Chapter 278: Lockhart's Play
Chapter 278: Lockhart's Play
"Tsk tsk... Unexpected..."
Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and began reviewing them on the spot.
"Many of you remembered that I like lilac, good... But why didn't you recall that my greatest achievement to date is winning the Most Charming Smile Award from the Wizarding World Weekly five times? I just mentioned it."
He winked at the students again.
While a small group of die-hard fans immediately covered their chests, breathless, their eyes glazed over as if they had imbibed some cheap firewhisky, most of the class remained unimpressed.
Katie Bell, a Gryffindor, sat in front of Connor, and as Lockhart spoke, she lowered her head, her shoulders shaking as she tried to stifle her laughter.
Mikel and Ryan were also struggling to keep straight faces.
"But..."
Lockhart's tone suddenly rose several notches. "...Miss Mileacinis knows my birthday is January 26th... Well done, young lady!"
"In fact..." he turned over the paper, "Full marks! Where are you, my excellent young witch?"
A trembling hand rose from the front row, belonging to the student Kyle had immediately picked out.
"Wonderful!" Lockhart beamed. "Ten points to Gryffindor!"
"There were two other students who managed to get fifty-three correct."
Lockhart pulled out two scrolls, "I think they should read my book, 'Traveling with Trolls' again... In Chapter Nine, I clearly stated that my secret ambition was to eradicate evil from the world and to sell my own line of hair potions... Not toothpaste."
"It was you who faltered," Connor whispered, giving Kyle a light nudge under the desk.
Obviously, those two scrolls were theirs. Connor had originally written hair potions, but when she saw Kyle confidently write toothpaste, she changed her answer, resulting in this outcome.
"Well, at least you didn't get full marks," Kyle muttered. "Being named would've drawn too much attention."
"Now, back to business..."
Lockhart set the papers aside and picked up... a book.
Initially, Lockhart had planned to bring in some Cornish pixies to surprise the first-year students. However, after yesterday's fiasco in the second-year class, where the surprise turned out to be a bit too stimulating and ended up becoming a fright fest, he realized that such antics were beyond him.
The entire classroom had been turned upside down by those pixies, and his own wand had been tossed out the window. He had only retrieved it after a lengthy search in the bushes under the pretext of helping to clear the infestation.
After that incident, Lockhart understood that flashy displays were not his forte. Additionally, third-years were much harder to impress than second-years.
So today, he intended to play it safe.
But when the students saw the book 'Traveling with Vampires' in his hands, they frowned, even his die-hard fans.
The mere sight of the book reminded them of last year when they had been subjected to Professor Quirrell's "reading sessions," and a faint hint of garlic wafted across their nostrils.
"Merlin's beard..." a Gryffindor next to Kyle moaned. "Please don't tell me we have to read again this year!"
And he was not alone in this sentiment.
Lockhart quickly set them straight.
The good news was that they didn't have to read the book like mindless drones... But the bad news was that they had to act it out.
Lockhart had adapted a dramatic scene from his book, and the students were to perform it, like some sort of bizarre play.
Honestly, this was even worse than reading... But Lockhart didn't see it that way.
The first student Lockhart thought of was the most famous one in this class... Kyle, who had received the Second Class Medal of Honor from the Merlin Society.
"Having him as a foil would definitely make me look amazing."
"Oh, and that second-year, Harry Potter, isn't bad either."
Lockhart thought and thus he did.
He called Kyle up to the podium, deciding to cast him as the vampire in the book.
"Professor, may I ask you a question before the performance?" Kyle said.
"Ask away, a hundred if you like." Lockhart said, tidying his hair to match the hairstyle in the book as closely as possible.
Kyle casually flipped open the book 'Traveling with Vampires' and glanced at it.
"In this part... you easily fended off the attacking vampire with the Sunshine Charm..."
"But Professor, I'm curious... What is the effect of the Sunshine Charm? Is it an enhanced version of the Lumos Charm?"
"It's a new spell." Lockhart smiled. "The Lumos Charm can't emit such bright light."
For a moment... the Gryffindors were fine, but the Hufflepuffs all looked at Mikel in the middle of the classroom.
They still clearly remembered... the burst of intense light that had appeared in the classroom during their very first Charms class two years ago.
If the Sunshine Charm existed... it was probably something like that.
However, Mikel himself was oblivious to this... as he had fainted after casting the spell and had no idea what had happened afterwards.
At the podium, Kyle continued to ask, "Can you demonstrate it for us?"
"Er..." Lockhart became a little tongue-tied. "Next time... This spell is not suitable for the classroom..."
"How about this, then..." Kyle flipped a few more pages. "You used the Levitation Charm to gather seawater and trap the vampire. You should be able to demonstrate that, right?"
Once again, Lockhart fell silent.
But Kyle wasn't finished yet. He continued to flip through the book and ask, "Also, why is it that vampires aren't afraid of garlic, but they're scared of amulets soaked in garlic juice..."
"Why did you choose to travel by boat? Why not just Apparate?"
"Also, how did you manage to make the vampire only eat carrots..."
"Is that vampire still alive?"
"If it is, have you considered making your method public? After all, solving their blood-drinking problem is like solving the issue of werewolves transforming during the full moon. You would definitely receive the First Class Medal of Honor from the Merlin Society!"
"By the way..."
Kyle seemed to be truly prepared to ask a hundred questions, and this string of inquiries made Lockhart's head spin.
This story was something he had stolen from an old wizard, and the only thing he had done was cast a Forgetfulness Charm on the wizard and artistically modify the story. How could he possibly know all these details?
Seeing the increasingly curious gazes from the students, Lockhart panicked and quickly stopped the chattering Kyle.
"Alright, alright... Close the book now."
"I don't mind answering these questions, but the other students still have class."
"Consider this my assignment for you. Why don't you think about it yourself? Of course, if you still don't understand by the end of the year, I'll tell you the answers."
Lockhart skillfully deflected the issue and then found an excuse to send Kyle back to his seat, choosing another student instead—a Hufflepuff boy who looked honest and well-behaved—to accompany him in this theatrical performance.
If he let Kyle stay any longer, who knew what else he might ask. It was too risky.
...
(End of Chapter)
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