To ensure he could concentrate in class, Draco decided to remind Lockhart, "Professor, are you familiar with the properties of this thing?"
Lockhart's heart skipped a beat.
Once Malfoy spoke, he dared not disregard his words and could only bite the bullet and reply, "Of course, Mr. Malfoy, I know everything about all dark creatures—"
Draco simply nodded and didn't press the matter further.
Since he wants to lose face, let him be.
Hermione continued, picking up where Draco left off. "These are Cornish Pixies. They're naturally mischievous, enjoy causing trouble, have low intelligence, and can't be truly tamed."
"Stealing is their instinct, and robbing and playing pranks are their pleasures. Once released, they are extremely difficult to control."
Lockhart quickly backed down, his smile somewhat forced, "Ten, absolutely right! Just as Miss Granger said—"
By this point, Lockhart had already cursed the merchant a thousand times over for selling him such a dangerous thing.
In fact, he's no different from any other businessman; he'll do anything to become famous and sell books.
However, Lockhart wanted to save face in front of the female students and maintain his persona of being omnipotent and capable of taming all dark creatures.
He will still stubbornly pretend to be something he's not.
So Lockhart waved his hand dismissively:
"Very good! Then let's put this into practice today—how to tame and control these little devils! Watch carefully, I'll only demonstrate once!"
Then he opened the iron cage.
The next second, the situation spiraled out of control.
The classroom was now in complete chaos.
The House-elf flew around like rockets.
Two men grabbed Neville by the ears and lifted him up.
Draco reacted swiftly, raising his wrist and unleashing a clean spell that saved Neville.
Several others even smashed through windows, scattering shards of glass all over the back row.
The rest wreaked havoc in the classroom, more rampant than a charging rhinoceros.
Ink bottles flew everywhere, books were torn to shreds, pictures were ripped off, trash cans were overturned, and schoolbags and textbooks were thrown out of the window one after another.
Then, they began to play pranks on the students without restraint.
These House-elf ' physical attacks were too sudden.
Everyone learned basic spells like the Levitation Charm in first grade, but those were practiced in a safe and controlled environment.
Faced with a group of fast-flying, noisy, and ferocious creatures, everyone panicked and forgot all their knowledge, only able to hide and run away, with many people even crawling under the table and trembling.
"Come, come, chase them away, chase them away, they're just House-elf..." Lockhart was still being stubborn.
He rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand, and roared, " Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"
The spell had no effect whatsoever.
A House-elf snatched his wand and threw it out the window.
Lockhart gasped, and without a word, he darted under the podium to hide.
At this point, the students had completely lost their leader.
The professor, who had been so radiant just moments before, instantly shrank into a ball. The shock of this sudden collapse of authority was more terrifying than the House-elf itself.
Just when the whole place was in complete chaos!
Hermione deftly dodged an attacking House-elf, straightened up, and calmly took control of the battlefield:
"Don't panic! Use whatever magic you know! This is the best opportunity to put it into practice!"
The students, who had been panicking and running around aimlessly, felt like they had grasped a lifeline when they heard Hermione's calm and powerful voice.
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone immediately raised their sticks in response!
" Wingardium Leviosa!" Lavender's voice trembled with fear, but he still kept his eyes closed as he chanted the incantation.
The spell forced the House-elf that were rushing towards her into the air, and she frantically pushed them away.
" Rictusempra!" Parvati shouted, clinging tightly to Lavender. Her spell made a House-elf's limbs go limp, and it fell to the ground with a "thud."
" Locomotor Mortis!" Olivia calmly raised her hand, freezing a House-elf in mid-air, unable to move.
Dean gripped his staff tightly. " Lumos!"
A flash of bright light momentarily blinded the House-elf, and he seized the opportunity to kick it away.
" Lumos!" Seamus imitated Dean.
The result—bang!
A bright light accompanied by a small explosion not only blinded the House-elf but also sent splinters flying from the corner of the table, nearly blowing his hair off.
Hermione was so startled that she immediately turned around and yelled, " Seamus! I told you to use spells, not to destroy the classroom!"
" Rictusempra!" Hannah said.
" Locomotor Mortis!" Susan continued.
The two worked together, one on the left and one on the right, and immediately subdued the two most unruly House-elf.
" Expelliarmus!" Harry chanted quickly, and the spell struck down the scattering House-elf.
" Expelliarmus!" Neville, shrinking back, tried chanting it himself, and surprisingly, he actually knocked the ink bottle the House-elf was holding away, leaving even himself astonished.
" Rictusempra!" Ron shouted, making the House-elf pulling his hair weak in the knees, and he was extremely pleased with himself.
Hermione remained the most composed player throughout.
" Impedimenta!" They blocked a group of House-elf charging towards them head-on.
" Accio!" The book and wand, which had been thrown into the air, were forcibly recalled.
" Depulso!" This caused one House-elf to collide with another.
Faced with the most unruly ones, she simply said, " Petrificus Totalus!"
The little House-elf froze in mid-air, unable to move. Once the battle had subsided, she raised her wrist and shouted, " Tergeo!"
Roll up the scattered scraps of paper, ink stains, and glass shards into a ball and thoroughly clean up to create a safe area.
Half a step behind her, Draco stood quietly, and whenever House-elf flew past Hermione from a blind spot, he would use " Protego!" to shield her.
Of course, most of the time I just quietly watched her direct the whole thing.
After the last House-elf was put into the spare cage, the classroom was a mess, but things finally calmed down.
Ron, panting, caught sight of Draco's relaxed, amusement and couldn't help but scoff:
" Draco, you're really good at hiding—you stayed right behind Hermione the whole time, safe and comfortable, weren't you?"
"I just want to give you guys more opportunities to shine. Otherwise, it's no fun if I take all the credit," Draco said, feigning magnanimity.
"Opportunity? I think you just want to hide in the background—" Ron exposed.
"That's enough, Ron," Hermione interrupted him.
Upon hearing this, Ron's face immediately fell. "Fine, fine, you can protect him then."
Neville, clutching his still-aching ear, walked over with a sincere expression:
"Thank you, Draco... and thank you, Hermione. I really don't know what I would have done without you."
He genuinely believed Draco's "give him a chance" rhetoric.
Ron rolled his eyes and muttered, "Only you would believe his nonsense..."