POV: Holly Potter
The classroom buzzed with anticipation as Holly, Ronda, and Hermione found seats near the middle row. The Defense Against the Dark Arts class, with its ornate, gilded decorations and portraits of Gilderoy Lockhart beaming down from every angle, felt like stepping into a shrine dedicated to the flamboyant professor. Hermione, clutching her autographed set of Lockhart's works, glanced excitedly at the empty desk at the front of the room.
"I've heard he once defeated a banshee with nothing but a harp and a teacup," she whispered to Ronda.
Ronda, her red hair tied neatly back, gave Hermione a skeptical look but smiled anyway. "At least he seems to know his stuff," she said, her voice tinged with cautious optimism. "If half of what he's written is true, this class might actually be useful for a change."
Holly nodded, though she was slightly distracted by the sheer number of photos of Lockhart grinning and winking down at them. She hoped the professor's teaching would live up to his reputation. After all, they hadn't had much luck with Defense Against the Dark Arts professors so far.
The door swung open with dramatic flair, and Gilderoy Lockhart strode in, his turquoise robes billowing behind him. The class erupted into polite applause, which Lockhart acknowledged with a dazzling smile and a humble wave.
"Welcome, welcome, my young wizards and witches!" he said, his voice dripping with charisma. "I am Gilderoy Lockhart, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. But then, who doesn't know that?" He winked, and a few students giggled.
Lockhart spent the first ten minutes recounting some of his "greatest hits": saving villages from werewolves, vanquishing vampires, and dispelling mischievous poltergeists. Hermione hung on his every word, her eyes sparkling with admiration. Holly and Ronda exchanged amused glances but stayed quiet, unwilling to dampen her enthusiasm.
"Now, before we get to today's lesson," Lockhart continued, pulling a stack of parchment from his desk, "I have a little quiz for you. Nothing too difficult… just to see how well you've studied my works."
He began handing out the papers. Holly glanced at her copy and immediately felt her stomach sink. The questions were utterly ridiculous:
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?What kind of shampoo does Gilderoy Lockhart use to keep his hair so shiny?When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?What was the name of the troll I single-handedly defeated in Chapter Seven of Year with the Yeti?How many times have I won Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award?
Holly sighed and began filling in answers as best she could. For the favorite color, she guessed, "Turquoise?" based on Lockhart's robes. For the shampoo, she scribbled, "Some kind of magic blend?" and for his birthday gift, she put, "Something expensive, probably." By the time she reached the last question, she was thoroughly annoyed and decided to add some humor to her answers:
"Troll name? Mr. Stinky Pants?""Too many times to count, obviously."
Meanwhile, Hermione was scribbling furiously, her quill scratching loudly against the parchment. Ronda gave the paper a bemused look and muttered, "Is he serious?" before dutifully filling in a few answers, though her expression betrayed her disbelief.
When Lockhart collected the quizzes, he scanned through them, occasionally smiling and nodding approvingly. "Miss Granger! Full marks… I'm not surprised. Clearly a devoted fan." Hermione flushed with pride. "And the rest of you, well, there's always room for improvement," he added with a knowing smile. Holly rolled her eyes but said nothing.
Finally, Lockhart clapped his hands. "Enough about me—for now! Today, we'll dive right into practical experience. What better way to learn than by doing?"
He flicked his wand at a large, covered cage on his desk. With a flourish, the cloth fell away, revealing a swarm of tiny, shimmering creatures with sharp teeth and glowing red eyes.
"Cornish pixies!" Lockhart announced proudly. "Nasty little blighters, aren't they? But harmless if you know how to handle them. Now, let's see how you lot fare!"
Before anyone could react, he opened the cage. The pixies shot out in a blur of chaos, overturning inkpots, tearing parchment, and pulling at students' robes. Screams and laughter erupted as the creatures wreaked havoc.
Holly grabbed her wand instinctively. "Immobulus!" she called, but her spell missed as a pixie darted out of the way. Ronda was already on her feet, using a combination of stunning spells and quick reflexes to catch the creatures. Meanwhile, Hermione managed to freeze a group of them mid-flight, though several others began tugging at her hair and robes.
Lockhart's confident grin faltered as more and more pixies zipped around the room, upending desks and snatching quills. "Don't let them intimidate you!" he called, raising his wand. "Watch this!"
With an overly dramatic flick, he shouted, "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!" The spell had no effect whatsoever. The pixies only seemed emboldened, cackling loudly as they swooped down to grab his hat and toss it into the air.
"Oh dear," Lockhart muttered, his face paling. He took a few hurried steps toward the door. "Perhaps… perhaps a practical demonstration wasn't the best idea. You—you lot can handle this, right?"
Before anyone could respond, Lockhart bolted from the room, slamming the door behind him.
"He's leaving us to deal with this?" Holly shouted over the din, disbelief etched across her face.
"Apparently," Ronda said through gritted teeth as she grabbed a pixie by its tiny wings and tossed it into a cauldron. "We're on our own!"
The chaos escalated as the pixies began targeting larger objects. One of them managed to lift a heavy ink bottle and drop it onto a student's head, sending a plume of black ink splattering everywhere. Another group of pixies worked together to overturn a desk, trapping a pair of students beneath it.
"We need to work together!" Hermione shouted, her voice rising above the pandemonium. "Holly, block the door so they can't escape into the hallway. Ronda, help me freeze as many as we can!"
Holly nodded, quickly casting a spell to seal the door shut. "Colloportus!" The door glowed briefly, locking the pixies inside the room. Meanwhile, she ducked as a pixie tried to grab her glasses.
Ronda and Hermione moved in tandem, their wands flashing as they cast stunning and freezing spells. Slowly but surely, the tide began to turn. Holly joined in, her spells becoming more precise as she adjusted to the pixies' erratic movements.
One particularly large pixie made a beeline for the classroom clock, determined to dismantle it piece by piece. Holly took aim and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" The spell knocked the pixie off course, sending it tumbling into a jar Hermione had prepared.
"We've got them on the run!" Ronda called, her face flushed with effort but determined.
After what felt like an eternity, the last pixie was trapped. The classroom was a complete disaster—desks overturned, books scattered, ink splattered across the walls—but the students had managed to subdue the creatures.
The door creaked open, and Lockhart peeked his head inside. "All sorted, then?" he asked, his voice overly cheerful. He stepped cautiously into the room, avoiding a puddle of ink. "Excellent work, everyone. I knew you could handle it!"
Holly, Ronda, and Hermione exchanged incredulous looks.
"He's unbelievable," Ronda muttered.
"But at least we know we can handle ourselves," Hermione said, trying to find the silver lining.
As they left the classroom, Holly couldn't help but feel a mix of exhaustion and frustration. Lockhart might be the most useless professor they'd ever had but the teacher was still cute even if he wasn't that competent which meant that the classes wouldn't be boring like the year before.
Besides with Hermione's quick thinking and Ronda's steadfast determination and newfound skills (something that impressed Holly), she felt a little more confident in their ability to face whatever challenges lay ahead.