"Tsk tsk... unexpected..."
Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the quizzes and began leafing through them on the spot.
"A lot of you remembered I like lilac, which is great... but why didn't you remember that my biggest achievement to date is winning the 'Most Charming Smile' award from Wizard Weekly five times? I just mentioned it."
He winked at the class again.
Although a small number of die-hard fans immediately clutched their chests, breathing rapidly, their eyes dreamy, looking as if they were drunk, most people weren't buying it.
Gryffindor's Katie Bell sat in front of Conna, shaking with laughter as Lockhart spoke, her shoulders trembling.
Mikel and Ryan were also struggling hard to hold it in.
"But..."
Lockhart's tone suddenly rose, "Miss Mirelle Sinis knew my birthday is January 26th... good girl!"
"In fact..." he flipped the paper over, "a hundred points, where is this excellent little witch?"
A trembling hand was raised from the front row, belonging to the student Kael had immediately chosen.
"Excellent!" Lockhart said with a smile, "Very good! Ten points to Gryffindor!"
"Unfortunately, there are two students who only answered 53 questions correctly."
Lockhart took out two papers again,
"I think they should read 'Travels with Trolls' more carefully... In Chapter 9, I clearly state that my secret ambition is to eradicate evil from the world and market my own line of hair care potions... not toothpaste.
But toothpaste is also a good choice; I'll consider adding it to the 'Lockhart line'."
Conna, hunched over, lightly tapped Kael under the desk.
Evidently, those two papers were theirs.
Originally, Conna wrote down hair care potions, but seeing Kael's confident writing of toothpaste, she changed hers, resulting in the current situation.
"It's your own lack of resolve..."
Kael murmured softly, "Besides, getting full marks means getting called out, this is just fine."
"Now, back to the subject at hand..."
Lockhart set the papers aside and picked up... a book.
Lockhart actually had planned to surprise the young wizards in their first class with some Cornwall Pixies.
Only yesterday, he realized in the second-year class that this surprise was a bit too stimulating and became a fright instead.
The entire classroom was chaotic with the little pixies, to the extent that even his own wand was thrown out the window.
He had to use the excuse of helping to clean up pests, searching in the bushes for quite a while before finding it.
After that incident, Lockhart understood that he probably couldn't handle such flamboyant antics.
Moreover, third-year students are much harder to fool than second-years.
So today he planned to play it safe.
However, upon seeing the 'Voyages with Vampires' book in his hand, the students all frowned, even the die-hard fans.
As soon as they saw the book, they couldn't help but remember the days under Professor Quirrell's "reading class" last year, and a faint smell of garlic seemed to drift to their noses.
"By Merlin's beard... not reading again this year!" A Gryffindor sitting next to Kael said painfully.
Many others felt the same.
Lockhart quickly revealed the answer.
The good news was they didn't have to stupidly read... but the bad news was, this time they had to act it out.
Lockhart had turned content from his book into a dramatic scene, requesting the students to perform it, like some kind of bizarre stage play.
Truth be told, this is even worse than reading... unfortunately, Lockhart didn't think so.
He probably believed this method of performance better showcased his bravery.
And performances needed actors.
The first person Lockhart thought of was the most famous student in the class... Kael, who had received a second-class Order of Merlin.
"With him highlighting me, the feelings must be fantastic."
"Oh, and that second-year Harry Potter isn't bad, either."
That's what Lockhart thought, and that's what he did.
He called Kael up to the podium, deciding to let him play the vampire from the book.
"Professor, may I ask you a question before the performance?" Kael said.
"Go ahead, you can ask a hundred," Lockhart replied, tidying his hair to align with the book's style.
Kael casually opened the 'Voyages with Vampires' book and glanced at it.
"This part... you easily warded off the lunging vampire with a Light Spell..."
"But professor, I'm curious... What exactly does the Light Spell do? Is it just a stronger version of the Lighting Spell?"
"That's a new charm," Lockhart replied with a smile. "A Lighting Spell can't emit such a bright light."
For a moment... Gryffindor students were okay, but all the Hufflepuffs turned to look at Mikel in the middle of the room.
They still vividly remembered... the explosion-like flash of light that appeared in their very first charm class two years ago.
If a Light Spell truly existed... it couldn't be more than that.
However, Mikel was completely unaware of this... he had fainted after casting the charm, with no idea of what had happened afterwards.
On the podium, Kael continued his questioning: "Can you demonstrate it for us?"
"Uh..." Lockhart hesitated: "Maybe next time... that charm isn't suitable for use in classrooms..."
"How about this one then..." Kael turned a few more pages, "you used a Levitating Spell to hold up seawater and trap the vampire, could you demonstrate it?"
Lockhart fell silent again.
But it wasn't over; Kael kept going through the pages and asking:
"Also, why aren't vampires afraid of garlic but fear garlic-juice-soaked protective talismans..."
"Why did you travel by boat, wouldn't Disillusionment be better?"
"And how did you get the vampire to only eat carrots..."
"Is that vampire still alive?"
"If it's still alive, have you considered sharing the method? After all, if you solve their feeding problem, it's like solving werewolves transforming on a full moon, you'd earn a first-class Order of Merlin!"
"By the way..."
Kael seemed truly determined to ask a hundred questions, and his string of 'why's' was making Lockhart's head spin.
This story was something he'd stolen from an old wizard; the only thing he actually did was cast a Forgetfulness Spell on the fellow and give the whole tale an artistic touch-up. How could he possibly know all those details?
Lockhart, sensing the inquisitive stares from those around him, began to panic and quickly stopped Kael's relentless questioning.
"Alright, alright... put the book down."
"I don't mind answering these questions, but there are other students who need to attend class."
"Consider it a homework assignment, mull it over yourself. Of course, if you still don't find an answer by the end of the term, I'll tell you personally."
Lockhart deftly closed the topic, then found an excuse to send Kael back to his seat, switching to another, seemingly dutiful, Hufflepuff young wizard to perform the play with him.
If Kael stayed longer, who knows what other questions he might come up with; it was too risky.
...