Chapter 92: Not All Liars Lie About Everything
"How could he lie to our girl? Have you even read Lockhart's books?" Hermione was clearly unhappy with Ron's prejudice. She wasn't the kind of good girl who would lie. She had read many books—she could tell at a glance which ones were fake and which were real.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, speechless. Although they had been required to buy Lockhart's books, they had never actually read them. Still, they could tell at a glance that Lockhart was a frivolous fraud.
"You've got nothing to say, do you? None of you have even read his books. I can see right through all of you—this is just your prejudice." Hermione trusted her own judgment completely. She believed Harry and Ron disliked Lockhart out of bias. Lockhart was popular with girls, and even though he was admired, many boys resented him.
"George, you think Lockhart is a fraud too, don't you?" Harry looked at George with a mixture of hope and sympathy. He had interacted with Lockhart a few times and was certain that the man was an attention-seeking nuisance.
"Yes, George, tell me. You've definitely read his books, so you wouldn't be jealous of Professor Lockhart like Harry and Ron are." Hermione was confident George would support her. She firmly believed in her judgment.
She knew George wouldn't be jealous. Lockhart had achieved some of the best results in Hogwarts history, and she believed George himself would one day become one of the greatest wizards in Hogwarts history.
"We're not jealous," Ron added, waiting cautiously for George's verdict. Although he had always disliked Lockhart, he couldn't quite point out what was wrong with him. He hoped George could explain it.
"Lockhart isn't a complete liar—he wouldn't lie to Hermione or Mrs. Weasley," George said. As someone who ran a bookstore, he was very familiar with the famous wizard.
"Exactly! I'm not that amazing, and Mrs. Weasley isn't either—we wouldn't fall for lies," Hermione said confidently. She believed in Lockhart because she had read his books. She wasn't some naive girl who blindly believed others—she was Hermione Granger.
"George is right, but Lockhart isn't entirely honest either," Harry quickly picked up on George's implication.
"Yeah—not entirely a liar, but not entirely truthful either," Ron added, though he still seemed disappointed.
"I've read all of Lockhart's books," George said first, strengthening his credibility. "If you read them carefully, you'll notice his writing is excellent, and many details are based on real things."
"Exactly! The books are logical, and the details feel real—it wouldn't be possible to write like that otherwise. That proves he's not lying," Hermione argued.
"What about the other details?" Harry thought. If George wasn't on their side, he wouldn't have said Lockhart wasn't completely honest.
"Hermione has read more than you. Her knowledge and experience are broader, so her judgment should naturally be more reliable," George said tactfully, not wanting to directly criticize her.
"But…" Harry replied, pleased. He was now certain George was on his side.
"If you read more, you'll realize that many details in Lockhart's books aren't true," George continued.
"Maybe he just wanted to make the stories more interesting," Hermione tried to defend him. She trusted George, but she still wanted to justify Lockhart—perhaps the embellishments were just for storytelling.
"So if many details aren't true, that means Lockhart is lying," Ron concluded, immediately feeling vindicated.
"Yes. If you understand the real nature of the plants and creatures he describes, you'll see that some of his methods make sense. But if he had actually done everything exactly as written, he would've died many times over," George explained.
He had read Lockhart's books—they were entertaining, and some parts felt very realistic. But there were too many inconsistencies. According to Lockhart's stories, he should have died countless times. Clearly, these weren't firsthand experiences. George believed Lockhart had gathered stories from others and polished them into his own adventures.
"Mistakes in judgment aren't unusual. You don't learn all this from textbooks, or Mrs. Weasley wouldn't have been fooled either. Pure lies don't deceive people—but when truth and fiction are mixed together, it becomes hard to tell the difference, especially without enough experience. Harry and Ron guessed right, but only because they already disliked Lockhart," George said, comforting Hermione.
"I really hate Lockhart," Harry said bluntly now that he felt supported.
"Me too," Ron agreed, grinning.
"But…" Hermione hesitated. It was hard for her to accept that the professor she admired might be lying. She trusted George, but she also trusted her own judgment. Changing her mind wasn't easy.
"Don't rush to overturn your conclusion," George said gently. "Go to his class this afternoon and observe him. It's hard to judge from books alone, but in real interactions, the truth often reveals itself."
"Alright. I'll watch him closely in class," Hermione said. She believed in George—but even more, she believed in her own eyes.
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