Upon hearing Lockhart’s reminder, Anthony remembered his original duty.
“But, Professor, how should I do it?” he asked foolishly.
It was no wonder he was confused, as the little blue insect was extremely agile.
Even though he was using an area-of-effect spell, hitting the tiny creature was still very difficult.
“Observe!
Attempt!
Think!
And only then, ask.” Lockhart rattled off the three-step advice.
“Observe the movement patterns of that ‘enemy,’ try every weapon at your disposal against it, then think about how to achieve your goal by countering its behavior…
If none of that works, then ask me, and I will give you a most basic method.”
Hearing this, Anthony and Harry had no choice but to stare at the little blue insect flying incessantly around the classroom ceiling and start thinking about how to deal with it.
The classmates watching from outside the protective shield also heard Lockhart’s words and began gathering in small groups, wanting to devise a plan together.
Seeing them like this, Lockhart decided to add a bit more pressure.
He called out to Harry and Anthony, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
If you don’t catch it within three minutes, I will cast a Confundus Charm on the Billywig—then it will no longer fear people and will attack indiscriminately.
Although being stung won’t render you unconscious, the feeling of floating in the air for an entire afternoon, being led around like a balloon, will absolutely not become a wonderful memory for you in the years to come.”
Hearing this, both Harry and Anthony felt a pang of anxiety.
“I think I understand a bit,” Harry said urgently to Anthony.
“The Knockback Jinx isn’t for attacking; it’s for herding.
We need to find a way to force it down.”
“How?” Anthony also didn’t want to become the school laughingstock.
“Since we need to force it down, the two of us need to keep casting spells above its head continuously, preventing it from flying upward.
That way, it will fly lower and lower.
Meanwhile, the other person presses in horizontally, squeezing its maneuvering space smaller and smaller…” Harry explained his idea.
True to his Ravenclaw nature, Anthony grasped Harry’s meaning in an instant.
“You mean, just like the Hawkshead Attacking Formation in Quidditch, closing in on the Quaffle from several directions.”
“Yes, exactly,” Harry said.
“Once it gets within about six feet of me, I can grab it.”
“You can grab it?” Anthony sounded skeptical.
“I’m a Seeker…
you know what I mean.” Harry wasn’t yet good at this kind of self-praise.
“I see…
It seems Chang is in trouble this year,” Anthony sighed.
“Chang?
Who’s that?”
“Our Seeker this year, Cho Chang…
Alright, let’s hurry up.
I don’t want to be the slowest.” Anthony said.
Pushed for time, the two quickly decided on their roles: Anthony was responsible for casting Knockback Jinxes above the Billywig, while Harry aimed spells at the far corners, working together to drive the insect downward.
And Harry truly lived up to being Hogwarts’ youngest Seeker in history.
While the insect darted about chaotically, he barely moved.
Only when the Billywig, trying to avoid Anthony’s wildly waving wand, flew past his ear did he suddenly strike, grabbing the insect in one swift motion.
In his excitement, Harry accidentally squeezed the insect to death.
“Sorry, Professor Lockhart,” Harry said, somewhat embarrassed.
Lockhart indicated he didn’t mind at all.
“It’s fine.
I have plenty more of these.
Besides, Honeydukes buys their stings in bulk.”
Then, he removed the protective shield and began lecturing the other students.
“Everyone saw how Mr.
Potter and Mr.
Goldstein reasonably utilized their advantages—namely, that one of them was agile enough—while relying on limited space and spells to drive this poor insect to exhaustion, securing the final catch.
They provided an excellent demonstration for everyone, and for that, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw each earn five points.
Now, please start forming pairs.
As before, you must find a partner from the other House to complete the next part of the lesson.”
With the earlier demonstration, the second-years felt much more confident.
Coupled with the fact that relations between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw weren’t bad, they quickly found their pairs and began the competition.
Lockhart himself walked to the side, pulled out a quill and the student register, and began recording each student’s individual traits and spell-casting characteristics as he observed the lesson.
For example, Seamus Finnigan—excelled at all spells related to explosions.
After a few Knockback Jinxes, the insect was actually hit by the shockwave’s residual force because it couldn’t dodge in time and fell to the ground.
Neville Longbottom—slightly clumsy in movement, learned spells very slowly, but trusted his partner completely.
He was diligent, didn’t slack off at all, and was quite meticulous.
Under the direction of Terry Boot, who also came from a pure-blood family, they formed a crossfire, gradually driving the insect into a corner.
Terry’s spatial awareness was also the best Lockhart had seen among second-years.
As for the Patil sisters, they were the most coordinated—sisters, yet sorted into different Houses, a truly rare situation.
The one Lockhart admired most was, of course, Hermione.
She used several spells in quick succession while catching the insect—she had her partner use the Knockback Jinx, then she herself conjured a small whirlwind to force the insect into a corner; finally, she used Aguamenti, knocking the insect down with jets of water.
The entire process was crisp, clean, and visually impressive.
Lockhart also generously added many notes for her—clever, agile, knowledgeable, her academic ability and number of known spells far surpassing her peers, even ranking among the best if placed with third-years.
“You will undoubtedly become the most outstanding witch of the last decade,” Lockhart decisively gave his assessment, “and quite possibly the most outstanding wizard.”
Hermione, having received Lockhart’s praise, beamed with joy, looking even happier than when she stood before her parents holding ‘Outstanding’ grades in every subject.
However, even Hermione wasn’t the fastest in today’s class.
The person who caught the insect the fastest wasn’t a so-called “top student” at all, but Ron Weasley, whom Lockhart hadn’t considered at all beforehand.
Right after Ron’s partner, Lisa Turpin, cast her first Knockback Jinx, Ron frowned, raised his hand, and shot a Stunning Spell towards a certain spot in the middle of the classroom.
A blue flash lit the air, and the Billywig seemed to fly right into it, knocked out of the sky by Ron’s Stunning Spell.
The whole process took less than ten seconds.
Lockhart was utterly astonished, his mouth slightly agape for a good half minute.
If most of the classmates hadn’t worn similar expressions, he surely would have been caught looking undignified.
Snapping out of it, Lockhart immediately turned to look at Ron’s spot.
“How did you…
oh?”
It turned out Ron had somehow ended up lying on the floor.
When Lockhart looked back, he was gritting his teeth, trying to sit up.
Lockhart hurried over to help him up.
Ron accepted his help, stood, and brushed the dust off his clothes.
“My wand…
it got broken by the Whomping Willow,” he said apologetically to Lockhart.
“When I used the Stunning Spell just now, half the spell backfired.”
“That makes it even more impressive,” Lockhart said, puzzled.
“To accurately hit a wildly flying target in mid-air with a half-broken wand…
how did you do it?”
“How did I do it?” Ron seemed confused instead.
“It’s just…
watching where it flies, feeling where it’s going to go, so I cast the spell there.”
Hearing this answer, the classmates were even more dumbfounded.
Lockhart wasn’t much better.
“So, you just relied on prediction to guess where that little insect would be in the next moment?”
Ron nodded as if it were obvious.
“Because it only flies forward, and it won’t make more than two turns in a row.
You just have to aim properly.”
This peculiar talent left Lockhart momentarily speechless.
Just as Harry Potter inherited the Potter family’s “agility” talent, and Seamus had a natural sensitivity to explosions, the Weasley family was also uniquely gifted in eyesight and prediction.
Whether it was Charlie, the twin brothers, Ron, or Ginny, almost the entire family were excellent Quidditch players.
Applying this talent to spell dueling meant astonishingly high accuracy in spell-casting and predictive ability.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ron’s talent was demonstrated multiple times.
And unlike Harry, who needed major movements to dodge spells, Ron only needed slight shifts to evade spells shot at him.
“Most impressive,” Lockhart gave praise generously.
“You should try out for the Quidditch team as a Keeper or Seeker.
Even if you can’t immediately replace the current players, you’d at least be an important reserve.”
“I will,” Ron said, overjoyed.
This was the first time he had received affirmation from a professor.
Lockhart kept his promise, not only giving Ron ten points but also shoving a large handful of Fizzing Whizzbees he had ordered from Honeydukes into Ron’s hands.
As for the Sugar Quills, Lockhart didn’t forget either.
He also handed the candy as promised to Neville and a few others.
“You don’t have to eat it in class; that was a joke,” Lockhart said comfortingly with a smile.
“You can eat it back in your dormitory.
Apart from making you cry for three minutes, its taste is actually quite good.”
“I’m so clumsy,” Neville said dejectedly.
“I’ll just eat it here.
It’s what I deserve.”
“Nonsense,” Lockhart retorted.
“Your talent just isn’t in this area.
There will always be something in this world that only you are most suited to do.”
To prove he truly meant it, Lockhart raised his hand, signaling everyone to gather closer.
“If anyone feels their performance today wasn’t satisfactory, that is perfectly normal.
Because people’s talents are inherently diverse, each with its own focus.
Even the greatest wizard, Dumbledore, has things he cannot overcome.
And the seemingly powerful Voldemort” (students from wizarding families widened their eyes), “he is only skilled at intimidation and coercion.
In other areas, he has little to recommend him.
I bet he doesn’t even understand what the true nature of power is.
So rather than saying the world is full of mediocrity, it’s better to say there are as many kinds of ‘strength’ as there are kinds of people.
And I—Gilderoy Lockhart—this year’s task is to find each of your individual ‘strengths.’ Have no doubt, if in the end you haven’t discovered your own powerful points, the responsibility lies with me, not you.
Class dismissed!
The homework is an essay describing several methods of using AOE spells to cut off an enemy’s movement options, along with your personal understanding of dueling methods.
Standard parchment, five inches will do.
Hand it in on Friday.”
(End of Chapter)