After Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Harry, Ron, and Hermione prepared to go for a stroll around the Quidditch pitch, and incidentally reminisce about the experience from the lesson.
“I thought it would be like sixth year, teaching us how to duel straight away,” Ron said, his words slightly muffled as he continuously chewed on candy.
“Turns out it was just a few small tricks, but I liked it.”
“Maybe that’s just because we’re only in second year?” Harry guessed.
“But the class was quite interesting, wasn’t it, Hermione?”
But he immediately noticed that Hermione was staring at Ron with a gaze bordering on hatred, while Ron himself remained completely oblivious.
Seeing Hermione’s fixed stare, Ron pulled two more pieces of candy from his pocket.
“Hermione, want some?
I’ve got loads.”
“No!” Hermione snapped back curtly.
If it hadn’t been for Ron’s unexpected success, Hermione would undoubtedly have been the fastest in the class to catch the Billywig, and the opportunity to receive candy from Lockhart would have been hers.
She had no desire to eat someone else’s ‘spoils of war.’
Harry hastily tried to smooth things over.
“Professor Lockhart said there would be other tests later, didn’t he?
I’m sure there will be one perfectly suited for Hermione.”
But Hermione remained sullen.
“But I was planning on getting top marks in everything.”
Ron burst out laughing.
“No chance, I’ve already got one first!
Oh wow, I just remembered, this is actually the first time I’ve ever come first in anything…
Hermione, you’re right, he’s an excellent professor.
I think I’m starting to like him.”
Hermione responded sharply.
“Whether Professor Lockhart is excellent or not isn’t determined by your assessment.
I bet you don’t even know how powerful that shield charm he used in class really was.”
“I don’t know about that, but I do know I’m number one now.
Even the ‘most outstanding witch in ten years’ isn’t better than me.”
Ron’s series of tactless remarks immediately earned him a glare of hostility from Hermione—she no longer wanted to accompany Ron to the Quidditch pitch for his ‘trial.’
“I hope you two have a pleasant afternoon,” she said.
“I’m going to the library.”
With that, she walked off towards the main castle without looking back.
“You too,” Ron waved at her retreating back.
“It’d be even better if you could finish the homework for us.”
Turning back, Ron started urging Harry along.
“Let’s go too.
They’ve got three Chasers but only Wood as Keeper, they’re definitely short-handed for practice…
Listen, you’ve got to help me out, mate, if only for all those times I played with you over the summer…”
Harry felt uneasy.
Years of reading moods at the Dursleys had taught him that needlessly making someone angry wasn’t a good thing, especially when you might need a favor from them later.
“I have a feeling she won’t be lending us her homework to copy until the end of the month,” Harry lamented.
…
Hermione marched into the library, homework in hand, fuming, and privately vowed that no matter how much Harry and Ron begged her this term, she would not lend them her homework or notes to copy again.
It was there that she spotted someone, someone she hadn’t expected to see.
“P-p-professor Lockhart!” she stammered.
“What are you doing here?”
Seeing Lockhart’s surprised look, she realized her question might have been improper.
“I didn’t mean it like that, I mean, you must have also, before…”
“Hogwarts’ collection of books cannot be finished in seven years,” Lockhart answered her unfinished question.
Hermione thought about it and realized he was right—even if you could read a book a day, seven years minus the summer holidays only amounts to around two thousand days, and Hogwarts’ library held far more than two thousand books.
“You’re right, but I thought…”
“Don’t forget, there are some books one cannot borrow during one’s student days,” Lockhart added with another wink.
He was referring to the Restricted Section.
Hermione grew excited.
“Exactly!
There are some books I’ve always wanted to borrow!
Like “The Book of Spells”, “Moste Potente Potions”, and one that’s said to record 17th-century classical…”
Seeing her on the verge of becoming a chatterbox again, Lockhart quickly put down the book in his hand, made a shushing gesture, and pointed towards the librarian, Madam Pince, who was watching them like a hawk.
Hermione then realized her voice had been far too loud and was drawing disapproving looks from those around.
She gave an embarrassed little smile and lowered her voice.
“I wonder if I might sit here, and ask questions if I have any,” she asked hopefully, pointing to the seat next to Lockhart.
Lockhart nodded, indicating it was fine.
Hermione happily sat down, took out her homework, and prepared to finish it right there.
To avoid trouble, Lockhart decided to be upfront about his limitations.
He also lowered his voice, leaning closer to Hermione’s ear.
“Just so we’re clear beforehand, if it’s Transfiguration homework, I’m afraid I can’t help.
Transfiguration is my worst subject.
Since returning to Hogwarts, I’ve even been afraid to speak to Professor McGonagall, or else she’d surely criticize me.”
Seeing him suddenly so close, Hermione’s face flushed bright red.
“Really?
But I remember…” Hermione muttered quietly, but didn’t finish the sentence.
She remembered in Lockhart’s autobiography, “Voyages with Vampires”, that Lockhart had cast a very complex human Transfiguration spell on a real vampire, and from then on made that vampire “eat only turnips.”
One must consider that a vampire’s resistance to magic far exceeds that of an ordinary human.
If Lockhart could successfully perform Transfiguration under those circumstances, then his level of skill in Transfiguration clearly wouldn’t be low.
But looking at Lockhart’s expression when he said “I’m not good at Transfiguration,” he didn’t seem to be joking…
Relying on her outstanding logical reasoning abilities and the above premises, Hermione’s mind derived the following set of conclusions:
Known: Professor Lockhart’s Transfiguration skill is high, and yet Transfiguration is his “worst” subject;
Inference: This means Professor Lockhart’s skills in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Herbology are even higher than his Transfiguration;
Conclusion: Professor Lockhart is a genius!
And very modest!
Incidentally, with the “Lockhart” halo in effect, the option of “could he possibly be lying?” didn’t even appear in Hermione’s train of thought.
Lockhart certainly hadn’t expected that even after saying all that, the person next to him could still mentally fill in so many favorable details about him.
Had he known, he would only have sighed in agreement that the saying “smart people are sometimes easier to fool than dumb ones” indeed held truth.
For him now, aside from the necessary daily time for spell practice, the most important task was coming to the library to copy down spells suitable for himself.
Especially “The Book of Spells” that Hermione had just mentioned—that was precisely the book Lockhart had borrowed.