Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 296: The Forbidden Book Zone Plan
The Defense Against the Dark Arts class began in this atmosphere.

As soon as Ron entered the classroom, he couldn't help but laugh. What was he doing?
On the wall of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class hung a huge self-portrait. The wizard in the portrait had spiky blond hair, wore a magnificent turquoise robe, and was holding a paintbrush, painting... himself.

Surprisingly, there was more than one such self-portrait; Lockhart filled the entire Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"One, two, three... seven, seven short Harts?"

Ron laughed incessantly, referring to the Seven Dwarfs. This was the storybook Justin had given him during their casual conversation, and Ron had also given Justin a copy of "The Tale of the Three Brothers."

Although he himself doesn't own many storybooks.

Don't say that!

Hermione glared at Ron.

Meanwhile, the other students chatted excitedly as they entered the classroom, only to be stunned by the walls covered with Lockhart artwork.

After all the students were seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly to quiet everyone down.

He reached out and picked up Neville Longbottom's "Walking with Trolls," holding it up to show the cover featuring a photo of himself winking.

"I,"

He pointed to his photo and winked, saying,
“Giddro Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, five-time winner of the Wizarding Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award—but I don’t wear that on my sleeve. I don’t exorcise the ghost of Warren with a smile!”

He waited for everyone to laugh, and a few people gave him a faint smile.

"I see you've all bought my complete works—great! I think we should start with a little quiz today. Don't be afraid—just to see how well you read and how much you've understood..."

Next, Sheen and his friends received an exam paper that could only be described as hopeless.

"What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?!"

Ron's eyes widened.
"What kind of question is this?"

Hermione scribbled away, covering her paper with her left hand, and moved a little closer to Sheehan.

"Does anyone actually know..."

Ron muttered to Harry, then subconsciously glanced past Hermione at Sheehan's exam paper.
"Guess what? Sheen's record of always getting perfect scores is about to end... Lilac—Sheen, how did you know?"

Ron craned his neck and asked incredulously.

Does Sheen idolize Lockhart? The probability of that is even lower than Harry idolizing Snape.

"On page 69 of 'A Year with the Tibetan Yeti,' in the bottom right corner, third row..."

Sheen replied.

"Ah, Sheen, you don't really need to read every book so carefully, especially..."

Ron was speechless for a moment, then seemed to realize something—Sheen never did anything meaningless.

So he went back to reading quietly, and soon his gaze stopped on the last question on the first page:
What do you think is Mr. Hermes' true identity at Hogwarts?

It was followed by several statements such as "Will Lockhart's guidance become an indispensable part of 'Mr. Hermes' growth path?"

This made Ron wary as he looked at Lockhart.

Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the test papers and looked through them in front of the whole class.

"Tsk tsk—almost no one remembers that my favorite color is lilac. I mentioned it in 'A Year with the Tibetan Yeti'..."

He winked at them mischievously again.

Ron was now staring at him with hostility, while Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas in front of him were laughing silently and trembling, but Hermione was listening intently.

Lockhart was still reading, pausing briefly at the last question on the first page each time before glancing with interest at those calm green eyes.

“We still have two perfect scores! Mr. Sheehan Green and Miss Hermione Granger!”

Excellent! Ten points for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw! Now, back to the main topic…”

He bent down and pulled a large cage covered with a cloth from behind the podium, placing it on the table.

"Now—be careful! My task is to teach you how to resist the most evil things known in the magical world! You will face the most terrifying things in this classroom. But remember, as long as I am here, you will not be harmed. I only ask that you remain calm."

He rambled on and on, but Sheen didn't listen to a word he said.

He was pondering the important books in the restricted section of Hogwarts—"The Secrets of Advanced Dark Magic," "Powerful Potions," "The Most Poisonous Magic"... These were all books that Sheehan remembered.

There are too many that Sheen doesn't remember.

Hogwarts has existed for over a decade, and its library boasts a vast collection of books.

The knowledge accumulated within is enough to excite any wizard who attempts to explore the mysteries of magic.

The problem is that finding any banned book requires a note signed by a teacher.

While staying at the school, Sheehan asked Mrs. Pince, who gave him some approval slips without hesitation, as she did not believe that Sheehan would not be able to get the approval.

Now, the person who will help with the autograph is right in front of you.

Lockhart can sign a hundred copies without even looking at them.

When Sheen looked up, the outside world he had deliberately isolated from had changed drastically.

Many dark blue monsters flew around like rockets. Two of them grabbed Neville by the ears and lifted him up. Several others rushed out of the windows, scattering broken glass all over the back of the classroom.

The rest wreaked havoc in the classroom, more rampaging than a charging rhinoceros. They grabbed ink bottles and splashed ink all over the class, tore books and paper to shreds, ripped down pictures from the walls, turned the trash cans upside down, and threw schoolbags and textbooks out the broken windows.

Half the class hid under the desks, while Neville swung on the chandelier.

The bell rang, and everyone rushed out the door as fast as they could.

In the midst of the chaos, Lockhart straightened up, looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione who were standing guard beside Sheehan, and said:
"Ah, I ask the five of you to catch the rest of these little sprites and put them back in their cages."

He rushed out of the classroom before them and closed the door as soon as he was outside.

Hermione was using the Freezing Charm to keep dealing with the house-elf, while Harry stood on the book and tiptoed to try and reach Neville.

Ron, on the other hand, was overjoyed:
"Sheen! You have no idea what happened in the last few minutes! We didn't even have time to call you!"

Sheen stood up, his brows furrowing slightly. He raised his wand, and a massive flame instantly engulfed the entire classroom, faintly resembling a fire dragon.

The raging flames drove the screaming, dark blue monster to the wall. Sheen's eyes changed slightly, and the wall instantly came to life, swallowing the dark blue monster whole.

Sheen's wand drew another sharp arc, and stacks of books flew over automatically, forming a tall staircase.

Sheen walked up the stairs step by step, tapped his wand, and Neville, who was so frightened that he cried, fell onto the ever-swirling pages of the book.

"Are you okay?"

Sheen said.

The classroom was silent for a moment.

"This...this is what a wizard should be like!"

Ron exclaimed in disbelief.

Harry nodded in agreement.

Hermione stared blankly at Lockhart as he fled, then at Sheen and Neville, who were surrounded by pages of books and slowly descending to the ground.

"Damn liar—"

Now even the most foolish wizard can tell the difference between the two.

"Honestly, it would be better to let Sheen become a professor..."

Ask him what indispensable role Sheen's guidance played in Lockhart's development...

Ron muttered.

Harry was shaking with suppressed laughter.

(End of this chapter)