Defense Against the Dark Arts Office
"Tom, these three research projects are left to you. If you don't understand anything, refer to my research notes," Lockhart wrote in his black notebook.
Soon, a line of text appeared in response: "Okay, Professor."
Satisfied, Lockhart nodded and placed the Horcrux notebook and his thick research notes back into the box. From now on, the Horcrux who signed the contract would serve as his first full-time worker. With Tom's magical talent, Lockhart believed the Horcrux would be an invaluable assistant.
Hogwarts, Second Year Defense Against the Dark Arts Class
"The Defense Against the Dark Arts course is primarily about teaching you how to protect yourselves," Lockhart began, standing on the podium. He waved his wand, and two shining golden words floated in the air: "Protect Yourself."
Seeing the confused expressions on the faces of the students, Lockhart pointed his wand at Harry Potter, who was sitting at the front. "Harry, come up and explain what you understand by 'protecting yourself'."
Harry, startled, quickly stood up. After a moment's thought, he said, "Professor, I think protecting myself means being able to fight back when others bully me."
Lockhart gestured for him to sit down. "What Harry said is correct," he continued. "Many people think that protecting themselves means defeating their enemies. But that's not nearly enough."
Lockhart then pointed his wand at Malfoy. "Malfoy, do you have a different perspective?"
Malfoy stood up and replied, "Professor, I believe protecting yourself means improving your own strength. As long as you are strong, you don't need to fear any threats."
Lockhart nodded. "What Malfoy said is also correct, but we are talking about the definition of protection, not the methods of protecting yourself."
He looked around the room. "Does anyone else have a different answer?"
Most of the students looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.
"Hermione, tell us what you think," Lockhart said, noticing Hermione's raised hand.
"Professor, I think protecting yourself can be divided into many situations," Hermione said confidently as she stood up. "For example, when we are exploring, we must prepare in advance to prevent unknown risks. That's protecting yourself. Also, when facing dangerous magical creatures, we must escape in time. That's also protecting ourselves."
Lockhart nodded approvingly. "Hermione gave excellent examples. Five points for Gryffindor."
He gestured for her to sit down and then addressed the class. "Protecting yourself can be defined in three major categories based on my personal experience. They are: protecting your physical safety, protecting your reputation, and protecting your property."
As he spoke, Lockhart waved his wand, and the three categories floated in the air.
"Protecting your body, as Harry mentioned, is crucial. Protecting your reputation is equally important. Even those who aren't famous need to safeguard their reputation."
He waved his wand again, and an image of a wizard being pelted with rotten vegetables appeared. "When a person's reputation is smeared, even if you know it's false, people around you will believe the lies. They will think you're a bad person, and abuse, isolation, and violence will become the norm."
The students shuddered at the scene.
Lockhart continued, "Now, let's talk about protecting your property."
He waved his wand again, and an image of a large pile of gold Galleons appeared. The students gasped at the sight.
"It's also vital to protect your property. Imagine if you saved gold Galleons for most of your life and then someone stole it or you were cheated. What would you do?"
He changed the scene to a wizard living in poverty in a shabby hut. The students shivered, imagining their hard-earned money being stolen.
"Professor, how can we protect ourselves?" a timid Gryffindor girl asked.
"This is what I will teach you in the future," Lockhart replied, waving his wand to erase the images and replace them with the words "Protect Yourself". "I will teach you not only how to avoid fighting but also how to protect your reputation and your property."
"Now, which one do you want to hear about first?"
The students shouted, but the loudest cries were for protecting property.
Lockhart nodded and calmed the class. "Protecting your property is a big concept. First, we need to understand how our currencies, such as gold Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, were created."
He waved his wand, and a golden Galleon appeared in the air. "Gold Galleons are refined by goblins. Initially, goblins served wizards as the losers of the war. Contracts were signed, such as not being able to hold wands, so wizards felt secure."
"But ancient wizards, few in number, chose to delegate management rights to the goblins who refined gold Galleons. With their miserly nature, goblins managed the currency well initially. Over time, however, as wizards weakened and peace allowed goblins to grow stronger, they began to demand more control over wizard currencies."
"Institutions like Gringotts emerged later, and goblins started setting currency rules."
"To protect our property, we must understand the rules of currency, besides preventing theft."
Lockhart used his usual teaching method, waving his wand to display various pictures and stories, subtly instilling ideas about goblins as threats and the importance of monetary sovereignty.
The students, still young, couldn't deeply analyze like fifth or sixth-year students. Therefore, Lockhart focused on engaging stories and visuals to attract their attention.
However, Lockhart didn't notice Dumbledore standing quietly outside the classroom, listening for a while before leaving quietly.
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