Beyond the Bonds of Blood: The Threshold of Hope | Harry Potter

Pixie Pandemonium

The first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the second year had generated high expectations among the students of Hogwarts. Rumors about the new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, had spread throughout the castle. Bellarose wasn't a big fan of him, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

The class eagerly waiting Professor Lockhart's arrival. When he finally entered, he was dressed eccentrically, with an electric blue satin cape and perfectly coiffed blond hair. He had a dazzling smile and introduced himself in an extremely pompous manner.

Lockhart: "My dear students, I am delighted to announce that you have the extraordinary opportunity to benefit from my exceptional talents in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am Gilderoy Lockhart, the author of numerous bestselling books and a renowned wizard."

He cast a charming look around the room. Pansy raised an eyebrow skeptically, while Bellarose sighed discreetly beside her. Lockhart continued to talk about his exploits and adventures, repeatedly mentioning how he had defeated dangerous creatures and dark forces.

Bellarose: "He's even worse than I imagined. I won't learn anything with a professor like him."

It was barely a whisper, and only Pansy next to her heard it. She was surprised but agreed with her, even though she wouldn't admit it out loud, keeping that thought to herself. Lockhart continued his speech about his exploits and achievements, increasingly exaggerated. Bellarose was becoming more convinced that this professor would not be helpful for their learning.

Lockhart: "And now, my dear students, a little quiz to test your knowledge! Answer the questions to the best of your abilities."

Lockhart handed out a small quiz to each student. The questions had nothing to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts but rather focused on his autobiography. The questions were numerous, needlessly detailed, and seemed more intended for self-glorification than teaching.

The students began to read the questions, which were mainly focused on trivial details of Lockhart's life, such as his favorite color or the name of his hairdresser. Bellarose shook her head, finding it completely ridiculous, and Pansy sighed in exasperation, muttering without realizing.

Pansy: "This is nonsense, these questions have nothing to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Bellarose was surprised and responded.

Bellarose: "I rarely agree with you, but this is just ridiculous."

Instead of filling out the quiz with meaningless answers, Pansy and Bellarose decided to leave their sheets completely blank. They knew that Lockhart wouldn't appreciate it, but it would express their discontent with his superficial teaching.

Lockhart walked down the aisle, collecting the quiz sheets from the students. When he reached Pansy and Bellarose's table, he noticed that they had turned in a blank sheet.

Lockhart: "Ladies, you didn't answer the questions?"

Pansy shrugged slightly, wearing a sarcastic smile.

Pansy: "We didn't have any valid answers to give, professor."

Lockhart seemed bewildered by their attitude but continued to collect the sheets without further insistence.

Lockhart, excited by Hermione's perfect score, approached her with a big smile.

Lockhart: "Ah, Miss Granger, you got everything right! Congratulations!"

Hermione modestly smiled, accepting the professor's congratulations. Lockhart couldn't help but show more enthusiasm.

Lockhart: "Bravo, bravo, Gryffindor deserves ten extra points for this outstanding performance!"

After congratulating Hermione, Lockhart decided to continue his lesson by demonstrating another of his "exceptional techniques." He released a cage filled with "freshly captured Cornish Pixies" into the classroom. The students watched with curiosity while Bellarose read a book on Defense Against the Dark Arts, waiting for the lesson to be over.

Lockhart: ". . .pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters."

As he finished his sentence, the professor released the pixies, and far from being tamed, they began to create real chaos in the classroom. They flew everywhere, knocked over desks, and pulled students' hair. Instead of managing the situation, Lockhart tried to showcase his skills by casting a spell to stop the pixies. However, his spell had absolutely no effect on the unruly creatures, making the situation even worse. The students were increasingly panicked, trying in vain to deal with the uncontrollable pixies.

Seeing that his spell had not worked, Lockhart turned to the students with a forced smile and said irresponsibly: "Well, my dear students, it seems I've given you a little challenge! Show me what you can do to clean up this mess. I'll just go back to my office."

He quickly fled to his office, leaving the students bewildered and left to their own devices to deal with the enraged pixies. Pansy and Bellarose were among those trying to capture the creatures, but it was a challenging task.

Pansy growled. 

Pansy: "This professor is absolutely useless why did Dumbledore choose him as our professor!"

The students in the class struggled with the pixies, trying to catch and return them to the cage. Lockhart's lesson had turned into a real nightmare, and Pansy and Bellarose were determined to find a more effective way to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts. Bellarose was about to draw her wand when Hermione shouted with her wand in the air.

Hermione: "Immobulus."

All the pixies stopped as if frozen, floating in the air. With the chaos temporarily halted, she turned her attention to Neville, who was hanging precariously from the chandelier, clearly distressed. She rushed over to Neville's aid, to help him down.

Bellarose:  "Hang on, Neville. I've got you," 

She reassured him as she carefully guided him to safety. Neville was hesitant at first but gratefully accepted her help and climbed down from the chandelier, his legs trembling with relief as he reached solid ground.

Neville : "Thanks for the help."

Despite the gratitude, there was still a slight awkwardness between them.Pansy, who had been helping with the cleanup, approached Bellarose with a look of annoyance.

Pansy: "I can't believe we have to endure this nonsense for an entire year,"

Bellarose nodded in agreement. As the students worked together to restore order to the classroom, she couldn't help but wonder how they would survive the rest of the year with Lockhart as their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. But one thing was clear: they would need to rely on their own skills if they were going to learn anything valuable about defending themselves against dark forces.