"Hope you can still laugh when the time comes." Hermione gave Ron a sideways glance; her woman's intuition told her Harry wasn't up to anything good.
Today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was another big session, four-in-one times two, meaning all four houses were combined for two consecutive classes.
After so much time learning, everyone had gained a deep understanding of Professor Lockhart's abilities.
Capable, humorous and charming, not to mention handsome, a celebrity author—such a cool professor was hard not to love.
As the students sat in the classroom, they began chatting enthusiastically, discussing what would be covered today.
Everyone was looking forward to Professor Lockhart's teaching—each time they thought of the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, they couldn't help but feel a bit dejected.
Next year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor might not be someone as outstanding as Professor Lockhart...
Just then, Professor Lockhart emerged from his office.
He wore his signature smile, leaning against the railing, charming everyone.
Initially, this behavior might have made some feel awkward—but now, almost no one felt that way.
A powerful wizard having a little quirk—wasn't that quite normal?
"It's great to see you all again; since last time I gave you a lesson, let's see... a full week has passed."
Professor Lockhart smiled kindly, leaning on the railing as he spoke to everyone: "In this session, I need to ask you a few questions about the material we've covered recently."
"I have to remind you, if you get it wrong, I won't hesitate to deduct points."
Hearing this, the students let out a collective groan.
Good heavens, deductions too?
"However, if you can correctly answer my questions—" Professor Lockhart glanced around, "then I'll award points to your house."
"Yay!" The students erupted in cheers.
So it wasn't just deductions; there were added points too, which was great.
"Come now, let's begin—you don't need to raise your hands, as I'm doing a random spot check."
Professor Lockhart raised his chin, selecting a student to answer.
"Mr. Longbottom." He looked at the downcast Neville and walked over to him: "Don't worry, no need to be nervous—my question for you is... what type of spell does a Yin Corpse fear the most?"
Neville felt reassured hearing this question.
He had been quite nervous, but this question... he had seen Seamus solve it firsthand, how could he forget that huge eyeball that had made Malfoy scream?
"It's a Flame Magic spell, Professor," Neville answered clearly.
Professor Lockhart clapped his hands: "Very good, Mr. Longbottom, very good—Gryffindor earns two points!"
"Seems like Mr. Longbottom has reviewed well," Professor Lockhart smiled as he patted Neville's shoulder, signaling him to sit down: "I'm pleased that you've revisited what we learned before—the idea is to review past lessons and gain new insights; I hope you can do that."
"Next question... hmm, Mr. Nott." Professor Lockhart called upon Theodore Nott from Slytherin: "Please try to name three types of flame spells?"
Nott answered without hesitation: "Incendio (Flaming Bear), Confringo (Thunder Explosion), and Bombarda (Big Bomb), Professor."
"Very good, perfect answer, Mr. Nott, please sit, Slytherin earns two points." Professor Lockhart nodded as he called up another student: "Hmm... Miss Abbo, please describe the characteristics of an Evil Elf."
"An Evil Elf is a creature similar to a little elf, larger than a goblin, averaging three feet tall, with a sharp long face, particularly fond of the scent of children," Hannah Abbo stood up and answered fluently: "The piercing giggles they emit can mesmerize children, luring them away from their guardians before devouring them."
"Very well," Professor Lockhart gestured for Hannah to sit: "Very well, Miss Abbo—Hufflepuff earns two points."
"Now, Mr. Boot." Lockhart gestured for Terry Boot from Ravenclaw to stand: "Please tell me how to deal with an Evil Elf?"
"Any offensive spell, Professor," Terry replied: "An Evil Elf itself is very fragile, and can't even withstand Muggle physical attacks—according to Mr. Scamander's records in 'Where to Find Magical Creatures,' during the last Evil Elf attack incident, an Evil Elf assaulted a six-year-old boy named Bruno Schmidt. However, Bruno slammed his father's collapsible cauldron on the Evil Elf's head, killing it."
Upon hearing Mr. Scamander's name, Professor Lockhart twitched his mouth.
Everyone thought it was just literary rivalry, so they didn't mind too much and laughed cheerfully.
"Okay," Professor Lockhart grumbled: "Mr. Scamander is indeed an expert in magical creatures, but I don't want to hear his name in class—Ravenclaw earns one point."
The laughter grew louder, even Hermione joined in.
After all, Hermione had lost points to Snape for showing off her knowledge before, so seeing someone else lose points for talking too much made her feel quite gleeful.
Lockhart continued asking several more questions before returning to the side of the podium.