Of course, the trip to Urquart Castle wasn't immediate. The professors' duties made it difficult for them to find free time outside of weekends.
Time arrived at Friday night, after dinner.
The edge of the Forbidden Forest, beside the hippogriff enclosure.
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, the Seekers for their respective Hogwarts Quidditch teams, should have been at practice on the pitch at this time, but instead, they were here.
They were undergoing a progress assessment of the "Duelling Club" created by Professor Lockhart.
The heads of their respective houses, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, had come to observe. Hagrid, hearing the commotion, also came out of his hut and approached. Beside his large figure stood Ron, Hermione, Neville, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy, all nervously looking up at the figures rapidly darting through the high air.
This was much more tense and exciting than Quidditch.
The two Seekers, both naturally gifted in Quidditch, each controlling their flying broomsticks, pushed their speed to the limit in the complex environment of the high air and the Forbidden Forest, rapidly weaving and charging.
Sometimes, they would dive down extremely fast from high altitude, almost at a 90-degree angle to the ground, rushing towards the gap between two tall trees not far away.
Before passing through the edge of the trees, a spell tore through the darkness of the forest, brushing past a hastily dodged forehead and streaking into the sky, leaving trails of dazzling light.
"Counterattack!" Professor Lockhart shouted loudly. "Don't stick to this 'you go, then I go' children's game mode! This isn't turn-based!"
"When preparing to dodge, you must immediately think about counterattacking!"
"Combine the dodging action with the counterattack action!"
"Be quick-witted! Don't just stare at the other person's wand and release the Disarming Charm! Who told you the Disarming Charm can only be used to disarm!"
"Aim at the flying broomstick!"
"If all else fails, aim at the other person's body!"
"You must learn to use the flying broomstick flexibly! It's not just for increasing speed and flying into the sky! That's meaningless for your combat!"
"Where are the difficult maneuvers you train in the Quidditch team?!"
"Where is your flexibility?!!!"
"Instant ascent! Lateral shift! High-speed flip and spin! Loop and flat spin! You must learn to use these moves!"
"Mobility! Flexible mobility!"
"This is the essence of Quidditch, not stupidly just trying to be faster!"
"I really don't know how you became Seekers!"
Lockhart was qualified to criticize their handling of flying broomsticks because he had also been the Seeker for Ravenclaw when he was at school.
Although the most glorious moment of that experience was accidentally "picking up" the Golden Snitch in a training match, he truly knew how to use it flexibly, he just wasn't good at applying that wisdom.
Professor McGonagall watched with some excitement, her tightly clenched hands trembling slightly, full of eagerness to try.
She also really wanted to participate.
Oh, of course, a powerful wizard like her was indeed not very suitable for bullying children. Perhaps Professor Lockhart, who had experienced a lot of adventures after graduation, could become her opponent.
Hmm...
Lockhart didn't know that Professor McGonagall was thinking such dangerous things. He held the wand that was barely better than a fire poker for him and waved it like a band conductor, shouting instructions.
Sometimes he even almost accidentally poked Professor Snape, who was standing beside him.
Snape didn't mind, just looked at Harry and Draco, who were rapidly weaving and fighting in the woods, with some surprise.
They had only just started their second year a short time ago.
Many older students probably couldn't achieve this level!
He looked thoughtfully at Professor Lockhart beside him, suddenly with a bit of respect.
If Lucius (Draco's father) knew his son had become so powerful, he would probably be full of gratitude towards Lockhart.
The match quickly came to a result.
No one could maintain such high-intensity flying and high-intensity spellcasting for too long. The two young wizards soon dropped out of their peak state.
Seizing an opportunity, Harry's Disarming Charm completely hit Draco.
Draco had indeed learned something from Lockhart's teaching. He grabbed his flying broom with one hand, letting the force of the Disarming Charm knock him away, and then used that force to swing his body on the broom and throw himself off, tackling Harry Potter.
Then, to everyone's exclamations, the flying broom, carrying the two wrestling children, wobbled and twisted like a crashing plane towards the ground.
"Cushioning Charm! Slow Down Charm!"
Without Lockhart even needing to act, Professor Snape, who had been watching closely, instantly cast a spell. The effect of the Slow Down Charm was immediate, allowing the two young wizards falling rapidly from high altitude to land gently on the ground.
Professor McGonagall also acted.
She waved her wand, and the bushes on the ground suddenly transformed into wooden giant hands, pulling apart the two young wizards who were still planning to continue fighting.
Everyone quickly stepped forward with concern.
Clearly, in such a high-intensity battle, both young wizards had become overheated, and in the final moments, they had scratched each other, leaving a lot of wounds.
Draco had a black eye on his right eye, and tears flowed uncontrollably.
"Merlin's beard!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "I must quickly send you to Madam Pomfrey for treatment."
"Make way, make way!"
Lockhart pushed aside the young wizards who had crowded around, sized up Harry and Draco, and shook his head. "It's nothing, just minor problems."
As he spoke, he held up a freshly picked green branch in one hand and gently tapped it with his wand in the other.
Two purple flowers suddenly sprouted on the branch, their petals delicate and beautiful, their fragrance intoxicating, and viscous honey seemed to drip from their stamens, falling right onto the heads of the two young wizards.
The effect was good.
Harry and Draco only had some small wounds to begin with, and they all healed instantly.
So, after a moment of exclamation from the young wizards like Hermione, they all cheered.
Professor Lockhart!
You are so amazing!
The pure gazes of the young wizards were full of admiration.
Oh~~~
Lockhart felt wonderful under the gazes of the young wizards.
He had of course often encountered such gazes, but this magic was cast by his own hands, it was his real ability, how could it not make him happy?
Wonderful!
After the match, Draco and Harry, surrounded by their respective groups of friends, walked towards Hogwarts Castle, each excitedly recounting the thrilling moments of just now.
Lockhart looked at the backs of these young wizards with a smile and turned to Professor McGonagall. "What do you think?"
This wasn't a simple assessment of teaching results.
Professor Lockhart planned to take his two well-trained top students to Urquart Castle, hoping that the young wizards could take the opportunity to grow more.
Professor McGonagall naturally wouldn't allow such a thing; it was too dangerous.
Even though Professor Lockhart looked very confident about this adventure.
Lockhart didn't argue, just asked Professor McGonagall to come and observe an assessment of the results, hoping to move her with it.
Wanting his apprentices to learn more by taking the opportunity—Professor McGonagall could feel the earnest expectations of the particularly responsible Professor Lockhart for the two young wizards, but she had to be cautious.
She hesitated for a moment.
Lockhart wasn't in a hurry and waited for the answer.
He naturally hoped that Professor McGonagall would agree. Honestly speaking, the level of strength that Harry and Draco now possessed was far greater than his own ability.
Although he was confident about this adventure, his strength was comparable to a Muggle's. If he encountered any unexpected accidents, he simply wouldn't have the ability to solve them. Naturally, the more helpers he had, the better.
Yes.
Lockhart was treating Harry and Draco as helpers.
Having wholeheartedly and unreservedly spent so much effort cultivating them, he naturally hoped they could play a role when he needed their help.
Teaching young wizards was such an inconvenient thing, he should use them when needed!
"Perhaps..."
Professor Snape suddenly interjected from the side, drawing out his words. Seeing the two look over, he suddenly said quickly, "I agree to let Draco and the others go to Urquart Castle, if you allow me to go along to help look after them."
Great~!
Reliable Senior Snape!
Lockhart's eyes lit up, and he quickly looked at Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall finally nodded. "I really hope nothing goes wrong."