"A top-secret location."
Lockhart walked through the door with satisfaction.
He imagined a crowd of young witches starting to scream, and then he would spot that... Mr. Green in the throng.
The future greatest wizard, the wizard who surpassed Dumbledore, the greatest alchemist in eight hundred years... who else could it be?
Maintaining his most charming smile, he strode forward with his head held high.
However, what greeted him was:
"Expelliarmus!"
Justin shouted.
Lockhart turned pale with shock and hurriedly tried to hide behind Hermione.
But Hermione had anticipated this and dodged out of the way, shutting the door as she did so.
Lockhart's wand flew from his waist. He frantically looked for the trajectory of his wand, finally spotting it in Justin's hand.
It turned out Justin had used "Accio Lockhart's wand."
"What is the meaning of this? A little joke, is it?"
He looked at Hermione, regaining his composure as if he had expected this.
"Of course, you knocked my wand away while I wasn't paying attention. My enthusiastic admirers, did you think this would prompt me to teach you some little dueling details?
Ha, you guessed right. Now, what I'm going to teach you is—"
Lockhart suddenly turned back, attempting to snatch Hermione's wand, but she dodged him again.
"Rich combat literacy, it seems..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he heard Justin shout:
"Tarantallegra!"
Soon, he began to dance uncontrollably.
As his legs kicked wildly, his heart sank.
He couldn't understand. What are they doing?
These young wizards, what is their goal?
"Hey! Guys! Remember? I'm a professor!" he said.
"Not for much longer," Hermione said coldly.
"What do we do next?" Justin stepped out from the corner.
"Wait a moment."
Hermione sat on a chair. She wished she had learned the Full Body-Bind Curse right now.
But that belonged to the category of Dark Arts.
Unfortunately, Lockhart hadn't taught them anything; even this dancing spell came from Sean's notes.
"Alright, Quietus."
Justin cast a Quietening Charm, also known as the Muffling Charm, which could lower the volume of sounds. It could also effectively counteract the Sonorus charm.
Lockhart seemed to understand somewhat. He looked around desperately, but no one came to his rescue.
He didn't look handsome or dashing at all right now.
His lips trembled, and his face lacked its usual bright-toothed smile. His chin looked weak, and he appeared haggard and gaunt.
"Hey! Children! What is this for? Let me go now, or you'll be in big trouble!
I am an internationally renowned author, an Order of Merlin, Third Class, an Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award!"
Lockhart said, trying to remain calm.
"Your honors come from your books," Hermione said unceremoniously.
They waited for Lockhart to get tired, for his will to resist to weaken, or for him to get distracted.
Justin would use the Incarcerous Spell to bind his hands—this spell was too easy to dodge, so they had to be careful.
Then she would use Mobilicorpus to control Lockhart's movements.
This was a spell she had learned from the Restricted Section, a spell that could help move those unable to walk.
Conversely, it could also briefly control a wizard's actions.
That way, they could pour the Veritaserum into his mouth.
"Those are all my personal experiences, guys," Lockhart said.
"Books can be deceptive, Professor, just like you," Justin said as he refreshed the Dancing Feet Spell.
"This is simply alarmist talk!"
Lockhart's feet danced, keeping him from getting close to the young wizards, but he put on a show of indignation.
"My dear Miss Granger, the most outstanding wizard of the year, you can tell the difference between the two, can't you?"
He said hypocritically, silently glancing toward Hermione's wand.
He was dancing, yes, but with his magical skill, he wasn't as defenseless as he appeared.
But if these two young wizards kept staring at him and casting spells like this, he was indeed in some danger.
"We visited the people from the places you described," Hermione said.
"Oh? And what did you discover, my enthusiastic admirers?" Lockhart continued to divert their attention.
"Hey, Professor, please stop your little tricks. Incarcerous!"
Justin suddenly said, casting a binding spell while Lockhart wasn't paying attention, tying his hands together as well.
"Hermione!" he shouted.
"Incarcerous!"
Hermione also waved her wand quickly.
Thus, Lockhart was thoroughly bound, reduced to squirming on the floor.
Now, the two finally relaxed.
"Hermione, come on, hurry up." Justin seemed a little excited.
Once they got rid of Lockhart, they would welcome a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
"Mobilicorpus."
Hermione nodded and, amidst Lockhart's fearful, stiff expression, fed him the Veritaserum.
"What did you do?!" Lockhart shouted.
"Alright, Professor, now please tell us the truth.
What are the real events behind your bestselling stories, and who actually performed those deeds?"
Justin asked as he took out a recording tool.
Lockhart prepared to lie, but the truth spilled from his mouth:
"My dear boy, use your common sense!
Of course it wasn't me. But if people didn't think I did those things, the books wouldn't sell half as well.
Readers wouldn't want to read about the deeds of an ugly old American wizard, even if he did save a village from werewolves.
Putting his picture on the cover would be hideous.
He had no taste in clothes. And the witch who banished the Bandon Banshee, she had a hairy chin!
I mean, think about it..."
"So you took credit for everything others did?" Hermione asked, still somewhat incredulous.
"Hermione, oh Hermione," Lockhart frantically covered his mouth, but the thing kept babbling, "It's not as simple as you say. My work is not insignificant. I have to track these people down and ask them exactly how they did those things.
Then I have to put a Memory Charm on them so they forget all about it.
If there's anything I pride myself on, it's my Memory Charms. You see, Hermione, Justin, I have to put in a lot, a lot of hard work too.
You know, it's not just book signings and celebrity photos. If you want fame, you must be prepared for long periods of hard work."
After speaking, his face turned completely ashen.
"Time for a new professor?" Justin picked up the recording device and smiled.
"Uh-huh." Hermione lifted her chin.
"Where's Sean?" she asked.
The two looked toward the corner on the left, but Sean wasn't there.
This made their expressions grave, even more uneasy than when facing Lockhart.
"Well done, everyone."
Sean's voice drifted over as he walked in from behind a large door. Behind him was Dumbledore, watching the show.