Lockhart's Stage Play

"Tsk tsk... Unexpected..."

Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the exam papers and looked through them on the spot.

"Many people remember that I like lilac, which is good... but why don't you remember that my greatest achievement to date is winning the Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award five times? I just said that."

He winked at his classmates again.

Although a small number of die-hard fans immediately clutched their chests, breathing rapidly, their eyes glazed over, and they looked as if they had been drinking fake alcohol, most people were not buying it.

Katie Bell of Gryffindor sat in front of Kanna, and as Lockhart spoke, she lowered her head, her shoulders swaying, and she laughed so hard she was shaking.

Mikel and Ryan also endured a lot of hardship.

"But..."

Lockhart's voice suddenly rose considerably, "Miss Milael Xinis knows my birthday is January 26th... Good girl!"

"In fact..." he flipped the test paper over, "Where is this excellent little witch with a perfect score of 100?"

A trembling hand was raised in the front row; it belonged to the student Kyle had chosen at first glance.

"Excellent!" Lockhart said with a smile. "Very good! Ten points for Gryffindor!"

"Two students were a bit disappointed; they only answered 53 questions correctly."

Lockhart then produced two more exam papers.

"I think they should read <Travel with Trolls> more carefully... In Chapter Nine of the book, I made it clear that my secret ambition is to eliminate evil from the world and to sell my own line of hair care products... not toothpaste."

However, toothpaste is also a good option; I'll consider adding it to the "Lockhart series."

Kanna lowered her head and gently punched Kyle under the desk.

Clearly, those two exam papers belonged to them.

Kanna originally wrote "hair conditioner," but when she saw Kyle confidently write "toothpaste," she changed it, and that's how it turned out.

"It's clearly your own lack of willpower..."

Kyle muttered to himself, "Besides, getting a perfect score means being called out by name, which is good."

"Now, let's get back to the main topic..."

Lockhart put the test paper aside, then picked up... a book.

Lockhart had originally planned to bring some Cornish Pixies as a surprise for the young wizards on their first day of class.

However, he only realized yesterday in his second-grade class that this surprise was a bit too exciting, so much so that it turned into a shock.

The classroom was in complete chaos because of the House-elf; even his own wand was thrown out the window.

He used the excuse of helping to clear away pests yesterday, and searched for a long time in the bushes before finally finding it.

After that incident, Lockhart realized that he probably couldn't pull off those fancy maneuvers anymore.

In addition, third graders are much harder to fool than second graders.

So today he's going to play it safe.

When the students saw the book "Voyages with Vampires" in his hand, they all frowned, even the die-hard fans.

Upon seeing the book, they couldn't help but think of the days last year when they were dominated by Professor Quirrell's "reading class," and a faint smell of garlic wafted into their noses.

"Merlin's beard... I hope he won't have to study again this year!" a Gryffindor said in anguish beside Kyle.

And there are many people like him.

Lockhart quickly gave them the answer.

The good news is they don't need to study like idiots anymore... but the bad news is they have to act this time.

Lockhart adapted the content of his book into a dramatic scene, which his students then performed, much like a kind of alternative stage play.

To be honest, this is not as good as reading books... Unfortunately, Lockhart does not think so.

He probably thought that this kind of performance would better highlight his bravery.

And performances require actors.

Lockhart's first thought was the most famous student in the class... Kyle, who had received the Order of Merlin, Second Class.

"It would feel amazing to have him highlight my abilities."

"Oh, and that second-year Harry Potter is pretty good too."

Lockhart thought this to himself, and he did it.

He called Kyle to the podium and decided to have him play the vampire from the book.

"Professor, may I ask you a question before the performance?" Kyle said.

"Ask away, a hundred questions are fine," Lockhart said, gathering his hair to resemble the character in the book as closely as possible.

Kyle casually flipped open the book "Voyages with Vampires" and glanced at it.

"In this section... you easily repelled the vampire that pounced on you using the Sunshine Charm..."

"But Professor, I'm curious... what is the effect of the Sunshine Charm? Is it an enhanced version of the Wand-Lighting Charm?"

"That's a new spell," Lockhart said with a laugh. "The Wand-Lighting Charm can't produce such a bright light."

For a moment... the Gryffindor students were fine, but the Hufflepuff all looked at Mikel in the middle of the classroom.

They still clearly remember... the explosive burst of light that suddenly appeared in the classroom during their first Charms class two years ago.

If there really is Sunshine Charm... it's probably nothing special.

However, Mikel was completely unaware of this... He had already passed out after reciting the incantation and had no idea what happened afterward.

On the platform, Kyle continued, "Could you demonstrate it for us?"

"Um..." Lockhart hesitated, then said, "Maybe next time... This spell isn't suitable for the classroom..."

"And this..." Kyle flipped through a few more pages. "You used the Levitation Charm to condense seawater and trap the vampire. This should be something we can demonstrate, right?"

Lockhart fell silent again.

But it wasn't over yet. Kyle continued flipping through the book and asked:

"Also, why are vampires not afraid of garlic, but afraid of amulets soaked in garlic juice...?"

"Why do you want to travel by boat? Wouldn't Apparition be better?"

"Also, how did you manage to get the vampire to only eat carrots...?"

Is that vampire still alive?

"If it were still alive, have you considered making the method public?"

After all, solving their blood-sucking problem is equivalent to solving the problem of Werewolf transforming on the night of the full moon; you will receive the Order of Merlin, First Class!

"Oh, right..."

Kyle seemed genuinely prepared to ask a hundred questions, and that barrage of "whys" gave Lockhart quite a headache.

He had only stolen this story from an old wizard; all he had done was cast a Memory Charm on him and made some artistic embellishments to the story. How could he possibly know so many details?

Lockhart felt a pang of panic as he noticed the increasingly curious gazes of those around him, and quickly stopped the incessantly chattering Kyle.

"Alright, alright... close the book."

"I don't mind answering these questions, but the other students have to attend classes."

"Consider this as homework; you might as well think about it yourself. Of course, if you still don't understand by the end of the school year, I'll tell you the answer."

Lockhart cleverly glossed over the matter, then found a reason to send Kyle back, replacing him with another seemingly well-behaved Hufflepuff wizard to act in the play.

If Kyle stays any longer, who knows what other questions he might ask? The risk is too great.