"Honestly, I'm very disappointed. Don't you guys even know what I like?"
After grading all the papers, Gilderoy Lockhart's expression had darkened considerably.
This test was far worse than he had anticipated! While there were students who performed well, the overall results left him deeply unsatisfied.
An indescribable sense of loss washed over him—was his presence truly so insignificant among these students?
Taking a deep breath, Lockhart tried to push these unpleasant thoughts away, but he couldn't suppress his irritation. Being an exceptionally self-centered and narcissistic man, he found the situation unbearable.
With a cold expression, he attempted to regain his composure and said, "I have to say, your preparation for this test was utterly dreadful!"
At his words, the previously silent class erupted into murmurs of dissatisfaction, and a few students even booed.
Lockhart's face twisted in annoyance, especially when he noticed that the ringleader of the dissent was a Ravenclaw student. That made him even more uncomfortable.
"Listen up, little ones—this is my class! Show some respect!"
He banged his wand on the desk, demanding silence.
"Very good." Satisfied with the quiet, he nodded and continued, "In my class, I will teach you how to defend yourselves against dangerous magical creatures!"
With an exaggerated flourish, he struck a cage draped in dark red cloth with his wand, grinning smugly.
"Face your fears! But don't worry—as long as I'm here, you're completely safe!"
Across the room, Evan nudged Noah and muttered, "What do you think he's got in there? It's so small, and he locked it in a cage?"
Evan was starting to feel more and more bored. Fear? Maybe the other students would be scared, but for Evan and his friends, fear was practically nonexistent.
After all, they had faced far worse inside the Room of Requirement—real monsters, ones far bigger and more terrifying than whatever Lockhart was about to reveal.
Even though their methods of dealing with those creatures usually involved a lot of spellwork and creative problem-solving, they still counted their victories as successful encounters.
"Who knows? Maybe some kind of pixie?" Noah murmured, his eyelids drooping as he struggled to stay awake.
Sure enough, when Lockhart finally yanked off the cloth, the classroom fell into stunned silence.
Or rather—awkward silence.
Even the younger students from Gryffindor immediately recognized the creatures inside the cage.
Cornish Pixies.
The tiny, electric-blue creatures flitted about restlessly, their bat-like wings buzzing like bees. Though small in stature, they were deceptively strong and known for their mischievous nature.
They delighted in pranks—yanking at unsuspecting people's ears, lifting them into the air, and even dropping them onto rooftops or tree branches.
They had their own language, though to humans, it sounded like nothing more than high-pitched chittering.
Put simply, they were a menace.
And yet…
Many students at Hogwarts had encountered them before. Some had even caught them for fun.
The moment Lockhart revealed them, laughter broke out across the room.
It was painfully obvious that no one in the class considered these little creatures a real threat.
"Freshly caught Cornish Pixies!" Lockhart announced dramatically. "Laugh all you want, ladies and gentlemen—but these little devils are not to be underestimated! Let's see how you handle them!"
Then, with a wicked grin, he opened the cage.
For a split second, there was silence.
Then—utter chaos.
If it had been just one or two pixies, the students might have been able to manage.
But Merlin's beard—how many had Lockhart caught?!
A swarm of pixies burst into the air, zipping around the classroom at alarming speeds.
The students panicked, dodging and ducking as the mischievous creatures swooped down, grabbing at their robes and hair.
Poor Neville Longbottom was the first casualty—he was yanked off his feet and unceremoniously dumped onto a chandelier, where he dangled helplessly.
Other students tried to make a break for the door, but the sheer number of pixies made escaping nearly impossible.
"What an idiot," Evan muttered, swatting away a pixie with his book. He shot a displeased look at Lockhart, who was now flailing uselessly on the podium.
To no one's surprise, the professor's wand had already been snatched away by the pixies.
And the moment Lockhart realized he had lost control of the situation—he turned tail and ran, abandoning the students to deal with the mess.
Evan and his friends stared after him, dumbfounded.
It had to be said—Lockhart was, without a doubt, one of the most infuriating people they had ever met.
"Alright, enough complaining," Kenn said, sighing. "Let's just get rid of these things. Looks like there's not much to look forward to in second-year Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Kenn smacked away a particularly bold pixie that had tried to yank his hair.
Noah, meanwhile, had had enough. He didn't even bother speaking—he simply pulled out his wand.
A surge of magic rippled through the classroom as Noah's presence intensified.
Sensing the shift in power, the pixies let out shrill, panicked screeches before all of them suddenly turned to attack him.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Noah wasn't in the mood to play around.
Unlike Hermione, who had used a more passive Freezing Charm in the past, Noah opted for something far less gentle—the Full-Body Bind Curse.
Every single pixie was instantly paralyzed mid-air.
The effect was eerie—like someone had hit pause on a chaotic movie.
Then—
They all came crashing down.
Some unfortunate ones landed straight into the fireplace, while others, stiff as boards, shattered like fragile statues upon hitting the ground.
The room fell into stunned silence.
Most of the students had never seen something quite so brutal before.
For a brief moment, fear flickered in their eyes as they looked at Noah.
Then—
A roar of excitement erupted through the room.
They had always known Noah was strong, but this was the first time they had witnessed his true skill.
Even more impressive was his control—Neville, still hanging from the chandelier, was the only one unaffected.
The students whooped and cheered, hyped by the unexpected display of power.
Kenn and the others, however, remained unimpressed. They had seen Noah do far more dangerous things.
"But Noah," Evan said, shaking his head, "you could have just used a simple Binding Spell. Did you really have to go this far?"
Noah shrugged.
"Nah. I just wanted to make sure our dear professor knows that he is truly… unreliable."
------------
[You can find 10 chapters ahead here
Support link: pat reon.com/RioRaRyu]
------------