By the time Herbology class had ended, it was time for lunch as well as a much needed break to wash up, change, and then get ready to go to their afternoon double period of Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Lockhart, joy of all joys, Violet thought sarcastically about that prospect. She and Victoria took their quick turns in the girls' Slytherin baths, which were more like swimming pools and even more grandiose than the Slytherin common room and their dorms put together. The warmer the bathwater, the more it was foamy and delicately perfumed, and the cooler the water was, the more it contained certain properties to refresh someone and help energize them to make them more alert.
On or around holidays, such as Christmas, the bathwater would even run out of the taps in multiple festive colours and fragrances to choose from. It was almost too easy to be tempted to spend an entire day in there at times. But Violet and Victoria, all washed and changed out of their soiled Herbology robes (which were quickly sent to the Hogwarts laundry), and in standard Hogwarts uniforms, made their way in good time back to the Great Hall for lunch. There were the choices of Irish stew with freshly made soda bread, assorted sandwiches with crisps, or grilled salmon paired with a simple green salad.
There were also different miniature eclairs, biscuits, raspberry and blackcurrant jellies and cups of fresh fruit, many of which Crabbe and Goyle were already pigging out on. Violet had honestly never felt more disgusted by anyone's eating habits. But she ignored them and instead tried to begin reading one of Lockhart's so-called textbooks, which actually turned out to be nothing more than a series of adventures in saving both wizard and (occasionally) muggle communities from dangerous magical creatures or other perils. Violet had to grudgingly admit to herself that Lockhart was actually a good storyteller, but would he be any good as a Defence teacher? The books would certainly appear to be be shouting a resounding yes.
But Violet knew well even back then that reality very often did not match a person's expectations. Oh well, she thought. Even if the lesson turned out to be a total dud, at least she would have not only her first letter of the school year from Emily to read later, but it would also be Saturday in a few more days and she could watch Harry get in some practice with the Gryffindor Quidditch team, as well as Tori's Slytherin cheerwitch tryout. And after that, maybe they would all go to visit Hagrid and Fang.
***
Violet Potter's first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson of her second year began after the day's lunch and free study period had ended. Violet and Victoria both walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom to notice that this year, unlike when Professor Quirrel had been both teaching the subject and regrettably on the dark side, there were no fumes of any mysterious potions bubbling in a large cauldron. There were no signs of any dangling garlic bulbs, wonky amulets, or completely shuttered windows.
There weren't so many magical defense instructions posted up around the classroom as there were hundreds of moving portraits. Some very small, others so enormous they were able to depict a life-sized imitation of Lockhart, one of which was painting a portrait of himself within the portrait.
All of the portrait Lockharts smiled around at the students as they went to take their seats, and Ron looked as though he might want to retch with disgust, while Seamus Finnigan was heard to grumble to a muggle-born named Dean Thomas, "It's as though I've just walked into a shrine to the most self-absorbed codger in the world. It's just ridiculous. I hope he doesn't waste the class standing up there talking about himself."
"Oh, but he is certainly dreamy to look at." Lavender Brown sighed to Parvati Patil, "I mean, le swoon!" It turned out that Hermione was not entirely immune to the apparent superficial charms of Professor Lockhart, either. Violet had noticed in passing that she had at least twenty or so magically colour-changing heart-shaped stickers stuck onto the front of her little DADA book for quick note-taking. And they nearly all had Lockhart's face on them.
"Hermione!" Ron said with disgust, "Did you really cover your books in little hearts with Lockhart on them---"
"It is Professor Lockhart to you boy, and I'm afraid a point must be taken from Gryffindor for forgetting your manners! And that's a point from you as well, Mr. Finnegan. Yes, I overheard you!" Lockhart's voice magically resounded around the classroom. Draco Malfoy whispered to Pansy, "I would have taken more than a point from the ill-mannered Finnegan and Weasel scum." Crabbe and Goyle, who were sitting in the desks right behind them snickered."Let me introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher..."
There appeared the real Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed from head to toe in some of the most flamboyant and colourful robes Violet had ever seen a grown wizard wear, and considering Professor Dumbledore's own personal style, that was saying something.
Gilderoy paused for dramatic effect before saying..."Me!" And he flashed another one of his well-practiced smiles at everyone in the classroom. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the International Defence Against The Dark Arts League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. But I don't talk about that! I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her..." Lockhart chuckled for a few moments, while thinking, guess those Marauders always got something wrong. I always knew I was destined to go far, and I didn't even have to do anything by the rulebook honestly, not that anyone, let alone any of these children need ever know!...and then he continued on with other matters.
Gilderoy already had the first assignment of the class written up on the chalkboard and ready to go for his Gryffindor and Slytherin second-years, and it was what Violet had been worried it was going to be. There were ten questions to answer on parchment:
1. Where, and on what date, was Gilderoy Lockhart born?
2. Does Gilderoy Lockhart have any siblings, true or false?
3. To which Hogwarts house was Gilderoy Lockhart sorted?
4. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite colour?
5. What would Gilderoy Lockhart's ideal birthday present be?
Violet reluctantly took out her ink and quill and answered the first five questions as best as she could. The next five questions were ones that Lockhart was asking specifically of each student in the class:
6. What is your full name, date of birth, and home away from Hogwarts?
Violet Euphemia Potter
13 Cheshire Lane
Nettleship Moors
Essex
Date of Birth: July 31st, 1980
(Originally from Godric's Hollow)
7. Why do you truly believe you were sorted into the Hogwarts house you are a pupil of?
I don't believe it really matters what house we get sorted in at all. What does matter is what we learn from the experience and our actions in choosing between good and the path of least resistance. Actions always speak louder than words.
8. What is your favorite colour/colours?
Red and Purple.
9. Name your dearest friends in the world and what it is that makes them special to you:
A) Harry Potter---He is the long lost brother I never quite remembered I actually still had until the whole truth came out when I turned eleven, though I did have a feeling there was always so much more to the story about what really happened in Godric's Hollow on Halloween in 1981.
Our origin story is apparently very well known in the wizarding world, and because of all of this, Harry is determined to fight the evils of a certain dark wizard and protect everyone he loves, since there was tragically nothing we could do to save our parents anyway, being only a year old. They might not have succeeded in defeating said dark wizard, but there might be a chance that our generation will.
B) Emily Spencer--- Emily Spencer, formerly a Hufflepuff, was well chosen to be my godmother by my Mum and Dad, who were good friends of Emily's going back to their years at Hogwarts. Her family is mostly non-magic, like my mother's, including her parents, Forsythe and Angela Spencer, both muggles, who helped to raise me since I was a baby. They can be overprotective at times, they were at first unsure that I should even go to Hogwarts! But I know now deep down that only shows how much they have come to care about me.
C) Victoria "Tori" Maynard---Victoria, or Tori, as all her friends (including myself) call her, came from a certain pure-blood family I'm sure you must have heard of. Tori has already started off knowing more about the wizarding world than I do, but that's why we are at Hogwarts---to learn, of course. Tori is always interested to also learn more about how our ordinary non-magic counterparts (muggles) live. Her mum, who is gone now sadly, began teaching Tori all that she possibly could pre-Hogwarts, and it is Tori's wish to do all she can to make her mother proud. I think she's already doing wonderfully.
D) Hermione Granger--- Hermione Granger is also muggle-born, and just because of this status alone would never have been accepted into Slytherin, which as much as I'm proud to be a student of Slytherin, it is still a house that needs many changes made to it. But retuning to Hermione, she is a Gryffindor who might just as easily have been at home in Ravenclaw, she is only in her second year at Hogwarts and so brilliant!
In our very first Transfiguration lesson, Hermione could already transform a match one hundred percent into a silver threading needle. And when we had to magically design our individual teacups, Hermione's was one of the very nicest ever designed by a first-year. Professor McGonagall even placed it among her favorite teacups designed by first years through all the years she has been a Hogwarts teacher. Outside of class, Hermione is also a wonderful and helpful friend to have around. Ron thinks she can be bossy sometimes, but that just shows how much he really likes her.
E) Ron Weasley--- My brother Harry Potter has two best friends, who are also friends of mine. Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. While Hermione is the true brain of the trio who always works the hardest to figure the most complicated stuff out, I don't think Ron should ever be underestimated, either.
This is the same boy who, while still in his first year, managed to knock out an adult mountain troll with its' own club, and went on to play and checkmate Professor McGonagall's giant wizard chess set. It was Ron who got knocked out that time, but he helped Harry to save the school last year at least as much as Hermione did (without relying on books), which is even more than Tori and I were able to do at the time. Pyrus Maynard did get arrested thanks partially to Devon Wolfe, who is in Ravenclaw, and me as well, plus Professor Dumbledore and Kingsley Shacklebolt at the very end, but still. Ron has his own hidden awesomeness even his own older brothers don't ever seem to give him much credit for.
F) Other Weasleys--- Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, and Ginny. This is Ron's family, that I know of so far. The Weasleys are pure-bloods, and they are also an ancient wizarding family. What sets them apart from families like the Malfoys and Maynards is that they are actually a happy family, content with each other and the things they've got instead of being all power hungry and dysfunctional. They also know better than to join with dark wizards and commit atrocities. Their family motto is, "So long as we have each other, we shall see the weather through." They were also willing to accept me and my friend Tori, as Slytherins, with no questions asked. Well, almost no questions asked. I guess that it was just Percy being Percy.
10. What would be your ideal wishes for yourself and the Wizarding World?
There are ever so many things I wish, but the two most important of my wishes for the future are these: That all the darkness and fear that our world is still living under will someday be over, and that maybe someday I will be able to have a daughter of my own.
After handwriting these last few sentences regarding her wishes down, Violet placed a basic quick-dry spell by wand over the length of parchment she'd used to write her answers on to dry the ink and she rolled it up neatly and walked up to place it on Professor Lockhart's desk where everyone else began placing their rolls.
Soon enough, all the rolls were collected and Lockhart then spent a good deal of time of reading through each one. There were several times when Lockhart even paused here and there to add in his own commentary.
"Tut tut. Hardly any one of you, save for Mr. Brian Talbot and Miss Hermione Granger remembered that my favorite colour is lilac. I say so in Year With A Yeti. And anyone who has ever read Wrestling With A Werewolf ought to know that my greatest wish of all would be for wizardkind and non magic peoples to someday live in harmony with one another! Although I'd never say no to a getaway vacation to the Canary Islands..."
And then, Lockhart happened to read out loud through everything Violet Potter wrote, and didn't once stop even when there were many other students, like Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson to name just two who were snickering very audibly. And there was not much good of it that Lockhart had to say when he called Violet back to his desk. "My dear Miss Potter, you certainly have an interesting way of explaining things, I must say. Of telling some rather impressive tall tales, too.
There is simply no way a couple of first years could have attempted to duel with an infamous Death Eater, let alone a full grown and hostile mountain troll, and live to tell the tale! For sure without any fully trained adult wizard intervention it is practically unheard of! It is certainly the first time I've ever heard of a witch as sensible as Minerva McGonagall having created a giant Wizards' Chess set to be left available for any students to just peruse, especially if such a game would be astoundingly dangerous to play!"
"But Professor, all of these things really did happen, I would never write them if they didn't---" Violet began to stammer, but Professor Lockhart gave her a stony glare just about as icy as any Professor Snape might have given at this very moment, and she fell silent as several other Slytherin students began to laugh again from behind them.
"I believe that will do quite well, Miss Potter. It would appear that tall tales of magical adventures outside of your day-to-day classes aren't enough for you either, are they? You had to scribble in your own unsophisticated and childish commentary in regard to Slytherin House and the particular manner in which the Sacred Twenty-Eight system has traditionally operated for many centuries!
Miss Potter, you yourself are a student of Slytherin House, therefore, I believe you can and should dispense with this unnecessary antipathy towards it. We all have our wishes, particularly when we are young, of how different we would idealistically prefer certain things to be.
However, you are twelve years old and have frankly been kept very sheltered since you were a baby in Nettleship Moors. Perhaps someday, when you have finally grown up and attained many more years of life experience, then you will better understand the way of the world and abandon these ridiculous notions that your generation alone specifically can bring down such a formidable enemy to us all as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Thank you for kindly not mentioning his name and risking an in-class panic on top of everything else at any rate. You may be seated." Lockhart said in a final, dismissive manner while poor Violet just stood there, humiliated from her head to her toes. But she found her way back silently to the seating area which she shared with Tori and sat numbly, while Lockhart continued on with the lesson, until the moment he revealed a cage full of Cornish Pixies, which Violet would later write a letter and have Eros send it to her godmother in Nettleship Moors...
***
Dear Emily:
This time, I have written this letter home to you alone, hoping that you will understand just how it is I am feeling. And I hope that you won't see me as just a silly twelve-year-old who doesn't know what she's talking about or who doesn't understand anything at all about the world. I also only want for you to read this letter because I have a lot to say about one of my classes and teachers at Hogwarts (No, it's not Potions and it's not only Professor Snape this time).
Gilderoy Lockhart is our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher now, and I think I can understand why so many of my classmates were not exactly thrilled to have Lockhart as a professor despite him being such a household name in the Wizarding World. He made me feel as if most of the things I wrote about myself, my friends, and how I feel about what it's like to be in Slytherin House just didn't matter in any way and that I was just being a child for even writing about it. Well, maybe it doesn't matter to Lockhart, but it still means something to me!
When we finally get into something to do with actually defending ourselves, Lockhart reveals a golden cage packed full of Cornish Pixies. Seamus Finnegan had a laugh about the selection of magical creature we were supposed to be defending ourselves against. Lockhart of course, said that pixies could be devilishly tricky little blighters to deal with, and he opens the cage on us.
It was a disaster! Books flung around, spilled ink, parchment ripped to shreds or else balled up and launched at us by the little winged creatures with surprisingly painful force, several of them even managed to lift Neville Longbottom up and left him dangling from this stupid chandelier Lockhart had installed in the classroom.
In the end, it was Hermione Granger who cast Immobulus and froze all the pixies in mid-air. But of course Hermione knew exactly what to do about the pixies. Lockhart was too busy cowering away to even rescue Neville from just dangling about and wondering why it always had to be him.
Almost every other Weasley seemed to be so hard on Ron over the last weeks of summer or didn't take him seriously, but near the end of what had to be the worst defence lesson ever, I'm more convinced than ever that he's been right all along about Lockhart not knowing what he's doing and that he probably made all his adventures up as well.
Professor Snape was the one who had to come and assist Neville in getting back down again (since Professor McGonagall has to be in Faire Dhu for a few days as her brother passed) and Snape was so hacked off about all of it that he gave Neville a whole weekend's worth in detention to be served back-to-back, as if all of it was really his fault!
At least I have the weekend to look forward to, since Harry starts Quidditch practice with the Gryffindor team and Tori is trying out to be a cheerwitch for Hogwarts Quidditch as well on Saturday. We should also have time after that to visit Hagrid as well. Then I can think about other things and spend time with people I actually want to be around, NOT Gilderoy Lockhart!
Until I write home again,
Love from Violet
Emily's letter replying to Violet's letter came a few days later.
Dear Violet:
How well I remember being twelve myself and feeling awkward in my own shoes and as though at times I were not accepted among so many of my own classmates and not taken as seriously as I might have liked. It isn't exactly fun, but life can't always be fun, let alone easy, and being a Hogwarts Professor or holding any position with that level of expectation and responsibility over classrooms full of young pupils can often be very trying and very difficult.
Which is why I'm advising you straight off not to write home again to criticize any of your teachers. It was quite a stroke of good fortune that Professor Dumbledore was able to offer a post to Gilderoy Lockhart, a post which he immediately accepted. It's getting tougher, or so I've heard, to find anyone at all keen to take on the position as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts year after year now. So for this year, seeing as Lockhart is one of your professors, you will simply have to hold your chin up and learn to live with it. Unless a professor is in any way behaving inappropriately or putting any students including yourself in very serious harm's way, you must endure it and show respect, unless you have come to the full and indisputable conclusion that your gut suspicion is proven right. That goes for Professor Snape as well.
I learned that while you were spending the final weeks of summer holiday at the Weasleys that your best friend had a special visitor show up. The little house-elf her family used to own, Tiny I believe her name is? You'll all need to be careful about this as well. Any house-elf could end up in so much trouble if it is discovered that he or she is defying their masters. Most especially if it is to help or even befriend anyone who does not or no longer owns them, and they already largely live rough and miserable lives. Do also continue to study hard and always support your brother when he needs it the most. I shall see you on Christmas holiday.
Best Regards From Your Godmother,
Emily