Chapter 277: Plagiarism is Wrong
Chapter 277: Plagiarism is Wrong
After hearing about Cedric's encounter, Kyle and Connor felt a slight resistance towards their upcoming Dark Arts Defense class.
However, they had no choice. It was a required course, and they had to attend no matter what.
In the afternoon, the duo reluctantly made their way to Lockhart's designated classroom...
The walls were already adorned with large photographs of Lockhart, along with displays of his various achievements.
Lockhart's teeth, gleaming white in the photos, shone like searchlights, flashing brilliantly.
The room resembled less of a classroom and more of a press conference venue...
Kyle and Connor arrived just in time to find the room mostly filled with students, leaving only a few empty desks in the back row.
As they took their seats, the bell signaling the start of class rang.
Lockhart cleared his throat loudly to quiet the class.
He picked up a copy of 'Traveling with Vampires' belonging to a Gryffindor student and held it up, displaying the cover which featured a photo of himself winking.
"I..."
He pointed to the photo and then to himself.
"...Gilderoy Lockhart, recipient of the Merlin Honor Society award, honorary member of the Dark Arts Defense Alliance, five-time winner of the 'Most Charming Smile' award by the Wizarding World Weekly..." But I don't like to brag. I didn't rely on my smile to keep vampires as friends."
Once again, Lockhart held up the book and winked, perfectly replicating the gesture on the cover.
"Did he really receive the Merlin Honor Society award just like you?"
Connor furrowed her brows, "He seems so unreliable... And what is the Dark Arts Defense Alliance anyway?"
"It used to be a renowned organization," Kyle whispered. "Legendary Aurors like Alastor Moody and current Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Bartemius Crouch, were once members of the Dark Arts Defense Alliance. But..."
Kyle's tone shifted, "Over a decade ago, when Harry Potter became the savior, this organization began its decline."
"Their focus gradually shifted from resisting Dark Arts to social gatherings, and a few years ago, they even accepted a suspected Death Eater as a member purely because of a large donation."
"So, renowned members like Alastor Moody and Bartemius Crouch withdrew their membership."
"The prestige of the Dark Arts Defense Alliance plummeted, and it was far surpassed by the Extraordinary Potion Masters' Association, with which it used to be on par."
"I know about that!" Connor's eyes lit up. "Professor Snape is a member of the Extraordinary Potion Masters' Association, and he wants me to join too."
"That's not easy," Kyle said with a smile. "The Extraordinary Potion Masters' Association has very strict admission requirements. Only those who can brew a Felix Felicis before the age of thirty are eligible for membership."
"I know, but thirty is still a long way off. We still have plenty of time, don't we?"
"We?" Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You're counting me in?"
"Don't you want to join?"
"Sure, why not? It's just the Felix Felicis... " Kyle smiled. "And who knows, I might even join before you."
"That's not certain... When it comes to potions, I won't lose to you," Connor scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out at Kyle.
...
As the two chatted, Lockhart finished his lengthy introduction and began distributing worksheets.
Kyle and Connor also received their copies.
"You have thirty minutes, starting now!"
Kyle looked at the worksheet and felt a slight headache coming on.
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?
What are Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambitions?
...
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what is his ideal birthday gift?
There were over fifty questions in total, and for the first time, Kyle felt at a complete loss for words.
While he had flipped through a few of Lockhart's books, he had mostly skimmed through the achievements and hadn't paid much attention to the personal tidbits that Lockhart had included.
To be honest, he had found them rather uninteresting.
He vaguely remembered that Lockhart seemed to favor lilac and wanted to sell toothpaste? Or was it shampoo...
Twenty minutes later, Kyle's worksheet still had large blank areas.
He glanced at Connor... Their worksheets were equally blank, and she had even less written down than he did.
Although Lockhart probably wouldn't refuse a large pile of gold as a birthday gift, one shouldn't be so blunt about it.
Kyle scratched his head. If only he hadn't talked so much to Lockhart yesterday by the Whomping Willow.
Now, turning in a blank sheet would be quite embarrassing.
Sighing, he decided that for the sake of maintaining his image, he had no choice but to cheat.
Kyle scanned the room and quickly settled on a Gryffindor witch as his target.
She had finished the entire test in just ten minutes and kept staring at the roaming Lockhart with adoring eyes—a true fan.
"Alright, she's the one!"
Kyle took out his wand and aimed it at one of the large photos on the wall...
The next second, the enormous frame fell from the wall without warning, crashing to the ground with a loud bang.
Then a second frame fell, and a third.
The Lockharts in the portraits started screaming, and the commotion immediately drew everyone's attention.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Kyle swiftly used a Disillusionment Charm to move next to the witch. As the Lockharts in the portraits continued to shriek, he quietly cast a spell to replicate her test sheet.
By the time Lockhart had calmed the portraits, Kyle was back in his seat with the copied answers, as if nothing had happened.
"I really need to practice silent spells," Kyle muttered to himself. "I almost got caught while casting the spell."
Connor looked at him, half exasperated and half amused. "Just for cheating on an assignment?"
"That's only one reason," Kyle replied. "Sometimes, silent spells are just more convenient."
At the front of the class, Lockhart smoothed his slightly disheveled golden hair and smiled. "Alright, everything's fine now. It seems those portraits got a little too excited, just like me.
Back to work, everyone. You still have a few minutes left of the thirty."
Kyle carefully copied the answers from the parchment onto his worksheet.
So, Lockhart was selling shampoo... He had thought toothpaste was more likely.
Lockhart really had chosen the wrong product to endorse.
Toothpaste would have been perfect; his smile would have been the best advertisement.
As Kyle diligently filled out his worksheet, Connor frowned and said, "Cheating is wrong. We should do this ourselves!"
"Is that so..." Kyle pondered for a moment, then slid the parchment slightly closer to the center of the desk.
"Then let's work together?"
"Okay!"
...
(End of Chapter)
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