Their excellence would cause the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts to form a stereotype: look, Professor Lockhart’s fans are all high-quality fans; you can never go wrong supporting him.
Lockhart received many answers, but answers to a question like this would not necessarily sound convincing, even coming from Hogwarts’ top professors.
In fact, a question like this inherently lacked any absolute answer.
Since it was destined to be questioned, as long as one spoke with substance, being questioned would turn into a discussion rather than a rebuttal, and the resulting aura of prestige would feel much more grounded.
Lockhart smiled as he looked around at everyone. "My answer is—romance."
"Yes, romance, the true essence of magic." With eyes full of wisdom and a contemplative gleam, he spoke slowly and firmly. "If I had to add an attributive to romance, I would say it's fairy-tale romance—fairy-tale romance."
He looked earnestly at the young witches and wizards below. "Many young witches and wizards think life is long, that childhood can be squandered at will, and so they don't apply themselves to their studies. But when you walk out of wizarding school, you will realize that the greatest achievement of your entire life might well be this period of childhood spent at Hogwarts."
"If you are like me, graduating at seventeen or eighteen and setting off on a global journey, witnessing so many people and things, you will discover a phenomenon: many wizards spend the most creative peak of their magical lives during their childhood."
"If you carefully research much of the magic you study or have witnessed, you will find that almost all of it was invented by those powerhouse wizards during their childhood."
Examples of this were legion.
Take Professor Snape right before them, for instance: he had invented so many spells in his childhood, but how many charms had he invented since graduation?
"Why does this happen?"
Lockhart looked at the suddenly quiet young witches and wizards. "I believe it is because they begin to face the cruel reality of life and start to lose their romance."
"And specifically, fairy-tale romance."
"Our romantic fantasies about magical effects, our firm belief in magical effects, our habit of casting our emotions so effortlessly into magic... that kind of romance is lost."
"Adult wizards find it very difficult to let themselves live within the realm of fairy-tale romance..."
"The natural romance of a young witch or wizard's childhood is the finest soil for magic. Cherish these seven years of school life; what they bring you is endless possibility."
The knowledgeable Professor Lockhart looked with a smile at everyone in the audience, clearly spotting the gloomy-faced Snape sitting in the corner below. Snape evidently seemed deeply touched by these remarks.
"So, to be specific?"
"Perhaps the Sorting has already pointed the way for you early on."
"Gryffindor, perhaps adventure? Defeating the Dark Lord?"
"Slytherin, perhaps plotting a subversive conspiracy?"
"Ravenclaw, perhaps academic excellence? Renown and fame?"
"..."
He smiled and shook his head. "No, it cannot be defined. Everyone must have their own romantic, fairy-tale magical life."
"This requires you to go out and find it."
"Now, let us enter a real-world scenario drill, to show you how striking an effect 'fairy-tale romance' has on casting magic."
"I think I need to invite two assistants up onto the stage..."
"To put on a fairy-tale performance."
He swept his gaze across the crowd, murmuring, "I need a brave hero who wants to defeat the Dark Lord, and a wise man with a firm belief in himself who thinks he is the one in the right."
Oh, he quickly picked his target.
Even though many young witches and wizards were actively raising their hands, he instead looked at two young wizards in the crowd who were trying their best to hide behind their classmates.
"Harry Potter..."
"Draco Malfoy..."
"Would you please come up to the stage?"
011 The Brute, the Conspirator, and the Instigator
The two young wizards seemed somewhat reluctant.
"Let's give them some encouragement!" Lockhart clapped vigorously and shouted their names.
This was where having fans came in handy; his actions tended to draw an enthusiastic response. Hermione, who still wanted to cram and give Harry a few tips, hurriedly stood up and joined in the frantic applause.
People were prone to herd mentality, and in an instant the entire Great Hall was filled with cheers.
Draco Malfoy had been somewhat unwilling at first, but as countless eyes turned toward him, the Slytherins around him began shouting encouragement: "Way to go!", "Show some spirit!", "Don't shame us!"...
Tom!
Oh, no, wait, Harry!
Draco began to understand what Lockhart's so-called "fairy-tale romance" was all about. Wasn't this exact scene before him the long-awaited moment in the spotlight he had been dreaming of?
He stylishly drew his wand, cast a sidelong glance at Harry with a provocative, contemptuous smirk, and swaggered toward the high platform.
Could Harry endure this kind of arrogance?
He instantly overcame his stage fright, stepped forward with firm, measured strides, his expression as solemn as if he were off to slay a Dark Lord.
Yes, Professor Lockhart had guessed correctly: in his eyes, Draco was a Dark Lord—well, no, not quite a Dark Lord yet, but nothing more than an evil Slytherin all the same.
In his first year, he had defeated even the evil Voldemort!
Soon, both of them arrived on the stage.
The air crackled with fighting spirit.
Yet Professor Lockhart reached out, caught them by the shoulders to suppress their restless eagerness, and leaned down to whisper in a soft tone like a devil's murmur.
"Now, lean into your stereotypes and imagine that this evil Slytherin before you is a thoroughly rotten conspirator. He seems to be plotting some vile scheme every single minute, and you must bravely step forward to stop him! Save the world!"
Harry Potter nodded. This wasn't difficult, because he felt Malfoy was precisely that sort of wretch, and he himself was already in the business of stopping evil schemes.
Lockhart turned to Malfoy. "Now, imagine that you are undertaking a great and righteous cause, and there are always these reckless, unruly brutes who try to wreck your plans without a second thought."
He guided him smoothly. "They won't even deign to listen carefully to your thoughts or analyze your plan; they simply harbor the paranoid belief that you are evil, and therefore everything you do is evil, and they must oppose it all. You despise this intensely, more than anything."
Draco pursed his lips and nodded slightly. To be honest, Professor Lockhart's words were really starting to fire him up as he looked at Harry Potter across from him.
"I know this is difficult for you, trying to immerse yourselves in this groundless fairy-tale romance, but trust me—try hard to sink into the atmosphere of this fairy-tale role, and you will draw unprecedented power from it!"
Malfoy desperately wanted to sneer and say it wasn't difficult at all; right now, he found Harry Potter exceptionally irritating.
Yet he suddenly noticed that Harry Potter was actually trying very hard to enter the atmosphere Lockhart had described. His expression tightened instantly, and he hurriedly refocused, hanging on Professor Lockhart's whispered words.
He certainly didn't want to lose at this.
"Very good." Lockhart watched with satisfaction as the two children began staring at each other like cross-eyed roosters, then turned to address all the young witches and wizards in the audience. "There is a crucial element to fairy-tale romance: fighting under the gaze of the whole world, amid everyone's expectations, with an infinite sense of mission."
"Now, cheer for the classmate you support, and shout their names out loud!"
In a single instant, the Great Hall was practically blown away by the noise.
"Harry~"
"Malfoy~"
"Harry Potter~"
"Malfoy~"
"The Boy Who Lived~"
"Malfoy~"
"..."
The boys on stage glared at each other, trying to kill one another with their eyes, while the people below screamed themselves hoarse in mutual rivalry. Caught up in the infectious atmosphere, both Malfoy and Harry's expressions shifted.
To ensure no accidents occurred that he couldn't handle, Lockhart simply invited the professors up onto the stage as well, claiming it would allow them to observe the performance up close.
He declared that in the fairy-tale drama of a hero fighting a demon lord, the expectations of elders were also of paramount importance.
Consequently, Malfoy and Harry felt even greater pressure.
Yet this was the magic of atmosphere: with so many people shouting their names, Harry was breathing heavily as if he might snap his wand in half, while Malfoy took deep, steady breaths. Their emotions had long since been thoroughly ignited.
"Begin your duel!"
Lockhart flicked his wand, retreated gracefully, and yielded the stage to the two young wizards.
This retreat brought him right behind the professors, though by this time no one was paying him any attention.
Even Dumbledore looked on thoughtfully, observing Harry's state with keen interest.
Draco Malfoy was the first to strike. He couldn't be bothered with any dueling etiquette toward a brute like Harry; fully immersed in the atmosphere of "fairy-tale romance," he naturally cast the spell he currently mastered best and which looked the most malicious.
"Serpensortia!"
With a flick of his wand, a dark shadow shot out from the tip and landed on the floor—turning out to be a massive python.
Perhaps it was "firm resolve," perhaps the "wonderful imagination" brought on by the atmosphere, or perhaps "overwhelming emotion"...
Oh, no, it should be the immersion in the atmosphere of "fairy-tale romance."
For a moment, student Malfoy genuinely felt he was a leader attempting to reform and discipline the world. Looking at the oaf before him who opposed him blindly without asking questions, acting sickeningly like a hero battling a demon lord, he felt boundless annoyance and hatred in his heart!
And so, a wonderful moment occurred.
Unlike the snakes of under two meters he had conjured in the past, the giant python coiled before him stretched out to an unknown length, its thick body alone broader than his own head.
Accompanied by gasps of shock from the audience, the sight felt extraordinarily gratifying to him.
Then...
"Expelliarmus!"
A dazzling beam of light surged toward him. Before Malfoy could even react, he and his wand were blasted flying together.
Not only him, but even the giant python he had conjured was lifted into the air.
Bang!
He flew straight to the edge of the high platform and crashed into a pillar before coming to a stop. He hadn't even caught his breath when his pupils dilated in shock at the mass of black shadow looming before him, and he let out a terrified scream, "No!"
Bang!
The giant python smashed straight down on top of him, nearly knocking up his last meal.
Standing to the side, Professor Snape—who had been watching with great anticipation—looked down at Malfoy at his feet with a trace of disdain, bent over, grabbed him by the collar, hauled him up, and hoisted him back opposite Harry Potter, signaling for the duel to continue.
"This is simply the best Serpensortia and Disarming Charm I have ever seen!" Professor Filius Flitwick waved his arm excitedly on the sidelines, looking up at Lockhart. "You unlocked their potential, Professor Lockhart!"
Lockhart flashed his standard, charmingly brilliant smile and arched an eyebrow smugly. "How about that? Fascinating, isn't it?"
"Yes!" Flitwick praised. "Immersed in fairy-tale romance, magic becomes wonderful too! Truly a magnificent discovery!"
012 Giant Python, Parseltongue, and the Good Guy
Lockhart’s mood actually wasn’t nearly as cocky as he made it look.
In fact, he had to admit it—he was a bit jealous!
Watching two young wizards cast spells with his own eyes made him look forward to magic all the more, yet the wand he held in his hand was no different from a pair of chopsticks.
And the boost that the original owner's insight into "fairy-tale romance" had given Harry and Draco was so massive that he genuinely began to feel a twinge of envy and jealousy.
He craved magic too.
He craved power too.
Taking a deep breath, he turned his head to scan the expressions of the surrounding professors. Seeing that Draco had once again been blasted flying by a single spell and Professor McGonagall wearing a worried look, he flashed a brilliant smile and stepped forward, preparing to put a stop to the duel between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.
Enough.
It was already perfect enough.
Yet at that moment, Malfoy quickly whipped his wand around, and the giant python behind him slithered over rapidly. Judging by the way it flicked its tongue, Harry’s Disarming Charm seemed to have thoroughly infuriated the beast.
Faced with such a terrifying scene, Harry didn't dodge. Instead, he stared fixedly at the snake, his mouth hissing softly.
Good grief, the complexions of every single professor present changed instantly.
Lockhart’s expression tightened. Damn it, an unexpected situation still had to happen.
Harry Potter, you really do know how to steal the spotlight!
This is my stage!
I am the protagonist!
Today is the most important platform for me to establish my status as a grandmaster of magic at this school!
He strode forward, too fast to even "have time to draw his wand," threw an arm around Harry’s shoulders to pull his gaze away from the giant snake, and shot a quick glance at Professor Snape.
After all, he noticed that while Professor Snape was sneering and wanting to watch Harry make a fool of himself, he was also tightly gripping his wand, bracing for any major trouble that might arise.
"Splendid!" Professor Lockhart laughed out loud in praise. "A truly splendid duel..."
He firmly grasped Harry’s shoulders, blocking Harry and the giant python with his own tall frame.
Was he scared? Naturally, he was a little scared.
But he believed Snape would handle this snake.
If worst came to worst, Professor Dumbledore would step in.
All he needed to do was project the image of a fearless grandmaster of magic facing down a giant python. "I trust everyone..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a young wizard in the audience suddenly shrieked, "Was that Parseltongue just now?"
And so, many other young wizards who hadn't been entirely sure also began to chime in. "I heard Harry Potter talking to that snake!"
"Yes, I heard it too!"
"Merlin, unbelievable! I heard only the most evil wizards understand Parseltongue!"
"..."
The crowd below broke into a heated discussion. Lockhart hurriedly called for order, asking the prefects to quiet everyone down as soon as possible.
He stole a backward glance and saw that the giant python had vanished without a trace, which finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief as he smoothly began to hold forth. "In fact, Parseltongue is not exclusive to Dark wizards. If any of you were to go on an adventure to the Amazon like I did, you would find that snake-speakers exist in many tribes there."
"Strictly speaking, snake speech also belongs to a profound branch of Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"I think the most representative example is our great Headmaster Dumbledore, who is not only fluent in snake speech, but also knows Mermish, Gobbledegook..."
Dumbledore watched with mild amusement as Lockhart blurred the distinction between Parseltongue as an innate magical ability and snake speech as an acquired skill.
Professor McGonagall, however, stepped forward. She knew Professor Lockhart’s words were meant to defuse the sudden situation, but she was not very keen on letting the students confuse the concepts of a snake-speaker and Parseltongue, as that went against teaching principles.
"That's enough, children!"
With a wave of her large hand, the Great Hall—which Lockhart had arranged to be dimmed—brightened up. "Class is dismissed. Please leave the classroom in an orderly fashion."
She cast a meaningful look at them all. "Even if some of you cannot grasp the magical essentials of 'fairy-tale romance,' the seven principles summarized by Professor Lockhart are still very insightful. I hope you will give them more thought."
"Prefects, lead everyone back to the dormitories."
The room below was in a chaotic buzz. The students had no choice but to obey Professor McGonagall, streaming out while chatterbox-style discussions about Harry Potter's situation filled the air.
Fortunately, many young wizards still looked forward to their own strength and focused more on the true essence of magic Professor Lockhart had just lectured about.
Up on the stage, facing the circle of professors, especially Dumbledore’s deep, unreadable gaze, Harry felt rather apprehensive.
"Har—ryyy—Potter!" Professor Snape strode forward, looking down at Harry with a malicious glare. "Look what kind of surprise our savior has brought us this time."
Harry didn't know how to face this situation; his head was a jumble of chaos. Even without looking up, he knew what kind of mocking expression the evil Snape was wearing as he looked at him.
"Yes, simply marvelous."
Suddenly, a hearty laugh rang out, and a warm arm gently embraced him. Harry looked up to see Professor Lockhart.
Professor Lockhart gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, as if passing on the strength to face everything.
"Parseltongue! What an enviable ability!"
Professor Lockhart shot an eyebrow-raising look at Professor Snape. "Of course, both you and I grew up in the Muggle world; you must have heard of Muggle genetics. Cross-generational inheritance is the most normal thing in the world."
Professor Snape sneered. "Let's hope it's the theory you just came up with."
Professor Lockhart simply smiled without arguing further. He beckoned to Draco Malfoy, who was still looking at Harry in startled suspicion. "Your performance was simply too outstanding; I must give you both some rewards. Of course, regarding how deeply you immersed yourselves in the roles just now, I also need to provide some psychological counseling."
With that, he looked at the surrounding professors, particularly Dumbledore. "May I take the boys away first?"
Wonderful!
Harry felt immensely relieved. Professor Lockhart had stepped in at the crucial moment to bail him out again. He didn't want to stay here for another second; the way people around him were looking at him made him profoundly uncomfortable.
He suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for previously thinking Professor Lockhart was a terrible person. Clearly, this professor before him was not only a powerful wizard, but a good man as well.
Soon, our friend the good man obtained Dumbledore's permission and led Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy toward his office.
These two kids were simply too worth investing in.
Leaving aside Harry Potter, the protagonist of the original story, take Draco Malfoy alone: the pure-blood family power behind him was immensely formidable.
What could be more effective for getting close to and winning the respect of a parent like Mr. Lucius Malfoy than being his child's teacher?
Perfect!