1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?
Baby pink
2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
To be as famous as Harry Potter
3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?
Meeting Harry Potter
On and on it went, over three sides of paper, right down to:
54. When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?
Harry Potter's fame
Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class.
"Tut, tut—hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully—I clearly state in Chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples—though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky!"
He gave them another roguish wink. Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face; Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in front, were shaking with silent laughter. Lilith was staring eagerly, earning a weird look from Harry.
"I thought you didn't like him?" Harry whispered.
"Wanted to see his reaction to my answers." Lilith giggled.
Lockhart came to a halt when looking at one of the papers, an expression of disbelief all over his face. "...Harry Potter's fame? Meeting Harry Potter.." He muttered, an annoyed look appearing.
Lilith and Harry giggled. Hermione, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention and gave a start when he mentioned her name.
"...but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions—good girl! In fact"—he flipped her paper over—„full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"
Hermione raised a trembling hand.
"Excellent!" beamed Lockhart. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so—to business—"
He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.
"Now—be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."
In spite of himself, Harry leaned around his pile of books for a better look at the cage while Lilith eyed it warily. Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. Dean and Seamus had stopped laughing now. Neville was cowering in his front row seat.
"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."
As the whole class held its breath, Lockhart whipped off the cover.
"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."
Seamus Finnigan couldn't control himself. He let out a snort of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror. Lilith giggled, finding this ridiculous.
"Yes?" He smiled at Seamus.
"Well, they're not—they're not very—dangerous, are they?" Seamus choked. "Don't be so sure!" said Lockhart, waggling a finger annoyingly at Seamus.
"Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"
The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing. The moment the cover had been removed, they had started jabbering and rocketing around, rattling the bars and making bizarre faces at the people nearest them.
"Right, then," Lockhart said loudly. "Let's see what you make of them!" And he opened the cage.
It was pandemonium. The pixies shot in every direction like rockets. Two of them seized Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air. Several shot straight through the window, showering the back row with broken glass. The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino. They grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them, shredded books and papers, tore pictures from the walls, up-ended the waste basket, grabbed bags and books and threw them out of the smashed window; within minutes, half the class was sheltering under desks and Neville was swinging from the iron chandelier in the ceiling.
"Neville!" Lilith exclaimed worriedly.
"Come on now—round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted.
He rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand, and bellowed, "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"
"That's not even a real spell!" Lilith said in disbelief, still glancing at Neville in concern.
It had absolutely no effect; one of the pixies seized his wand and threw it out of the window, too. Lockhart gulped and dived under his own desk, narrowly avoiding being squashed by Neville, who fell a second later as the chandelier gave way.
The bell rang and there was a mad rush toward the exit. Lilith stayed, looking out for Neville. In the relative calm that followed, Lockhart straightened up, caught sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were almost at the door, and said, "Well, I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him.
"Can you believe him?" roared Ron as one of the remaining pixies bit him painfully on the ear.
"Ugh." Lilith grumbled, pointing her wand towards pixies "Petrificus Totalus!"
All the Pixies froze, falling down to the floor one by one. Neville down let out a terrified scream when he fell, "AH!"
"Arresto Momentum!"
Neville's fall then slowed, and finally he landed gently, they rushed towards him, "Are you okay, Neville?"
"I-I'm fine." He whimpered.
---
The rest of the Gryffindor team were already in the changing room. Wood was the only person who looked truly awake. Fred and George Weasley were sitting, puffy-eyed and tousle-haired, next to fourth year Alicia Spinnet, who seemed to be nodding off against the wall behind her. Her fellow Chasers, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, were yawning side by side opposite them.
"There you are, Harry, what kept you?" said Wood briskly, a sleepy Lilith standing beside him, rubbing her eyes. "Now, I wanted a quick talk with you all before we actually get onto the field, because I spent the summer devising a whole new training program, which I really think will make all the difference..."
Wood was holding up a large diagram of a Quidditch field, on which were drawn many lines, arrows, and crosses in different-coloured inks. He took out his wand, tapped the board, and the arrows began to wiggle over the diagram like caterpillars. As Wood launched into a speech about his new tactics, Fred Weasley's head drooped right onto Alicia Spinnet's shoulder and he began to snore.
The first board took nearly twenty minutes to explain, but there was another board under that, and a third under that one. Harry sank into a stupor as Wood droned on and on.
"So," said Wood, at long last, jerking Harry from a wistful fantasy about what he could be eating for breakfast at this very moment up at the castle. "Is that clear? Any questions?"
"I've got a question, Oliver," said George, who had woken with a start. "Why couldn't you have told us all this yesterday when we were awake? Why is poor sweet little Lilith here? She needs her beauty sleep!"
Wood wasn't pleased.
"Now, listen here, you lot," he said, glowering at them all. "We should have won the Quidditch cup last year. We're easily the best team. But unfortunately—owing to circumstances beyond our control—"
Harry shifted guiltily in his seat. He had been unconscious in the hospital wing for the final match of the previous year, meaning that Gryffindor had been a player short and had suffered their worst defeat in three hundred years.
Wood took a moment to regain control of himself. Their last defeat was clearly still torturing him.
"So this year, we train harder than ever before... Okay, let's go and put our new theories into practice!" Wood shouted, seizing his broomstick and leading the way out of the locker rooms. Stiff-legged and still yawning, his team followed. "You still haven't answered the Lilith question." Angelina pointed out.
"Oh." He said briskly, staring down at the girl who was leaning on his side, eyes closed. "She wanted me to wake her up, she wanted to support our practice."
The team looked at her incredulously, sure she was sweet. But she was sacrificing her sleep on a Saturday morning to watch them practice.
They had been in the locker room so long that the sun was up completely now, although remnants of mist hung over the grass in the stadium. As Harry walked onto the field, he saw Ron and Hermione sitting in the stands.
"Aren't you finished yet?" called Ron incredulously.
"Haven't even started," said Harry, looking jealously at the toast and marmalade Ron and Hermione had brought out of the Great Hall. "Wood's been teaching us new moves."
The other two glanced at a sleepy Lilith who was still leaning on Oliver who had his arm wrapped around her for support. "You can nap on the stands, okay sweets? Or do you want to go back to your dorms?" He asked her gently, Lilith blinked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and letting out a small yawn.
"S'Okay, I'll watch from the stands." She hugged him quickly before slowly walking towards the stands, still rubbing her eyes.
Theye mounted his broomstick and kicked at the ground, soaring up into the air. The cool morning air whipped his face, waking him far more effectively than Wood's long talk. It felt wonderful to be back on the Quidditch field. Lilith watched as Harry soared right around the stadium at full speed, racing Fred and George.
"What's that funny clicking noise?" called Fred as they hurtled around the corner.
Harry looked into the stands. Colin was sitting in one of the highest seats, his camera raised, taking picture after picture, the sound strangely magnified in the deserted stadium.
"Look this way, Harry! This way!" he cried shrilly.
"Who's that?" said Fred.
"No idea," Harry lied, putting on a spurt of speed that took him as far away as possible from Colin.
"What's going on?" said Wood, frowning, as he skimmed through the air toward them. "Why's that first year taking pictures? I don't like it. He could be a Slytherin spy, trying to find out about our new training program."
"He's in Gryffindor," said Harry quickly.
"And the Slytherins don't need a spy, Oliver," said George.
"What makes you say that?" said Wood testily.
"Because they're here in person," said George, pointing.
Several people in green robes were walking onto the field, broomsticks in their hands.
"I don't believe it!" Wood hissed in outrage. "I booked the field for today! We'll see about this!"
Wood shot toward the ground, landing rather harder than he meant to in his anger, staggering slightly as he dismounted. Harry, Fred, and George followed. "Flint!" Wood bellowed at the Slytherin Captain. "This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"
Marcus Flint was even larger than Wood. He had a look of trollish cunning on his face as he replied, "Plenty of room for all of us, Wood."
Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had come over, too. There were no girls on the Slytherin team, who stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the Gryffindors, leering to a man.
"But I booked the field!" said Wood, positively spitting with rage. "I booked it!"
"Ah," said Flint. "But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape.
"I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker."
"You've got a new Seeker?" said Wood, distracted. "Where?"
And from behind the six large figures before them came a seventh, smaller boy, smirking all over his pale, pointed face. It was Draco Malfoy. Lilith let out a small groan.
"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" said Fred, looking at Malfoy with dislike.
"Funny you should mention Draco's father," said Flint as the whole Slytherin team smiled still more broadly. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team."
All seven of them held out their broomsticks. Seven highly polished, brand-new handles and seven sets of fine gold lettering spelling the words Nimbus Two Thousand and One gleamed under the Gryffindors' noses in the early morning sun.
"Very latest model. Only came out last month," said Flint carelessly, flicking a speck of dust from the end of his own. "I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps"—he smiled nastily at Fred and George, who were both clutching Cleansweep Fives—"sweeps the board with them."
None of the Gryffindor team could think of anything to say for a moment. Malfoy was smirking so broadly his cold eyes were reduced to slits.
"Oh, look," said Flint. "A field invasion."
Lilith, Ron and Hermione were crossing the grass to see what was going on.
"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?"
He was looking at Malfoy, taking in his Slytherin Quidditch robes.
"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," said Malfoy, smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team."
Ron gaped, open-mouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him. "Good, aren't they?" said Malfoy smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."
The Slytherin team howled with laughter. Lilith then walked in front of them before hermione could retort with a smart reply. "Can I see the note?"
Oliver handed it towards the girl with a grumble. Lilith scanned it before nodding, then she reached towards her pocket. "Funny that you got a note, I have one too, from Professor McGonagall." She said smoothly, pulling out another note.
The Gryffindors' eyebrows shot up in surprise, sharing a glance at each other before peering over the note Lilith handed to Marcus Flint.
"I, Professor M. McGonagall, give the Gryffindor team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train with their new brooms. Under no circumstance, can anyone else over ride the pitch."
"New brooms?" Fred whispered to his twin.
"You've got new brooms too?" Flint let out a laugh, "I don't see them anywhere."
"Oh, I forgot." Lilith said hastily, shoving her hands on her pocket and pulling out something.
She placed them on the ground and pointed her wands towards it, "Engorgio!"
There, seven new brooms grew to their original size. Seven new Nimbus Two Thousands. They all gaped at the new brooms. "There you go." Lilith smiled in satisfaction.
"This must've cost a fortune!" Alicia Spinnet furrowed her eyebrows, Lilith waved her off.
"I don't think it's going to hurt her vault. Trust me, I've seen it." Ron eyed the brooms in jealousy.
"Still, Lilith. We can't accept this." Fred refused, receiving nods of agreement from the others.
"Well, I bought it already." Lilith frowned, "'S not like I can return it. No one in my family plays Quidditch. So either you take it, or I'll just give it to the Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs."
The players immediately grabbed the brooms, "Happy early Christmas!" She cheered.
Christmas was three months away, but who cares.
"Thanks cupcake!"
"Yeah, Thanks cupcake!" The twins rushed to tackle her in a hug, before pulling away.
"Thank you, sweetheart." Oliver smiled giddily, kissing her cheek.
Alicia, Angelina followed his actions and each pressed a kiss against her cheek.
Harry pulled her into a hug and brought his old broom, "Here, since I have no need for this one, you can have it." Harry smiled, offering the Nimbus Two thousand to Ron whose eyes light up happily.
Lilith then turned towards the Slytherins who were fuming in silence, "I had a feeling you were going to do this." She admitted. "Heard from the Hufflepuffs you did the same thing. So I had to make sure." She grinned,
Draco's nostrils flared in anger, they had no more advantage against the Gryffindors. The Slytherins then stormed away in anger.
---
Lilith skipped happily through the walls of Hogwarts, singing to herself as she daydreamed, accidentally bumping into a large form. 'Oof' She rubbed her head, looking up.
"Sorry." She mumbled shyly, "S'Okay. Are you alright?" The boy she bumped was a tall brunette, wearing Hufflepuff's uniform.
"I'm okay." Lilith nodded, the boy then held his hand out, "I'm Cedric. Cedric Diggory. Fourth Year."
Lilith shook his hand, opening her mouth, but she was interrupted. "Lilith Jade, I know. I heard you bought the Gryffindor Quidditch team the new Nimbus Two Thousand and one. It'll be a hard match for us Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, for sure." He smiled in amusement.
Lilith blushed once more, "Sorry."
"S'Okay." He brushed off the matter, "Don't you have class?"
Lilith shook her head, "I have a free period. 'Mione's in the library and Harry and Ron's serving detention."
"Well." Cedric started, "Would you like to accompany me to the Black Lake?" He asked kindly,
Lilith nodded, grabbing his hand and following him towards the Black Lake.
As they arrived, they sat against a large tree close to the Lake, and Cedric pulled out a book from his bag. "What're you studying?" Lilith peered over his book.
"Defense. Professor Lockhart's a bit dense-" He paused, eyeing the girl warily, "You're not one of his fans, are you?" Lilith widened her eyes and quickly shook her head.
"Good." He let out a sigh of relief, "He's not able to teach us anything, so I've decided to teach myself." Lilith formed an 'O' shape with her mouth and asked, "Which spell are you learning now?"
"Reductor Curse." He answered, "I've read about it, it'll come quite handy from time to time. I still can't cast it properly though." He frowned.
Lilith pulled out her wand and aimed it towards the Black Lake. "Reducto."
A bright blue light shot through her wand, landing on the edge of the Lake, causing the ground nearby to explode along with the water. Cedric widened his eyes at the display and turned towards the girl, "You don't have that in second year. How'd you do that?"
"I like practicing spells and curses from time to time." She hummed, "I get curious with them."
Cedric nodded and eyed the mark she left, "Think you could teach me?"
Lilith let out a small smile and nodded. "This is an offense curse, so all you have to do is will yourself to explode something. Unlike defense spells, offense spells and curses need a bit more precision in the wand movement and a bit more dedication to cast. You know the wand movement, don't you?"
Cedric nodded, and Lilith continued, "Well, all you have to do is make a sharp turn when you move it downwards, then focus on the object you want to cast it on. Try it."
Cedric hesitantly aimed his wand towards the lake and focused, "Reducto!"
The spell landed a small blast towards the lake and he stared at it in bewilderment. "See!" Lilith cheered. "It can be a little bit more powerful, it just depends on how focused you are and how big you want it to be."
Cedric grinned and turned towards the girl, "Think you could teach me more spells?"