A Story Written For You

"Dumbledore’s brain must have been pickled in sugar—couldn’t he hire a normal person to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts? I’m going to have my father fire that idiot!"

Draco stalked past Adam and the others with his cronies, cursing under his breath, though he did not seem to notice them at all.

Watching his retreating figure, Adam sighed sympathetically.

"Poor kid."

Whatever Draco had imagined performing onstage would be like, the result of sharing the stage with Lockhart was that all the flattering, heroic moments went to the other man, while Draco, playing the Wan Lun Banshee, had been forced to shriek and flee in panic.

"Seriously, are all our upcoming Defense Against the Dark Arts classes going to be like this?"

Klon looked thoroughly miserable.

"I’m afraid so, unless…"

Uther glanced at Adam.

Unless Adam sent him to the Hospital Wing again. But that was clearly impossible. The first time, Lockhart had gone too far himself. If it happened again, the professors would not let it slide.

At Hogwarts, Klon was far from the only one who felt that way.

People died from comparison, and goods got thrown out from comparison. After being taught by a Dark wizard master, a dueling champion, a Transfiguration expert, and a walking encyclopedia of magical creatures and plants, even Lockhart’s most devoted fans could no longer force themselves to say Professor Lockhart taught well.

"Professor Lockhart knows so many things. It’s understandable if he isn’t very good at teaching."

"If he isn’t good at teaching, then he shouldn’t be a professor."

Hearing arguments like that, Adam could not help wondering whether taking Lockhart offline for half a month had actually, to some extent, preserved Lockhart’s image in his fans’ hearts.

"What exactly do you like about Lockhart?"

One weekend, Adam took that question to the common room and interviewed several students who had continued holding the line and defending Professor Lockhart.

"Professor Lockhart is really talented! If you’ve carefully read his works, you’ll know that no one could write so well without personally experiencing those things!"

"His adventures are so cool! He’s practically a living legend. I believe Professor Lockhart is just not good with words—he’s still incredibly strong!"

"Professor Lockhart’s smile is really charming~"

Well, setting aside that small group who liked him for his looks, most of those who still firmly believed in Lockhart had been drawn in by his works.

As everyone knew, a person’s memories could not be faked, so the incredibly realistic experiences written in his novels had to be true.

Well… that reasoning did not exactly have any major logical flaws. Before Adam came to this world, he had heard of an author whose spy novels were so realistic that an investigation revealed he really was a spy.

But this world had more than logic. It also had magic.

So how did one defeat magic?

The famous Eastern chi magic master Jackie Chan had once said:

"Aiya!"

Oh, no… it should have been:

"Use magic to defeat magic!"

Adam returned to the Room of Requirement. This time, he requested a room suitable for one person to write in. When he pushed open the door, the Room of Requirement had become a brightly lit study.

Pulling out a chair and sitting down, Adam summoned the Creation Card, whose face depicted a book marked with stars, and placed it on the desk. The Wand of Darkness appeared in his other hand.

"Release the seal!"

There were not many special effects. The Creation Card’s true form—the book depicted on the card—appeared atop the desk.

The Creation Card’s magic could turn stories written in its true form into reality, materializing even fictional things in the real world.

Because he had to remain in a writing state while activating it, and everything materialized would disappear once the magic was canceled, Adam had only summoned the Creation Card once before, just to familiarize himself with each Clow Card. He normally had no use for it, but it was perfectly suited for this occasion.

Glancing at the alarm clock on the desk, Adam figured Lockhart’s performance should be starting about now. He opened the Creation Card’s true form and picked up the quill tucked inside.

"Doesn’t Professor Lockhart like writing novels? Then today, why not personally experience my work? After all, this is a story written for you…"

The quill did not need dipping in ink. Its tip scratched softly across the paper, and subtle changes silently took place in the classroom where Lockhart was teaching.

"Brr—"

Ron shrank his neck and turned to Harry.

"Don’t you think it’s gotten a little cold?"

"Probably a drop in temperature."

Harry looked listless.

Did they remember how they had flown to Hogwarts in a flying car at the start of term? Although they had not been expelled or had points deducted because of it, they could not escape detention. He had served his detention with Lockhart two days ago.

He had spent an entire night writing replies to Lockhart’s fan mail!

Even after all these days, he still had not recovered.

Perhaps because of that, Lockhart, who had always been eager to call Harry up to perform alongside him and quietly ride Harry’s popularity, had unusually called on another student to perform with him today.

"Today, we’ll recreate the crucial scene where I drove away the Wan Lun Banshee. Everyone must watch carefully and pay attention to how I do it."

After saying that, Lockhart flashed a dazzling smile, struck a pose he had used countless times, then turned toward the child named Neville.

"Don’t be afraid. Just do as I wrote in my book…"

Lockhart’s smile froze on his face.

Meanwhile, a smile slowly appeared on the expressionless face of the banshee standing almost nose-to-nose with him.

Adam had never seen a banshee in this world. Based on descriptions he had read in books, he had naturally written the banshee as something resembling the Nun Ghost or Chu Renmei. In truth, however, that was far more terrifying than a real banshee.

Therefore, when Lockhart, who had never even seen a real banshee, saw the creature with dark circles beneath her eyes and milky-white pupils stretch the corners of her mouth all the way to her ears, revealing a mouthful of uneven black teeth, his heart stopped for several seconds.

"Whoa! Harry, look! That guy’s acting has really improved today!"

Ron became excited at the sight and nudged Harry’s arm.

"He really looks like he’s seen a banshee!"

Harry raised his eyes toward the podium. Sure enough, Lockhart’s acting had visibly improved. Facing the timid-looking Neville, he had somehow managed to look utterly terrified.

Why had he never put so much effort into it when performing with him before?

Was Lockhart deliberately trying to disgust him?

Ron was clearly not the only one to notice Lockhart’s unusual behavior today. In particular, the students who had always firmly believed in Lockhart’s abilities all looked at him expectantly.

Could Professor Lockhart finally be getting serious today?

"THERE’S A BANSHEE—!!!"

A shrill, twisted scream burst from Lockhart’s mouth. As he screamed, Lockhart abruptly leaped half a body’s height into the air, making Neville flinch.

From Lockhart’s perspective, the banshee’s wet, pitch-black hair slowly floated upward. She raised both hands, flickered in place, and when she appeared again, she was suddenly much closer to him.

"AAAAAAARGH—"