Ron shivered instinctively.
"Harry, did you hear that?" Ron leaned closer to Harry''s ear and whispered, "Professor Drac really wants everyone to join the Duelling Club! We''re definitely in for some rough times!"
"But... what Professor Drac said doesn''t seem too unreasonable," Harry tried to defend his admired Professor Drac, also whispering, "Ron, think of it this way. If those words were spoken by another professor, would you still be this scared?"
Ron thought carefully and then nodded vigorously.
"Definitely!" Seeing that his previous whisper hadn''t been heard by others, he raised his voice slightly, "Just think, if those words hade from Snape, wouldn''t you be terrified?"
Harry imagined Snape''s greasy face saying "Wee to the Duelling Club" and "Hope you enjoy your time" and shuddered.
"That would be... so disgusting!" He made a face, holding his hand up to his mouth in a fanning gesture, "Thank goodness it''s not Snape running the Duelling Club."
At that moment, Harry suddenly noticed Ron''s face turning extremely pale, as if he''d seen a ghost!
Seeing Ron''s expression, Harry stiffened and slowly turned his head to look behind him.
"Very disappointing, Potter—" Snape''s icy smile stretched as he drawled, "Unfortunately, I''m exactly the instructor you least wanted to encounter."
Harry''s face turned rigid, unwilling to ept this painful reality, and looked at the silver-haired figure on the stage, hoping to hear a different exnation.
However, the next moment, Drac''s words shattered Harry''s hope—
"Now, let me introduce my assistant for the Duelling Club—Professor Snape!" Drac extended his arms towards the audience, signaling Snape toe up to the stage.
Snape gave Harry a sidelong nce and then contemptuously walked up to the center of the Great Hall stage.
Harry watched as Snape joined Drac on the stage, his eyes filled with despair.
"Ron, seeing this ''assistant'' for the Duelling Club, I think the devilish training of Professor Drac doesn''t seem so problematic..." he said hopelessly, "The real question is whether we can survive Snape''s wrath!"
Ron nodded in deep agreement.
He then turned to Hermione, seeking help: "Hermione, if Snape targets us, you must report it to Professor Drac immediately!"
Hermione nced at them, nodded reluctantly.
"I don''t know how you two manage to always get caught talking badly about Snape," she said in bewilderment.
"Cough, cough..." Ron cleared his throat, "Maybe it''s because we never stopped talking badly about Snape..."