After thirty minutes, Lockhart collected the papers.
He returned to his desk and began correcting them one by one, humming softly to himself as he flipped through the parchments.
Most of them earned quick glances and cheerful comments.
"Ah! Very good."
"Yes, excellent."
Then he picked up one paper.
He paused.
His smile slowly stiffened as he read the answers.
Lockhart cleared his throat and held the parchment up slightly.
"Mr. Victor Malfoy," he said.
Several students turned to look.
Lockhart adjusted his robes and read aloud.
"What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color? — 'Blue. It matches the peacock aesthetic you seem committed to.'"
Lockhart's smile twitched.
He continued.
"What is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date? — 'Convincing the wizarding public that autobiography counts as heroic fieldwork.'"
This time the laughter was louder.
Lockhart lowered the parchment slowly and looked at Victor over the top of it.
"Very amusing," he said tightly.
Victor met his gaze calmly.
"I try."
Lockhart did not read the rest of Victor's answers. He simply set the parchment aside and continued through the pile.
After a moment he straightened and addressed the class.
"Tut, tut," he said, shaking his head lightly. "Hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac."
He held up one parchment.
"But Miss Hermione Granger knew that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair care potions."
He smiled broadly.
"Good girl."
When the class finally ended, the students began packing their things and filing out of the classroom.
Ron hurried after Victor and Harry in the corridor.
"Bloody hell," Ron said, shaking his head. "You actually wrote some proper answers."
"If it had been a serious test, I would have written properly," Victor said calmly. "But who cares about his personal preferences? It's not as if they help anyone defend against dark creatures."
Hermione opened her mouth as if to argue.
Then she hesitated.
He wasn't entirely wrong.
What she didn't understand was something else.
"Why don't you like him?" she asked.
Victor glanced at her briefly as they walked down the corridor.
"Give it a month," he said.
Then he looked forward again.
"After that, you'll probably start despising him as well."
"I mean, who in their right mind begins the first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with a test like that?" he said with quiet disbelief. "A class meant to teach people how to survive dark creatures, and he spends half an hour asking about his favorite color."
Hermione still looked uncertain. She clearly admired Lockhart's books, and criticizing the famous author did not sit comfortably with her.
Behind them, Harry and Ron were far less concerned with Lockhart's teaching methods.
They were walking more slowly, their mood noticeably worse.
Unlike the rest of the class, they had already been given detention for the flying car incident, and the punishment had not turned out to be anything remotely interesting.
"Helping him answer fan mail," Ron muttered bitterly. "That's our detention."
Harry sighed. "He said we'll be signing photographs of him as well."
Victor glanced back at them briefly, his expression faintly amused.
"So your punishment for breaking school rules," he said, "is assisting Professor Lockhart with his public relations."
Ron groaned.
"When you put it like that, it somehow sounds even worse."
"But compared to expulsion or some truly severe punishment, this is still better," Victor said.
He was fairly certain that if Ron alone had been responsible for the stunt, Professor Dumbledore might not have intervened at all.
Flying an enchanted car across Britain, being seen by Muggles, and crashing into the Whomping Willow was exactly the kind of reckless behavior that could easily end with a student being expelled.
But Harry Potter had been involved.
That changed the situation considerably.
Dumbledore was hardly going to expel the Boy Who Lived — not over something like a reckless flight in a car. Harry Potter was far too important, both symbolically to the wizarding world and personally to Dumbledore's long-term plans regarding Voldemort.
With that in mind, detention was a very small consequence.
"Well, go on then," Victor said with a faint smile. "Enjoy your detention."
Ron stared at him in disbelief.
"You know," he said, narrowing his eyes, "sometimes you look like someone who actually enjoys watching other people suffer. You're always smiling."
Victor raised an eyebrow at that.
"Do I?" he asked mildly.
For a moment he considered the accusation.
Perhaps there was some truth in it. Somewhere in his nature there was a small sadistic trait buried in his core.
Watching this red-haired Ron Weasley suffer a little did feel satisfying. After all, Ron had insulted his family more than once. Someone like that hardly deserved his sympathy.
Victor's lips slowly curved into a faint, gloomy smile.
Then a quiet laugh escaped him.
"Heh… heh…"
Ron felt a chill run down his spine when he heard it.
The laugh was low and oddly calm, and coming from Victor it sounded far more unsettling than amusing. Ron instinctively stepped back while staring at him.
Hermione watched the exchange and sighed softly.
Ever since returning from the summer, Victor seemed to have become… strange.
*****
A/N : 🔥 On Patreon, the story has already been updated up to Chapter 79🔥
⚡ A 15-chapter early access is available for those who want to read ahead ⚡
👉 patreon.com/JakeA30