Hogwarts' Golden Glory

Lockhart's facial muscles seemed to be pulled by invisible threads, barely maintaining his signature smile.

He gripped the book "Waltzing with the Mountain Monster" with white knuckles, and a piece of the gold lettering on the spine had been rubbed off.

"Professor Blake," he said, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, "as a teaching assistant, please keep quiet and let the professionals teach! After all, you're just a teaching assistant—"

"—Making up a story?" Sirius Black twirled a silver dagger between his fingers, its blade gleaming coldly. "I'd really like to know, Gilderoy, in your book, when you describe 'using ballet steps to seduce the trolls,' which foot do you jump with first? Left or right?"

Lavender Brown suddenly stood up from the back row, his cheeks flushed with excitement: "It says it on page 156 of the book! Step with your right foot first, and then turn and wave your wand!"

As she was about to demonstrate, she almost poked Parvati in the eye.

"Perfect! Ten points in Gryffindor!" Lockhart grasped at a straw, quickly turning the pages. "Just as I described in my book, on a certain night in Bulgaria..."

Sirius rolled his eyes and simply dragged a chair over to sit next to Harry.

After all, it was clear that the girls in the classroom had blind faith in Lockhart.

The smell of leather and gunpowder mingled with the warm scent unique to large dogs emanating from him, making Harry lose interest in Lockhart's story.

"...At that time, I faced the three-headed mountain behemoth alone."

Lockhart's voice gradually regained its confidence. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his peacock-blue robe, revealing his collarbone, which was said to have been injured by trolls. "Their thick limbs were as thick as oak trees..."

Hermione was frantically flipping through pages of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," muttering to herself, "Mountain trolls are only eight feet tall on average..."

Hermione, however, still believed that the other party was trying to help them understand better.

After all, Lockhart's formidable strength has already been perfectly demonstrated in the book.

"...Just at the critical moment!" Lockhart jumped onto the desk, his robes fluttering, "I unleashed my self-created 'powerful magic'!"

He suddenly started swaying his hips, and his wand emitted harmless pink sparks.

Draco made a gagging face and was warned by Kane with an elbow.

Harry noticed strange light waves flowing across Draco's gold-rimmed glasses.

I can't even see the other person's eyes clearly!

What kind of glasses are these?

"...In the end, they actually built an ice bridge for me!" Lockhart wiped away non-existent sweat. "This story teaches us that elegance is always better than violence..."

"It's a waste of time." Sirius suddenly stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. "An hour has passed, and you haven't even raised your wands once."

The classroom fell silent instantly.

The portraits on the classroom walls froze, one of them even accidentally dropping its quill pen to sign it on the floor.

"The first lesson needs to establish a theoretical foundation!" Lockhart's voice sharpened. "In my book, *The Art of Teaching*, I clearly state—"

"—The first chapter is called 'How to Make Students Adore You'?" Sirius Black pulled a roll of parchment from his sleeve. "The lesson plan approved by Dumbledore reads: Week 1, Practical Basic Spells."

He slapped the parchment onto the podium, and the ink turned into a shimmering 3D projection the moment it touched the table: dozens of spells spun and displayed in the air, finally settling on the three large characters "Disarming Spell".

Lockhart's eye twitched: "As a member of the Order of Merlin, I believe..."

"Disarm you!"

A flash of red light, and Lockhart's wand flew high into the air, where Sirius easily caught it.

A collective gasp filled the classroom—though no one knew why, the result was obvious: a wizard losing his wand was tantamount to defeat.

"Demonstration complete." Sirius Black toyed with the captured wand. "Now, can anyone tell me the key to that spell?"

Harry practically raised his hand to the sky: "Use your wrist like you're casting a fishing line!"

After Harry answered, Lockhart seized the opportunity to interject, trying to ease his embarrassment!

"Excellent! Porter gets five points!"

The effect of this statement is obvious.

Most people would assume that Lockhart was simply the result of a sneak attack.

Especially with his superb performance!

Lockhart's expression froze the moment the wand left his hand, but only half a second later, the corners of his mouth returned to their signature curve.

He elegantly brushed off non-existent dust, as if being disarmed just now was merely an impromptu performance.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Lockhart suddenly clapped his hands, his voice so loud it made the windowpane vibrate.

"This is exactly the teaching effect I expected!" He walked towards Sirius Black, his steps as light as if he were taking a bow on stage. "Did you all see that? Professor Black perfectly demonstrated the 'surprise attack' tactic described on page 88 of 'The Essence of Defensive Magic'!"

Hermione abruptly flipped open the thick book with its gold-embossed cover, quickly glanced through it, and looked up: "Professor, page 88 is about how to polish protective gear..."

"—And the tactics section is in the revised edition!" Lockhart quickly interrupted, flicking his finger to produce a book with a slightly different cover.

"As a responsible author, I am always updating my content."

He affectionately put his arm around Sirius's shoulder—the latter's muscles were visibly tense—"That surprise attack was something I rehearsed with Professor Black beforehand!"

"In fact..." Lockhart suddenly pulled out his own wand from Sirius's hand!

"Let's test the students' observation skills—who can point out three flaws in Professor Black's spellcasting?"

The classroom was deathly silent.

Even the portraits on the wall stopped whispering.

“First,” Lockhart held up a finger, his peacock-blue cuff shimmering with cheap gold thread.

"His wrist angle is 15 degrees off from the standard, which can lead to wrist bone deformation over time."

He exaggeratedly mimicked a contorted spellcasting gesture, and several girls giggled in response.

"Secondly, the spell's power is excessive." Lockhart tapped the textbook on the desk in front of him with his wand, and the wand immediately flew back into his hand.

"For teaching demonstrations, 30% magic power is enough—unless you want to scare the kids." He winked at a few female students.

"Third..." Lockhart suddenly lowered his voice, leaning forward mysteriously, "The most crucial thing—he forgot to smile!"

He flashed eight pearly white teeth. "In my 'Guide to Charismatic Spellcasting,' I emphasized that smiling increases the appeal of spells!"

The performance was amazing.

Lavender and Parvati have started taking notes like crazy;

Simo gestured with a hint of disbelief at the angle of the famous wrist;

Even Draco raised an eyebrow—though it looked more like he was watching a joke.

Sirius's expression was as if he had swallowed a whole vixen whole.