Dueling Club

The Dueling Club is a short-lived extracurricular organization at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, founded by Gilderoy Lockhart in his capacity as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Its inaugural meeting, held in the Great Hall, is notable for a disastrous demonstration duel between Lockhart and Severus Snape, and for a subsequent student duel between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy that culminates in Malfoy conjuring a snake, inadvertently revealing Harry's Parseltongue ability. This revelation fuels widespread suspicion that Harry is the Heir of Slytherin, directly intensifying the climate of fear surrounding the Chamber of Secrets attacks.

Founding and Announcement

The Dueling Club was announced on a notice board in the entrance hall, which Harry, Ron, and Hermione discovered while crossing the hall one day. The notice, pinned up alongside other school communications, proclaimed the formation of a Dueling Club with its first meeting scheduled for that very evening. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were already examining the notice, expressed immediate interest, with Seamus remarking that dueling lessons "might come in handy one of these days." Ron, initially skeptical, nonetheless read the sign with interest and suggested they attend. Harry and Hermione were both in favor, and so at eight o'clock that evening, they hurried back to the Great Hall.

The Great Hall had been transformed for the occasion. The long dining tables had vanished, replaced by a golden stage along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black, and most of the school seemed to be packed beneath it, all carrying their wands and looking excited. Hermione speculated that Professor Flitwick, a former dueling champion, might be teaching them, but her hopes were dashed when Gilderoy Lockhart walked onto the stage, resplendent in robes of deep plum, accompanied by none other than Severus Snape, wearing his usual black.

The Demonstration Duel

Lockhart opened the proceedings by announcing that Professor Dumbledore had granted him permission to start the club, ostensibly to train students in self-defense, as he himself had done "on countless occasions." He introduced Snape as his assistant, claiming that Snape knew "a tiny little bit about dueling himself" and had sportingly agreed to help with a short demonstration. Lockhart's condescending tone, particularly his remark that the students would still have their Potions master when he was through with him, drew a muttered wish from Ron that the two might "finish each other off."

The demonstration began with the two teachers bowing to each other—Lockhart with much twirling of his hands, Snape with an irritable jerk of his head. They raised their wands like swords, and on the count of three, both cast their spells. Snape cried "Expelliarmus!" and a dazzling flash of scarlet light blasted Lockhart off his feet, sending him flying backward off the stage, smashing into the wall, and sliding down to sprawl on the floor. Malfoy and some Slytherins cheered, while Hermione squealed in concern. Harry and Ron, however, were delighted, responding in unison, "Who cares?"

Lockhart, picking himself up with his hat fallen off and his hair standing on end, attempted to save face by claiming that the Disarming Charm was "very obvious" and that he had let it happen for instructional purposes. Snape, looking murderous, was unmoved. Lockhart then declared the demonstration over and moved among the students to pair them up for practice.

The Student Duels and the Serpent

Snape, taking charge of the pairing, deliberately split up Harry and Ron, assigning Ron to partner Seamus Finnigan and Harry to face Draco Malfoy. Hermione was paired with Millicent Bulstrode, a large, square Slytherin girl who reminded Harry of a picture from Holidays with Hags. The duels that followed were chaotic. Harry and Malfoy barely bowed before Lockhart counted to three. Malfoy, starting early, hit Harry with a spell that felt like a blow to the head, but Harry recovered and shouted "Rictusempra!"—a Tickling Charm that sent Malfoy to his knees, laughing uncontrollably. Malfoy, gasping for breath, retaliated with "Tarantallegra!" causing Harry's legs to jerk in an uncontrollable dance. Snape ended the exchange with "Finite Incantatem."

Elsewhere, Neville Longbottom and Justin Finch-Fletchley lay on the floor, panting; Ron was apologizing for whatever his broken wand had done to Seamus; and Hermione was in a headlock with Millicent Bulstrode, both their wands forgotten on the floor. Harry leapt forward to pull Millicent off, finding her much larger than himself.

Lockhart, flustered, decided to teach the class how to block unfriendly spells and called for a volunteer pair. Snape suggested Malfoy and Potter, and Lockhart eagerly agreed. Before the rematch, Snape whispered something in Malfoy's ear, and Malfoy smirked. On Lockhart's signal, Malfoy shouted "Serpensortia!" and a long black snake shot from his wand, landing on the floor between them and raising itself to strike. The crowd screamed and backed away.

Snape, enjoying the sight of Harry standing motionless before the snake, made no move to remove it, saying lazily, "Don't move, Potter. I'll get rid of it." Lockhart, however, insisted on handling it himself. He brandished his wand and produced a loud bang, but instead of vanishing, the snake flew ten feet into the air and fell back, enraged, slithering straight toward Justin Finch-Fletchley. Harry, without thinking, shouted at the snake, "Leave him alone!"—and miraculously, the snake slumped to the floor, docile as a garden hose.

Aftermath and Consequences

Justin, far from being grateful, shouted at Harry, "What do you think you're playing at?" and stormed out of the hall. Snape, after vanishing the snake with a wave of his wand, looked at Harry with a shrewd and calculating expression that Harry disliked. An ominous muttering spread through the crowd, and people drew away from Harry as he left, as though frightened of catching something.

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Ron and Hermione revealed the truth: Harry had spoken Parseltongue, the language of snakes. Ron explained that this was a rare and sinister gift, and Hermione added that being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for, and that the symbol of Slytherin House was a serpent. Harry, stunned, realized the implications: the whole school would now think he was Slytherin's heir. He lay awake that night, haunted by the memory of the Sorting Hat's words—that he would have done well in Slytherin—and by the growing dread that he might be connected to the founder.

The Dueling Club never met again. The incident, combined with the ongoing attacks, only deepened the suspicion and fear that gripped Hogwarts. Harry's Parseltongue ability became a key piece of evidence against him in the eyes of students like Ernie Macmillan, who later accused Harry of being the Heir of Slytherin. The club, intended by Lockhart as a morale booster and a platform for his own glory, instead became the catalyst for Harry's social ostracism and a turning point in the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.