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Chapter 77: A Busy First Day of School (Part 2)
Chapter 77: A Busy First Day of School (Part 2) (Requesting Recommendations)
Thanks to Crazy Dave's Plants cultivation legacy, even though Mandrake can sing, dance, and maybe even do other things, it is still a plant. After observing the Mandrake for a few minutes, Liam grasped its characteristics and swiftly completed the repotting, soil replacement, and transplanting. When he finished, he noticed that the others were still struggling with their Mandrakes.
Indeed, it was a struggle. Liam saw more than one classmate get their fingers bitten by the Mandrake.
Liam's clean and efficient handling of the Mandrake earned Gryffindor five more points. After Herbology, Liam took the opportunity to ask Professor Sprout a question that had puzzled him in his previous life: why did the students in the original book have to wait for the Mandrakes in the greenhouse to mature instead of buying them from outside.
Of course, Liam's question was why he had never seen anyone selling Mandrakes outside.
Professor Sprout answered with a hint of pride. At least within the entire European region, only Hogwarts had successfully cultivated Mandrakes. Wild Mandrakes are only easily discovered when they are mature. However, during the mature stage, wild Mandrakes will crawl out of the ground on their own to find a suitable place to flower and bear fruit. Therefore, Mandrakes are only occasionally seen for sale in the market.
After thanking the professor, Liam ran back to the castle to take a shower and change his clothes. He thought the Mandrake was too much like the legendary ginseng doll. He planned to use his Plants to trade with Professor Sprout for a Mandrake to study.
In the subsequent Transfiguration class, Liam and Hermione each earned Gryffindor five points by successfully turning beetles into beautiful buttons. But when he thought about the time he had spent practicing at the emporium and Hermione's entire summer vacation without using a wand, Liam once again felt the pressure from the academic prodigy. After all, parents in both China and the West care about their children's studies, but unfortunately, Liam's parents only knew Hermione as his classmate. The feeling of always falling short in comparison was not pleasant.
After lunch, Liam faced his last class of the day. Honestly, if it weren't for the professors' power to deduct points, he would have been tempted to skip it.
Indeed, the next class was taught by the famous novelist, memory thief, Order of Merlin, Third Class recipient, Anti-Dark Magic League honorary member, and five-time winner of the Wizarding Weekly Most Charming Smile Award—Gilderoy Lockhart. Only he could turn a classroom into a fan meet-and-greet, and then turn that meet-and-greet into a disaster.
But skipping class was not an option. Liam could only attend the Defense Against the Dark Arts class with extreme reluctance, carrying several thick and heavy novels.
As soon as he entered the classroom, Liam noticed it was noisier than usual. Many girls had excited expressions on their faces, chattering excitedly about Lockhart, creating an atmosphere similar to a celebrity book signing.
Fortunately, the fans occupied the front rows, so Liam found a corner at the back to sit. He then stacked the seven books in front of him to block his view and prepare to daydream during the class.
The class bell rang, and all the students took their seats. Lockhart walked into the classroom from outside. As soon as he entered, he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Then, he reached out and picked up a copy of Travels with Trolls from a young Wizard sitting in the front row, holding it up to show the cover with his own winking photograph.
"Me", he pointed to his photo, winking as well, "Gilderoy Lockhart, recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Anti-Dark Magic League, and five-time winner of the Wizarding Weekly Most Charming Smile Award—though I don't go around bragging about it, I don't drive away the Grey Lady with a smile!"
"If you don't go around bragging about it, what are you doing now?" Liam thought to himself sarcastically.
After a brief pause, he waited for the class to applaud. Sure enough, several young witches giggled. Their laughter seemed to give him a boost, and he continued with a self-satisfied air:
"I see you've all bought my complete works—excellent. I think we'll start today with a little quiz. Don't be afraid—it's just to see how much you've read and understood..."
This complete set of books had nearly bankrupted Ron's family, and the monopolistic money-making scheme was reprehensible. Liam couldn't help but mentally cross out Lockhart's name. He had already found the man detestable in the books, and now, meeting him in person, he found him even more so.
For the next 30 minutes, everyone took Lockhart's questionnaire. It was filled with questions like what Lockhart's favorite color was and what his birthday was, akin to a fan club membership test. Was Lockhart really planning to start a fan club at school? Liam thought the Wizarding World should ban such commercial activities from entering educational institutions.
Worse still, after spending half an hour barely filling out three pages of the questionnaire, Liam had to endure another ten minutes of Lockhart's self-congratulatory commentary on the answers.
Hermione earned five points for answering all the questions correctly, and Liam looked at her in surprise. Hermione covered her mouth and mouthed to Liam, "I just have a habit of memorizing everything I read."
"Ha ha ha, very good! Now, let's get down to business..." He bent down and pulled a large cage covered with a cloth from behind the lectern, placing it on the table.
"Now—be careful! My job is to teach you how to defend against the most evil things known in the wizarding world! You will face the most terrifying creatures in this classroom. But remember, as long as I'm here, you won't be harmed. I only ask that you remain calm."
Liam immediately packed up all his things when he saw the cage. He didn't want his belongings to be messed up by the creatures inside.
After a dramatic pause, Lockhart dramatically opened the door of the cage containing the Cornish Pixies. One thing Lockhart did get right was that these little creatures were indeed dangerous.
While they lacked magical abilities and preferred mischief over harm, they were far from the kind-hearted creatures like the Smurfs. They were small, agile, and incredibly strong, with a cunning nature and a strong sense of teamwork. When dozens of them gathered in a confined space, even many adult Wizards struggled to control them. And Lockhart, in his attempt to show off, had released them all.
Was chaos and disaster inevitable? No, Liam didn't think so.
(End of Chapter)
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