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As soon as the new semester began, the students were still full of confidence, determined to surpass the disciplinary group.
After all, each House had so many students.
And the disciplinary group only had a few...
But they soon discovered they were wrong.
Absurdly wrong.
In Charms class, the know-it-all Miss Granger answered practically every question Professor Flitwick asked.
The professor could barely hide his happiness. He kept calling on Miss Granger again and again, awarding her points the entire time.
In Transfiguration class, it was Miss Granger again.
She took over every question Professor McGonagall asked and every spell demonstration.
Fortunately, Professor McGonagall was not like Professor Flitwick.
She awarded points, but not excessively.
In Potions class, Potter and Malfoy competed with each other, stealing points from Professor Snape.
That much was fine.
But deducting points from Harry and making Gryffindor pay the price was a bit too much.
Of course, the young wizards did not dare question Professor Snape's decisions.
In Herbology class, even Neville, the most inconspicuous member of the disciplinary group, kept winning points from Professor Sprout.
Of course, there was also a Gryffindor boy named Robert Jr.
That guy was a real point-grubber.
He managed to scrape together a few points in every subject.
As for Mr. Dursley, this year, he almost never answered voluntarily.
But if any professor called on him, he could always give an extremely precise answer.
So far, no one had seen anything he could not do.
Even History of Magic, that subject capable of putting anyone to sleep after only a few sentences, was not spared.
Professor Binns practically became a point-supplying machine exclusively for the disciplinary group, continuously providing them with points.
In just a few days, the points earned by the disciplinary group were already equal to the combined total of the other four Houses.
With overwhelming dominance, they crushed all the young wizards.
The disciplinary group... was that terrifying!
That made the students who already had a good impression of the disciplinary group desire it even more.
And so it continued until Friday...
On Friday, Gryffindor and Slytherin had Defense Against the Dark Arts together.
It was the day of the first Defense class of the semester.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Most of the garlic smell left behind from the previous semester had already been removed.
But if someone smelled carefully, there was still a faint trace lingering in the air.
No one knew what brand of garlic Quirrell had used to make that scent persist for so long without fading.
"How about one more round of Wizard Cards?"
A young Gryffindor suggested.
The other Gryffindor was clearly tempted by the suggestion, but still refused.
"No, no. Professor Lockhart will be here soon. There won't be enough time to play another round."
These days, Wizard Cards had almost replaced wizard chess.
There was even a faint sign that it might surpass Quidditch and become the students' favorite pastime.
If even adults could not resist that kind of fun, how could children?
At Hogwarts, practically everyone was a card player.
Almost everyone knew how to play a hand or two.
Even Slytherin was no exception.
"We agreed before that we'd win points for Gryffindor. Don't worry, I've already memorized all of Professor Lockhart's methods for subduing enemies. This time, I definitely won't let certain people steal the spotlight again."
The Gryffindor spoke with full confidence while looking toward Dudley and the others.
Other subjects were one thing.
But in Defense Against the Dark Arts, he definitely did not want to lose.
"The gap is already so big that it's better to forget it. If we have time, we might as well play another round of Wizard Cards."
The Gryffindor who had spoken earlier muttered quietly and turned around to play cards with the others.
In truth, he had also been full of confidence at first.
Until he was completely crushed in Herbology class by Neville's vast knowledge...
After that, he gave up without hesitation.
If he could not even compare to the unremarkable Neville, there was no point comparing himself to the others.
In any case, he was just a little useless nobody.
What did it matter to him who was strong and who wasn't?
Lying flat and doing nothing was far too comfortable.
"He's here! Professor Lockhart is here!"
No one knew who had shouted from outside the door.
The students who had been making a mess in the classroom returned to their seats one after another, waiting for their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Perhaps because it was the first class and he wanted to leave a good impression on the young wizards, Lockhart, for once, was not dressed quite as extravagantly as usual.
Well, it was only an extremely flashy pinkish-purple outfit that he considered very simple.
Lockhart entered the classroom.
Seeing the young wizards sitting neatly, he nodded in satisfaction and cleared his throat.
Then he casually picked up a copy of Travels with Trolls and raised it in his hand, displaying the photo of himself winking on the cover.
"I."
He pointed firmly at his own photo on the cover and flashed a row of gleaming white teeth.
"Gilderoy Lockhart, Third-Class Order of Merlin, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. But I don't go around talking about that. After all, it wasn't my smile that defeated the Bandon Banshee!"
Although he claimed he did not go around bringing it up, in practice, he recited a long list of titles in front of the students as if he were reading from a menu.
"I see all of you have bought my complete collection of works... very good. I think today we'll start with a little quiz."
When Lockhart said they would begin with a quiz, the Gryffindor who was determined to earn points immediately brightened.
"Don't be afraid... it's only to see how much you've read and how much you've understood..."
As he spoke, Lockhart took out a large stack of papers.
It was obvious that the little quiz he was talking about was a written test.
Soon, he finished handing out the papers and returned to the lectern, placing both hands on the desk.
"You have thirty minutes. I'll award extra points to the best answers!"
This time, those points are mine, Honey Watt.
I've completely memorized all of Professor Lockhart's combat techniques.
This time, I'm getting full marks.
Watt turned over the test with complete confidence and raised his quill.
One minute later...
He was still holding the quill in the same position.
Three minutes later...
Still the same.
Another five minutes passed... and he gave up thinking.
The questions on the test were indeed related to Lockhart.
But they were not about Defense Against the Dark Arts as he had imagined.
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color? What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition? In your opinion, what has been Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement so far? When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday? And what would be his ideal birthday present?
What the hell were these questions?
Did this have anything to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts?
Watt was so angry he wanted to eat the test.
But after thinking about it again, he was no longer that angry.
'I refuse to believe that if I can't answer these, you people from the disciplinary group can. If you get full marks, I'll eat this table with salt.'
Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the tests and began flipping through them in front of the entire class.
"Tsk, tsk... how disappointing. Almost no one remembered my favorite color. I mentioned it in Year with the Tibetan Yeti..."
Lockhart did not seem very satisfied with the test results.
But soon, that dissatisfaction turned into surprise.
"What surprises me is that one test received full marks. Almost every question was answered correctly! Let's see which young wizard is this impressive."
When Lockhart turned the sheet over and saw the name on the test, his tone became even more surprised.
"Durs... Dudley Dursley."
'I admit it.'
'I, Watt, admit it!'
From that day on, Gryffindor lost a hardworking young wizard who fought for points.
And gained a salted fish who spent every day playing cards to pass the time.
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