After a brief break, the afternoon bell finally rang.
The students filed into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, chatting excitedly. Many of them were buzzing with anticipation, waiting for Lockhart's arrival.
Hermione insisted on dragging Hannah and Kyle to the very front row so they could be as close to their idol as possible.
A moment later, Lockhart emerged from the lounge behind the podium. He was dressed in magnificent, turquoise robes and preened himself like a... mat—cough, a male peacock.
He cleared his throat loudly to signal for silence.
Pointing to the photo of himself on the cover of Magical Me, Lockhart wore his trademark smile. His polished teeth gleamed so brightly they could have rivaled the "White Fang" of Hogwarts.
"Me," Gilderoy Lockhart said, "Order of Merlin, Third Class; Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League; five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award—but I don't go on about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"
Listening to Lockhart's conceited boasting from the podium, the corner of Kyle's mouth twitched.
Why does this feel exactly like Hiruzen Sarutobi's 'Strongest Hokage of all Generations' title?
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Is that polite? Do you mind?"
"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books..."
Lockhart's words suddenly trailed off as he noticed the desk in front of Kyle was completely empty.
This student hadn't just failed to buy his books; he hadn't even brought a quill or parchment. And he dared to sit in the front row?
This behavior was an absolute slight—it was unbearable!
The pathologically narcissistic Lockhart could not tolerate such a display of contempt. He took a step forward and placed his hand on Kyle's desk. "Young man, where are your books?"
"After I bought your works at Flourish and Blotts, I ran into an old grandmother," Kyle said, weaving a lie without blinking. "She told me she desperately wanted to read your masterpiece. However, as a lonely, elderly woman with a frail body, she was unable to work and lived a life of poverty, begging to survive. She didn't have the money to buy them, so I gave her my books."
Beside him, Hannah's forehead was covered in black lines. She remembered clearly that when they were at Flourish and Blotts, Kyle hadn't bought a single textbook.
Lockhart's expression instantly shifted from cloudy to sunny. He beamed and said, "Is that so? I've misjudged you."
He turned around, pulled a stack of his complete works from behind the podium, and dumped them onto Kyle's desk.
"As a reward for your kind heart, I'm giving you this set of signed works for free."
He then picked up a stack of parchment from the podium and handed them out to the young wizards.
"I thought we'd start with a little quiz. Nothing to fear—I just want to see how much you've taken in from my books."
Kyle took the parchment and looked at it. Good grief, he thought. Calling this a "quiz" was an overstatement; it was more like a "Gilderoy Lockhart Fan Survey."
Question 1: What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?
Question 2: What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
Kyle: "..."
Hannah: "..."
To hell with Gilderoy Lockhart.
Kyle looked at Lockhart on the podium as if he were looking at an idiot.
"Professor, I don't understand. What is the point of these questions?"
Hermione tugged at Kyle's sleeve, signaling for him to sit down.
Being publicly questioned made Lockhart feel a bit lose face, and his tone turned slightly annoyed.
"Of course there is a point! As young wizards, your job is to follow your professor's arrangements, not to question your professor's teaching methods."
Kyle gave his wand a casual flick.
The young wizards around him, along with their desks, were moved aside until they were pressed against the walls.
A large, open space—big enough for two wizards to duel—was instantly cleared in the middle of the classroom.
"Professor, according to your books, you must be quite an expert in wizarding duels, aren't you?"
"Naturally," Lockhart replied, his face filled with an air of "it goes without saying."
"Then may I ask for a few pointers?" Kyle spoke politely, but his actions were anything but.
He fished a white glove out of his storage bag and tossed it at Lockhart—a classic Western signal for a duel challenge.
If the man weren't a professor, Kyle would have thrown the glove straight at his face.
He clearly had the confidence to back this up.
His experiences in Knockturn Alley, combined with being "brutalized" daily by Old G and Old D, had significantly boosted Kyle's self-confidence.
It turned out that in the supposedly terrifying Knockturn Alley, the skill level of most Dark wizards was incredibly lackluster. Only a handful were even remotely competent.
While a wizard appointed as a Hogwarts professor wouldn't be as pathetic as those Dark wizards, based on the performance of past Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, Lockhart's strength had to be limited.
Excluding Old D, the power ceiling of Hogwarts consisted of the four Heads of Houses—and now, one had to add Hagrid, who could push himself to the limit by opening six of the Eight Inner Gates regardless of the physical toll.
It was impossible for Lockhart to be stronger than the four Heads and Hagrid.
Even facing Snape, Kyle was confident he could hold his own for a dozen moves or so against the "Old Bat."
Furthermore, given Lockhart's lack of intel on him, the man might even end up in a ditch thanks to Kyle's Taijutsu.
Even if he did get thrashed, it didn't matter. Within Hogwarts, Kyle possessed two Forbidden Jutsu that could save his life:
Accio Dumbledore!
And...
Hagrid! Help!
He was the ultimate "nepotism hire" of Hogwarts. If he couldn't win, he'd call for backup. Is there a problem?
The two-way mirror Old D gave him wasn't just for decoration.
Thus, Kyle was utterly reckless in provoking Lockhart.
He didn't know why he found Lockhart so irritating—it couldn't possibly be because Hermione admired the man so much, could it?
Lockhart was instantly enraged. He drew his wand with a flourish.
"A few pointers is no problem at all. However, besides dueling techniques, perhaps I should also teach you a lesson in respecting your teachers."
Hannah walked over to Kyle and tugged on his arm, but he didn't budge.
"Kyle," she whispered, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.
She knew Kyle was strong, but after all, the opponent was a professor. She didn't believe Kyle could actually defeat him.
Hermione also ran to Kyle's side, her face full of concern.
At this point, Lockhart's trademark smile was still plastered on his face as he tried to appear composed and magnanimous.
"Don't worry, young ladies. I shall return your friend to you in one piece. There's no need to be afraid."
However, looking at the two girls by Kyle's side, Lockhart felt as though the boy was radiating the loathsome aura of a "winner at life."
Winners at life... how utterly detestable!
"Don't worry. This is Hogwarts. Even if I can't beat him, he can't do anything to me," Kyle said, coaxing the two girls back to the sidelines with a bit of deception.
He then looked at Lockhart and tilted his head. "Professor, shall we begin?"
"Certainly." Lockhart, who remained single to this day, wore a slight sneer on his face.
The two turned to face each other and bowed.
At least, Lockhart bowed with many flowery flourishes of his hands. Kyle, on the other hand, could only be said to have given his head a slight jerk.
Then, they held their wands before them like arrows.
"On the count of three, we shall cast our first spells," Lockhart told the silent crowd.
Kyle suddenly realized he wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation.
Should he go all out in the first wave, or start with a probing attack?
If the opponent was strong and went all out from the start, wouldn't Kyle get crushed if he only used a probing attack?
But if the opponent was weak, Kyle might not be able to hold back his full strength—he might accidentally kick Lockhart to death, just like he almost did in Knockturn Alley.
This was Hogwarts, not Knockturn Alley.
Killing a professor in front of everyone would be very difficult to smooth over. He'd likely end up having to transfer to Durmstrang.
"One! Two—"
There was no time for Kyle to think further.
"Three!"
"Expelliarmus!" A flash of brilliant red light suddenly streaked through the air.
A shimmering barrier blocked Lockhart's spell.
Feeling the force of the Disarming Charm hitting his Shield Charm, Kyle's expression turned incredulous.
That's it? That's all?
When his two "dads" fought each other at home, the force of their literal punches was stronger than this, wasn't it?
He looked at the Lockhart in front of him. His smile gradually turned predatory, revealing two sharp canines.
Brilliant lightning enveloped Kyle's right foot.
Lightning Release: Axe of Resentful Thunder!
A size-nine foot instantly imprinted itself onto Lockhart's handsome face.
Lockhart was sent flying, crashing straight through the window behind the podium and out of the castle.
A moment later, the dull thud of a heavy object hitting the grass drifted up from below.
Hannah: "..."
Hermione: "..."
The entire class: "..."
Only after several moments did a wave of panicked screams erupt in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
"This is bad! Professor Lockhart fell out of the building!"
————
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