The first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year quickly turned into a complete personal show for Lockhart.
Instead of teaching any useful spells, he handed out a quiz.
But the questions were… unusual.
From "What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?"
To "What is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement so far?"
Every single question was about himself.
While the rest of the class stared blankly at the paper, utterly confused—
Hermione Granger shot her hand into the air with unstoppable enthusiasm.
"Oh! This young lady clearly read my books very carefully!"
Lockhart flashed his trademark dazzling smile.
"Yes, Professor!"
Hermione's face turned bright red with excitement.
"I've read all of your books! Your favorite color is lilac, and your greatest achievement was banishing the Bandon Banshee, for which you received the Order of Merlin, Third Class!"
She answered every question about his so-called heroic achievements perfectly.
Every detail.
Every story.
It was as if she had memorized the books word for word.
Lockhart was delighted.
He immediately awarded ten points to Gryffindor.
Watching Lockhart pose dramatically at the front of the classroom—twirling his quill and pretending to sign autographs in the air—Hermione's eyes sparkled with admiration.
In her mind, this professor was not only handsome and charming…
But also a brilliant and accomplished wizard.
"I can't believe she actually memorized all that rubbish," Ron whispered painfully to Harry.
"I think his smile is blinding me."
Harry nodded seriously.
Honestly, he would rather return to the Forbidden Forest and face Voldemort's spirit again than stare at Lockhart's teeth any longer.
After class, Hermione was still buzzing with excitement.
She clutched her perfect quiz paper, now signed by Lockhart himself, and hurried after Lucian.
"Lucian, did you see that? Professor Lockhart is amazing!"
She spoke enthusiastically, clearly eager to share her admiration.
"His experiences are incredible! I think he must be one of the greatest wizards of our time!"
"You think so too, right?"
She looked at Lucian expectantly.
Because in her heart, Lucian's opinion mattered more than anyone else's.
Lucian stopped walking.
He glanced calmly at the quiz paper in her hand—filled with exaggerated praise.
Then his gaze drifted toward Lockhart, who was still standing near the classroom door laughing and chatting with several students.
After a moment, Lucian looked away.
Then he gave a quiet evaluation.
"A man who is skilled at Memory Charms and takes credit for other people's achievements."
"Nothing more than a well-decorated fraud."
"???"
The words hit Hermione like a bolt of lightning.
The excitement on her face froze instantly.
Confusion replaced it.
"A… fraud? How could that be? But the books clearly say—"
She instinctively wanted to defend her idol.
But when she met Lucian's calm, deep gaze—
The words stuck in her throat.
She suddenly remembered.
This was the same person who had spotted seven errors in a Potions textbook at a glance.
The same person who had burned Voldemort's soul fragment with an unknown spell.
His judgments had never been wrong.
His words carried more weight than any book.
Hermione looked down at the quiz paper.
Then she glanced again at Lockhart in the distance, still showing off his bright smile.
Inside her mind, the shining idol she had built from admiration and books…
Developed its first small but unmistakable crack.
Her thoughts began to sway between two sides:
The great wizard described in the books…
And Lucian's precise judgment.
The next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson carried a strange atmosphere.
Hermione sat upright at her desk, opening a brand-new copy of Break with a Banshee. There was still a faint trace of hope on her face, as if she wanted Lockhart to demonstrate some real skill beyond the stories.
Meanwhile, Ron and Harry lounged in the back row.
They looked bored.
Mostly, they seemed ready to watch something ridiculous happen.
Lucian sat in his usual quiet corner.
The chaos of the classroom didn't seem to concern him at all.
He calmly read an advanced magic manuscript he had borrowed from the Restricted Section of the library.
Soon, the classroom door swung open.
With a dramatic flourish of footsteps—
Gilderoy Lockhart made his entrance.
Today he wore a forget-me-not blue robe, matching the bright blue eyes he loved to praise so often.
He strode proudly to the front of the classroom and dropped a large cage onto the desk with a loud bang.
The cage was covered by a thick purple velvet cloth.
"Class!"
Lockhart announced loudly, flashing his brilliant smile.
"Today, I will give you an unforgettable hands-on experience!"
He glanced around the room theatrically, enjoying the admiring looks from some students and the skeptical expressions from others.
"Dark creatures are extremely cunning!"
"Reading about my heroic adventures in books is wonderful, of course—but watching how I personally deal with dangerous magical creatures will teach you far more!"
With a dramatic gesture—
He yanked away the purple cloth.
Inside the large iron cage were about twenty small creatures.
They had bright sapphire-blue skin, thin limbs, sharp faces, and long fingers gripping the bars.
They screeched loudly, chattering and clawing at the cage.
Their shiny black eyes sparkled with pure mischief and trouble.
Cornish Pixies.
And the moment the class saw them—
Harry, Ron… and Lucian already knew.
This lesson was about to become absolute chaos.
—------------------------------
Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/DevilWarden