Chapter 13: Lockhart's Yearning
It had to be said that Harry Potter had a certain knack for attracting attention.
For once, Lockhart was walking through the school castle without being surrounded by a throng of fervent fans. The students he encountered politely greeted him, then quickly scurried to the corners to point and whisper about Harry.
This made Harry feel terrible.
Lockhart chuckled and patted his shoulder, beckoning him to follow.
"Outstanding people often easily attract the jealousy and gazes of others, enduring their pointing and whispering. I have the most experience in this regard," he said, gesturing towards Draco. "I believe our Mr. Malfoy will also have such feelings."
Draco, meeting Harry's surprised gaze, merely tilted his head proudly and snorted softly.
"Clearly, Parseltongue is an extremely remarkable talent. I think our Mr. Malfoy, like myself, will express envy towards you."
Lockhart's words made Draco unable to feel proud. He opened his mouth, but in the end, just pursed his lips and said nothing.
So Lockhart winked at Harry, as if to say, see, I was right.
Harry immediately felt much better.
The three finally arrived at Lockhart's office. Beckoning the two youngsters to sit down, Lockhart looked at them with a smile and continued, "In fact, Parseltongue doesn't necessarily mean evil. Many people often like to distinguish between good and bad based on abilities, filled with prejudiced stereotypes."
"But we can't change these stereotypes, so smart people will know how to use them."
Draco, who had initially been uninterested in Lockhart's invitation, was suddenly stunned by these words.
His father, Lucius, had once taught him that breaking rules didn't equate to being powerful. On the contrary, adhering to rules and then utilizing them was the symbol of wisdom.
Perhaps Professor Lockhart would have a lot in common with his father.
"What should I do, Professor?" Harry Potter was drawn in by Lockhart's words.
Lockhart just looked at him with a smile, "Do what? Prove that you're not a dark wizard? Prove that you're not an evil person?"
Harry nodded earnestly.
"Sometimes life is truly pathetic; we are always rushing around trying to prove ourselves." Lockhart sighed, took a quill from the pen holder, and quickly wrote on a piece of parchment on the desk. Then, he pushed the parchment towards Harry.
"There's a book in the restricted section of the library called 'The Most Ancient Charms.' It records several powerful and ancient spells, one of which is called the 'Patronus Charm.'"
"People who cannot feel true happiness and goodness cannot cast it. See, people like to call such people evil, just like the prejudice that having Parseltongue makes you a bad person."
He shrugged, looking at Harry with interest. "Countless people with stereotypes can attest that dark wizards cannot cast the Patronus Charm at all. This is the simplest way to prove that you are a good person, even when facing the Wizengamot trial in the Ministry of Magic, you can directly prove it."
"However, it's very difficult, Harry. Are you confident you can learn it?"
Harry tightly gripped the professor's permission slip to borrow books from the restricted section. His determined expression said everything.
"The vast majority of wizards in this world can only release a silvery mist when casting this charm. Only a very few can conjure a full-bodied Patronus. Harry, I have high expectations for you."
This child belonged to the type who lacked self-motivation in learning. Now that he had the driving force to prove himself, Lockhart looked forward to the wonderful scene of a second-year little wizard successfully casting a Patronus Charm.
At that time, he could perhaps publish another book, "My Teaching Career, and the Untold Stories with the Savior Harry Potter." It was hard to say, but he might be able to earn another large sum of royalties.
The most interesting thing was that the general framework and some details of this book had already been conceived by the original Lockhart after accepting Dumbledore's invitation, and he already had preliminary content.
With a little modification, it could be published directly.
Tsk, nice~
Next was our dear Draco Malfoy.
Lockhart was equally attentive to this child. He knew too well how to arouse the other's interest, waving the quill in his hand to demonstrate the Disarming Charm, which made Draco's pupils shrink.
Draco had just experienced the greatest humiliation, being directly knocked away by Harry Potter's Disarming Charm in front of the entire school, falling to the ground in an extremely embarrassing manner.
"The Disarming Charm is a spell with very broad application prospects."
Lockhart spoke eloquently, immediately attracting the attention of the two young wizards. "In the three major application areas of Defence Against the Dark Arts—facing dark wizards, facing duels, and even facing dark magical creatures—it can play a role."
"Not only that, but the Disarming Charm can also be effective when facing threats from magical creatures."
In the original story, Harry Potter used the Disarming Charm to make the Acromantula release him.
"Many people know the effect of the Disarming Charm, and how important it is for a wizard who needs a wand. So, you must not only know how to use the Disarming Charm better but also be proficient in its counter-charm."
"Yes, except for the Unforgivable Curses, all spells have corresponding counter-charms."
He demonstrated the casting technique for the counter-charm. It was actually very simple: a flick of the wrist, like drawing a checkmark and flicking it diagonally upwards.
A light flick, instantly breaking the opponent's attack.
"This is actually not difficult. Many adult wizards are proficient in the silent casting of this counter-charm."
"Of course, you can start by learning the most basic ways to deal with the Disarming Charm. This way, when you learn the counter-charm, it will be easy to cast naturally."
"When facing an enemy's Disarming Charm, even at the critical moment when you feel your wand about to fly out of your hand when hit, this casting technique combined with the wizard's instinctive action of tightening their grip on the wand can quickly make up for the missed opportunity."
This was his reward for the two of them.
Draco's eyes lit up, listening so intently. He never wanted to be thrown on his backside by Harry Potter's Disarming Charm in public again.
As for Harry, when he discovered that his Disarming Charm was ineffective against his nemesis Draco, he would have the motivation to learn other spells.
Plan successful!
Lockhart could proudly declare that probably no one in this world understood the Disarming Charm better than him, not even Dumbledore.
After all, Old Dumbledore was too powerful. Almost no one could successfully disarm him, so he didn't need to specifically study every subtle manipulation technique of the Disarming Charm.
But the dozen or so powerful wizards in Lockhart's memory, who faced various dangers year-round, each had their own rich experiences.
Now, Lockhart could be said to be teaching these two without any reservations.
This part of the content could even be directly published into a book, detailing every possible angle from which a Disarming Charm might come at a wizard, categorizing and explaining various coping techniques, as well as various small tricks for casting the Disarming Charm.
This even included different wand-holding techniques for facing enemies of different levels.
"Pay attention to my gestures. When facing stronger enemies, you can't grip your wand too tightly. This can prevent yourself from being carried away with the wand..."
"As long as your state hasn't been completely affected, at this time you can draw your spare wand and launch the final decisive blow when the enemy thinks you have lost your ability to resist!"
"And when facing weaker enemies than us, pay attention. Their Disarming Charm will still work if it hits you, but it won't necessarily send us flying directly. So at this time, we need to make this kind of movement."
"Does it feel familiar? Hahaha, this is the iconic movement for rapidly dodging enemies on a flying broomstick and maintaining the ability to counterattack at any time. This is its application in this area."
"You will find that after making this posture, the disarmed wand will fly towards your chest. You just need to scoop it up smoothly, and you might even find that the wand stays in the palm of your hand, just like catching the Golden Snitch in a Quidditch match."
"..."
Lockhart didn't notice that several figures had unknowingly appeared at the office door.
Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape. They didn't know when they had arrived, but at this moment, they were also listening intently.
The most comprehensive, most detailed, and most practical techniques, analyzed with such erudition and down to every real-combat detail, even these three big shots who had experienced many wizarding battles were listening with amazement.
Professor Snape had to admit that perhaps he had misjudged? Where was the fluff in the Lockhart before him?
Those boastful words from the past seemed to have truly become the best annotations for Lockhart's self-promotion.
He certainly wouldn't know that Lockhart, deliberately gesturing with the quill over there, was so envious watching these two young wizards.
Damn it!
He also yearned to have the ability to cast spells!
So much magical knowledge in his mind, yet he couldn't successfully cast them. It was simply torture for him.
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