Every word sounded like admiration for Gilderoy Lockhart, every word seemed to be spoken for his sake—yet in truth, each sentence stabbed at his sore spots like a knife.
All these years, adored and worshiped, Lockhart had basked in his success, fully aware of the real reason he had come this far. That was why he never revealed his magic before others.
When he received the invitation from Hogwarts, Lockhart hadn't intended to accept, but he simply couldn't resist the lure of Harry Potter—the temptation of teaching the Savior.
As long as he took up the post, the great Gilderoy Lockhart would become the teacher of the Boy Who Lived, the one responsible for guiding the Savior. In the future, whenever people mentioned Harry, they would also mention his teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart.
Even if the appointment was poison, Lockhart—who cared so deeply for fame and glory—would still drink it down.
What's more, Lockhart didn't truly believe it was poison. He thought he could still handle the role of a teacher. What could be so hard about teaching a bunch of children?
But while deceiving others, Lockhart had also deceived himself. He was now nothing but a slave to fame and fortune, no longer a proper wizard. Years of dreamlike indulgence had made his magic rusty.
That was why he had embarrassed himself in the very first class, losing his wand to a group of Cornish pixies, and why today he was left speechless under Eda's questioning, reduced to a clown upon the stage.
"Duel..? I am… Gilderoy Lockhart, recipient of the… Order of Merlin, Third Class…" Lockhart stammered, his own name and the honorific title giving him a sliver of confidence once more. "And I am also your professor. I would never do anything to harm a student. Even though I could control my power and keep it from hurting you… my morals and my position forbid me from doing something so out of line."
The reasons Lockhart gave were flawless on the surface. He was a Hogwarts professor, a recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, and an Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League. For someone of his status to bully a student was indeed unbecoming.
But while those words might have sounded convincing coming from someone else, from Lockhart they reeked of excuses.
Think of all the things he had done since becoming a professor: making his own books the class textbooks and forcing every student to buy them; bringing Cornish pixies into Harry Potter's class and letting the entire lesson fall into chaos; never casting spells in front of others, which led some to doubt him, believing he was all show with no substance.
To Hogwarts students, Lockhart was already practically synonymous with "fraud"—all they were waiting for was the final proof.
The students had long since lost their trust in him. After Eda's soul-piercing questions today and his own miserable performance, who could still believe his words? Who could still think that the man standing before them was the same "Gilderoy Lockhart" from his books?
A chorus of clicking tongues filled the classroom, the sound grating to Lockhart's ears. But what followed was even harsher.
"Professor, you're not scared, are you? Twist is only a fourth-year. Is that too high a grade for you? How about a first-year instead?"
"Professor, in your books you made yourself sound so powerful. Why can't you show us a little now?"
"Professor, Twist's just a girl, not some terrifying banshee! You could beat her with a wave of your hand, so what are you afraid of?"
When the law cannot punish the crowd, the students felt free to openly mock and humiliate Lockhart, their sarcastic and cutting remarks coming one after another.
Mocking a teacher was certainly impolite, but after two consecutive years of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors being such a disgrace, how could the students not harbor resentment?
Why had no one ever mocked Professor Glover Cecil? Because Professor Glover had actually taught his students a great deal. Why hadn't anyone dared to ridicule Benedict Fowley? Because in the first half of the school year, Foley had truly done his job responsibly.
Though both of those men had committed evil deeds in the end, in the eyes of the students, they were still far better than Quirrell or Lockhart. If Quirrell and Lockhart had at least fulfilled their duties as teachers, these jeers and accusations would never have come about.
The classroom was a cacophony of voices. At last, Lockhart could no longer endure it.
His flushed face had gone deathly pale, and in a trembling voice he announced the end of class. Without looking back, he stumbled away from the podium and staggered toward his office.
"Sob~ I believe in you, I believe the professor was only afraid of hurting me," Eda's tear-choked voice rang out once more in the classroom, a single tear sliding down the corner of her eye. "Classmates, think of all the things he's done, all those remarkable achievements of his—how could he possibly be a useless fraud?"
The students fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Though Eda's words claimed belief, she was in fact one step away from pointing at Lockhart's nose and calling him worthless.
Just as he reached the stairs, Lockhart stumbled and nearly tumbled down them. In shame, he scrambled into his office, shutting himself away as the laughter outside grew louder and louder.
Wiping away her crocodile tears, Eda began packing her things. Class was over—why stay here any longer? That would just be slow suicide.
Today's actions had successfully stirred up the students' doubts about Lockhart, indirectly proving that he was nothing but a fraud. Yet Eda felt no joy at all. She disliked Lockhart, that much was true, but if possible, she still wished he could be as capable as the books described, rather than strutting into the school to swindle and boast.
At Hogwarts, secrets never stayed hidden for long.
By the afternoon, what had happened in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom had spread throughout the school.
Everyone knew about Lockhart's disgraceful performance, and many were curious about how Eda knew so much about him in the first place.
In the Gryffindor common room, Fred asked, "Eda, how did you know about all those lies Lockhart told? That was all back when he was still a student."
His question happened to echo what everyone else was thinking. The room grew quiet—conversations stopped, hands set down their work—as all eyes turned to Eda, waiting for her answer.
"I didn't know at first," Eda said. "But there are people in this school who do. I just asked around about Lockhart, and they told me all the tall tales he boasted of back when he was a student."
The students themselves certainly knew nothing of Lockhart's past, but that didn't mean no one at Hogwarts did. Many professors had once taught him—Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, and even Professor Flitwick, who had been his Head of House.
None of the three professors had a favorable impression of Lockhart. Even the usually kind and gentle Professor Sprout showed a look of distaste when speaking of him.
And though Lockhart was considered a "distinguished" graduate of Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick's expression likewise darkened at his name, making it plain to Eda: Could we please not talk about him?
Back in his school days, Lockhart had been disliked by everyone, showing none of the talents he flaunted today.
Yet after graduation, he somehow transformed into the successful, celebrated Gilderoy Lockhart of now—one could even call it a true reversal of fortune.
When word of his supposed achievements spread back from afar, the professors should have thought they had misjudged him back then, revising their opinion of him. But when Lockhart returned to Hogwarts as a teacher, what he received instead was varying degrees of annoyance, not the welcome or respect that a "distinguished alumnus giving back to his school" should have earned.
Among them, Professor McGonagall seemed to dislike him the most.
Angelina said, "Pfft~ That really is ironic. Lockhart probably never imagined that the boasts he made back then would one day be the very thing that embarrassed him so badly."
Alicia added, "Suddenly, I feel like Lockhart isn't completely useless as a professor. At least he's shown us what happens if you don't work hard and only know how to brag. Ahaha~"
"Bahah~ Shouldn't the real lesson be 'don't provoke a woman'?" Lee Jordan said recklessly. "Especially when that woman's surname is Twist."
George grew thoughtful and said slowly, "From him, I've realized the meaning of studying hard…"
That didn't sound at all like something one of the Weasley twins would say, so naturally everyone wanted to know what realization George had come to.
Fred, perfectly in sync with his brother, said, "Studying hard is so that one day you can back up all the tall tales you told as a kid."
"So, are you two planning to give up on your dream of opening a joke shop and start studying hard instead?" Eda asked with a smile. "If that's the case, I'll definitely write to Mrs. Weasley and let her share in the joy."
Fred and George answered in unison, "No way! The joke shop is our dream. Everything we're working on right now is for making it a reality!"
The common room was filled with laughter and warmth. Everyone began sharing the wild boasts they had made in the past, while others would comment on them or even throw out some ridiculous suggestions.
At that moment, though, Eda found herself thinking of Dumbledore. She certainly didn't believe that Dumbledore had been fooled by Lockhart's façade.
What she couldn't figure out was why Dumbledore had hired him. Was it really just to expose Lockhart?
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