Hogwarts: Me? Fight Voldemort?

Lockhart didn't get the laughter he expected, but he wasn't embarrassed. He put down "Walking with Trolls" and picked up a stack of exam papers to hand out. "You've all bought my complete works—very good."

I think we should start with a little quiz today. Don't be afraid—I just want to see how well you read and how much you've understood..."

When the papers were handed out to Jimmy's table, Lockhart seemed to deliberately say loudly, "Jimmy, I also think highly of you! Because you are the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin, but I hope you don't talk about it too often, because you still have a lot of knowledge to match your fame!"

Leaving the courtyard, Jimmy had calmed down. Even after being so blatantly belittled, he only put on a forced composure, while inwardly scrutinizing Lockhart.

He's obviously weird, and there's something seriously wrong with him!

Looking at Jimmy's reaction, Lockhart praised him, "Very good, Jimmy, you're starting to learn to be low-key, which will help you in the future."

Everyone started taking the test. The content of the test was exactly the same as the original work, and it was all about Lockhart, spanning three whole pages.

After glancing at the contents of the test paper, Jimmy lost interest in doing the questions and didn't even want to touch the quill pen next to the table, just waiting for time to pass.

Half an hour later, Lockhart began collecting the papers. With just a wave of his hand, all the papers that had been handed out were neatly stacked and flew into his hand.

Everyone in the classroom was astonished. This was a silent, wandless spellcasting technique, a high-level spellcasting skill that only powerful wizards could use.

Lockhart, with a smug expression on his face, leaned against the lectern and flipped through the test papers 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 XZ Blood People.' A few classmates should reread 'Wandering with Werewolves' more carefully..."

He was like a picky buyer, criticizing and commenting on the students' papers.

Suddenly, Lockhart excitedly pulled out a test paper. "Miss Hermione Granger knows my secret ambition is to eliminate evil from the world and sell my own line of hair care products—good girl! 100 points! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"

Jimmy saw Hermione in the front row raise a trembling hand...

“Excellent! Add 10 points to Gryffindor!” Lockhart was very pleased, but then he carefully pulled out one of the papers and said regretfully, “However, there is an unsigned paper here, which is completely blank. I know whose it is.”

Mr. Jimmy Blaine, this is not the attitude a student should have. Five points deducted from Gryffindor.

Chapter 115 Cornish Elf

Lockhart said insincerely, "Jimmy, I know that sudden fame can make you look down on everyone else."

But only people like me can go further. I don't want to deduct points from your score, but you must realize your mistakes.

Neville looked at Jimmy with concern, while Jimmy became increasingly certain that Lockhart was not only strange, but also targeting him.

“Alright, you still have a lot to learn. Now—” Lockhart placed his hand on the draped iron cage he had just brought in, and said with an expression that suggested he was about to reveal some terrifying secret, “Be careful! My mission 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'm here, you will not be harmed. I only ask that you remain calm.

At this moment, the iron cage vibrated at just the right time, causing everyone to crane their necks, wanting to see what was inside.

“I must ask you not to scream!” Lockhart said in a low voice, “That will enrage them!”

Everyone held their breath, and the next moment, the cloth covering the cage was lifted.

Whoosh!

A piercing scream rang out, and all the students who had covered their eyes but left a gap could see what was in the cage: a group of small monsters with wings and bluish-green skin.

“Cornnean elves? Hahaha! They’re very dangerous, aren’t they?” Seamus laughed incessantly after seeing what was in the cage.

Many people laughed along with them, since those little sprites with their shrill cries didn't seem like dangerous creatures at all.

Jimmy was actually looking forward to Lockhart releasing the Cornish elf from the cage, having his wand stolen, and throwing him out the window. If that happened, it would prove he was still a good-for-nothing.

“Laugh all you want, Mr. Finnigan!” Lockhart didn’t disappoint Jimmy. He first glared angrily at Seamus, who was laughing loudly. “They’re little troublemakers as cunning as devils! Let’s see how you deal with them!”

Without warning, he pulled open the lock on the iron cage, and the Cornish elves inside screamed and flew towards the students below the podium.

This turn of events terrified the students, as the Cornish elves revealed their ferocious side.

They flew around everywhere, knocking over books on desks and spilling ink all over the place.

They grabbed Simo's clothes and pulled him off the chair.

The students in the classroom were all screaming and wildly waving their arms at the Cornish elves that were flying around like arrows.

"Alright, everyone come back!"

Just as Jimmy was about to make a move, Lockhart shouted, and the iron cage on the desk acted like a giant vacuum cleaner, sucking all the Cornish elves back in.

After the last Cornish elf returned to its cage, Lockhart closed the small door and looked triumphantly at the disheveled Seamus. "Well, Mr. Finnigan? Now you know how powerful these Cornish elves are!"

The chaos happened suddenly and was stopped in time. Even though they were covered in dirt and their books were either overturned or torn to pieces, nothing could dampen their excitement.

This is a proper Defense Against the Dark Arts class; Quirrell's class last semester was just a recitation class!

Seeing the students' expectant eyes, Lockhart's face was full of pride. "Everyone's performance was unsatisfactory. I'm sorry, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff will both lose 1 point."

He suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Next, I'm going to release them again. You can get bonus points if you catch them! Are you ready?"

At this point, Seamus dared not laugh anymore. He raised his hand and asked, "But Professor, what method should we use to catch them?"

Lockhart asked, "Stone-Piercing Charm, Freezing Charm, Stunning Charm, you should at least have learned one of them, right?"

Some students said they had learned the Petrify Charm, some said they had learned the Freeze Charm, but they hadn't learned the Stun Charm yet. A small number of students said they hadn't learned any of the three charms.

Lockhart said somewhat awkwardly, "This isn't something I'm supposed to teach. I'm only responsible for teaching you how to defend against dark creatures... Oh, I've got it! Who's willing to come up and demonstrate these three spells? Bonus points!"

Upon hearing that she could earn extra points, Hermione eagerly raised her right hand.

“Good girl! Come to the front!” Lockhart was overjoyed. He led Hermione to the front of the lectern, and the cage opened automatically. A Cornish house-elf flew out and landed in front of the window on the left. “Cast those three spells on it, and then explain them to the others! I believe you can do it.”

Hermione suppressed a smile and began to explain with a gleeful grin, "The Petrification Charm, the incantation is to turn everything to stone..."

After finishing her explanation, she cast the three spells on the Cornish elf.

"Fantastic! Gryffindor gets 10 points!"

Lockhart let Hermione return to her seat, and then he released all the Cornish elves from their cages for the students to catch.

"Let those harmless Cornish elves go back to their cages, Mr. Finnegan!"

"Look, the famous Harry Potter has successfully knocked down two of them."

"No, no, no, Mr. Weasley, don't use your fists!"

"Why are you sitting there motionless, Jimmy? Gryffindor -1 point deducted."

“You did a good job, but you made it so that the other students couldn’t catch any Pokémon. You need to be more sociable. The classroom isn’t a place for you to throw tantrums, Jimmy.”

The more Lockhart acted out of character, the more calmly Jimmy examined their situation.

To say Lockhart is unlike the character in the original work is not quite right, but to say he is similar is also completely different.

He's targeting me for no reason. It can't be because he knows I wrote that anonymous letter sent to the Ministry of Magic, can it?

Or perhaps... the Memory Charm and the Memory Restoration Charm posed a threat to him?

The more chaotic the classroom environment, the calmer Jimmy felt inside; however, he still needed to maintain an outward appearance of suppressed anger.

If Lockhart really was manipulating everything behind the scenes, then he had to maintain his angry demeanor and make Lockhart believe that his plan had succeeded, at least until the end of this class.

"Alright!"

The noise in the classroom ceased abruptly as the last Cornish house-elf was struck down by Harry's petrification charm.

Lockhart simply made a gesture to stop, and all the Cornish elves that had fallen to the ground returned to their cages and were covered again with the red cloth.

Although everyone in the classroom was a mess—the girls had their hair pulled and the boys had ink splashed on them—they were all happy because it was their first real Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Professor Lockhart, my book has been torn. Could you please fix it for me?" The old Seamus used to look down on Lockhart, thinking he was a show-off, but now he calls him "Professor" so affectionately.

Lockhart laughed and said, "Of course I'm very good at repairing damaged things. If you've read my other book, 'Giddro Lockhart Teaches You How to Get Rid of Household Pests,' you'll know that I can even fix a wardrobe that's been chewed up by the Tooth Fairy!"

This sounded more like bragging, and he made no attempt to repair the scraps of paper on the ground.

"However, I must give you a chance to practice. You should know that the Healing Charm is one of the commonly used household spells, and it can also protect you on your journey!"

Sure enough, Lockhart scanned the class and asked, "Who knows how to use the Healing Charm?"

Half of the people raised their hands.

"Very good. Those who don't know how should ask those who do. Before get out of class ends, you should clean up the things on the floor!"

Chapter 116 Stubborn Old Deng

When the bell rang, Jimmy, who had no books and whose seat was at the very back closest to the classroom door, was the first to leave the classroom and headed straight for the principal's office.

"Cheese Snow Leopard." At the command, the Dripping Stone Beast jumped aside, and Jimmy ran up the spiral staircase, knocked twice on the door, and pushed it open. "Professor Dumbledore!"

"Is there anything I can help you with, Jimmy?" Dumbledore was still pacing back and forth in his office as usual.

Jimmy's worst fear—that Dumbledore would hide from him and dig a pit for him—did not come true. He breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What's going on with Lockhart?"

He needs to figure this out; he wants to focus on potions this semester!

"Professor Lockhart, what's wrong with him?" Dumbledore asked, looking puzzled, as if he knew nothing.

"What? He's clearly influencing other people's minds!" Jimmy said this to try and provoke Dumbledore, hoping to confirm his suspicions through Dumbledore.

Would you like a cup of black tea first?

"no thank you."

Dumbledore wanted to pour Jimmy some tea, but Jimmy didn't want any right now.

Setting down the teapot, Dumbledore said, "Giddy Lohart was the only one who applied for the position, and he did a good job, didn't he?"

Dumbledore was always scheming and calculating, and even though the outcome might be good, Jimmy, who had glimpsed a bit of the truth, still felt extremely uncomfortable and dissatisfied.

"You mean you just watch Lockhart use his abilities at will and let him continue to target a poor, weak, and helpless student?"

He knew that if he didn't explain things clearly, Dumbledore might just brush it off again.

In the original book, this is how he fooled Harry in his fifth year, finally saying that if he stayed away from Harry, Voldemort wouldn't pay attention to him. Wasn't the purpose to cultivate Harry's independence?

Now, what tricks is he planning to play?

If the diary is gone, should we buff Lockhart?

Dumbledore doesn't casually read other people's minds, but he could guess what Jimmy was thinking. He pulled a newspaper from his desk drawer, folded it to a certain point, and handed it to Jimmy.

Jimmy took the newspaper and read it. The article was simple: Gringotts had discovered new magical ruins in Türkiye.

He had seen the report a long time ago, but he hadn't read it carefully; he had just glanced at it and ignored it. Many new things happen in the magical world every day, and a single ruin is not worth paying attention to.