As Lockhart whistled, a series of click-clack footsteps sounded from the doorway.
Twelve Skeleton Dog with ribbons around their necks filed in, arranged in two rows.
Upon seeing this, Morris immediately understood what was going on.
Lockhart wanted these Skeleton Dog to deal with the roaming Cornish Pixies.
But why go through all this trouble?
In his view, these Cornish Pixies no magical resistance and could be easily dealt with by any spell.
Perhaps it's to stand out more?
After a brief encounter, he had a general understanding of Lockhart's personality: vain, narcissistic, and keen on presenting himself in a dramatic way.
Although the Skeleton Dog were dull-witted and not particularly strong in combat, they were still Magical Creatures, so dealing with a group of wandering Cornish Pixies was no problem for them.
They leaped high into the air, and when they landed, a struggling House-elf was already in their mouths—their movements were swift and efficient.
Within a minute or two, all the House-elf that had been flying around in the air were captured.
After completing their task, the Skeleton Dog immediately retreated to the side and lined up in a row.
Lockhart then took the House-elf from the Skeleton Dog one by one and put them back into the cage.
The classroom was completely silent, save for the screams and struggles of the Cornish Pixies.
When the last House-elf entered the cage, Lockhart's smile was so bright it almost glowed.
"I told you, I'll handle these problems," he said, opening his arms. "I won't even need to lift a finger."
He seems to be having a great time, Morris thought.
The students were so stunned by Lockhart and the Skeleton Dog's performance that the first round of applause seemed particularly abrupt.
Soon, more applause joined in, mingling with the sound of the dismissal bell, creating a lively atmosphere.
"Thank you, thank you."
Lockhart flashed a bright white smile, bowed slightly, and announced loudly, "Then, class dismissed!"
The students chattered and began to leave the classroom, mostly discussing the Skeleton Dog.
Just as Morris was about to leave, Lockhart's eyes met his.
Lockhart winked at him and made a "wait a minute" gesture, indicating that he should stay.
Lockhart strolled over only after the last student had disappeared through the doorway.
"Is there something you need, Professor Lockhart?" Morris asked politely, his face showing respect and a hint of curiosity.
"Then I'll get straight to the point, Black," Lockhart said, adopting a serious expression. "Regarding these Skeleton Dog you sold me, I found a record of them in an ancient book."
"I've examined them carefully; they were all created using evil magic."
"Do you know what this means? They're illegal!"
"Nonsense, "Morris thought.
But he wasn't in a hurry to expose the other party; instead, he wanted to see what the other party was really up to.
He feigned panic, behaving exactly like an ordinary student who had inadvertently gotten into trouble.
I... I don't know...
Lockhart's expression softened immediately upon seeing his reaction.
He stepped forward, patted Morris on the shoulder, and said, "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, my dear child. I'm not telling you this to scare you, nor to expose you. I, Gilderoy Lockhart, am not that kind of rigid fellow."
"Listen to me, Black. You absolutely cannot tell anyone that these Skeleton Dog originally belonged to you, understand? Otherwise, you could very well be thrown into Azkaban."
"For your safety, I'll say I rescued these Skeleton Dog from some evil dark wizard. It'll be better for both of us."
Morris immediately understood the other party's intentions.
He felt that Lockhart was probably telling him all this to better show off.
Rescuing someone from the clutches of a dark wizard—that's a much more sophisticated explanation than buying it from a store.
Morris sighed inwardly; something seemed off about his new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
However, since the other party has put it that way, it's not unreasonable for him to do them a favor.
Anyway, it won't affect him much.
For a fleeting moment, he thought the other party wanted to return the goods.
Thankfully, it wasn't.
"I understand, Professor." Morris nodded obediently. "Thank you for your help, Professor Lockhart."
"Very good." Lockhart was clearly very pleased with Morris's understanding. "Now let's go, remember what I said."
Morris quickly learned what kind of person Gilderoy Lockhart really was.
He had initially thought that Lockhart, despite his vanity and narcissism, possessed some ability.
However, after a few classes, the feeling that something was wrong became more and more obvious.
Lockhart's Dark Magic Defence Class taught absolutely nothing.
His courses only have two content.
One method involves bringing in harmless Magical Creatures, such as Cornish Pixies, and staging a predictable scenario where Skeleton Dog solve the problem.
Another approach was to have students read aloud his works and engage in some meaningless role-playing.
As for spell instruction, analysis of the habits of dark creatures, and practical training... none of these are provided.
Morris tried to ask a few questions about the spells, but Lockhart always gave vague answers or simply brushed them off.
So the result is obvious: Lockhart won't.
Perhaps the upperclassman from Ravenclaw wasn't wrong when school started.
Lockhart is a piece of trash.
Morris didn't seem to care much about this, and after reaching this conclusion, he stopped paying attention in Dark Magic Defence Class.
Anyway, he taught himself Defence Against the Dark Arts last semester.
I'm used to it now.
He just didn't understand why Dumbledore would appoint such a guy as a professor.
He didn't think Dumbledore would be unable to see Lockhart's true abilities.
Besides attending classes diligently, Morris would go to the Forbidden Forest every weekend evening.
The target was undoubtedly the dragon bones buried in the ground.
The bones were buried deep and scattered, Morris had to dig slowly to avoid damaging them, which made him very inefficient.
Although by the end of last semester, his bone fragments had been pieced together to form a complete hind leg and a left foot.
However, it will take a long time to completely excavate it.
Meanwhile, in the Room of Requirement, he set up a cauldron taller than everyone else and began brewing Potions to revitalize the bones.
One Saturday, Morris dug in the Forbidden Forest all night long.
As dawn broke, he took a detour back to the castle, passing right by the edge of the Quidditch Pitch.
"Boom!"
He heard a loud bang coming from the Quidditch Pitch.