On Tuesday morning, Vincent Zhang handed the draft of the Duelling Club rules to Snape.
Snape spent an entire class period reviewing it, then returned the draft during lunch.
It was covered in dense annotations in red ink.
Vincent counted them—23 revisions.
“Your rules are too lax,” Snape had written in the margin of the first page.
Vincent’s original rule was “all spells taught in class are permitted.” Snape had changed it to “spells within the approved list vetted by the presiding professor are permitted.”
The difference was massive.
The former was determined by the students’ curriculum; the latter was determined by Snape.
Next to the third rule, Vincent saw Snape’s most significant alteration:
Original text: “Summoning any creatures is strictly forbidden.”
Snape’s annotation: “Too absolute.
Suggest changing to ‘Summoning creatures with a danger rating above Level 3 is forbidden.’ Level 1 and 2 creatures may be used as tactical means under professor supervision.”
Vincent crossed this out.
What level was a snake?
He wasn’t sure.
But he had no intention of giving anyone any opportunity to summon any snakes.
He wrote in the margin: “Maintain original text.
Forbidden to summon any creatures.
Reason: Lower-year students lack sufficient control; any summoning magic carries a risk of losing control.”
Snape likely wouldn’t be happy.
But Vincent would not budge on this point.
Most of the other revisions were reasonable.
Snape’s grasp of safety details was indeed stricter than Vincent’s—for example, he required that “both parties must present their wands to the referee before each duel to confirm no hidden curses have been added,” and stipulated that “the party who loses their wand is automatically defeated; hand-to-hand combat is not permitted.”
These were practical rules.
It showed that despite his sharp tongue, Snape was taking this seriously.
After finishing the edits, Vincent made two copies of the final version—one for Snape and one for McGonagall’s approval.
On Wednesday afternoon, McGonagall’s approval arrived.
Approved.
It came with a side note: “Please ensure that Hufflepuff students are not caught in the crossfire of the antagonistic sentiments between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Hufflepuff students are generally mild-mannered and easily startled.
—M.M.”
Vincent felt that McGonagall’s understanding of Hufflepuff was exceptionally precise.
With the approval secured, Vincent officially announced the Duelling Club during dinner that evening.
He stood before the High Table and used a Sonorus Charm to carry his voice throughout the Great Hall.
“Students, starting from the second Saturday of this month, the school will be establishing a Duelling Club.
It will be co-hosted by Professor Snape and myself, with Assistant Pendragon serving as the referee.
Students in their second year and above may volunteer to participate.”
The Great Hall instantly erupted into a roar of excitement.
At the Gryffindor table, Fred and George stood up simultaneously.
“A duel!” Fred shouted.
“Club!” George shouted.
“Sign us up!” they yelled in unison.
The cheers from Gryffindor nearly blew the roof off.
The Slytherins were much more reserved, but Vincent noticed Draco Malfoy’s eyes light up.
The Ravenclaw students were discussing it amongst themselves, their expressions ranging from “interested” to “cautious observation.”
And the Hufflepuffs—just as McGonagall had predicted—had several younger girls turning pale.
“Quiet,” Vincent said, raising his hand.
“Let me emphasize: this is a voluntary activity and is not mandatory.
All duels will be conducted under professor supervision with comprehensive safety rules.
Specific registration methods and rule details will be posted on the notice boards of each house tomorrow.”
He paused for a moment and added, “Furthermore, second-year students who wish to participate will need to undergo an additional evaluation test.
Those who pass the test will be granted special permission to join.”
This sentence was a backdoor specifically left for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
They were second-years and, by the standard rules, could not participate.
But Vincent needed them to gain experience in a dueling environment—when the Chamber of Secrets incident broke out, these three would undoubtedly be on the front lines.
The moment Harry heard “special permission,” he immediately looked at Ron and Hermione.
Within twenty-four hours of the announcement, Vincent received forty-seven applications.
Fifteen from Gryffindor, twelve from Slytherin, eleven from Ravenclaw, and nine from Hufflepuff.
Gryffindor having the most wasn’t a surprise.
Nine from Hufflepuff wasn’t a small number either—it exceeded Vincent’s expectations.
It seemed McGonagall had underestimated the courage of the badgers.
There were six applicants for special permission from the second year: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, plus two Slytherin students—Malfoy and Zabini.
Malfoy wanted to participate.
Vincent looked at Malfoy’s signature on the sign-up sheet and thought for a while.
Allowing Malfoy to join the Duelling Club carried risks—he might treat it as a stage for showing off, or he might get into conflicts with Gryffindor students.
But there were benefits too—in a formal, regulated competitive environment, Malfoy could learn the lesson that “winning doesn’t have to rely on bullying.”
Moreover, if Vincent rejected his application, Lucius would have yet another piece of evidence to claim “Vincent Zhang discriminates against Slytherins.”
“Let them all participate,” Vincent said to Artoria.
“All six pass the special evaluation.”
“You don’t plan to actually test them?”
“The test is a formality.
I’m well aware of the skill levels of these six.”
“Then what is the point of the evaluation?”
“To make the other second-year students feel it’s fair,” Vincent said.
“If I just let these six join without a test, the others would be resentful.
By following a process, everyone saves face.”
Artoria thought about it and expressed her agreement.
The special evaluation was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
The six second-year students stood in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, facing Vincent and Artoria.
The test was simple: hit rate of the Disarming Charm and the stability of the Shield Charm.
Harry went first.
He hit nine out of ten Disarming Charms, and his Shield Charm held against three standard-force impacts.
Pass.
Hermione was second.
She hit six out of ten Disarming Charms, but her Shield Charm held against four impacts.
Vincent noticed her Shield Charm was stronger than her Disarming Charm—a defensive player.
Pass.
Ron was third.
He hit seven out of ten Disarming Charms, and his Shield Charm held twice.
It was marginal, but enough.
Pass.
Neville was fourth.
The atmosphere in the classroom grew slightly subtle.
The other five all looked at Neville—not with malicious glares, but with a certain “can he do it?” uncertainty.
Neville walked to the testing position and raised his wand.
His hands were shaking.
Vincent glanced at Artoria.
She stood at the side of the classroom, expressionless, but Vincent noticed her gaze was focused with a degree more intensity than when she watched the others.
“Begin,” Vincent said.
Neville took a deep breath.
“Expelliarmus!”
The first shot—missed.
The second—a grazing hit.
Counted as a hit, barely.
The third—a hit on the outer ring.
The fourth—a hit on the outer ring.
The fifth—missed.
The sixth—he paused.
He closed his eyes.
Vincent knew he was using the “don’t aim at the target” method. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Neville opened his eyes and looked at the wall beside the target.
“Expelliarmus.”
A hit.
Inner ring.
Seventh shot.
Hit.
Eighth shot.
Hit.
Ninth shot.
Missed.
Tenth shot.
Hit.
Six out of ten.
Vincent checked his records: two more hits than the after-school tutoring session last week.
Shield Charm test.
Neville’s Shield Charm only held against one impact; it shattered on the second.
By the numbers, Neville was the weakest of the six.
Vincent looked at Artoria.
“Pass,” Artoria said.
There was no hesitation in her voice.
Malfoy, in the back, frowned slightly but said nothing.
Blaise Zabini was the last one.
His performance was unexpectedly good—eight out of ten for the Disarming Charm, and his Shield Charm held three times.
This quiet Slytherin boy usually didn’t have much of a presence, but his fundamentals were quite solid.
All six passed.
“Congratulations, everyone,” Vincent said.
“See you in the Great Hall this Saturday at 2:00 PM.”
The six of them left the classroom one by one.
Neville was the last to leave.
He stopped as he passed Artoria.
“Thank you, Assistant Pendragon,” he whispered.
“No need to thank me,” Artoria said.
“You passed the test.”
“But my results were the worst…”
“Results do not equal strength.” Artoria’s tone was level.
“You adjusted your method midway and hit four shots in a row.
This shows that you are capable of self-correction under pressure.
Many who have better results than you cannot do that.”
Neville’s eyes lit up.
He nodded and hurried out of the classroom.
Malfoy was waiting for Zabini at the door.
He saw Neville run out and curled his lip—not in mockery, but more out of confusion.
He likely didn’t understand why the person with the lowest score was allowed to pass.
In Malfoy’s worldview, the weakest should be eliminated.
That was what Lucius had taught him.
But Artoria’s standards were different.
This divergence would inevitably lead to a clash in the Duelling Club.
Vincent was already prepared.
Friday.
One day until the first Duelling Club meeting.
Vincent was in his office making the final preparations.
The match schedule: eight duels in the first round, 5 minutes per match.
He tried to avoid matching students from the same house—the first session should focus on cross-house exchange.