Chapter 31: Lockhart's Fans
Hogwarts in the new school year seemed no different from last year.
The beds in the dormitory were always clean and tidy, the food on the dining table was always full, and most of the teachers' seats were familiar faces - if you didn't count Gilderoy Lockhart, the narcissist who loved to show off his teeth and hair.
This new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is outrageous.
He actually created 54 test questions to test everyone's understanding of his personal preferences!
Here, Draco wanted to maliciously introduce the previous sentence to those students who were still unaware of the rules of the Hogwarts test: Normally, such detailed tests would only be conducted on some extremely dangerous dark magic species.
Judging by the number of his problems, Gilderoy Lockhart might consider himself more dangerous than a dragon, an acromantula, or a nautilus.
"Smooth-tongued liar!" he said angrily to Brace, who also looked annoyed.
For a Malfoy, getting a high score on this kind of test is nothing short of a humiliation.
Without a doubt, this was the first time since Draco's rebirth that he had willingly failed - the highest score went to Hermione, the know-it-all.
Her memory was incredible! She even remembered little things like 'Lockhart liked the color lilac,' Draco thought irritably.
"I'm going to tell my father to fire Lockhart immediately." The next morning, on the way to the greenhouse, Draco said viciously to Crabbe and Goyle.
Crabbe and Goyle looked at him listlessly, nodding blankly.
Their faces still bore the souvenirs of the previous Defence Against the Dark Arts class—scratches from Cornish elves—which also served as indirect evidence that Lockhart was a fool.
Hermione hurried over and happened to hear what Draco said. Her face darkened and she looked very unhappy. "Draco, how did Professor Lockhart offend you?"
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed, he's worse than a second-year student like you. At least you were able to teach yourself and cast a freezing spell on those ugly elves, but what about him? All he does is foolishly show off his white teeth and blond hair and then run away." Draco made no secret of his contempt for the idiot professor.
"It's not self-taught. You used the Freezing Charm last year, when it was with the troll..." Hermione's voice became smaller and smaller, for fear of being heard by Crabbe and Goyle behind her.
"Oh." The contempt on Draco's face suddenly faded a little, and he looked at her with unexpected approval.
Merlin, he'd only used it once, and she'd remembered it?
"Also, I think Professor Lockhart wants to give us a chance to practice." Under Draco's light-colored eyes, Hermione blushed slowly. "He must have a way to deal with those Cornish elves! He is a very experienced expert. Think about the amazing things he has done, those books written about -"
"He just said he did it." Draco's expression, which had just begun to relax, became sharp again because of her words in defense of Lockhart.
He recalled the arrogant face that smiled at a female student in class yesterday, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the idiot had bad intentions.
And the naive female student next to him was so blinded that not only did she glare at Lockhart in class, but now she even jumped out to defend Lockhart!
Draco snorted and pointed out sarcastically, "He's probably just bragging to sell his book."
"You're jealous!" said Hermione angrily.
"Why should I envy him? His blond hair? It's not a rare color." Draco said disdainfully, frowning. "What do you like about him? An empty brain that can fill your head with wisdom that you can't let go of?"
Crabbe and Goyle on the side laughed foolishly when they heard this.
"Draco, I thought you were a sensible boy! How could you be as prejudiced against Professor Lockhart as other boys?" Hermione glared at Draco angrily, walked away stomping past them.
Draco shook his head and followed her with a frown, keeping a safe distance between them.
They walked through the vegetable garden one after another and found that the short and stocky Professor Pomona Sprout of Herbology was waiting for them outside the third greenhouse with a smile on her face.
The third greenhouse was home to a variety of magical but dangerous plants, including mandrakes. They had already repotted some of the grown mandrakes in the previous class, and this time they were going to do the same with the remaining ones.
Hermione was still angry.
When forming groups, she turned her back and ran to stand with a girl wearing a Badger Court scarf, silently refusing to partner with Draco, who was "full of prejudice against Professor Lockhart."
"Who's the Hufflepuff girl?" Draco asked Harry next to him.
"Susan Bones," said Harry.
"How do you know her?" Draco asked in surprise.
"She admires Lockhart very much. Every time Lockhart catches me in the corridor, I will most likely see her hiding nearby, and sometimes she will run over to ask for an autograph..." Harry looked pale.
"Lockhart is a piece of shit," Draco said coldly. "What's so good about him?"
"I think Lockhart is a idiot, too." Ron stood beside him and reminded him quietly, "But it's best not to let those girls hear you say that."
Ever since the "Harry rescue incident" during the summer vacation and the conversation in the compartment of the train at the beginning of the semester, Ron's attitude towards him had become noticeably friendlier.
Following Ron's gaze, Draco noticed that several girls around them looked up eagerly and looked at them vigilantly when they heard "Lockhart".
It's really a toothache. Draco glanced at Hermione's small face opposite him and thought for no reason.
Harry, who was standing next to him, also noticed the unfriendly expressions of the girls, but wisely did not make any further comments.
However, he kindly handed Draco a pair of protective earmuffs, implicitly stating his position.
Harry was understandably bothered by Lockhart. Within a few days of school starting, even the Slytherin students knew that Lockhart loved to pose for photos with Harry Potter in any public setting.
Although Draco thought Harry was evasive and reluctant towards Lockhart, many students who were unaware of the situation would subconsciously feel that having the opportunity to have "close contact with the popular idol Lockhart" was something they would love to have.
In this regard, Pansy Parkinson commented on Harry in the Slytherin common room a few days ago, saying that he was a "sensationalist".
"I guess he's just trying to curry favor with Lockhart and get noticed by any means necessary!" she said sourly.
Draco couldn't help but retort, "On the contrary, Harry Potter doesn't need to be famous; he's already well-known in the wizarding world. Who's riding on whose popularity?"
Blaise Zabini beside him hummed in agreement.
Even Marcus Flint, captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team who had always hated Harry Potter, thought Draco's words were "hit the nail on the head."
"Lockhart is not as good as that silly Potter. At least Potter can ride a flying broom! Lockhart is just a clown who is trying to attract attention. I doubt he can even climb onto a broom..." he said maliciously.
"How can you say that?" "Flint, you're just an arrogant bastard!" "Lockhart can beat down ten of you..." The Slytherin girls were immediately furious and launched verbal attacks on Flint.
"Are you all crazy?" "He's just trying to attract attention. Have you ever seen him cast any useful spells?" "Think about the class content. Are we learning Defense Against the Dark Arts or acting classes..." The Slytherin boys couldn't stand it anymore and started to retort.
They ended up sparking a heated argument in the Slytherin common room that lasted four hours.
The argument eventually wore the Slytherin boys out.
In terms of their talent for quarreling, it would be difficult for them to win over the girls who were more eloquent; moreover, they had no direct evidence to prove that Lockhart was a fool.
At that time, Draco did not have any special emotional fluctuations, nor did he dwell too much on this issue.
He had long since come to terms with reality and realized that this argument was pointless. While no one was paying attention, he slipped back to his dorm room and finished reading an entire tome on the Dark Arts in one sitting, leaving himself alone for some quiet time.
Similar battles did not only occur in the Slytherin common room, but also occasionally occurred in other houses.
Sometimes, students would argue right at the tables in the Great Hall. One day, Draco saw the Hufflepuff boys and girls sitting on opposite sides of the table, each arguing with each other, neither willing to give in.
This was perhaps the first time Hogwarts had abandoned its house rivalries and redrawn its lines. On the subject of Professor Lockhart, there were only two camps: the devoted fans who adored him and the opponents who despised him.
At this moment, Draco dismissed the students' debate about Lockhart in his mind, thanked Harry, took the earmuffs and put them on, and concentrated on dealing with a mandrake that was twisting and turning in its pot - the fat and ugly little thing was very dissatisfied with its fate of being repotted, and was yelling at him impatiently with its mouth wide open.
Just as he picked up the mandrake blade and looked at the angry mandrake, he suddenly saw Hermione across from him from the corner of his eye. She looked proud but couldn't help but sneak a glance at him. She looked like a sneaky chipmunk hiding something. It was quite cute.
It would be irrational to confront the girls directly about Lockhart. It would be meaningless except to anger the girls - this was what Draco had always thought.
However, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have done something irrational and succeeded in angering Hermione.
And to piss off a girl means: you have to coax her into submission.
No matter who was right or wrong at the beginning, it would eventually turn out to be - the boy had an attitude problem, Draco thought with a sigh.
Draco couldn't help but glance at Hermione again. She felt Draco's gaze and quickly looked away before their eyes met.
What a weird little girl! He pretended not to notice her and put his dragon-skin-gloved fingers into the mandrake's mouth to tease it. The fat kid bit his glove fiercely.
He pretended to be horrified and pulled his fingers out for a long time before he escaped. He quickly thrust the mandrake into the basin like a headfirst onion and shook his dragon-skin gloves in disgust. They were all covered with mandrake saliva - although it was to amuse the little girl, it was too disgusting.
Hermione, who was secretly watching him from the opposite side, couldn't help laughing.
It was quite rare to see this young Slytherin master, who was known for his elegance and composure, so angry and frustrated, Hermione thought complacently.
She planned to open her eyes wider and look more carefully, trying to remember this scene firmly in her mind.
Then she saw the boy raise his head, and there seemed to be a slight smile in his light gray eyes.
His platinum-blond hair gleamed in the sunlight streaming through the greenhouse windows. He suddenly assumed a composed expression and mouthed to her, "I found you."
Now, Hermione couldn't keep a straight face on him anymore.
She had been watching him all along. He looked so adorable with his serious face and earmuffs on, so she couldn't help but keep looking at him.
The experience of being deliberately amused by him just now made her suddenly realize that this boy who was often rude to others seemed to have been paying attention to her and seemed to care about her very much.
This realization made her feel a little incredible and a little happy.
She lowered her head quickly, concentrating on the mandrake in her hand, and put it in the basin Susan handed her, but the corners of her mouth raised a little higher. Through the gaps between the thriving mandrake leaves, she looked at him again and found that he was still looking at her, even raising an eyebrow at her.
So she couldn't hold back her laughter any longer and raised her eyebrows at the boy opposite her who had a smug look on his face.
This can be considered as an unspoken "reconciliation".
For the next few minutes, Professor Sprout walked back and forth in the greenhouse, further guiding the students' operations and observing their results. They could only concentrate on fighting the mandrakes and had no time to exchange glances with each other.
When the students walked out of the greenhouse with sore backs and covered in mud, they had to hurry to clean themselves up before rushing to Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class.
Hermione calmed down and was willing to be Draco's study partner again.
"Why, you're not sitting with your 'good partner' Susan?" Draco asked slowly.
"Don't hold a grudge! Why don't all the boys like Professor Lockhart? Even Hagrid--" Hermione said helplessly.
"What did he say?" This aroused Draco's curiosity.
Hermione blushed.
"He said Professor Lockhart was the only candidate for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, so Dumbledore chose him. He also said he didn't believe Professor Lockhart could exorcise a female ghost... But think about the book 'Breaking with the Female Ghost', he dealt with that terrible female ghost perfectly." Hermione said in a cheerful tone slightly higher than usual.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, although I don't want to admit it, I will always stand on Hagrid's side on this point. Maybe the method of exorcising the female ghost is correct, but I just don't think he can perform such wonderful magic at his level. When this professor can't even deal with a second-year Cornish elf, it's hard for me to believe that he has real talent." Draco ruthlessly exposed the suspiciousness of this idiot.
In his previous life, Draco had no idea why Lockhart had left Hogwarts and why he had ended up at St. Mungo's Hospital for Witches and Wizards. He simply didn't want to pay any more attention to such a person.
He only remembered that by the end of his second year, Lockhart's popularity at Hogwarts had declined significantly - almost all the students in the school thought he was a fool.
"Draco, if you keep talking like that, I'm going to have to change my partner," Hermione said with a pout.
When did this little girl learn to threaten people? Draco looked at her in surprise.
"Okay, I won't say anything more. Why don't we make a bet and see whether you are right or I win." He said maliciously.
Inadvertently, he glanced at the timetable Hermione had placed on the table, and all of Lockhart's courses were circled in a heart shape.
Heart shape!
Merlin, those crazy and exaggerated female students! I didn't expect that she was one of them.
"Of course." Hermione said in an unconvinced tone, glared at Draco, and continued to work hard, using the Transfiguration Spell to deal with the beetle in front of her.
"Didn't you succeed in the last class? Why are you still practicing?" Draco asked for the sake of conversation.
"I want to add some details to the buttons to make them look nicer," said Hermione.
"Oh, Hermione, I can't stand you," said Ron gloomily, turning back from the front row. "Would you be so kind as to stop showing off and give us a chance to live? I haven't even succeeded yet!"
"This is the content of the last class! You should think about where you spent your time in the last class, whether you listened carefully, and whether you practiced well?" Hermione said bluntly.
"It's not our fault. This beetle keeps running all over the table! It's not quiet at all!" Harry muttered to himself as he tried hard to follow the beetle with the tip of his wand, feeling a little upset.
"Hermione, this class is indeed difficult. That's why Professor McGonagall gave us more time to digest the content of this class." Draco was busy trying to smooth things over for them.
It's not entirely Harry and Ron's fault for not trying hard enough; most of the students' Transfiguration results in this class were unsatisfactory.
In his previous life, Draco had also spent a long time practicing this spell. I really don't know how Hermione managed to succeed in such a short time.
"Forget it! Everyone has the right to say it's difficult, only you can't. You made it in a flash, and the buttons are much more delicate than mine." Hermione pursed her lips and gestured with her wand for a long time, trying to feel the subtle changes caused by different shaking of the wand.
"Draco, can you transform for me again? I want to see how you wave your wand." She tilted her head, her eyes wide open, looking at him intently.
At this moment, Lockhart was no longer in her eyes.
"Okay." Draco looked into her eyes, his tone inevitably tinged with pride. "I'll try to move slowly, watch carefully..."
After a while, Professor McGonagall walked down the platform and walked among the students who were practicing hard. She said loudly: "Transfiguration requires 100% rigor. You need to concentrate, work hard and be diligent."
She glanced at Longbottom's desk—the button still had the beetle legs on it—and couldn't help but remind him sternly, "You can only be successful if you get it absolutely right."
Then, pausing at Draco's desk, she gazed at a handful of buttons intricately carved with the Slytherin snake, admiringly saying, "Very elegant, Mr. Malfoy. Why don't you try something more challenging, like turning an animal into a cup? Oh, Miss Granger, your button with the Gryffindor lion is a lovely touch, too."
In Draco's impression, Professor McGonagall was a strict professor who always protected the little lions of Gryffindor.
But one thing is beyond doubt, her evaluation of students' classroom performance is quite fair, at least better than Professor Snape, and she will not deduct points from outstanding external students.
Unlike his previous life, Draco's performance in Transfiguration class won her rare praise.
Draco enjoyed this kind of praise.
He had to admit that he did take advantage of the opportunity to start over. After all, he was already a 17-year-old adult wizard in his heart and was familiar with many spells and course content.
This familiarity was due to his past life's experience. Back then, while he wasn't number one in his grade, he never fell out of the top ten. Lucius always took his academic performance very seriously, and he never dared to be careless.
Slytherin's ethos has always been to worship the strong. Family background, bloodline, academic performance, talent, ability, Quidditch, and various social activities are all factors that influence students' ranking.
Among them, magical talent and intelligence are the most important, which can sometimes surpass Slytherin's emphasis on bloodline.
Look at Professor Severus Snape, a half-blood wizard who can still gain the respect of Slytherins thanks to his unique magical talent and intelligence.
Draco never wanted to fall behind, and he wanted to be admired in every aspect. This wasn't easy, as the pursuit of excellence was exhausting, especially since he was somewhat spoiled and arrogant at the time.
Yes, at that time he had achieved some results, was quite prestigious within Slytherin, and even became a prefect - this was a recognition of his ability by the school - and he was complacent about it.
However, looking back now, Draco felt a little regretful: he should have done better in his previous life.
He spent much of his time on cockfighting, dog racing, and cunning tricks. Rather than improving himself, he was more interested in showing off his family background or flaunting his limited knowledge of magic.
Because of his ridiculous and ignorant complacency, he never carefully studied the knowledge that he should have mastered, and he always fell short and could never achieve perfection.
The result was that, despite having ample learning resources, he was always defeated by the Muggle-born Hermione Granger in exams, and was therefore mercilessly humiliated by his father.
A Malfoy wouldn't stumble into the same pit twice.
God knows how much effort he has to spend every day in this life polishing his papers and improving his knowledge of magic in order to surpass the little girl next to him - the smart and hardworking Hermione Granger.
Even when she was ahead of others, she never slacked off. At this moment, she continued to practice the Transfiguration gestures with unwavering care, trying to feel the difference in the transformation results brought about by the subtle changes in the gestures.
Draco watched her calmly from the corner of his eye, but he had to admit one thing in his heart: she was very hardworking and intelligent.
He gradually understood one thing: why in her previous life, even without those magical resources, she could defeat him every time.
She has always been much more attentive and focused than he is. She has the ability to draw inferences from one example to another. She is always trying to improve herself.
However, what a pity!
She was isolated in the magical world and had no way of getting any support from her parents.
If she could be like him, have those magical resources, get more guidance from the elders, and not have to try and go through every detour in magical cognition to obtain the truth, but instead take shortcuts directly, with her qualifications and character, she will definitely achieve greater success, Draco thought to himself.
Hermione Granger had no idea what Draco was thinking at the moment.
She was busy thinking about one thing: there were always some magic books other than textbooks on his desk.
For example, at this moment, he suddenly fiddled with a book titled "Secrets of a Thousand Transfiguration Techniques", opened it, took a look at it, and then put it down casually.
He seemed to have accidentally placed the book between their desks, and then he was busy waving his wand, apparently trying to practice his extra homework of "turning animals into cups", and he didn't look at the book again.
Hermione stared at the book without blinking, swallowing quietly.
She was a little curious to see what the book was about.
Maybe it would provide some tips on Transfiguration and enrich her understanding of Transfiguration.
But would he be willing to lend it to her?
While she was hesitating, Draco looked back at her and said calmly, "Why aren't you practicing anymore? Is there something wrong?"
She looked up at him and said guiltily, "No."
Draco nodded without saying anything more, and didn't seem to notice her concern, but continued to focus on practicing his Transfiguration spell.
However, as luck would have it, during practice, his elbow seemed to accidentally push the book towards her, little by little.
Hermione couldn't help it.
"Um, Draco, if possible, could you show me this book?" She looked at the boy's unfathomable profile and added hastily, "If you've finished reading it."
With the sudden ring of the bell for the end of get out of class, Draco turned around and looked at her steadily.
"I haven't finished reading it. I want to read it again today." He said slowly.
Hermione's expectant face immediately drooped.
"Oh." She said dejectedly, and hurriedly put the feather pen and textbook on the table into her schoolbag, her eyes still staring at the book reluctantly.
After two or three seconds, she heard the boy next to her say calmly, "I'll go to the library later. If you want to read it, you can read it there."
Hermione's eyes lit up immediately.
"Then, let's go to the library together later, okay?" she asked him happily.
"Yeah." He said briefly, lowered his head to tidy up the things on his desk, and the other corner of his mouth secretly rose.
So, Hermione Granger, who had vowed to draw a clear line between herself and Draco Malfoy this morning, sat down again in his private study area, reading the book she had been longing for with relish.
"Oh, I see." After a while, she put down the book and cast a transformation spell on the beetle on the table, and finally got a button that satisfied her.
"Look, how about this button?" She proudly placed it in front of him. "How does it compare to the button I changed into before?"
Draco, who seemed to be writing a paper next to him, paused the pen in his hand, looked up at the button and smiled slightly.
"It's better than before," he said. "It's amazing."
So she said "hmm", was proud for a second or two, and immediately picked up the book to continue studying the trick of the "animal into cup" transformation spell.
Yes, Hermione Granger is never satisfied with her current achievements, Draco thought absentmindedly.
This is an amazing quality for a 13-year-old girl.
Not everyone can get rid of the complacent mentality, constantly reflect on themselves and pursue excellence.
How could Draco, who had been reborn, lie down so easily?
Especially when there is a girl who pursues excellence so much by his side, and is eager to surpass everything and take the top spot in the grade.
Draco could only redouble his efforts.
He still needs to keep working hard to improve the knowledge gaps that he had overlooked in the past.
He needs to constantly pursue excellence because of a certain competitive spirit awakened by her, because of his inherent pride and ambition, and because of the insecurity and urgency that always hangs over his head.
He can't afford to lose.
There's a saying that goes, you have to work really hard to make it look effortless.