"Oh, Merlin's beard, I'm going to give him a full ten points!"
Lockhart was extremely excited—even more excited than when his books became bestsellers. Because of Dudley's perfect answers and his identity as Teacher Jerry, Lockhart seemed to regard him as both a fan and a kindred spirit.
What could be happier than having an author far stronger than yourself appreciate your books?
Lockhart vigorously patted Dudley's shoulder, praising him repeatedly.
"This class has brought me so many surprises, so I want to give you all a little surprise too." Lockhart bent down mysteriously and pulled out a large covered cage from behind the podium, placing it on the desk while deliberately lowering his voice.
"From now on, be careful! My job is to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You will face the most terrifying things in this classroom. But remember, as long as I am here, you will not be harmed in any way."
"I must ask you not to scream."
As Lockhart spoke, the cage began shaking violently in perfect coordination, as if something truly terrible was trapped inside. This made quite a few young wizards unconsciously shrink their necks, though most still looked on with curiosity.
"I must ask you not to scream," Lockhart said again, lowering his voice. "That would provoke them!"
The classroom was dead silent—everyone held their breath.
Lockhart pulled off the cover, revealing the mystery. He said in an extremely exaggerated tone: "Freshly caught Cornish Pixies."
Gryffindor: ???
Slytherin: ???
Cornish Pixies—a type of pixie, iron-blue humanoid small creatures about eight inches tall with pointed faces. They were very mischievous, loving to play all sorts of tricks and pranks.
In terms of danger, they were even less dangerous than Doxies. But they weren't harmless either... These creatures had strength far exceeding their size. Two or three together could easily lift an underage wizard, and when it came to causing destruction, if they claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.
However, the young wizards in the classroom didn't seem to take these little troublemakers seriously. In their eyes, Cornish Pixies, gnomes, and Doxies were creatures of the same level—nothing to worry about. A very simple spell could subdue them.
Some Gryffindor students even let out undisguised snickers.
"What? Do you find this amusing?"
Lockhart was very dissatisfied with the young wizards' reaction. These Cornish Pixies had cost him a high price from someone else. All to give the young wizards a 'surprise'. But there was only joy, no surprise.
"Very well." Seeing that everyone was treating it lightly, Lockhart simply opened the cage door. "Let's see how you deal with them!"
Now things really went haywire. The pixies shot out like rockets, flying around the room. They began wreaking havoc in the classroom—smashing glass, tearing books, turning cabinets upside down...
Anything becomes troublesome once there are too many of them—Cornish Pixies were like that. Within minutes, almost all the young wizards had hidden under desks.
"Come and help me round them up—they're just pixies!" Seeing that the young wizards now understood the terror of these pixies, Lockhart rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward in a savior's pose, waving his wand. "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"
However, nothing happened next... Clearly, his spell had failed.
Hermione was among the very few who hadn't hidden under a desk. Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but facepalm. "I knew it—he's completely useless."
After Lockhart's ineffective spellcasting, a Cornish Pixie flew over and snatched away his wand. Several pixies immediately surrounded it, grabbing the wand together. Purple rays shot from the wand tip, setting off fireworks in the classroom.
"Maybe it's a side effect," Neville said, slapping away a pixie that was trying to approach him.
Ron also chimed in. "Look, now they have weapons."
"What do we do? Should we leave? Or help this idiot?"
His answer came in the form of Dudley clapping his hands together. The transmutation circles on the backs of his hands emitted a faint glow. The classroom's walls, ceiling, and floor seemed to come alive, countless large hands made of stone and wood extending from them, firmly grasping the troublemaking pixies.
The pixies that had just been rampaging through the classroom were subdued in one move the next second.
Wandless magic!
Before Lockhart could say anything, Dudley clapped his hands together again. A new cage appeared on the desk, and those hands placed the captured Cornish Pixies inside, then these stone and wooden hands gradually disappeared into the walls, ceiling, and floor.
One hundred thirty-two total—not one more, not one less.
"Professor Lockhart, your wand." Dudley handed the wand to Lockhart. "You deliberately did this to give us practical experience, didn't you?"
"Hm?" Lockhart was slightly stunned at first, then immediately caught on, hurriedly explaining. "Of course... that's exactly right. Truly worthy of Mr. Jerry... Dursley—you actually guessed my intention in doing this."
Then he feigned disappointment toward the young wizards poking their heads out from under desks. "You disappoint me—so many people failed to see through this, but fortunately Mr. Dursley guessed my deeper purpose."
That expression, that attitude, that tone—as if this were really the case. His shamelessness would make even city wall corners bow in defeat.
"For this, Mr. Dursley has earned another ten points."
Lockhart spoke this complete nonsense with a straight face, and quite a few young wizards were actually fooled, truly believing Lockhart had done it intentionally.
Just then, the end-of-class bell rang.
"Well then, Professor Lockhart, we'll be leaving first."
Dudley called to Hermione and the others, picked up the cage, and walked toward the classroom exit. When he took the cage away, the desk that had previously been level with the other desks was now much shorter.
Unless using the Philosopher's Stone, Equivalent Exchange couldn't create something from nothing.
"Where are you taking them?" Lockhart asked reflexively.
Dudley's wandless magic had left a deep impression on him. Undoubtedly, that was the mark of an excellent wizard.
'This guy might be stronger than me.'
Lockhart thought with a complete lack of self-awareness.
"Professor, they are now my spoils of war."
Dudley said with his back to Lockhart, his voice slow but with strong penetrating power. "How I handle my spoils of war is my business."
Under his enhanced perception, these Cornish Pixies had large words above their heads reading "Tameable." It was time for his Magical Creature Training skill to shine.