In the afternoon, the school bell had already rung once.
Anthony tapped the desk impatiently. "The bell has already rung, and there's only..."
He turned to face the somewhat empty classroom, raised his hand and gestured around, "Only a few people are here... Neville, where's Harry?"
"I don't know… I didn't see him at noon." Neville shrugged. "He should be with Ron and Hermione, right? They're not here."
"Didn't the girls say they were going to get Gilderoy Lockhart's autograph?" Michael yawned. "Maybe they were trying to ambush Gilderoy Lockhart, which is why they were all late."
Chris pointed to the surrounding walls and said, "Actually, there are still a lot of people here, look! They're all portraits of Gilderoy Lockhart! And every single one of them moves!"
Generally, professors would decorate their classrooms, incorporating relevant subject-specific elements.
Specimens in the Potions classroom and various plants in the greenhouse were decorations that suited the professor's interests.
Lockhart didn't miss the opportunity either, hanging his own portrait on the wall and placing it on the surrounding bookshelves, both showing off their eight-tooth smiles.
Fortunately, the dragon skeleton on the ceiling was still there, which confirmed that this place, which resembled a portrait gallery, was the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Terry leaned closer to Vizette. "Vizette! I've suddenly had an idea! Why don't you use a summoning spell to summon Gilderoy Lockhart right here? Let's see what he's up to?"
Just as he was speaking, a commotion broke out outside the door.
Lockhart's voice followed immediately, "Come on! Mr. Creevey, take a picture of us together. Great! We'll all sign for you. Harry, smile..."
First, a group of girls entered the classroom, followed by Harry, whose face was flushed, with Hermione and Ron following behind him.
Finally, Lockhart appeared, dressed in his finest attire. Today, he wore a light green robe with shimmering silver tassels along the edges.
With each step he took toward the podium, the tassels on his clothes swayed and shimmered with silver light, making them extremely dazzling.
"I am Gilderoy Lockhart!" He had barely opened his mouth when all the portraits turned to look at him. "Third Class, Order of Merlin!"
The portrait artists began to applaud, "Honorary member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts! Five-time winner of The Quibbler's Most Charming Smile Award!"
Lockhart smiled broadly, recounting his past honors with great familiarity.
The girls in the audience were also clapping.
Vizette was not surprised at all; this "The Quibbler" was an entertainment publication.
The primary audience of The Quibbler was female wizards, and it included a wide range of content such as relationship advice, practical recipes, and astrological predictions, as well as news about many celebrities.
Vizette had seen the magazine in the Burrow's kitchen when Mrs. Weasley was cooking a stew, using a recipe from The Quibbler as a reference.
Winning the Most Charming Smile award five times demonstrated Lockhart's popularity, which explained his large female fanbase.
Amidst applause, Lockhart pulled out a stack of exam papers. "I'm so happy to see that you've bought my entire collection of works!"
"Next is a simple quiz. As long as you've read my book and can understand its contents, you'll naturally get good grades!"
Vizette looked at Lockhart's actions with some confusion. According to the content of "Break with a Banshee," he should have been proficient in the Levitation Charm.
Why did Lockhart have to hand out exam papers one by one when a simple levitation spell could solve such a simple task?
Anthony glanced at the questions and immediately protested in a low voice, "What kind of questions are these! Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?"
"What do you consider Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date? Is it Defense Against the Dark Arts, or his fan club exam?"
Halfway through the class, Lockhart collected the test papers, grading them while muttering to himself.
"Very good, you remember my birthday is January 26th…"
"I graded several exam papers, and surprisingly, no one remembered that I like lilacs. That's the color of forget-me-nots, so easy to remember! I mentioned it in the book 'Year with the Yeti'..."
While Lockhart was grading the papers, Vizette unexpectedly drifted off into daydreams, reminiscing about Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
He wondered how Quirrell was doing now, and how much he had mastered of the Philosopher's Stone...
It wasn't just Vizette who missed Quirrell; his roommates felt the same way.
"At least Quirrell gives lectures," Michael complained. "But this Gilderoy Lockhart… does he expect me to admire him? I don't like men!"
"It's Professor Quirrell…" Vizette corrected quietly.
Anthony agreed, saying, "Yes! I'd rather call him Professor Quirrell than Lockhart!"
Lockhart finally finished grading the papers and clapped his hands. "Very good! Two students got full marks! Let me see..."
"Hermione Granger of Gryffindor and Vizette Lovegood of Ravenclaw, you have earned ten points for your respective houses!"
Michael stared at Vizette in disbelief. "Vizette! You actually... got a perfect score? I can't accept that!"
The other roommates also had expressions of disapproval.
Vizette explained calmly, "I just don't like blank spaces. It's my insistence to finish the entire exam paper and ensure the highest possible accuracy."
"He's right, this test paper is indeed easy. Anyone who has read his book can find the answers in it."
"It's not that bad, actually." He opened the book "Travels with Trolls" again, pointing to the annotations, and said, "There's still a lot of useful content in it."
Chris curiously pulled the book over, quickly flipped through a page, and asked, "Are we really reading the same book?"
"Some supplementary academic books are needed for reference," Vizette explained. "Some of the theories in them are quite interesting."
"Methods for dealing with various dark magic creatures can actually be found in academic books, but it's quite troublesome."
"Looks like I need to really examine these books… I was definitely too subjective before." Chris pushed the book back. "As a Ravenclaw, I can't just read them and call them a day!"
Anthony and the others also curiously read a few pages and asked Vizette for a list of academic books, intending to read them in another way.
Lockhart then brought up a large iron cage, covered with a red cloth, which emitted sharp, chattering sounds as it was shaken.
"This course is called Defense Against the Dark Arts! So you will face all sorts of Dark Magic challenges!" He placed his hand on the cloth, his expression and tone becoming serious.
"You will not only have to fend off all kinds of curses and evil spells, but you will also have to face terrifying dark magic creatures! I hope you will remain calm in order to meet these terrible monsters!"
….
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