Regarding Gilderoy Lockhart

Chapter 14: Regarding Gilderoy Lockhart

"Perhaps once your strength grows and you begin to form your own combat style, you can decide on your wand placement, grip, and combat stance based on the magic you excel at. But for now, you have no practical experience, and you've barely been exposed to magic for more than a few days..."

"So today, we are learning the most versatile, standard stance—one that even many Aurors are willing to use: the 'Sword-Holding Stance'."

"Hook your thumb around your wand, curl your index finger to cushion the front, grip the wand with your remaining three fingers, relax your shoulders, and sink your wrists..."

"Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees slightly, shift your center of gravity to your left leg, and keep your left palm relaxed against your waist to facilitate auxiliary gestures..."

"Tuck your chin, look straight ahead, and hunch your back slightly..."

Professor Baker moved the podium aside and demonstrated a standard stance himself: "This posture ensures that you can move flexibly at any time and control the distance between you and your opponent..."

He performed a few light, nimble hops like a fencer: "It also allows you to quickly cast spells that don't require long preparation, giving you the upper hand in battle. Furthermore, once you master spell deflection techniques and the Shield Charm, your extended wand will also serve as your best shield, allowing you to defend effectively even if the opponent strikes first."

"Now then,"

He returned to a normal standing position and waved his wand, causing all the desks in the classroom to vanish instantly: "Now, everyone, take out your wands, put some distance between yourselves and those around you, and start practicing this stance!"

"I know this might be a bit dull compared to other classes, but it is truly a must-master, the foundation of foundations... How about this: if your performance in this lesson satisfies me, I might consider accelerating the teaching pace and sharing some simple but practical little spells in advance..."

Professor Baker looked at the expectant young wizards and continued to tempt them with a smile: "Some of them even played a significant role in the battle I demonstrated earlier."

With that, there was no need for Professor Baker to say another word. The young wizards scattered in a flurry, staring intently at the stance diagram Baker had left on the blackboard, practicing with meticulous care. Professor Baker stepped off the podium and began patrolling the classroom, correcting people's movements from time to time.

"Your hand is too high; your entire right side is wide open!"

"Relax your shoulders. This stance is meant to make you move flexibly, not to turn you into a stone statue!"

"You don't need to grip the wand so hard. The wand is your assistant, not your mortal enemy!"

"Don't twist your waist like that; you'll easily get a stitch in a real fight!"

"Shift your center of gravity to the back; you're doing a horse stance right now!"

When it came to practice, Professor Baker became suddenly strict. Any lack of precision was promptly spotted and corrected, including Avada and the athletically gifted Cho; everyone was corrected several times over.

Once everyone could hold the stance correctly, Professor Baker began leading them through combat maneuvers. Forward lunges, backward retreats, dodging, attacking, defending... After a series of drills, even the energetic young wizards were sweating and panting.

Finally, with about ten minutes left in the class, Professor Baker waved his wand to restore the desks and signaled for them to stop.

"Very good, everyone's progress has exceeded my expectations!"

After all the students were seated, Professor Baker clapped his hands in satisfaction and smiled: "I thought it would take at least the whole period for you to master this stance. I didn't expect you to meet the requirements with ten minutes to spare."

"There's certainly not enough time left to teach any new magic... So, if you have any questions regarding Defense Against the Dark Arts, feel free to ask them now, and I will answer them."

As soon as he finished speaking, almost everyone in the classroom raised their hands in unison, their faces full of anticipation.

"Hmm..."

Professor Baker randomly pointed to a Hufflepuff near the front row: "Mr. Summers, what is your question?"

"Professor, I'm curious. As an adventurer and a director of the Defense Against the Dark Arts League, you have your own career. Why did you come to Hogwarts to be a professor?"

He asked somewhat sheepishly, as this wasn't a question related to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Professor Baker didn't blame him, however, and replied with a smile: "The main reason is that I felt my own strength had hit a bottleneck, so I decided to temporarily set aside my adventures and my work as a director to carefully summarize and organize my magical foundations. Being a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is undoubtedly the most suitable job for me during this time. It not only allows me to review my knowledge according to the textbooks but also lets me contribute to the cause of education... How does that saying go? Teaching benefits both the teacher and the student? That's the principle."

"Even a powerful wizard like you encounters bottlenecks, Professor?" Summers asked again.

"Of course. Everyone encounters bottlenecks, even Dumbledore." Professor Baker smiled, signaled for Summers to sit down, and pointed to another student: "Miss Chang, what is your question?"

Cho stood up, blushing slightly, and asked: "Professor, may I ask if you know Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart?"

Professor Baker paused for a moment and replied: "I haven't met him, but I have long admired his name and have read many of his works. I must say, they are quite brilliant, balancing practicality with literary flair. Many of the techniques mentioned have benefited me greatly."

"Then, Professor, who is more powerful, you or Mr. Lockhart?"

"Hmm..."

Professor Baker hesitated for a while after hearing this question, then chose his words carefully: "He and I... I suppose we each have our own strengths."

"Although I haven't seen him in person, one can infer from his books that Lockhart is the type who is knowledgeable, quick-witted, and possesses a vast amount of obscure but practical information. He is skilled at using his brain to survive various dangers and wild magical creatures—a standard adventurer."

"As for me, I am more like an Auror in the field, or perhaps an ancient dark wizard hunter, specializing in going to those dangerous zones to strike down dark wizards and dark creatures. Compared to adventuring in the wild, I am better at fighting in various man-made perils. Of course, I occasionally go to some wild environments to relax and enjoy the natural scenery."

"Then, Professor, do you have any exciting adventure stories as well?" another girl asked curiously.

"Me?"

Professor Baker gave a wry smile: "I can only say that if I were to write my experiences into a book and publish it, the sales probably wouldn't even reach a tenth of Lockhart's. Because the things I have to deal with require a very high level of professional expertise that laypeople wouldn't understand at all. And the stories wouldn't be so dramatic; most of them are convoluted, or rather, bloody..."

"Take Lockhart's new book from last year, A Year with the Tibetan Yetis, as an example."

"The book is roughly about Lockhart accidentally falling into a glacial crevice while adventuring on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, ending up in a hidden world beneath the ice. With his wand broken and supplies running low, he relied on Transfiguration, simple potions, and his extensive knowledge of magical creatures to disguise himself as a Tibetan Yeti. He joined the local tribe to survive and find a way out."

"During an accident, his identity was discovered by a Tibetan Yeti, but he used his wisdom and experience to become friends with that Yeti, getting it to help him hide his identity, which led to a wonderful process of a human living with Yetis."

"But later, as the glacier shifted, the crevice began to close, and the Yetis' habitat was on the verge of collapse. Lockhart worked with the Yetis, using various knowledge and a bit of luck to successfully escape the sub-glacial world and return to the surface. Lockhart then bid farewell to the Yetis and returned to human society. That's about it, right?"

Professor Baker paused again, weighing his words, hoping not to be too discouraging to the girls who were currently idolizing their hero: "If it were me in the same situation... er..."

"I would probably have climbed out of the crevice on the very first day; wandless magic is not exactly a difficult task for me."