Chapter 95

In the afternoon, there was only one Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

The young wizards were quite looking forward to this class, especially the young witches, who gathered in groups of two or three to discuss the new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart.

From appearance to clothing and his works, these were the topics they discussed.

Ethan walked over to Cassandra.

"Why don't you go and talk to them?" he asked.

She was the only one who seemed out of tune with these girls. Even Hermione would talk to her roommate from time to time.

Hermione didn't worship Lockhart as in the original book, but she thought that his books were well-written and interesting.

"What's there to talk about? He's just a show-off," Cassandra said disdainfully.

This comment caused several of the little witches in front of them to turn their heads to see who was talking nonsense. When they saw it was Cassandra, they quickly turned away.

She was not someone they wanted to offend!

"Why do you say that?" Ethan asked.

Could it be that Cassandra knew something he didn't? Ethan also knew from the movie that Lockhart wasn't as good as he seemed. But just reading his books, Lockhart's legendary experiences seemed very impressive.

"Who would dress up like a clown to attract attention if they were truly strong?" Cassandra replied.

"If what he says in his books is true, Lockhart would already be a guest of honor in all the major pure-blood families. Would he really need to write books and dress up fancy just to attract middle-aged and elderly women?"

"In fact, my father never mentioned Lockhart's name. He has no status or honor among pure-bloods, except for the so-called Third Class Order of Merlin"

Well, this was very Cassandra like.

The once venomous and arrogant Cassandra was back.

"Very insightful. In fact, Fred told me that if you've taken his class, you'll know that he's all show and no substance," Ethan said.

After speaking, Ethan returned to his seat. As for the little wizards who overheard their conversation, none dared to jump in and refute him.

As the bell rang, Lockhart entered the classroom with Harry by his side, holding a cage covered with velvet.

At that moment, he was saying something to Harry, but Harry seemed a little impatient.

He had been ridiculed by a fourth-year student in his first class. Lockhart couldn't tolerate that, so he had immediately prepared this demonstration to prove himself.

The creatures weren't powerful, but there were many of them, and they looked scary—perfect targets for his show.

"I, Gilderoy Lockhart!" he announced dramatically.

As he said this, Lockhart picked up the book Wanderings with Werewolves from Neville's desk in the front row. The cover featured a photo of him winking.

"Winner of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award—but I don't talk about that. I didn't chase away the Werewolf with a smile!"

Ethan turned to see Cassandra winking at him.

Ethan understood: I was right. He's showing off like a clown to attract attention.

After Lockhart's next action, Ethan realized why Fred's roommate, Lee Jordan, had wanted to argue with him.

Outrageous!

In the first class, Lockhart handed out a quiz that had nothing to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was all about Lockhart's personal life.

For example:

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

What do you think is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement so far?

When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday? What is his ideal birthday gift?

There were three pages of questions like these.

Ethan had read Lockhart's books, which were indeed well-written. With his excellent memory, Ethan could recall most of the answers, but he had no desire to fill out such a quiz.

Dumbledore should really be made to take this test, Ethan thought.

Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the quiz papers, and Ethan handed in a blank sheet.

Meanwhile, Hermione had scored full marks and earned ten points for Gryffindor.

"Well, let's get back to the topic!" Lockhart said, hurrying to the podium. He picked up the cage he had brought in earlier and placed it on the table.

"Now—be careful! My job is to teach you how to defend yourselves against the most dangerous creatures known to the wizarding world!"

"You will face the most terrifying things in this classroom today, but remember, as long as I'm here, you'll be safe. Please, remain calm."

His words piqued everyone's curiosity. It had been a long time since they'd had a practical lesson.

Since the few weeks when Snape had been teaching, there hadn't been any opportunity for practice in Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Lockhart was very satisfied with the excited expressions of the young wizards below. It seemed that he had made the right decision by skipping lunch to go to Hogsmeade and buy these creatures.

Let's see who still calls him a fraud like year's dead-end professor, Quirrell.

Speaking of Quirrell, although the two were not in the same year, they had been classmates for several years and were both Ravenclaws.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Lockhart proceeded to the next step.

"I must ask you not to scream," Lockhart lowered his voice, addressing the young wizards in front of him. "That will only anger them!"

Ethan was speechless. A Cornish pixie praised so highly? 

But most of the young wizards were moved by Lockhart's words. They held their breath, watching the flannel-covered cage nervously.

Lockhart lifted the cover!

"Behold!" he exclaimed, wearing an exaggerated expression. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies!"

The classroom fell silent for a moment, until Seamus, sitting in the front row, couldn't help but snicker.

This creature, dangerous and evil? Really?

Indeed, it was slightly more dangerous than a pygmy puff—at least it could fly!

At his grandfather's house, there were plenty of these creatures, and they were good for nothing but pranks.

It was on the same level as the bowtruckle that Professor Snape used as a target for practice spells. But at least Snape didn't claim it was dangerous.

Lockhart's forehead throbbed with visible veins. He had heard the snickers, and immediately forced a smile. "What's the matter?"

"They're not very dangerous, are they?" Seamus laughed so hard he was nearly out of breath.

"Don't be so sure," Lockhart said, his defenses cracking. "They can be as cunning as devils!"

Here came another troublemaker, this one from Gryffindor. Was he in the same group as that forth year from the morning?

The more Lockhart thought about it, the angrier he became. Seeing the suspicion, contempt, and ridicule on the young wizards' faces, he lost his temper.

"Fine!" Lockhart shouted. "Let's see how you handle them!"

With that, he flung open the cage door.

The Cornish pixies, which had been bouncing around in the cage, now darted out, released from their confines. Chaos ensued in the classroom.

Ink splattered everywhere, books and parchment were torn to shreds, and paintings were pulled from the walls.

The unlucky Neville was caught and dangled from the chandelier.

The young wizards dove under their desks, not wanting to be the next Neville.

Lockhart was starting to regret his decision. This had quickly turned into a teaching disaster.

Just as he was about to clean up the mess and mutter some barely comprehensible spells, one of the pixies snatched his wand away.

In the process, the pixie also dislodged the dinosaur bones hanging from the ceiling, nearly striking Lockhart himself.

Ethan, however, remained seated calmly, surrounded by several unconscious pixies sprawled on the floor.

Whenever a Cornish pixie flew too close, Ethan tapped his fingers on the table, and the pixie dropped.

A simple Stunning Spell.

Ethan didn't care whether these pixies were here to play pranks or cause trouble—he didn't like them anyway.

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of class, and the young wizards bolted for the door.

"I assign you to catch these Cornish pixies and put them back in the cage," Lockhart called out.

Gilderoy, who was preparing to flee, noticed Ethan's side of the room and quickly issued orders to him.

Ethan waved his hand, and the door in front of Gilderoy slammed shut, he then stunned the pixies.

"Let's go!" Ethan said, leading Cassandra and Hermione out of the classroom. He gave Harry and Ron a glance and helped Neville down from the chandelier.

The classroom had mostly emptied out. The moment the bell rang, the others had fled as if they were being chased by a herd of Hippogriffs.

As soon as Ethan left, the door shut firmly. The Cornish pixies, stunned by Ethan's spell, woke up and charged toward Lockhart with furious red eyes.

You said you wanted to show us how to deal with them, didn't I help you?

It wouldn't hurt you to give me some points.

The request wasn't unreasonable—ten points per pixie would be fine. But instead of giving points, you just made it an assignment!

Who told you to act like this?

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"Will nothing bad happen?" Hermione asked, worried. She had seen for herself that Lockhart was a fraud.

Even his wand had been taken. How could he possibly maintain his facade?

A wizard's wand was practically their second life.

"What could happen? It's just a few cuts and bruises," Ethan replied, ready to leave with the others.

"He is a professor," Cassandra added. "These were the teaching props he prepared. If something goes wrong, it's his fault."

She clearly didn't care.

Everything that had just happened confirmed Cassandra's thoughts.

Ron and Harry weren't fond of Lockhart either, and they quickly walked ahead of Ethan.

Neville, still shaken, jogged along behind them.

Eventually, someone alerted Professor McGonagall.

By the time she arrived, Lockhart's robes had been torn to shreds, and there wasn't much uninjured flesh left on him.

Lockhart had made Hogwarts history.

On his first day of teaching, he was injured by his own lesson props and had to be sent to the hospital wing.

Many students believed Lockhart was even worse than Quirrell.

He might very well be the worst Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in history.

However, some of Lockhart's fans disagreed.

They insisted, "Lockhart did it on purpose to give the young wizards more hands-on practice."

They even brought out his books, like Wanderings with Werewolves, Voyages with Vampires, and Travels with Trolls, to prove that Lockhart had immense strength and experience. How could he fail to handle a few Cornish pixies?

The debate between the two sides continued.

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