At night,
Ivan arrived at the Defence Against the Dark Arts office half an hour early and drank the Polyjuice Potion, transforming into Lockhart.
"The cloak, the gloves, the ring! And the wand!" Ivan frowned at his reflection in the mirror, then held out his hand to the side.
Lockhart handed over his three-piece suit, but hesitated before handing over his wand.
"Why do you want my wand? If I give it to you, what will happen to me?"
"If you don't want me to be seen through, bring them all!" Ivan warned Lockhart, who had disguised himself with Polyjuice Potion.
"And you'd better stay in your office and not go anywhere!"
"How can I do that? I don't want to miss such an important moment. Give me your wand. What if the other professors call me?" Lockhart raised his eyebrows.
Ivan shook his head, unable to do anything about him, and tossed him a protective ring.
As for his unicorn wand, Ivan had no intention of giving it to Lockhart. Luckily, Lockhart had a Dragon's Heart wand, which he had never returned after taking it from Alicia.
It was just in time for Lockhart to use it, but even so, Ivan warned Lockhart not to go on stage and ruin his reputation.
…
As they made their way to the Duelling Club, Ivan noticed that the decorations in the hall were very different from the last time.
The flags of the four houses hung high in the air, and as the gentle breeze blew, the four elevated stages were placed in the centre, ensuring that most of the students could get on for the night.
Yvonne was pretty sure it wasn't Lockhart's idea, because he would only set up a stage where everyone's eyes would be on him.
"There are so many people here…" Ivan was surprised to see the hall bustling with activity. There seemed to be even more wizards here tonight than last time.
He expected yesterday's attack to affect today's Duelling Club.
As Ivan thought this, a disembodied voice spoke behind him.
"Because everyone is worried, they want to know how to protect themselves…"
Ivan turned to see a familiar figure in Ravenclaw robes.
"Lou…cough, cough…" Yvonne almost said, then remembered that Lockhart and Luna did not know each other that well.
"You have a point, Miss Lovegood. Yes, that is why I hold the Duelling Club."
"By the way, Miss Lovegood, what brings you here?" Yvonne was curious as to why Luna wanted to see Lockhart, as she was not a fan.
Luna's silver-grey eyes studied him for a moment without replying, then she suddenly pointed at his right wrist.
Ivan looked down, confused, and then noticed the bracelet on his wrist.
"So that's why…" Ivan sighed. He hadn't expected him to be so cautious, and yet his cover had been blown because of the Circle of Magic.
"I saw that you had it with you the whole time, so I figured you wouldn't give it to anyone else, would you? And the real Professor Lockhart would go up on stage right away so that everyone could see him first…"
Luna went on and on about how there was something wrong with Ivan, which was as interesting to her as solving a riddle.
"I'm glad not every student is as smart as you are, or I'd just go back inside," Ivan said reluctantly, but Luna made it clear where the disguise was missing.
With that in mind, Ivan removed the Ring of Magic from his right hand and placed it on Luna's wrist.
"You're wrong about one thing just now. I'll leave this in someone else's care if necessary!"
"You can use its power in a duel, but in exchange, you have to cover for me when people ask," Ivan said with a smile.
There were many clever young wizards and witches at Hogwarts, and none of the professors were easy to deal with. The bracelet on his right hand was probably noticed by many.
It could be said that Luna temporarily lent it to her…
Sou~
After making the appointment with Luna, Ivan raised his wand and shot a magical beam of light into the air, which exploded mid-air in a shower of multi-coloured fluorescence.
"I'm so glad to see so many people here today!" Yvonne exclaimed, trying to get everyone's attention.
"I'm sure you've all heard about the attack yesterday and are worried about it. You're eager to learn some magic that will protect you in today's class… and that's why you're taking this duelling class!"
"But what I want to tell you is that in addition to practicing spell-casting skills to improve your own strength, it is more important to be vigilant at all times!
Many Dark Wizards appear to be harmless and even helpful in gaining trust, as do certain Dark Items.
I once heard the saying not to trust anything with self-consciousness unless you know exactly where its brain is located…"
Ivan's eyes scanned the crowd below, taking in the expressions and movements of each individual and committing them to memory.
However, Ivan did not dare to speak too clearly, and could only use Lockhart's status to give them a few words of advice and caution. It would be best if they travelled in groups of three or five, and if they noticed anything unusual, they would come to him immediately!
After a round of preaching, Ivan found the young witches and wizards listening to him in a daze. Only a few of them took his words to heart. Several professors, on the other hand, were impressed and nodded repeatedly.
"Well, it seems you're not very interested in what I have to say, so let's officially begin our lesson for the day," Ivan said loudly, shrugging helplessly.
"Now, please welcome your Potions professor, Head of Slytherin House, Snape, to be my opponent! We will show you what a real wizard duel is!"
At Ivan's words, the young wizards, who had been half-asleep, woke up and turned to look at the other side of the dais, anticipating Snape's entrance.
A duel between two professors was extremely rare, with everyone guessing who would win…