Chapter 103: Lightning Strikes Twice
Looking at that nauseatingly bright smile, Tamara finally found the perfect outlet for the anger in her heart.
The frustration from the system's forced mission, the irritation of being caught between Hermione and Draco's stupidity, and her disgust at Lockhart's shamelessness all gathered into one cold, precise point.
Who did he think he was?
Was he even worthy of standing there and taking credit?
Tamara's gaze turned glacial.
She tilted her wand slightly, seeming to aim at a pixie flying wildly beside Lockhart's shoulder.
But the instant her wand moved, two spells left her lips almost at the same time.
"Flipendo!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
They were cast so quickly that there was barely even an afterimage.
A surge of violent magic bypassed the pixie and slammed mercilessly into Lockhart's chest.
Lockhart screamed as he was sent flying as though struck by a lorry, crashing heavily into the massive oak desk in his office.
His back hit the edge of the desk.
Then Petrificus Totalus took effect.
He froze in an extremely comical, twisted, and undoubtedly painful posture, splayed among the wreckage with blood dripping from his well maintained nose.
The classroom fell deathly silent.
Everyone stared at the podium in horror.
[Warning! Host detected maliciously injuring a Professor! Severe violation of the principle of respecting teachers!]
[Punishment program initiated: Level 3 high voltage electric shock!]
The system's ruthless mechanical voice rang out the moment Lockhart hit the ground.
A fierce electric current instantly surged through Tamara's entire body.
"Ugh..."
Tamara let out an extremely suppressed groan.
The intense pain, as if her nerves were being torn apart, made her mind go blank. A wave of unbearable numbness and weakness shot up her spine and spread through her body, instantly stripping the strength from her legs.
She bit down hard on her lower lip, her stiff fingers gripping the edge of the nearest desk. Only then did she barely manage to support her swaying body and avoid falling pathetically to the floor.
The touch of madness and ferocity she had gained from venting her magic was immediately washed away by physiological agony.
Fine beads of cold sweat seeped from her forehead and slid down her taut jaw.
Because of the lingering electric current, her body was still trembling uncontrollably.
A thin mist was forced into those dark eyes that usually looked down on everything, and the corners of her eyes flushed faintly red.
Just then, there was a bang.
The classroom door was pushed open from the outside.
Severus Snape strode in, his black robes billowing behind him.
He had been passing by and heard the screams.
Snape's gloomy gaze swept across the classroom like a knife.
A floor littered with chaos. Frozen pixies scattered everywhere. Lockhart petrified in the wreckage with a bloody nose. And Tamara Riddle, leaning against a desk, swaying, pale faced, and trembling all over.
When Snape saw Tamara's miserable state, a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.
Then he strode over to Lockhart and lifted the Full Body Bind Curse with a wave of his wand.
"Professor Lockhart," Snape said, his voice terrifyingly low, as if he were suppressing his anger with great effort. "You had better explain what happened here."
Lockhart's eyes were watering from the pain. He clutched his bleeding nose and pointed a trembling finger at Tamara in the back row.
"It was her! Snape! It was that Slytherin student of yours!"
Lockhart screamed in outrage. "She attacked a Professor with a jinx! This is an extremely serious case of attempted murder! She must be expelled! Immediately!"
Before Tamara could open her mouth to feign innocence or invent an excuse, a furious voice rang through the classroom.
"That is a complete lie!"
Hermione Granger stood up abruptly, pointing at Lockhart like an enraged little lioness.
"Professor Snape, that isn't what happened at all!"
Hermione's voice was loud, filled with contempt for Lockhart and fierce protection for Tamara.
"Professor Lockhart released those pixies himself, but he couldn't control them at all! He even tried to lock the door and leave us in the classroom while he ran away!"
Harry immediately added, "If it weren't for Tamara and Hermione, we would all have been hurt by the pixies!"
Draco, unwilling to be outdone, also spoke up. "She was only trying to hit the pixie beside Professor Lockhart and accidentally missed!"
Hermione glanced at Tamara, who looked pale and terribly weak, and her tone even carried a trace of heartache.
"Tamara clearly overextended her magic just now to freeze all the pixies in the classroom at once! Look how weak she is!"
"As an adult wizard, Professor Lockhart ran away by himself. Now he is trying to frame a second year student who saved everyone!"
After this clear and righteous testimony, the surrounding students immediately reacted, nodding vigorously in agreement.
Even Neville mustered enough courage to explain to Snape.
"Yes! Hermione's right!"
"We all saw it! The Professor was the one who tried to run away!"
The students were filled with indignation.
Lockhart was speechless. Seeing students who had once admired him now looking at him like rubbish, his face turned pale, then blue.
Snape listened quietly.
There was no expression on his face, but when he turned toward Lockhart, the mockery and contempt in his eyes almost overflowed.
"It sounds as though the situation is very clear."
Snape's voice was slow, yet exceptionally sharp.
"An adult wizard. Recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class. A supposed authority on Defense Against the Dark Arts."
With every title Snape mentioned, Lockhart's expression grew uglier.
"Frightened witless by a group of pixies, attempting to lock students in danger, and finally forced to rely on a second year Slytherin student overextending her magic to clean up your mess."
Snape leaned down slightly, staring Lockhart down.
"And after being... accidentally affected by this excellent student whose magic went out of control due to extreme exhaustion, you actually tried to use your authority to expel her?"
"Lockhart, I doubt you would dare include this part in your autobiography."
"I... I didn't... it was a misunderstanding..." Lockhart stammered, shrinking back. Under Snape's terrifying pressure, he did not even have the courage to argue.
Snape gave a cold snort and ignored him as if he were a lump of mud.
He turned, his gaze passing over the crowd before landing on Tamara.
A trace of almost imperceptible appreciation flashed through those dark eyes, but his tone remained severe.
"Miss Riddle, forcibly overextending your magic to protect your classmates before fully mastering high level spells, while commendable in spirit, is an extremely reckless act."
"Five points to Slytherin."
After saying this, Snape gave Tamara a deep look. Then, with a flick of his black robes, he strode out of the classroom just as he had entered, without sparing Lockhart another glance.
The classroom fell silent again.
The aftereffects of the electric current finally began to fade.
Tamara was still leaning against the desk.
She kept her head lowered, letting her long hair hide the almost uncontrollable pleasure in her eyes.
Perfect.
Not only had she beaten that buffoon half to death, no one even suspected she had done it on purpose.
That Mudblood named Granger was simply the finest shield.
And what pleased her even more was Snape.
"Well done, Severus."
Tamara praised him quietly in her heart, savouring Snape's undisguised favouritism and his sharp tongue toward Lockhart.
To protect the master he served, he could even whitewash a malicious attack so smoothly.
This favouritism was simply righteous.
"As expected of my most loyal servant. Even after more than a decade, that instinct to protect your master remains so sharp."
Tamara slowly straightened, the curve of her lips cold and arrogant.
"When I regain my strength, I will surely reward you with the position of Chief Death Eater."
.....
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