The next day, news of Lockhart being taken away spread not only among Harry's trio but throughout the entire castle.
At first, quite a few students who had once been—or still were—Lockhart fans were unhappy.
They protested loudly and even threatened to write letters condemning the Ministry of Magic. Lately, criticizing the Ministry had practically become a daily hobby for wizards.
But the moment they received the newspapers delivered by owl, all their complaints vanished.
Gilderoy Lockhart: My Life of Deception
Once again it was an article by Rita Skeeter, with another sharp, attention-grabbing headline that instantly drew every eye.
Unlike her usual style, this time Rita presented solid, irrefutable evidence.
With Marvolio's help, she compared each of Lockhart's "heroic deeds" with reality and laid out the truth in full. She even included statements from the real victims.
Lockhart's crimes—using Memory Charms to steal others' achievements and put his own name on them—were completely exposed to the entire wizarding world.
There was so much material that she couldn't fit it all into one issue, so Rita switched to a serialized release: one exposed lie per day.
Tver strongly suspected this was just a Daily Prophet stunt to boost sales.
But he had to admit—it worked.
Her articles caused an uproar throughout the castle, and from then on clouds of owls arrived every morning with more papers.
Some fans insisted on defending him at first. Later… there were no fans left. Everyone simply chatted cheerfully about whom Lockhart had deceived next or which part of his books was probably exaggerated.
Students even dusted off their textbooks—Lockhart's own series—trying to guess which character was about to be revealed as a victim.
But all that aside, what mattered most to them now was class.
And their long-held wish had finally come true: every remaining Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson would be taught by Professor Fawley!
...
Room 11.
Tver arrived right on time, carrying a cage.
"Sorry, I was held up for a moment."
As usual, he led them to the open space at the back of the classroom.
He set the cage down and offered a brief apology, but none of the students cared about the delay. Their eyes were glued to the cage.
It wasn't big—not even as long or wide as their calves—but whatever was inside clearly felt their attention. It thumped restlessly against the bars, making sharp banging sounds.
Ron nudged Harry excitedly with his elbow.
He had recognized it at once: it was the same cage they'd seen in the professor's office.
And inside was the first magical creature opponent Professor Tver had prepared personally for them.
Of course, last year's troll didn't count—most of the class hadn't been there for that anyway.
Tver looked at their eager faces with amusement. Instead of pulling off the black cloth immediately, he let the suspense build.
"Originally, I didn't plan to give second-years anything like this. First, you're preparing for your final exams, and second, you still don't know that many spells."
"But since you're about to start revising, I decided to give you a tense, exciting combat lesson first, so afterward you can focus properly."
"So I need you to promise that after this class, you'll study seriously—no slacking off, no complaining about boring lessons. Alright?"
Tver coaxed them in the tone of someone bribing children.
The students found it a little strange, but of course they weren't about to refuse—why would they?
They had to revise anyway, and now they finally got to do something other than the light ball game. They agreed without hesitation.
"Cut the nonsense, Professor! We'll be as good as little babies from now on!" Ron shouted.
The students didn't find it embarrassing at all. Instead, they burst into cheers and laughter.
Tver's lips lifted in a small, satisfied smile at their enthusiasm.
"Alright, alright." He raised his hand, bringing the room back to silence. "It's a deal, then. Now we begin the real lesson."
He stepped beside the cage and pinched the corner of the black cloth.
With one pull, the contents were revealed to the young wizards.
Everyone craned their necks eagerly for a better look.
But Ron—sitting in the front row for once—sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening like blown-out lanterns. He let out a strangled gasp, too terrified to even scream.
Because inside was a spider. And not just any spider, but the very Acromantula he and Harry had encountered in the Forbidden Forest not long ago.
The Acromantula seemed to recognize him too. Its eight eyes locked onto Ron with savage focus, and its two shrunken venomous fangs clicked open and shut nonstop.
If Tver hadn't shrunk it beforehand, half the class would have fainted on the spot.
But precisely because it was tiny, the bold students were instantly dissatisfied.
"Professor, why is the spider so small?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't even need magic. One stomp and it's done."
"It's not even as big as my cat."
They'd imagined facing some fearsome, towering monster and then heroically blasting it away with their wands.
And instead… this?
Tver ignored their complaints and pointed at the spider, which grew angrier under the bright light.
"Who can tell me what this is?"
"It's an Acromantula, Professor."
To everyone's surprise, Harry answered first.
"Correct. An Acromantula."
Tver tapped his wand approvingly. Come to think of it, was this the first time Harry had spoken up so quickly in class?
"According to legend, Acromantulas were originally bred by wizards. Whether that's true is impossible to confirm now. They've existed longer than Hogwarts itself."
"Early on, ancient wizards raised them as guardians—for their homes or treasure."
"But don't let that fool you. Wizards abandoned the idea because Acromantulas breed rapidly, fight effectively in groups, and, most importantly, refuse to be tamed. One careless moment, and their owners end up as spider food—chewed and swallowed whole."
"I knew it! Hagrid probably thought Acromantulas could be trained and would happily tell us clues about the Chamber!" Ron muttered angrily.
"So, remember this: don't provoke Acromantulas out in the wild."
"Even if they show some intelligence, it doesn't change their brutal, man-eating nature."
Tver didn't even need to release the spider—his warning alone drained the color from their faces. Their earlier bravado vanished instantly.
This was a spider that ate people.
"But it's tiny. It couldn't even bite off my pinky!" Seamus said cluelessly.
Tver wasn't annoyed. In fact, he appreciated the setup.
With a mischievous smile, he opened the cage.
The instant the spider leapt out, it expanded—growing to half a man's height.
And half a man measured by Tver's height was no small thing.
Its eight long legs stretched nearly fifteen feet, and the front pair of chelicerae clicked excitedly. Its glowing fangs gleamed with a vicious, predatory shine.
Judging by how the students immediately scrambled backward, they were truly terrified now.
This was one of the largest Acromantulas Tver had chosen—second only to Aragog.
...
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