Class Dismissed(chapter 22)
The next class, Gray, who thought he was going to have a nice and quiet lesson, was seated in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, but he didn't seem to be happy as his head pounded. He looked around the room, which was adorned with numerous portraits of its owner, Gilderoy Lockhart. As the door to his office opened, Lockhart emerged, beaming. "Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher: me, Gilderoy Lockhart, 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," he declared with pride. He flashed his award-winning smile and added with a chuckle, "But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him." Lockhart laughed at his own joke, but the room remained silent.
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Chapter 22
Especially Gray, who was not amused, not in the slightest, as he stared daggers at him. "This lesson teaches us how to fight against dark wizards, and we get this," he thought. The girls, however, looked starstruck, while the boys seemed baffled by Lockhart's flamboyant persona. With a sudden flourish, Lockhart then quizzed them, and all the questions were about himself. He gave everyone 30 minutes, and most didn't get them right, except for Hermione, who seemed smitten with him. Lockhart then pulled out his wand. "Now, be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind," he announced dramatically, tapping a covered cage that began to rattle ominously. "You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here." Lockhart's voice dropped to a whisper.
"I must ask you not to scream, it might... PROVOKE THEM!" With a swift motion, he whipped off the cover, revealing a swarm of small blue creatures with wings. "Cornish Pixies?" Gray thought, half-expecting something far more sinister. "Freshly caught Cornish Pixies," Lockhart confirmed, as Gray groaned internally. "What did I expect?" he thought as Lockhart continued. "pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them, now!" With that, he opened the cage, and the pixies immediately shot into the air, creating chaos in the classroom. They specifically seemed to target Gray, who was sitting still, his left eye twitching.
The room erupted into pandemonium as the pixies wreaked havoc. "Come on now, round them up, round them up!" Lockhart urged with a casual tone. "They're only pixies!" Meanwhile, two pixies grabbed Neville by his ears, lifting him high into the air before unceremoniously hanging him from the chandelier. "Please, get me down!" Neville cried, swinging helplessly. As students scrambled to flee the classroom, one pixie yanked at Hermione's hair. "Get off me!" she shouted, trying to fend it off. "Stop, hold still!" Harry instructed before smacking the pixie with a book, knocking it away. Lockhart, still in his overly confident manner, raised his wand and cast, "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!" But nothing happened, and one of the pixies snatched Lockhart's wand right out of his hand.
The creature used the wand to break the chain of a hanging dragon skeleton, sending it crashing to the floor as a pixie gleefully rode it down, shouting, "Yee-ha!" In the midst of the chaos, Lockhart retreated toward his office, helplessly watching as the pixies carried off one of his portraits. The whole classroom was in chaos, with students shouting and screaming as the pixies wreaked havoc. Meanwhile, Gray sat in his seat, boiling with anger as his head continued to pound. He had forgotten to brew his sleepless potion. Unable to contain his anger anymore, he shouted, "Immobulus!" Magic flared from him, freezing not only the pixies in midair but the entire classroom as well.
Gray got up, his cane tapping on the floor as he walked towards each pixie, picking them up midair before looking back at Lockhart, who was in his office. He sighed and said, "Class dismissed," undoing the spell and leaving the classroom, which shocked the entire class. As they looked at each other, Jamal muttered, "Still, NERD," only for the whole class to yell, "JAMAL!"
-scene change-
Inside the Gryffindor common room, Gray was in his suitcase, finally finishing another sleepless potion, which he badly needed. He stopped himself and looked at the potion. "Huh, although it has not reached the maximum potential of a high grade, it's permanent, which is great," he smiled as he consumed the potion.
[Name: Sleepless Potion]
[Grade: High grade]
[Description: This potion, crafted with a level 5 Potion-Creation skill, is a permanent version of the Sleepless Potion. Designed to eliminate the effects of sleep deprivation entirely, it provides the drinker with endless mental clarity and energy without the need for rest. Made using powdered moonstone, essence of bat spleen, and drops of gurdyroot juice, it enhances both physical and mental alertness by 330%. The drinker permanently retains these effects without experiencing fatigue or mental cloudiness again.]
[Deterioration-Rate: 100%]
The moment he consumed the potion, Gray, whose head had been continuously pounding with a headache, finally sighed in relief as the headache disappeared. He felt refreshed and happy. "That is good," he smiled, which gave him the energy to continue his study, focusing on how the philosopher's stone was made. This led him to discover the Resurrection Stone, one of the fabled Deathly Hallows. In The Tale of the Three Brothers, it was the second Hallow created, supposedly by Death himself. It was bestowed upon Cadmus Peverell after he requested something with the power to recall loved ones from death. According to legend, whoever reunited it with the other two Hallows—the Elder Wand and the Cloak of Invisibility—would become the Master of Death.
"Hm, the exact process of creating the stone was not mentioned. I mean, why would Flamel mention it, since it was his magnum opus? But I am also an alchemist, sort of." Since he couldn't find the method to create the stone, that didn't mean he couldn't find a way to create something similar. "Plus, I've already taken the first step," he thought, looking at his greatest creation so far. "With this, I can branch out and slowly continue from here," he thought as he got to work—not on the philosopher's stone project, but on a more pressing matter: creating more permanent potions.
-scene change-
Inside the Gryffindor common room, Gray could be seen sitting on his bed, reading. He looked well and happy, like he had been soaking in the sunlight on a tropical island. "Which reminds me, this summer I should probably go and visit another uncharted island, that would be good," he thought, smiling even more. A bunch of Gryffindor students flooded in. They were first creeped out by Gray's smile and seemed stunned for a second, but seeing that he was in a good mood, they decided to mind their own business, except for Jamal, who yelled, "Gray, did you hear? Filch's cat got petrified. You should have seen it; it looked hilarious!" One of his friends tried to pull him back from Gray, who placed his book down to look at Jamal.
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A/N well another chapter, hopefully you guys liked it.