Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor... Ha!

"Probably not?" Harry stroked his chin. "I think Snape will win..."

Ron looked at Harry incredulously, as if he were seeing Harry for the first time. "You've changed! You're so different!"

"I'm just inferring from the facts..." Harry quickly explained, "After class, Wizet usually asks the professors questions... Think about it... who gets asked questions the least?"

Ron realized, "Oh... it's Lockhart!"

"Alright! Alright! We should go to the library!" Hermione said, raising her voice. "Now that we got the reading list from Ravenclaw, we should study hard!"

"Look! Another piece of evidence!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "This is the reading list Wizet, which proves one thing—it's better to find books to read on your own than to take Lockhart's class!"

"So let's hurry up and get going!" Hermione glanced at the open door in the distance. "Otherwise, if Snape runs out and deducts points from our score, that won't be good!"

"That's right!" Ron and Harry said in unison, and Hermione quickly ran towards the Moving Staircase to the side.

Just then, Snape appeared at the doorway, glancing at the empty corridor with a smirk.

Lockhart stood beside him, letting out a silent roar, several curlers falling off his head.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Unable to make a sound, he could only repeatedly pound the wall with his palms as a form of protest.

Snape raised his wand, pointed it directly at Lockhart's nose, and shouted, "Now! I'll ask you a question, and you'll answer it!"

"Hey! This is my office! You have no right to..." Lockhart was finally able to speak, but could only look at the wand in Snape's hand and raise his hands in fear.

His voice trembled slightly, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "Professor Snape... let's talk this out. Ask me anything you need to know... I'll tell you everything I know..."

Snape hissed in a low, cold voice, "Tell me! Has Pansy Parkinson contacted you?"

Under Snape's cold, dark eyes, he felt as if he had been seen through, and could only answer in a trembling voice, "When did you contact me? I really don't know..."

Snape pressed on, "Has no one come looking for you?"

"I really don't know anything!" Lockhart shook his head repeatedly. "I've been replying to letters all day...you know...I'm a famous author...I have so many readers' letters to reply to..."

Snape narrowed his eyes slightly, pushed Lockhart aside, raised his wand high, and shouted, "Revelio!"

"I really don't know!" Lockhart exclaimed, burying his head low and hunching his shoulders, as if trying to shrink into a ball to avoid Snape's cold gaze and wand.

A golden vortex appeared, scattering countless golden powders that lingered in mid-air for a long time without falling.

Seemingly noticing that Snape hadn't moved for a long time, Lockhart clenched his fists, his fingertips turning white from the force, and only after mustering a lot of courage did he glance out the door.

After confirming that no one was outside, he swallowed hard and forced out a voice, "You see... I was telling the truth... I really wasn't lying..."

Snape ignored the groveling Lockhart, raised his wand again, and the powder in the air changed from gold to black, slowly falling a few strands onto the desk.

As Snape picked up a perfume bottle from the table, the black powder dissipated.

"This... this is... this is the Love Potion..." Lockhart stammered, cold sweat pouring down his face. "I didn't... I didn't use much... I only used... a tiny bit!"

Snape didn't speak, still holding the perfume bottle, his lips pressed tightly together.

Lockhart continued to argue, "This thing is... very expensive! I never give it to the average reader! Those loyal readers... already like... like my books..."

Snape lowered his eyelids, looking at Lockhart as if he were a pile of garbage. "If you dare to use this thing... on a student..."

"Of course not!" Lockhart assured him repeatedly. "Absolutely not! Absolutely not! I swear!"

"Gilderoy Lockhart, you just wait! I can detect this thing!" Snape's tone was even colder. "Don't let me find out!"

"Otherwise, I'll cut you apart bit by bit... pull out your bones one by one... then heal you... then pull out your bones again..."

"Of course I won't!" Lockhart shrank back even further. "I promise!"

Snape didn't say anything more, took out the map again, and prepared to head to the next place.

Just then, as if sensing something, he quickly turned to the side, raised his wand, and unleashed a beam of red light.

Bang!

"O..." Lockhart was still holding his wand, his mouth just opened, when he was struck by the red light.

His eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness. His body felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and he instantly lost his balance and flew backward, drawing an arc in the air before crashing heavily into the wall with a loud bang.

"Order of Merlin, Third Class... Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League... Defence Against the Dark Arts professor... Heh!" Snape chuckled coldly, then strode away.

"Nothing was found." Snape returned to the Headmaster's Office and casually tossed the map onto the table.

"Is that so?" Dumbledore looked up and scrutinized Snape, noticing a mocking smile playing on Snape's lips. "Has something good happened?"

"Heh..." Snape sat down opposite Dumbledore. "You might need to send Gilderoy Lockhart a blanket... he should still be lying on the floor right now."

"He actually dared to clash with you..." Dumbledore somewhat surprised. "I thought he wouldn't dare to make a move... What did you do to him?"

"Just a Stunning Spell, and Nonverbal Spellcasting at that, and he's already passed out... Order of Merlin, Third Class... Heh!" Snape said casually, the sneer never fading from his lips.

"He fainted... that's a bit awkward." Dumbledore murmured. "I just approved his request to hold a gathering..."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "What request? Lockhart wants to teach everyone how to use a curling iron?"

"The Duelling Club ..." Dumbledore said with a strange expression, "Because of the previous attacks, he felt that everyone should learn to protect themselves."

"You should learn to protect yourself?" Snape raised an eyebrow. "If it's just about protecting your hairstyle, those curling irons would be very useful!"

Dumbledore. "Perhaps? I just sent the consent form back. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong along the way."

"Perhaps..." Snape said ominously, "He'll be thinking of packing his bags and getting out!"