"Professor Lockhart, are you taking the Hogwarts Express too?"
"Why aren't you boarding yet?"
"Could I get your autograph?"
"After reading your book, I have so many questions. May I ask you about them?"
"Professor, could you tell me about ghouls?"
As Lockhart watched the crowd of young witches and wizards boarding the Hogwarts Express, a flurry of chatter suddenly erupted beside him.
It immediately interrupted his quiet reflection on his past life.
Lockhart furrowed his brow and looked down at the young witch tugging at his sleeve. She had thick, messy brown hair. Though he wasn't exactly pleased, he said calmly, "Young witch, please be quiet!"
"Speak slowly. There's no rush!"
"Okay, Professor."
"I'm so lucky to meet you before class starts!"
"Oh, by the way, I just finished your latest book, and I'd like to ask about—"
Hearing Lockhart's composed tone, Hermione slowed down a bit, but a flood of questions still tumbled from her mouth.
Lockhart began to feel a headache coming on.
All he wanted was a bit of quiet, but this little witch was too energetic.
Seeing her face filled with hope and curiosity, Lockhart let out a soft sigh.
Then—
"Silencio!"
With a light flick of his wand, Hermione was instantly silenced, her mouth still moving, but no sound coming out.
Immediately, Lockhart felt a peaceful calm wash over him.
Bliss.
"Don't worry, I'll lift the spell in a moment. I'll answer your questions."
"But…"
"Take your time. No rush. Ask one question at a time, and I'll answer each carefully."
Lockhart, looking down at the anxious little witch, spoke slowly.
Seeing her nod frantically, he gave a satisfied smile, raised his wand, and ended the charm with a flick.
"Professor, I—"
"Before you ask any more questions, why don't you tell me your name first?"
Hermione, who had just been released from the Silencing Charm and was ready to fire off more questions, paused at his words.
Then she quickly replied, "Professor, my name is Hermione Granger. I'm a second-year student at Hogwarts, in Gryffindor House. Last year, I—"
As Hermione went on and on, Lockhart lifted his wand again, pretending to cast another silencing charm.
Hermione stopped instantly.
Then, realizing she might have overstepped, she nervously asked, "Professor, did I do something wrong?"
Lockhart smiled with mild relief—at least she knew she might have gone too far. His past experience as a university professor gave him the patience to answer with a calm voice.
"Miss Granger, asking questions is a wonderful thing."
"But…"
"There's no need to rush."
"Take your time. I'm the professor, you're the student. If I know the answer, I'll certainly help."
"So, think carefully first. What are the three most important questions you have?"
Hearing Lockhart's gentle tone, Hermione nodded, a thoughtful expression spreading across her face.
Seeing that, Lockhart nodded slightly in return.
Indeed, for students with a lot of questions, the best approach isn't answering them all right away.
Instead, guiding them to prioritize their questions—and even encouraging them to think through possible answers—is far more effective.
Teaching them how to think deeply was the true goal.
Of course, it also gave him some peace and quiet.
After all, if the questions piled up too high, even he couldn't keep up—he wasn't a question-answering machine.
As for this little witch, Hermione Granger, part of the famous Gryffindor trio…
Lockhart found it somewhat surprising, but not a big deal.
He had already met Harry Potter and Dumbledore—what was one more student?
In his past life, he had taught students who went on to become quite famous. They still handed in homework and asked for help—he never thought much of it.
After all, he was in the academic world, not the entertainment industry—why get caught up in the fanfare?
He only cared about good research projects. Everything else was fluff.
Soon, as the crowd of young witches and wizards finished boarding, the platform began to empty.
Lockhart looked at Hermione, who was still deep in thought, and gently patted her shoulder.
"Miss Granger, go ahead and board the train."
"Keep thinking. Come up with your three most important questions, and I'll answer them in detail later."
Hermione blinked, then nodded emphatically.
She glanced at Lockhart, watching as he walked toward the train, and quickly followed behind.
Soon, Hermione joined Lockhart in the professor's compartment aboard the Hogwarts Express.
Once inside, Lockhart—slightly exasperated—looked at Hermione, who had followed him in. He pointed to the seat across from him and gestured for her to sit.
With a flick of his wand, two drinks appeared on the table—one cup of tea and one glass of honeyed juice.
Lockhart picked up the tea and took a small sip before saying, "Miss Granger, have some honey juice first."
"After all those questions, your throat must be dry."
Noticing the faint humor in his voice, Hermione nervously took a big gulp of the juice, trying to calm herself.
As she drank, Lockhart quickly took the opportunity to speak—before she could ask anything else.
"You know why I asked you to choose just three questions, don't you?"
"I've always believed the number three is special—not too many, not too few. Just right."
"If you ask too many questions, we have to lower the quality of our answers to cover them all. In the end, we learn less."
"But if we ask too few questions, even detailed answers might not give us the maximum benefit."
"Three questions is the sweet spot. Not too much, not too little. It encourages thoughtful selection and allows for high-quality answers."
"So, the proper way to ask questions is to focus on a few high-quality ones."
"Too many at once? No professor can give quality answers like that."
"Do you understand what I mean, Miss Granger?"
Hermione paused, a little stunned by Lockhart's philosophy. She had never thought about it that way before.
She had always believed that the more questions she asked, the more knowledge she could absorb—and the safer she felt.
So she always asked a lot.
Now, with Lockhart's words echoing in her mind, she began to reflect.
Seeing the thoughtful look on her face—not one of complaint—Lockhart nodded slightly.
This little witch was clever. She understood quickly.
In his past life, some students would've felt scolded and stopped listening altogether. They wouldn't have paused to consider the logic behind his words.
Only the truly thoughtful ones listened carefully and reflected—and eventually applied what he said.
Those were the students who made excellent research assistants.
After all, he'd had some renown in academic circles, and many graduate students had wanted to work under him.
What he had just shared with Hermione was his true educational philosophy from his former life as a university professor:
Control the input.
Everything should be restrained. Stay rational. Don't be greedy.
There's a saying that sums it up well:
"Bite off more than you can chew, and you'll never finish it."