Harry Potter: The Vampire Prince

Lockhart wasn't an idiot!

Alright, maybe he was incompetent, narcissistic, and overbearing, with a fondness for self-promotion—but he wasn't stupid.

Lately, the atmosphere in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom had been at an all-time low. Even the young witches who had once been infatuated with him had lost their enthusiasm.

After Christmas, Professor McGonagall had let slip that quite a few wizarding families had written complaint letters to Dumbledore, questioning why he had hired a buffoon whose only skill was boasting.

Lockhart was well aware that even if Dumbledore wanted to keep him on, things couldn't continue like this. Otherwise, he would go down in Hogwarts history as a laughingstock!

He had to find a way to salvage his reputation—immediately!

Speaking of which, the atmosphere at Hogwarts had lightened considerably after Christmas.

As usual, Nolan was seen wandering through the castle, appearing in odd places, constantly knocking on certain walls as if trying to determine whether they were hollow.

"Nolan is searching for the Chamber of Secrets!" — That was the general consensus among the students.

Since the attack on Justin at the end of last year, the monster from the Chamber had not struck again. Many believed that Nolan's intense indignation and persistence regarding the Chamber had frightened the Heir of Slytherin into abandoning their plans altogether. Everyone remained optimistic.

As for the unfortunate victims of petrification, Madam Pomfrey had reassured everyone that her Mandrakes were maturing rapidly. Once ready, they would be harvested, roasted over fire, and turned into a potion by Snape to cure the victims and restore them to their original state.

On another note, Hermione had successfully been discharged from the hospital wing.

"You should've seen the look on Nolan's face when I was discharged!" Hermione complained angrily to her two friends. "He looked as if he thought I deserved to be stuck there forever, like some specimen for him to study!"

Indeed, Nolan was extremely dissatisfied with Hermione's recovery.

Her current 'condition' had been invaluable to his research, but he still lacked enough data. He had already decided that he needed to find a few unfortunate wizards without close relatives, feed them some 'enhanced' Polyjuice Potion—just like what had happened to Hermione at Christmas—and continue his studies.

"We all know what kind of person Nolan is," Ron scoffed. "He's no different from Percy—he'd sell out his own brother if it benefited him. Didn't Harry compare him to something once…?"

Harry, looking utterly miserable, muttered, "A robot."

"Oh, right, a robot—whatever that is," Ron shrugged.

Harry wasn't having an easy time. Most of the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs still believed he was the Heir of Slytherin. Gryffindors stood by him, but the Ravenclaws remained neutral as always.

On their way to the Great Hall, Ron wouldn't stop grumbling about Nolan. "Even some of the Slytherins are getting fed up with him! Who told him to spend all his time discussing Muggle movies with Miles? The Slytherins think he's ruining their noble traditions. See? Even they can't stand him!"

Hermione, growing increasingly irritated, tried several times to change the topic but failed. Finally, she snapped, "Enough, Ron! Stop badmouthing him in front of me!"

Ron blinked in confusion. "But, Hermione, you were just—"

"Yes, I think he's cold and heartless! But he's not completely heartless…" Hermione trailed off, struggling to put her thoughts into words. In the end, she huffed, "Anyway, I'm willing to bet that Nolan isn't as bad as you say! If not for his treatment, I wouldn't have recovered so quickly! You refuse to see any of his good qualities—just because of your ridiculous jealousy!"

Ron's face instantly turned as red as his hair. "You're wrong, Hermione!" he shouted. "I'm not jealous of Nolan! Not one bit! I say he's awful because he really is awful!"

The argument ended in disaster. Hermione stormed off, crying, skipping lunch entirely, and heading straight for the library.

Ron, still fuming, continued ranting to Harry, "She's obviously been charmed by him! That despicable—"

"I don't care about Nolan right now, Ron…" Harry sighed, exhausted.

Just moments ago, they had run into Peeves, who had gleefully danced around them, loudly singing, "Potter, you nasty beast! Laughing while others meet their doom!"

Plenty of students had overheard. The older ones whispered and pointed, while the younger ones bolted in terror the moment they saw Harry, as if he were the monster himself.

It hurt.

Inside the Great Hall, students were excitedly discussing Valentine's Day, but the moment Harry entered, the volume noticeably dropped.

"Don't mind them, Harry." Ron patted his friend on the shoulder.

They took their seats at the Gryffindor table, where Lockhart was beaming as he enthusiastically spoke with Professor McGonagall.

They only caught the last bit of his speech:

"In short, Hogwarts needs a capable and well-respected figure to take action—to drive away the lingering darkness from last year's… unpleasant incidents. And of course, I am just the man for the job! I already know exactly what I'm going to do. Minerva, mark my words, soon Hogwarts will return to being the cheerful paradise it once was!"

And with that, he strutted away—yes, he even forgot to shower Harry with his usual overly friendly affections.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked, biting into a piece of bacon and looking toward the other Gryffindors.

"Who knows what goes on inside Lockhart's head?" one of the Weasley twins remarked.

"Probably nothing but the croaks of a bullfrog," the other quipped. "Poor Professor McGonagall… Dumbledore should pay her double. She's not just a professor—she's a babysitter! Look at that helpless, resigned expression! I'm almost moved to tears on her behalf."

Harry rubbed his temples. "Oh, George…"

"I'm Fred!"

"Fine, Fred—do something useful and tell us what Lockhart is planning. At least give me some time to prepare."

The Gryffindors exchanged glances, then shrugged in unison.

"To be honest, we have no idea," Angelina Johnson admitted. "Lockhart has always been weird. We think his mind works differently from normal wizards. Just be careful, guys… Oh, hey, Penelope, who are you looking for?"

"Good afternoon, Johnson. I'm here for Spinnet… oh, there she is."

The newcomer was Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw. Lately, she had become quite popular among Gryffindors—after all, everyone had seen her slap Percy Weasley across the face.

Most agreed it had been well deserved.

And Percy? Well, he had become the butt of every joke in Gryffindor Tower ever since.

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