After lunch, a rather irritated Harry Potter proceeded to the Defence classroom. He had just left the Great Hall in a testy mood. A first year named Colin Creevey had asked for signed photographs and Draco Malfoy had done his best to rile Harry up. It didn't work of course, as Harry had let Colin take his picture but had not signed anything. Draco Malfoy had an embarrassing moment when he farted loudly in the middle of the Great Hall. He had just begun accusing Harry of doing it when he had farted again. All the students had started laughing at the boy who left with a murderous expression on his face. It had only been the first day and Harry had already managed to annoy two people. Lockhart had better not try anything underhanded, for Harry wasn't in a good mood.
He entered the almost full Defence classroom and without a care in the world, sat next to Daphne.
"What's wrong?" whispered Daphne as she took his hand in hers, rubbing circles on it with her thumb to calm him down.
"Well, turns out that we have Transfiguration and Potions with the Gryffindors this year. McGonagall made me do the spells non-verbally and gave me points for it. Granger tried but didn't succeed and has been giving me filthy looks ever since. As you know, Malfoy annoyed me during lunch as well. And I'm pretty sure Dumbledore will call me to his office later today. To top of off, the peacock known as Lockhart is going to annoy the hell out of me. What else could go wrong?" he said.
Daphne giggled softly. "Who cares what Granger or Malfoy think? Since when have you paid attention to what people think of you anyway? You can handle Dumbledore, I have confidence in you. As for Lockhart, well, here he comes."
Sure enough, Lockhart gave a dramatic entrance and pointed to the various portraits of him and said "Me. Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class; Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League; five-time winner of Witch Weekly's most charming smile Award. Ah, I see you've bought my complete set of books. Well done. Let's start with a quiz. You have thirty minutes. Start-NOW!"
Harry looked at the questions with eyebrows raised. He smirked slightly and started writing.
1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?
Gold, the colour of the galleons he gets by making poor children spend an exorbitant amount of money by forcing them to buy his books for school.
2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
To make lots of money by fooling not only the British Wizarding public but people all over the world as well by selling his worthless books.
3. What, in your opinion, is Gildoroy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?
He successfully fooled the public to believe that he actually achieved all those feats he has written in his books; making them believe fiction to be fact is a good answer too.
54. What would Gilderoy Lockhart's ideal birthday gift be?
A Niffler. That way he wouldn't have to make people spend tons of gold to buy his books; he can just dig them from the ground or find them in a toilet where he and his books belong. Although a mirror for him to admire his reflection would be a good choice as well.
Harry smirked and cast the Geminio charm on his answer sheet and duplicated it into several copies and passed them around the class with a few flicks of his wand. A few minutes later, snickers could be heard throughout the classroom. Terry Boot actually fell off his seat after laughing so hard. Lockhart seemed to not notice as he was looking at a mirror at the other end of class.
After a few minutes, Lockhart collected them and rifled through them in front of the class. "Tut, tut - hardly any of you is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to -" he stopped midway, his face red.
"Detention Mr Potter. You will spend one evening with me every two weeks till the winter holidays. And ten points from Ravenclaw" he snapped.
Harry maintained a cool expression. He really didn't care if the peacock gave him a detention. The man was an idiot, an inconvenience, nothing more. He wasn't even worth plotting to kill. He had to find some other way to get rid of Lockhart.
The man lifted a cloth covered cage and placed it on his desk. "Now-be warned. I'm here to train you against the foulest, most deadly creatures known to wizardkind! I must ask you not to scream. Stay calm, as you are about to witness freshly caught Cornish pixies!" he said dramatically.
Harry couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, and many others followed suit. Lockhart looked annoyed and asked, "What's funny?"
Draco Malfoy looked at him and said "Well, it's funny because they're pixies! They're not all that dangerous."
"I have to agree with Cousin Dragon over there. The way you were going about it, I thought you were going to introduce us to a Nundu!" said Harry.
"Really? Let's see what you can make of them then!" said Lockhart as he let the whole swarm out of their cage.
It was a pandemonium. The pixies shot in every direction like rockets, destroying the classroom. Harry sat calmly and went back to his book. When a pixie would annoy him, he would just stun the pest and not do more. Lockhart rolled up his sleeves and said "Peskipiksi Pesternomi". Harry snorted as it didn't even sound like a spell. Sure enough, nothing happened and a pixie took his wand and threw it out of the window.
"Harry, do something!" exclaimed Daphne.
Harry sighed and shouted, "Everyone drop to the ground NOW". He then slashed his wand in the air and a jet of red light flew across the room in all directions and the pixies dropped to the floor unconscious. He had just cast a wide area stunner. It wasn't used frequently because you needed more power to cast it than the conventional stunner and it wasn't very effective during a fight as a simple shield charm could counter it. He then moved his wand in a gentle, sweeping gesture and the pixies on the floor floated back to their cage. He pointed his wand at the cage and it locked itself with a Colloportus charm.
"And here's a lesson for the day" said Harry. "Pixies are not dangerous, but a whole bunch of them can be bothersome. The best way to deal with them is to stun them. The incantation for the Stunning spell is Stupefy and the wand movement is just a point cast. Practice it on your own time. Class dismissed" he said and walked right out of the classroom leaving a spluttering Lockhart behind.
"You know Professor" said Theodore Nott. "I am not and probably never will be Potter's friend. But you've got to admit, he's got style."
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The next day, in Charms class, Professor Flitwick started on the Disarming charm. "The Disarming charm, while rudimentary is very powerful. In a duel, if you deprive your opponent of his wand, you've essentially won, but that is not the case all the time as I have met witches and wizards who can perform wandless magic and can summon it back to them. Nevertheless, for your age, it is quite useful in case you decide to use it in a spar against your opponent. The incantation is Expelliarmus and the wand movement is a small twirl and point cast. If you get it right, a weak Disarming charm will produce a white light and take the wand away from the opponent, but a strong charm will be scarlet and can be used effectively in duels, even though it is not effective in finishing the victim" he explained.
The class listened in rapt attention. Flitwick demonstrated the spell and asked them to try against each other, but they were not successful.
"Mr Potter, can you help me demonstrate it?" asked Flitwick.
Harry nodded and proceeded to the centre of the class. "Alright, cast the spell at me, Mr Potter. Everyone, observe his wand movement and say the spell out loud please"
"Expelliarmus" shouted Harry. A scarlet beam of light shot from his wand and perfectly hit Professor Flitwick's wand arm, disarming him.
"Very good Potter, 10 points to Ravenclaw. As you all saw, he added a slight twirl to it, which enhanced the precision of the spell. Go on, give it a try everyone" he said. Since Harry had already taught her the spell, Daphne was able to disarm her opponent quickly. The rest of the class got homework to practice the spell for the next class.
After Charms was Potions, which Harry knew was going to rile Granger up. He entered the Potions classroom and took his usual solitary seat; he did not like to have a partner during Potions as he did it differently. The rest of the students came in, and Hermione Granger sniffed at Harry and sat near him with Ron Weasley.
Horace Slughorn entered the room and took the roll call; he smiled widely when he came to Harry's name, something that Granger did not overlook. After he finished he announced "Welcome to the second year. Let's not waste time, so who can tell me what a Sleeping Draught is? But of course Miss Granger" he said, smiling jovially at Hermione.
Hermione recited "A Sleeping Draught is a potion that causes the drinker to fall almost instantaneously into a deep but temporary sleep" she said shooting a superior look at Harry.
"Very good Miss Granger, five points to Gryffindor" said Slughorn. "Can anybody tell me what the base for this potion is?"
Hermione's hand immediately jumped in the air, but Padma answered at his prompting "Four springs of Lavender, sir"
"Correct, five points to Ravenclaw. Now, can anyone tell me why we use the spring of lavender instead of, say, California Poppy?" he asked, looking at Harry.
Hermione was confused. She hadn't expected such a question as it wasn't given in the textbook, so she flushed and slowly put her hand down.
Harry raised his hand briefly and answered "California Poppy, while also an ingredient which has similar properties to Lavender, is a lot more potent. We want the drinker to sleep, but at the same time he should not be induced into such strong sleep that he can't be woken up; that is what the Draught of Living Death is for. But in case of the Sleeping Draught, Lavender acts as the base of the potion as its natural properties induce sleep, but at the same time decreases vomiting and nausea as well. Valerian is added in the last stages of the potion as it has its own blend of sedative properties, and also provides the drinker with mild dreamlessness as well."
"Brilliant!" exclaimed Slughorn. "I don't know where you get these brainwaves my boy. Take fifteen well-earned points for answering that question. Lily would be so proud."
He then proceeded to explain the potion to the rest of the class. Hermione Granger was in a state of shock. She had clearly thought that since she hadn't known the answer, there was no way Harry would know it either. When Slughorn asked them all to start the potion, she was the first to rush to the potions cabinet and come back to her seat, with a determined expression on her face.
Pretty soon, the room was filled with fumes as Slughorn was walking around and correcting the mistakes made by the students. 30 minutes later, Granger saw that Harry adding a Valerian sprig to his cauldron. She had her mouth open in shock, as she was still in the process of simmering her potion and Valerian was added only in the last stages of the potion. She watched as he stirred 2 times clockwise and once anticlockwise; he added another Valerian sprig and continued the process until he finished 4 sprigs. He then waved his wand over the cauldron, and after a flash of light, the potion was complete.
Slughorn came over to Harry and inspected the potion. "Oho, you've done it again, my boy. The potion is perfect. Let's see what you've managed to change, shall we? You've managed to cut down the time by half, so there has to be something major which you have changed. Hmm, dear Merlin! You've added a sprig of California Poppy into the base mixture, and then balanced it with the Lavender and standard ingredients. This caused it to thicken more than normal, so you changed the stirring instructions while adding the Valerian so as to give it a more syrupy consistency. Outstanding! To think a mere second-year student is able to change the ingredients and instructions to cut down the time taken and yet arrive at a perfect, even more potent potion! Take 50 points to Ravenclaw. Don't forget to write down your changes so that I can send it to the British Society of Potioneers. What a pair, you and Miss Greengrass. Both of you really are probably the best in your generation. Well done" said Slughorn.
Harry smiled briefly and took out a parchment to write down his changes and the reasons behind it. He knew he had taken it a bit far today; he normally didn't like to show off too much. But Daphne had pointed out something which got him thinking over the summer; the people are sheep and will always follow a strong leader. So if Harry wanted to get rid of leaders like Albus Dumbledore or Voldemort, he should be willing to step into the spotlight and take their place and to do that he needed to be exceptional.
He knew there were many people who were jealous of him. He was the Boy Who Lived, was unnaturally good looking, he was the head of a very rich family with power and was also a prodigy. Not to mention he was betrothed to the beautiful Daphne Greengrass. But it could not be helped; he needed to come out of the shadows if he was going to implement his plan for the future of the magical world.
Hermione Granger was seething. She could not believe what had happened. How dare Potter cheat and claim the idea was his? Someone was probably helping him, there was no way he was so smart. She was the smartest girl in her generation, not that Greengrass girl! After class, she found Potter discussing his changes in the Potion with Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin, girls who were among the top 5 in their year.
Hermione stood in front of Harry, her face red and body shaking with anger. The three students looked up from Harry's notes and Harry asked, "Can I help you with something Miss Granger?"
"Don't give me that Potter! I know you cheated! There is no way you could do something like that without external help. I'm warning you, you may be able to fool Professor Slughorn, but you can't fool me! I'll find out who is helping you if it's the last thing I do!" she said and marched away.
"What is it with her anyway? It's like she can't stand being bested; she has to remain the best in class no matter what" said Lisa.
"I know" said Padma. "She was furious that we were beat her last year as well. Come on, let's go have lunch." Harry narrowed his eyes. It looked like Granger was going to harass him in the future; he would have to be careful in case she decided to follow him around.
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Harry spent the rest of the week going to class, reading books, practicing advanced magic in the Room of Requirement with Daphne and annoying Lockhart. So it was a relief when the weekend arrived so that he didn't have to deal with the teacher or a growling Granger.
"So what's your decision? Are you going for it or not?" asked Daphne.
The two of them were alone in the Room of Requirement as they recovered from the duel they just had against each other. Harry was quite surprised at how much Daphne had improved over the summer when she confessed that she had been practicing during the holidays in the Duelling room at Greengrass Manor to impress him. Naturally, Harry was touched.
They had not shared the secret of the room with anyone. While they were closer to Neville, Tracy, Susan and Hannah compared to the rest of their year mates, Harry and Daphne did not really count themselves as a group. As far as they were considered, the two of them were a team; no one else was invited.
Harry sighed. He had been pondering about this for the past few weeks. "Let's look at the pros and cons of this decision" he said.
Daphne nodded and said "There's no denying that you're an outstanding seeker. You're a natural flier so that would give you more publicity. There is no better way into most of the people's hearts than Quidditch. You're right now considered to be powerful and smart, but not exciting to the student population. We need to change that mentality and Quidditch is the best way to do it. The only disadvantage I see is that practice will take time. But I say go for it."
Harry bit his lower lip and slowly nodded, processing what she had said. He then turned to look at his future wife who was flipping through books on the table. She really was amazing. She knew that Harry had secrets but didn't push it, trusting him to give her the information when he was ready. Daphne was a perfect Slytherin in that she was as cunning as she was ambitious. He idly wondered what her animagus form would be; it would certainly be entertaining to guess and then find out. He didn't realise that he had been staring at her for a minute with a blank expression on his face.
"Something on my face Harry?" asked Daphne with a smirk.
Harry snapped out of his trance and flushed. "It's nothing. Just thanking whoever is responsible for bringing you to me. You're so amazing Daphne. Thank you for coming into my life; it's been so much better for the past 6 months" he said sincerely.
Daphne smiled, got up to sit next to him and kissed Harry's cheek. She then rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes to relax. Harry's face went pink, but he couldn't help but feel happy. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his face on her head and closed his eyes. Paradise.
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That evening, Harry found himself at the Quidditch pitch along with several other people as well. The captain, a sixth-year girl named Abigail Turner stood facing them. "Okay folks, I want all of you to make four groups – chasers, beaters, keepers and seekers; Move it!" she said.
There was some shuffling as people moved and stood in groups. Harry looked at the third year girl whose name was Cho Chang. It looked like she was the only competition for him. The captain started off with the trials. After two hours, she finally came to the seekers.
"Alright you two, I'll keep this simple. You have to qualify in two rounds, meaning catch the snitch once without the bludgers and catch it again with the bludgers. Up in the air!" she shouted.
Harry gripped his Nimbus Two Thousand and shot off into the air. He flew to an impressive height and stopped. "I'm releasing the snitch, NOW!"
The small golden snitch disappeared immediately so there was no point looking for it. But Harry did not like waiting in one place just looking for the snitch. He flew around the pitch for a few minutes, diving and getting back up. Finally, he saw the snitch near the ground at the end of the goal posts. He quickly accelerated and could sense Chang behind him. He dived at a sharp angle to throw her off, but she was relentless. He approached the snitch at a fast speed; he could hear a few girls scream in fright and suddenly pulled up, with his fist in the air holding the golden snitch.
He approached the captain who looked slack jawed at his performance. "You could have killed me!" said a furious Cho Chang, who landed next to him. "What do you think you were doing, diving at such speed?"
"That's the point, Miss Chang, that the opposing seeker would not be able to follow me. Anyway, can we get on with the next round?" he asked the girl in front of him.
Abigail Turner recovered and grinned "Boys, give him the best you've got" she said to the beaters. The beaters took their bats and released the bludgers. Harry and Cho took their positions and Turner released the snitch again. Immediately both seekers found bludgers coming their way and both of them dived to get away. Harry again started flying from one end of the pitch to the other. After 5 minutes of dodging bludgers, he spotted the snitch on the other side. He immediately darted forward but could sense a bludger coming his way. He slowed down, and spun 360 degrees and hit the bludger with the tail of his broomstick so that it would trouble Chang instead and his aim was accurate as it did hit her. He dived fast and caught the snitch.
When he came back, people were applauding. "That was awesome Potter! Not only did you get the snitch, but you sent the bludger away too! Welcome to the team" said Turner. Harry smiled. Things were proceeding as planned.
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Saturday night, Harry found himself in Lockhart's office addressing the envelopes to the man's fans. Really, these people were a bunch of crazy idiots! He could have spent this time pouring over books on exotic magic, or could be flying with Aquila or could have spent time with Daphne, he mused to himself. Instead, he was sitting with a peacock. Or was it a pig? He really wasn't sure what to call the idiot anymore.
Lockhart had also dimmed the lighting charms; really, couldn't the man keep his office bright? Harry was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a voice, a voice to chill the bone marrow, a voice of breath taking, ice cold venom.
"Come . . . come to me . . . Let me rip you . . . Let me tear you . . . Let me kill you . . ."
Harry jumped and knocked the ink pot to the floor. "What?" he asked loudly.
"I know!" said Lockhart. "Six solid months at the top of the best seller list, I broke all records! Amazing isn't it?"
"Didn't you hear that voice?" he asked. What was that? It sounded so cold and deadly.
"Huh? What are you talking about Harry? Oh Great Scott, look at the time! We've been here for four hours! Time flies when you're having fun, eh? Good night Harry, you may go" he said, dismissing him.
Harry immediately fled the classroom and headed back to Ravenclaw Tower as fast as he could. Sitting on his bed, he meditated and recalled what had happened. That voice was terrifying, that was for sure. Did Lockhart really not hear it? Was he behind that voice? Harry shook his head. Lockhart was an idiot. He probably had nothing to do with the voice at all. So what was it?
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