NOVEL WEB Chapter 103: Taking Over the Classroom
Harry and his friends had barely managed to respond before they were forced back to their seats by the arrival of Lockhart, who entered the classroom with the pomp and flair of a peacock in full display.
"Good afternoon," he began, delivering a self-introduction with practiced ease. Surprisingly, it was word-for-word the same as when Tver had interviewed him— not a single word out of place!
"Does he always do this spiel every time he introduces himself?" Tver muttered under his breath, resigned.
Lockhart, oblivious to the commentary but instinctively catching Tver's gaze, announced, "Today's lesson will be quite special," pointing towards Tver seated at the back, "As you can see, we have a special student today—your own Professor Fawley."
"Although I am the new professor here, undoubtedly, my experiences in adventuring are somewhat more extensive." He raised his eyebrows proudly, though the students weren't as impressed, their attention drifting back to a smiling Tver.
"Ahem," Lockhart adjusted his expression, redirecting the students' attention to himself, "So this lesson is very important, and I hope you'll take it seriously!"
With that, he began distributing a stack of papers—handing them out one by one, unlike Tver's magical approach.
"Maybe the professor likes doing it this way? There are other professors who do that too," Hermione, somewhat embarrassed, tried to defend Lockhart against Ron and Harry's disdain.
But the students were already accustomed to starting lessons with a test, thanks to Tver's training, so they took their pens and looked at the questions without complaint.
"1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?"
Even Hermione felt uneasy seeing this.
She continued reading.
"What do you think is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?"
And it went on—
"When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday? What is his ideal birthday gift?"
"My God, is this still Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Hermione whispered, frustrated.
Although she knew the answers effortlessly, having memorized Lockhart's books inside and out, the trivial nature of the test struck her as meaningless after being accustomed to Tver's more substantial lessons.
"Maybe this is a way to test our familiarity with the textbook from a different angle?" she reassured herself internally.
As for Harry and Ron, they could only look at each other, bewildered and blinking in confusion.
"Have you read any of Lockhart's books?" Harry whispered.
"Even if I had, I wouldn't remember what Lockhart's greatest achievement is supposed to be!" Ron complained in return.
Meanwhile, Tver, sitting behind them, chuckled as he looked at the exam paper—Lockhart had thoughtfully given him one too.
While the questions themselves were amusing, Tver was quite impressed with the structure. Lockhart had managed to craft a simple question into a multi-faceted query, a skill adequate for a competent exam setter.
Thus, once Lockhart realized his shortcomings, Tver planned to correct him and then provide an outline. This would enable Lockhart to handle the creation and grading of exam papers.
Tver noted this silently to himself.
After thirty minutes, Lockhart collected the papers. As expected, only Hermione managed to score perfectly.
Yet, despite her success, there was a hint of disappointment in the young witch's expression. Her mood swiftly changed, however, when Lockhart brought out a cage of Cornwall pixies, her smile returning.
"I knew Professor wouldn't keep it simple—there's a practical component to the class!"
Due to the high risk associated with magical creatures, Tver had refrained from introducing them to first-year students last year.
This was their first encounter with magical creatures in a classroom setting.
But they hadn't anticipated that Lockhart would disappoint in this aspect—he never did!
The pixies soon caused utter chaos in the classroom, and before Lockhart could even cast a spell, the little troublemakers had stolen his wand.
As the situation worsened, he feigned calm and shouted over to Tver, "I just remembered there's some urgent business I must attend to, so Professor Fawley will take over the remainder of the class!"
With that, he didn't wait for a response and hurriedly fled the room.
As he left, the students noticed that the rampaging pixies were suddenly frozen in place.
One by one, they orderly flew back into their cage.
Books, teaching tools, and even the portraits of Lockhart that had fallen were slowly restored to their original places, tidily arranged exactly where they belonged.
"Harry, hold down that book," Hermione directed, pointing to a squirming copy of Magical Me beneath Harry's seat.
Harry quickly shifted aside, and the book snapped back onto the desk.
Once all was in order, Tver retracted his wand and strode confidently toward the lectern.
"That was awesome," Ron said admiringly.
"Thank you for your praise. Now, please, take your seats," Tver said loudly.
The students obediently settled back into their places.
"I suppose you all heard about this morning's sixth year lesson, but I need to remind you that you do not yet have the skills to engage in the same," Tver announced.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a chorus of discontent filled the room.
"Professor, we are really strong!" one student protested.
"That's not fair!" another exclaimed.
"We want to learn how to fight too!" echoed through the classroom.
Even the usually demure Hermione couldn't help but complain, "You haven't taught us enough magic to be capable of that!"
"Alright," Tver raised his hand to quiet them, "I understand your frustration, so this year, I'll teach you as much magic as possible."
"As long as you study well, by next school year, you'll be ready for more intense and thrilling lessons."
Seeing their expressions shift back to normal and even turn expectant, Tver pointed towards the cage.
"Let's start our lesson today. Can anyone tell me about the characteristics of these pixies?"
As expected, Hermione was the first to raise her hand.
"Pixies are quite mischievous creatures. They can fly even though they don't have wings. Additionally, pixies live very long lives and maintain their youthful appearance for an extended period," she explained.
Tver nodded in approval.
"Correct, five points to Gryffindor."
He tapped the cage, and the recovered pixies began noisily rattling it, creating a startling series of snaps.
"The recent chaos should have given you a sense of just how mischievous these pixies can be. Do not underestimate them. They possess significant strength, capable of lifting objects many times their own size."
Seeing the wary looks on his students' faces, Tver's lips curled into a smile.
"And now, I am going to release these pixies once again!"