Endless Boasting

Lockhart pulled out his eye-catching Peacock Quill and signed his name with a lavish flourish.

"You could call it quick thinking in a crisis. The situation was desperate. The last one left is often the strongest, and that ghoul was like jelly—you couldn't crush it or beat it apart. It specialized in smothering people by plastering itself over them. At that critical moment, a dazzling shaft of sunlight shone through a hole in the roof and struck the tea strainer. Suddenly, my mind..."

Gilderoy Lockhart apparently had plenty of time on his hands. Having cornered a young fangirl, he launched into a wildly exaggerated account of his ghoul-catching exploits. Unfortunately, Hermione lapped it all up. She clutched her cuffs, her expressions rising and falling with every twist of his story!

"He really can spout rubbish. A ghoul lived above my head for over ten years. How could I not know what it looks like, what magic it can do, and what its temperament is? He can only fool ignorant girls!"

Ron sat down beside Luo Bin and spoke with utter disdain.

Hermione equals an ignorant girl?!!

This boy never learns his lesson, does he?

"Don't say that. Hermione's doing this to get a teacher's signed permission slip!"

"No, she isn't. Luo Bin, why don't you write a book too? You could call it 'Battling the Attic Ghoul.' What do you think?"

Ron blinked his bright eyes, seemingly eager for Luo Bin to agree.

"Not much of an idea. Why don't you write it instead? Call it 'My Years Living with a Ghoul' and put all your firsthand experiences in it. You'll win yourself a whole crowd of fangirls, like Lavender Brown!"

"Why bring her up out of nowhere? Don't let Hermione hear that name, or else..."

"Or else what?"

Hermione