"They're naturally mischievous, a pack of cunning little troublemakers, but also excellent practice targets."
Sherlock stopped Ron from diving under the desk while repeating what Professor Lockhart had just said before opening the cage.
Ron was stunned for a moment, but after looking at the pixies flying wildly overhead and then at the other young wizards already hiding under their desks, he finally understood what Sherlock meant.
His expression grew serious as he swallowed hard and slowly drew his wand.
"Should I—try?"
He hesitated briefly, then steeled himself.
"Let's give it a try!"
Meanwhile, Professor Lockhart in the lecture hall was shouting loudly. "Quick, quick! Round them up!"
No one paid him any attention.
Seamus, who had been laughing the hardest just moments before, was now swaying from the chandelier above the classroom—he had been dragged up there by two pixies and left hanging.
As for the other students, half had hidden under their desks, while the other half were frantically trying to protect their belongings, clothes, and themselves in the chaos.
Noticing that the Lockhart series books on the young wizards' desks were being torn to shreds by the pixies, Lockhart's lips curved into a smile.
However, he quickly suppressed his smile and began shouting in apparent distress.
"They're just a bunch of pixies! Weren't you laughing happily just now? Quick, catch them and put them back in the cage!"
In the midst of the chaos, some student from the front row shouted. "If you can do it, you do it!"
Upon hearing this, Professor Lockhart's face immediately showed displeasure.
He rolled up his sleeves, waved his wand, and shouted loudly.
"Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"
However, this had no effect whatsoever.
The pixies continued their wild rampage.
Just then, the chandelier holding Seamus couldn't bear the weight and finally crashed down.
At the same time, a pixie shrieked as it charged toward Lockhart, aiming directly for the wand in his hand.
In that instant, a flash of hesitation crossed Professor Lockhart's face.
But this expression lasted only a moment.
He focused slightly, and his face became as cold as frost.
While dodging the falling Seamus, Professor Lockhart waved his wand again and cast a second spell.
This time, the incantation was much more concise.
"Immobulus!"
This time, his spell worked.
The pixie flying toward Lockhart froze as if in a movie frame and fell straight down from the air.
Having successfully stopped the pixie, Professor Lockhart's spirits lifted, and without hesitation, he performed a triple combo.
"Immobulus!"
"Immobulus!"
"Immobulus!"
Several pixies within his attack range fell from the air one after another.
Lockhart's actions also awakened the other young wizards, who began casting spells to deal with the pixies.
What followed was the young wizards in the classroom choosing their own methods and finally starting to fight back properly.
Undoubtedly, the back row was the most efficient in their offensive.
Sherlock had originally planned to intervene, but just as he raised his wand, Hermione grabbed his hand and pressed it down.
"Sherlock, you can't keep spoiling them like this."
Hermione gazed into Sherlock's gray eyes and said seriously. "Leave it to us this time."
Since Hermione volunteered, Sherlock naturally wouldn't refuse.
If they wanted to seek thrills, then they should see it through to the end.
Harry initially used the same Freezing Charm as Professor Lockhart.
Although it hadn't been taught in Charms class yet, he had seen it in the textbooks.
Seeing that Professor Lockhart's use of it had good effects, he decided to try it out.
Unfortunately, he wasn't Sherlock or Hermione, and due to insufficient proficiency, the effect was poor.
So, he decisively switched to the more familiar Full Body-Bind Curse.
As several "Petrificus Totalus" spells were cast, the pixies' wings and legs immediately pressed tightly together, their bodies fell backward, and they crashed down from the air.
His casting success rate and accuracy were both good, and he quickly cleared several pixies from the back row where they had been running rampant.
Hermione didn't have this problem.
After several "Immobulus" spells, the pixies fell from the air one after another.
Ron also started using spells, but his accuracy was obviously inferior to Harry and Hermione's.
Not only did several spells miss their targets, but he nearly had his wand stolen by a cunning pixie.
"Damn it! My wand!"
Ron treasured the Christmas gift Sherlock had given him.
Seeing his beloved weapon about to be taken away, his anger flared from his heart, and courage grew from his fury.
"Expulso!"
Without hesitation, he cast an Exploding Curse into the air.
While casting the spell, he even added psychological suggestion.
"I am Seamus, I am Seamus, I am Seamus!"
Whether it was the suggestion that worked or because the Exploding Curse was naturally more effective in this environment, the spell's rebound effect caused two or three pixies to fall directly from the air—the result was even better than Harry and Hermione's.
Ron's spirits soared at this sight.
However, the next moment, he heard someone urgently shout.
"Weasley, friendly fire! Stop!"
Several Hufflepuff students in the second-to-last row were very close to Ron, and their faces had turned black—they had been caught in Ron's crossfire.
Ron, whose spirits had just been lifted, immediately became dejected. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—"
As soon as he finished speaking, these Hufflepuffs screamed again.
"No, let go of my books!"
"My money!"
"Weasley, give them another one!"
Encouraged by his classmates, Ron's spirits lifted again.
"Right! Expulso!"
As violent explosions continued to ring out, Ron specifically aimed his Exploding Curses at areas where the creatures were densely packed. One pixie after another was hit by this area-effect magic and fell screaming from the air.
This instantly put his score ahead of Harry and Hermione's.
Ron had made his mark!
He didn't give the Cornish Pixies any chance!
As a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pureblood families, Ron inherited the glorious tradition of the Weasley family—Bill, Charlie, and Percy's souls possessed him at this moment!
At this moment, he wasn't fighting alone!
With someone taking the lead by example, the rest became much easier.
The young wizards helped each other, worked together with great effort, and finally managed to stuff all the pixies back into the cage.
Of course, there was nothing they could do about the pixies that had already flown out of the classroom.
"Very good, you did well—"
Looking at the panting young wizards, Lockhart once again displayed his trademark smile.
However, this time no one mocked him.
Especially the few young witches standing behind him.
After Professor Lockhart had successfully used the Freezing Charm to deal with several pixies, the few young witches closest to him immediately ran to his side with a "let's try it" attitude.
Lockhart didn't disappoint them. He firmly protected the area within several feet around him, preventing the pixies from invading.
Seeing that Lockhart was actually useful, even some boys ran over and were similarly protected by Professor Lockhart.
So, at this moment, the young witches looked at Professor Lockhart with stars in their eyes, and some even had heart-shaped pupils.
Professor Lockhart had also regained the elegance he'd displayed at the beginning of class.
His gaze swept over everyone in the classroom one by one as he spoke slowly.
"I just said that they are excellent practice targets. Unfortunately, some students didn't seem to agree."
Seamus couldn't help but blush at these words.
Because he was the one who didn't agree with Professor Lockhart's view.
More embarrassingly, when he fell from the chandelier, he had landed right near Professor Lockhart.
It was precisely because of Professor Lockhart's protection that he wasn't picked up and thrown out by the pixies a second time.
"Fortunately, you didn't disappoint me in the end and successfully completed the assigned task, however—"
Looking at the classroom in complete disarray, Lockhart sighed deeply, as if disappointed in his students.
"Look what you've done!
You let these little creatures terrorize you, and some students even hid under their desks!
I know you didn't learn real skills last year, but I never expected you'd deteriorate to this extent!
Of course, this isn't entirely your fault. With such a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor teaching, how could the instruction be any good?
If this continues, Hogwarts will become the laughingstock of the wizarding world!"
The young wizards sat in stunned silence.
Their performance had indeed been terrible.
What was most unacceptable to them was that they had been reduced to this state by pixies they had looked down upon.
"However—"
Professor Lockhart's tone suddenly shifted. "I'm still very pleased that several students performed exceptionally well!"
He looked toward the back row.
"Mr. Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger, and this red-haired—"
"Weasley, Ron Weasley!"
Although he still found Professor Lockhart displeasing, Ron realized what was coming next and quickly announced his name loudly.
"Very good. These three students performed most excellently. They not only protected their personal belongings but also subdued the most pixies—you each earn fifteen points for Gryffindor!"
Thunderous applause erupted in the classroom.
Everyone was convinced by Lockhart's point awards.
This was their first time encountering such a practical course in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Although last year's adventure story of the Lion King, the Savior, and the Know-It-All stopping the evil Professor Quirrell had spread widely, no one had actually witnessed it.
It wasn't until today that the young wizards truly saw the abilities of the Savior and the Know-It-All for the first time.
And Ron from the Weasley family was also unexpectedly capable in battle.
As for the Lion King who didn't intervene—well, he must have felt these pixies weren't worthy of his attention!
As the bell rang, Professor Lockhart left the classroom surrounded by a group of young witches.
Ron was still basking in the joy of Gryffindor earning fifteen points.
He rarely had such opportunities to shine.
For him, not losing points was already the best possible outcome.
Finally snapping out of his joy, Ron quickly asked.
"Sherlock, do you think we can trust him?
Lockhart, I mean Professor Lockhart—although he couldn't control the situation, he doesn't seem to be a complete fraud either."
"Ron, what are you talking about?"
Hermione immediately responded with displeasure.
"The Professor just wanted to give us some practical experience!
Unfortunately, everyone failed to seize the opportunity properly!"
You can read more than 40 chapters on:
patreon.com/MikeyMuse