Ever since the rumor spread around the school that Lockhart had frightened second-year students with a dancing zombie, Defense Against the Dark Arts had not seen any new tricks for two weeks.
Perhaps he had given up completely. Recently, his classes had either been study periods or sessions where he made the students read the textbooks aloud.
Yes, all seven textbooks on the book list.
Gryffindor had collectively entered slacker mode.
Read aloud? Read Merlin's Underpants aloud.
Slytherin had lasted two lessons before giving up on something so utterly embarrassing.
Still, whenever Lockhart asked a question, they were always the first to raise their hands and answer.
Hufflepuff was better, at least putting on a show on the surface.
Ravenclaw was impressive. Their mouths read the textbook while their eyes looked at other books.
Some were reading History of Magic, while others were reading Astronomy.
In their eyes, those two subjects might have been more interesting than Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The eve of Halloween fell on a Friday.
The moment Lockhart stepped up to the podium, he habitually announced that this would be a study period.
Vincent, sitting in the front row, simply took out a large furnace and began openly smelting an iron-copper alloy.
Hermione did the same.
She took a small furnace from a white semicircular cloth pouch, then pulled out chunks of iron and copper one after another.
The little pouch had been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm. It had been Vincent's birthday gift to her.
It looked just like Blue Fatty's, and could even be attached anywhere on the body.
Seeing the two of them being so brazen, Lockhart gritted his teeth and pulled out a small black notebook from his robes.
After writing each sentence, he would pause for several seconds.
Sometimes