Chapter 17: The Dueling Club

Everyone gathered around the dueling platform in the Great Hall. Jane stood next to her brother, along with Ron and Hermione. Snape had combined his potions class with Professor Lockhart even though he wasn't that willing to do it. Professor Dumbledore thought that it was a good idea, so here Jane was standing and waiting until Professor Lockhart, which he wasn't really a professor at all. He was an author, but Jane thought that there was something very familiar about his style of writing, but Jane wasn't concerned about that right now. The two Professors, or basically the one professor, Lockhart, will be teaching the students how to defend themselves by making a little dueling club. Jane liked the idea. She liked dueling other people, except, she didn't want to duel her brother, of course, or any of her friends.

"Can you all see me? Can you all hear me?" Professor Lockhart asked as he walked up and down the platform.

"Well, duh, right? We are all right here," thought Jane.

"Professor Dumbledore wants me to teach you all," he held out his right hand and moved it around as to mean everyone will be taught dueling, "how to duel, because of all of the excitement that has been happening."

Jane made a happy, but yet disgusting look for she would rather be taught how to duel by someone else than Lockhart. "I can't understand why so many girls like Lockhart, I mean, he's not really that charming, is he? No! He's not! Cut it out, Jane! You're not really going for his charming looks are you?" Jane thought to herself.

"We have decided to start this dueling club to start to train you guys all up, in case you ever need to defeat yourselves, like I have done on many occasions. For more information, see my published books," finished Professor Lockhart. With that, he took off his silky, shiny, and smooth cape and through it into the crowd of students. Surprisingly, a girl who is in Gryffindor caught the cape. She instantly started cuddling with it.

Jane grimaced at the sight. "I definitely don't like Lockhart and there is definitely something fishy about him," Jane's thoughts when racing once again like they always do.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," announced Lockhart gesturing toward the other end of the platform.

An annoyed and serious Professor Snape came up the platform with his black robes on. Everyone was leaning in on the platform to see this happen.

"He had been willing to help me show a demonstration to you. Don't worry, you will have your potions teacher when I'm through with him," finished Professor Lockhart.

"Less likely, him than you," Jane laughed at the thought she had.

"What are you laughing at?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Jane said and watched as the two professors approached each other; their faces had no emotions what so ever. They drew their wands up to their faces, and just like that, their wands were down with a whip. They both did a little bow.

Jane knew that Lockhart wasn't going to win. He wasn't quick enough for Professor Snape's good skills.

By now they both had their wands at the ready position, ready to strike at any given moment.

"1. 2. 3," counted Professor Lockhart.

"Expelliarmus!" Snape shouted.

Professor Lockhart didn't have enough time to conjure up a defense spell because he was suddenly hit with a red bolt.

"Ahhhh!" yelped Lockhart.

Jane giggled as he landed on the platform with a thud.

"Do you think he's alright?" Hermione asked leaning over to take a look.

"Who cares," Jane answered Hermione before Ron could.

Jane still had a smile on her face.

She never knew it would be that funny to watch Professor Lockhart get hit with a spell.

Professor Lockhart got up like nothing happened and he brushed himself off.

"Excellent idea to show the students attack spell, and I would say, it was really obvious that you were going to do something like that. Now if I were to block that spell, it would have been easy," said Lockhart.

"Maybe it would be best to first teach the students how to block, professor," suggested Professor Snape.

Lockhart looked down for a couple seconds but looked up to see a slight smile on Snape's face, except that it disappeared quickly.

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape. Uh, let's have a pair of volunteers," Lockhart stated while looking around. "How about both Potters come up," he said with a smile on his face.

Jane just about wanted to say no, when she was pushed from behind. She turned around to see Ron mouthing the words, "Go." Hermione wasn't doing anything; she was just standing there like Jane really had no choice.

"Come on, Potter," ordered Professor Lockhart.

Jane walked up toward the platform with her heart pounding hard.

"I don't want to duel against my bother!" Jane thought frantically. "I just don't want him to get seriously injured again and don't I have a choice in this, but then again, if I beat my brother it will show that I am stronger than he is. I mean it is a little friendly competition here, right?"

Before she knew it, she was walking up to meet to Harry in the center of the platform.

When getting to the center Professor Lockhart commanded, "Wands at the ready."

"Try not to do too much damage, alright Harry?" Jane whispered.

"Alright, I won't, but you have to do the same thing for me, Jane."

"No promises," Jane said as they both put their wands down without another word.

"Well, then we'll have to see if I do the same thing for her," Harry said to himself.

"This is going to be interesting," Jane thought to herself as she turned around to face Harry on the opposite side of the platform.

Jane was by the Slytherin house and Harry was by Professor Lockhart, but Jane really didn't care. All she cared was beating her brother in this little duel.

Suddenly, something occurred to her, Draco Malfoy was watching her every move since she was by the Slytherins. She tried not to think about him and what he might be thinking right now. She knew that he hated Harry, but Jane wasn't sure if he considered her a friend. He might. Jane put that thought off for now and focused on what was at hand.

"Now on the count of 3, you can only cast spells to disarm your opponent, only to disarm," ordered Professor Lockhart.

"Alright," thought Jane. "I can do this. I just have to dodge the spells the best I can."

"One, Two, Three," Lockhart counted.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Jane before Harry could say anything.

The color of scarlet red burst from Jane's wand and went flying toward Harry.

He insistently got hit and was thrust backward like Lockhart. Harry landed with a hard thud, with his face looking up at the ceiling of the Great Hall.

Jane aloud herself to put down her guard for now until Harry would get off the ground, which wasn't that long.

Jane watched as Harry pointed his wand at her and shouted back,

"Rictusempra!"

Jane quick as lightning ran to the side of the platform to avoid the spell. She thought it might work and it did. The red and silver blot of light missed Jane by centimeters.

She could hear some of the students gasp as she did her little act. She didn't know where the blot would hit, but she didn't care about that. In her head, Jane quickly went through the spells that she learned and she finally picked one to use on Harry.

"Everte Statum!" Jane yelled.

A bright orange bolt with a tint of light green came out the tip of Jane's wand and went zooming towards Harry.

He was then hit with a big force that he went flying 360 degrees around and around!

Finally, he landed on the ground with a bigger thud than before.

Jane relaxed her muscles and was hoping that Harry was going to give up because just after that spell, she didn't want to duel her brother any longer.

"This isn't turning into a friendly competition at all," thought Jane as she looked over to Harry as he got up. "I'm the one who is beating him and because I have, I haven't been hit yet."

Jane could see Harry's expression. It was anger as he stumbled forward, but somehow Jane could see Harry smile as he casted Rictusempra at her.

Jane tried to dodge the spell but missed. The red-silvery light hit Jane and she was thrust backward.

She tried to let out a scream, but nothing would come out of her mouth. All of the air had been knocked out of her as if you had a football thrown hard at you and all of the wind was knocked out of you.

Jane landed with a thud like Harry did with her back aching. She lay there for a few seconds staring at the ceiling and then slowing but surly, she got up. Her back was hurting her, but she just dealt with it; she has had worst before.

"Let's see do I know any other spells to throw at Harry," Jane thought frantically.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her right eye, she saw Draco Malfoy. At first, Jane thought me might be whispering something to Crabbe and Goyle, but it then occurred to her that he was staring at her. He was mouthing something it looked it, a spell perhaps? Jane didn't know. She wasn't that good with reading lips, but this time she could. It looked like he was saying Serpensortia. Jane had never heard of that spell and she didn't know if it was a disarming spell. It sounded as though it wasn't, but she as running out of time so she might as well go with it.

"Serpensortia!" Jane shouted at the top of her lugs.

All of a sudden, a green scaly and tan snake came out from the tip of Jane's wand. The snake hissed and moved from side to side as it went toward Harry.

Jane just stared in astonishment at what she had done. She had just conjured up a snake and it is moving toward Harry!

Everyone in the Great Hall was either looking at the stunned Jane or the snake afraid that it will strike at any given moment.

Harry in the meantime had lowered his wand thinking that he can't kill it because he doesn't know a killing spell that would actually kill it, yet he is also thinking, how in the world did his sister get that spell? He never learned it in his first year, so why would she? But, the main focus of Harry's brain was on the snake.

"Don't worry Potter, I can't get rid of…"

"Allow me, Professor Snape," interjected Lockhart. "Alarte Ascendare."

The snake was launched up into the air and came back down onto the platform. Because the snake was thrown up into air, the green, tan and scaly snake wanted some revenge and Harry could tell.

Jane was still frozen to her spot trying not to become a target of the snake, but thank God the snake had already chosen its target.

Justin was his first name and he was in Gryffindor. Jane saw that he was backing away from the snake as it neared the edge of the platform, except, Harry was only a couple paces away from the snake!

Jane's instincts instantly turned on as she started walking toward Harry to stop him from going any further, except she could feel some weight holding back on her. She turned around to see Professor Snape holding onto her robes and moving his head side to side as to signal 'no'. But, Jane insisted that she go, but she stopped, as she heard a sound, no, no it was a noise. She didn't know where it was coming from, but it sounded like it was a different language.

Jane turned toward Harry to see his mouth was moving and to her astonishment, it was Harry who was making the sound/ noise or whatever it was. "But how and what was he saying?" Jane thought as she watched with wide eyes as the snake turned away from Justin and looked at Harry.

"Vipera Evanesca," stated Professor Snape with his wand pointing at the snake.

The snake suddenly burst into flames from its middle to the outer ends. Soon there was nothing left, but silence.

Jane walked up to Harry to make sure he was alright.

"Harry, you okay?" Jane asked with a concerned expression on her face.

At first, he didn't respond and Jane had to shake him.

"Oh, yeah Jane. I'm fine," he answered back.

"What are you playing at?" Justin asked Harry.

Harry looked up at Justin and then up at Professor Lockhart who was eyeing both of the Potters.

Jane looked at Snape who was eyeing both of them as well.

Jane gulped. She had never been in this sort of situation before. "What was going to happen? Were we in big trouble or were we not?" Jane thought.

Before long, Professor Lockhart had ended class and everyone was sent to their dormitory. Jane, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all walked toward the Gryffindor common room, they needed to talk.

AN: I don't own Harry Potter. The only characters I own are Jane, Sarah, and any other characters that I made up. (Last edited 3/20/17)