Chapter 38: Lockhart’s Way of Training the Little Wizards

Looking at the thick stack of test papers placed on the podium, the students below were basically silent. The classroom was very quiet, as if a silencing spell had been cast.

Seeing this, Lockhart didn't say anything and sat down directly to grade the test papers. At the same time, the students below began to communicate quietly.

"How did you do?"

"What do you think? I answered with confidence at the beginning, but when I reached the second page, I couldn't continue. What about you?"

"Same as you, I seem to have seen the questions before, but I don't know how to answer them."

"Ah, it's done, it's done. I'm never getting that snack. It's good that I won't be criticized by the professor this time."

"It's so miserable. Many of the questions look familiar, but I can't answer them. I'm finished."

On the podium, Lockhart was grading papers quickly. With his rich experience in grading, he could tell which answers were correct and which were wrong with a simple glance. There was no need to write by hand; just a point with the magic wand, and corrections and marks would automatically appear on the test paper.

In addition, the vast majority of students had basically only finished page one and couldn't do much on page two. This significantly reduced the difficulty of marking. As time went by, the thick pile of test papers to be reviewed slowly shrank at a visible speed. Instead, there were now three stacks of test papers with different thicknesses. The thickest stack on the right was basically failing grades. The thin stack in the middle indicated passable and good results. There were only a few papers on the left with relatively good results.

It took almost no time for Lockhart to record everyone's results. Then he waved his magic wand, and each test paper floated in front of each student. After all the students received their test papers, most of them looked bitter, and one could imagine their results.

Lockhart stood up when he saw everyone's expressions and said with some sadness, "Have you all seen your results? I believe no one wants me to read out the results. My evaluation of this test is only one word - poor."

"Only four people got A (Acceptable), two people got E (Exceed Expectation), one person got O (Outstanding), and the remaining 42 people all failed. What does this mean? Your foundation is too low. Fortunately, you will not participate in O.W.L.s until next year, so there is still time to make up for it. Otherwise, according to the regulations of previous years, such scores would not allow you to enter advanced classes, let alone get N.E.W.T.s certificates."

After hearing Lockhart's reprimand, most students lowered their heads silently, looking at the red P (Poor) on their test papers with some shame. In response, Lockhart nodded with satisfaction. As the saying goes, know your shame and then be brave. Knowing shame is a good thing; only in this way will you have the motivation to work hard.

Then Lockhart reached out and took out a magic amulet, and said to everyone, "Okay, now that the results are out, I will also honor the rewards I promised. Now, let our only wizard from Slytherin House with an O (Outstanding) grade, David Macmillan, come up and receive your reward."

David Macmillan, who had always straightened his back, held his head high, and looked confident, had a smile on his face when he heard Lockhart call his name. He had been working hard on the test paper just now. It could be said that he racked his brains and finally got first place.

So, he ran all the way to the podium. Lockhart handed the magic amulet in his hand to the student in front of him, then looked at the students below and introduced it loudly.

"This is a magic amulet that I specially refined. It has a warning effect. If you encounter danger or black magic, it will warn you to stay away from danger. If there is no time to escape, it will automatically cast a layer of shield to resist the attack."

After hearing Professor Lockhart's introduction, David excitedly picked up the magic amulet in his hand, then raised it high above his head, waving it towards the classmates below as if to show off. The students below looked envious after seeing it. Seeing this, Lockhart nodded slightly.

After David returned to his seat with the amulet, Lockhart continued to speak to the students below, "As for the two students who got E (Exceed Expectation), you can tell me now what snacks you want. I'll have the owl send them to you then."

After hearing Lockhart's promise, the two students below were full of excitement, stretched their hands high, and shouted loudly at the same time.

"I want dragon's milk cheese."

"I want the carrot cake."

Hearing the shouts of the two students, the other students who had not received awards looked at them with envy. Lockhart saw this, and a faint smile appeared on his face. Knowing that the opportunity had presented itself, it was time to take the next dose of strong medicine. This strong dose of medicine should be able to take care of them.

"Cough! Cough!"

With a slight cough, all the students below immediately focused their attention on Lockhart. Seeing this, Lockhart said in a deep voice, "Such a test will be held once a month in the future. Those at the top will receive various rewards."

With that said, Lockhart took out his wand and waved it. Dozens of magic items floated out from the space bag, including amulets, hats, shoes, crystal balls, etc. Arranged neatly in front of many students, they then heard Lockhart's seductive voice ringing in their ears.

"These various magic items, including the snacks you want, as long as you do well in the monthly test, you will have a chance to get them. And if you make significant progress, you can also get my reward. I will list the specific rules later so that everyone can see them. As long as you work hard, anything is possible."

In an instant, all the students in the classroom were filled with excitement and started cheering. The classroom was in a state of excitement. They had never received any rewards in tests before. This time Professor Lockhart was actually willing to provide reward items, something as rare as magic items. Who doesn't like that? The most important thing is that it's not just once, it's monthly. If they don't get it once, keep working hard next month, and there is still hope.

Lockhart looked at the boiling classroom with a faint smile on his face. All his actions in this class can be described in one word: suppress first and then raise!

First, a test paper was used to completely correct the mentality of these students. He knew very well that the teaching skills of the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts courses were either very average or had problems. The whole class was very impetuous. Otherwise, the foundation would not be so poor. After completely correcting their impetuous mentality, he let them correct their learning attitude. It's time to stimulate them to study hard.

When it comes to excitement, based on his experience in his previous life, he liked to throw money at them. When the graduate students under him saw the large cash rewards, he had to praise them for their hard work. But now, he can't just throw gold Galleons at it.

On the one hand, the graduate students in his previous life were all adults, so there was no problem in tempting them with money. But now, these students are only fourteen or fifteen years old. He can't use money to seduce them, regardless of whether this violates their moral conscience. Lockhart was a little afraid that Dumbledore would call him to the office and give him a lecture.

Naturally, there is no problem in getting interesting magic items. On the other hand, it is naturally to spread the runes. The magic items he took out were all refined by studying the runes himself. These magic items are all related to runes. If they want to delve into them, they will only develop their interest in runes. As long as he gives a little guidance later, it is very conducive to the promotion of new magic systems in the later period.

Well, it's definitely not because these magic items are cheap to refine and affordable.