"What about our Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"I think Dumbledore might find someone to substitute for you—don't worry, this has happened before," Professor Flitwick reassured her.
"All you need to do is wait patiently for a few days, and an exceptionally capable wizard will come to teach you Defense Against the Dark Arts."
The students were finally relieved.
But Flitwick knew the matter wasn't that simple.
Over the years, Hogwarts had replaced its Defense Against the Dark Arts professor more times than all the other subject teachers combined.
Finding someone excellent—at least with reliable morals and currently unemployed—was already a challenge, and the rumored curse on the position made most people reluctant to accept it.
Only Snape had always hoped to teach this class, but Dumbledore had never approved his application.
…
The efficiency of the media was higher than Professor Flitwick expected. The next morning, they saw Lockhart's photo in the newspapers.
The blond wizard, with his hands bound, was being escorted into the Ministry of Magic. Scrimgeour's fierce expression as he shoved away the cameras was repeatedly shown on the paper.
"It was me who notified my dad!"
A Slytherin student proudly boasted to those around him, "When I saw Lockhart being taken away by Aurors, I knew it would be big news, so I immediately messaged my dad! He's the one who took that photo!"
"Alright, smart move," one of their prefects remarked with a half-lidded gaze. "But why did you feel the need to announce it?"
He gestured to the side, where several girls with tear-streaked faces were glaring at the boy furiously.
"He's in trouble now," Michael said gleefully.
Wade turned to Harry. "If they knew you were the real reason behind it…"
Harry quickly shushed him, grimacing. "Please, don't bring it up."
The night before, while chatting in the Book of friends, Sirius had gleefully informed them that it was he and Lupin who had reported Lockhart.
[Sirius: That's payback for him! He needs to learn to respect other people's arms!]
His words on the page were written so forcefully that it seemed he was still furious after all this time.
[Remus: Michael told us that Lockhart often gave you a hard time, and Sirius got really mad.]
[Remus: Harry, why didn't you tell us about it?]
There was a hint of reproach in Lupin's words.
[Harry: I didn't feel like he was giving me a hard time… Professor Lockhart just liked to make me perform on stage and pose for photos with him. He always seemed to think I enjoyed being in the spotlight as much as he does.]
[Remus: Did you want to perform? Did you want to pose for photos with him?]
Harry replied quickly: [Harry: Of course not!]
After a long pause, Lupin's message appeared, one word at a time.
[Sirius: Silly kid, that is giving you a hard time.]
[Remus: Harry, even if it's a professor, you have the right to say no.]
The two messages appeared almost simultaneously, and through the parchment, Wade could almost sense their mix of exasperation and concern.
Harry stayed silent for a while, perhaps he was lying in his dorm bed and reflecting.
Wade interjected:
[Wade: Someone spotted some shady characters in Hogsmeade last weekend. Was that you guys with the Aurors?]
[Sirius: Haha, yep, that was us.]
[Sirius: Scrimgeour originally planned to lure Lockhart out and arrest him on the spot. But when I heard he was ordering Valentine's Day flowers, I convinced Scrimgeour to wait until Valentine's Day to make the arrest.]
[Sirius: A dramatic twist in front of everyone? Isn't that the kind of plot he loves in his novels?]
Wade suddenly thought Sirius and Michael would get along well—both had a knack for drawn-out, ruthless revenge.
In some ways, they even shared traits with Slytherins.
…
By the third day after Lockhart's arrest, the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office was reportedly buried in letters, and Scrimgeour himself had received a mountain of Howlers.
It seemed nearly every witch in Britain was a fan of the fraudulent author. They flooded the Ministry with letters proclaiming Lockhart's innocence and berating Scrimgeour for treating him so harshly.
The public's fierce reaction prompted the Ministry to expedite Lockhart's trial, and publish reams of evidence in the newspapers.
Most ordinary people inherently trust the government, and the wave of opposition quickly died down.
Aside from a handful of die-hard fans who continued to advocate for Lockhart, the majority of his supporters turned against him, accusing him of deceitfully betraying their trust.
Meanwhile, with Hogwarts lacking a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the class was temporarily covered by other professors who had free periods. But as soon as they opened the textbooks, they all fell silent.
All seven years' books were filled entirely with Lockhart's novels and autobiographies, with less than a thousandth of the content being remotely useful.
"All right… all right…"
The substitute teacher for Wade and his classmates was Professor Flitwick. Taking a deep breath, he said:
"Close your books, children. We won't need these for our Defense Against the Dark Arts class. What you should be learning is how to use magic to protect yourselves and defend against dangerous creatures."
The students, already tired of theatrical performances, happily shoved their books into their desks and looked eagerly at Professor Flitwick.
"Let me think…"
Professor Flitwick stroked his white beard and furrowed his brow in thought for a while before saying, "According to the syllabus, you should now be learning how to repel Nogtail. Does anyone know the characteristics of these creatures?"
Several hands shot up.
"Miss Greengrass," Professor Flitwick randomly called on someone.
Daphne Greengrass stood up and said, "Nogtail look like small pigs. They sneak into pigpens and disguise themselves as ordinary piglets, causing disease outbreaks on farms."
Ravenclaw's Terry added, "Nogtail are fast and very hard to catch."
"Excellent. One point each to Slytherin and Ravenclaw," Professor Flitwick said approvingly. "Now, does anyone know how to deal with them?"
The students fell silent.
A few seconds later, Malfoy's voice broke the quiet: "Pure white dogs can drive them away. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures keeps a pack of Albino bloodhounds just for this purpose."
He leisurely glanced around the room and added, "Last year, my father even funded a program to feed those picky animals."
"Well done. Nogtail do fear white dogs. Another point to Slytherin," Professor Flitwick said, ignoring Malfoy's additional commentary.
He turned to the class and said, "There's also a simple spell that can help us detect Nogtail in time to prevent them from causing greater harm…"
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