Chapter 188: A Storytelling Session (Edited)

By dinnertime, the farce of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was well known.

Lockhart had not appeared in the Great Dining Hall, either because he was afraid of being asked or because the wound on his hand has not healed.

Students from all four houses were talking about it.

As annoying as he had been before, most students were still convinced of his abilities, as he had been certified by both the Ministry of Magic and the Defense Against the Dark Arts Association.

So when they heard that he had been bitten by a Goblin, many were incredulous.

"Maybe he was just being careless... He was just trying to show his affection, wasn't he? And he didn't even pull out his wand."

Hermione analyzed critically, not that she was trying to speak for Lockhart, but after last semester's incident with the Philosopher's Stone, she was unconsciously more thoughtful in her approach to things.

But Ron, or most of the Gryffindors for that matter, didn't think that much of it, they had already decided that Lockhart was a fisherman of fame.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron said dismissively, waving his hand, "Lockhart is a liar, you don't think he's a good teacher just because he praised you in class."

"I don't think he's a good teacher!"

Hermione looked at Ron angrily, as if she had been insulted for something.

"I'm just reminding you not to jump to conclusions about a person, think about Quirrell and Snape last term!"

With that, he picked up his own plate and ran over to Fish.

"Hermione's right."

Harry, who had experienced more at the trapdoor last term than Ron, who had fainted at first, was listening. He muttered to Ron under his breath, "We can't so easily assume that Lockhart is an uneducated guy...even though he seems annoyed."

"All right, all right..." Ron shrugged, still insisting on his own opinion, and said in a flippant tone, "Then I'll look forward to the next Defense Against the Dark Arts class, hopefully by then Lockhart's hand will have healed."

Even Harry's face broke into a smile at the mention.

"Shouldn't be a problem, Madam Pomfrey is a very good healer, and besides..."

Harry scoffed, "Didn't Lockhart brag about his healing skills as well?"

Although he agreed with Hermione, Harry still held the same opinion as Ron that Lockhart was a fraud.

These kinds of disagreements were happening everywhere in the Great Dining Hall, between those who thought Lockhart was a fraud and those who thought it was just Lockhart's slip up, so gradually everyone began to look forward to Lockhart's next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

As long as there is another Defense Against the Dark Arts class without Fish, everyone should be able to understand Lockhart's true abilities.

But, unfortunately, because Lockhart felt that the wound on his hand degraded his demeanor, he refused to appear in front of the others until the wound was completely healed.

And the Goblin's saliva seems to be special, it is not difficult to heal, but to completely remove the scar, it will take some time...

In fact, Madam Pomfrey did not want to go to the trouble, it was not a serious injury, but since Lockhart was a colleague anyway, she had to hold her nose and give him a potion to remove the scar.

The result was that Lockhart was not entirely satisfied, as the medicine Madame Pomfrey had prescribed smelled too strong and was a bit too hot to apply, and he was worried that it might damage his skin.

When he insisted on his request for a new ointment that was more to his liking, Madam Pomfrey, who finally could not stand it, made it straight up.

While Lockhart waited for the scars to fade, the task of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts fell to the other professors for the time being.

The four deans, to be exact.

In short, any dean's class that did not conflict with that day's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the dean would cover that class.

Over the course of a few days, students from different years in different houses were able to experience Defense Against the Dark Arts classes from Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sprout.

With the addition of Professor Snape, who had taken over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class last term, everyone had experienced being taught by the deans of different houses.

Among them, the most acclaimed course is Professor Flitwick's temporary course.

Needless to say, no house other than Slytherin likes Professor Snape's classes.

Professor McGonagall's and Professor Sprout's classes have a mixed reception, with the senior classes being highly praised and the junior classes worse received than Professor Flitwick's...

But that can't be helped, since Defense Against the Dark Arts classes in the lower years consist mainly of introducing students to dangerous creatures and curses, and the old-fashioned McGonagall and Sprout are basically limited to reading from a book.

But still, it was better than Quirrell, who stuttered, and Lockhart, who was injured after only one lesson.

Professor Flitwick's classes, on the other hand, were much more flexible, and as a Charms teacher and dean of Ravenclaw, he preferred to give his students a lot of practice, which naturally made him more popular with the younger students.

"So, who will be subbing for us today?"

Soon, Harry and the others were about to have their second Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and there was much discussion.

As for observing Lockhart's fakery... does it matter?

"I hope it's Professor Flitwick," Seamus said excitedly, "The first and second years who have been in his classes have graded him very highly!"

"As long as it's not Snape."

Neville's request was modest, and Harry, who stood beside him, nodded sympathetically.

"What are you talking about?" ?ω?

Fish, who had never paid much attention to this, looked at Harry and the others, who were having a lively discussion.

Dean quickly explained it to Fish, but Fish didn't look too happy.

He was still waiting for Lockhart to tell him a story.

"Gilderoy isn't coming, is he? and could it be Minerva?"

∑(●ΦΦДΦ●)

So, is it possible that I can't even sleep?

That's too bad!

Just when everyone was looking forward to it and Fish was worried, the classroom door burst open and in walked a smiling Lockhart, without a scar or a red mark on his bitten hand.

"Long time no see, my lovely students, I kept you waiting!"

The students below let out a groan of annoyance, and Seamus banged his head against the table with a thud.

Only Fish clapped excitedly.

"Professor Gilderoy! Will you tell a story today nya?!"

(●ω●)

Fish looked at Lockhart with burning eyes and asked expectantly.

"Aha!"

Lockhart jabbed Fish with his finger twice and said cheerfully, "I even suspect you used Legeremancy on me... That's right!" everyone follow the great Gilderoy Lockhart today - together, enjoy your exciting adventure!

The students below were bored and did not respond, and only Fish clapped enthusiastically.

Lockhart, who was encouraged by Fish, was even more excited. He first bowed like a stage actor in different directions from the stage, as if everyone else was applauding.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

After straightening up, Lockhart raised his voice again, pointed to Fish and said, "As a thank you, Fish, you will choose the lesson of the day, as a special treat! What would you like to hear?"

"Werewolves! Fish wants to hear the story of werewolves."

(●ΦωΦ●)

Fish immediately replied, realizing that he was not the same as Minerva, but he was still interested in humans who could turn into different animals.

"Ah, 'Walks with Werewolves'!" Lockhart's interpretation was also extremely steady with Fish's help, "This is probably the most satisfying book I've ever written."

In fact, while he was writing it, he was very happy with it.

Harry and the others watched helplessly at the interaction between Lockhart and Fish, wanting to remind him, but not wanting to burst his bubble at the sight of the kitten's expectant look....

That's it, Fish is happy.

In the end, reluctantly, they all listened to Lockhart's bragging to Fish.