Magic and Mystery Coil by Allegory_for_Hatred

Covenant

"Perfect marks!" Lockhart exclaimed, a beaming smile splitting his face. As always, his teeth were shining. "Perfect marks all around! Well, almost."

Dazai raised a brow, nonplussed as Lockhart's eyes found him across the room. A few snickers sounded from around the class.

The test sitting in front of Dazai was marked at every question. A boldly written "0%" was scrawled across the top. It was neither a surprise nor a disappointment to Dazai. Most of the questions had been answered with one snide remark or another ("What spell did Lockhart use to defeat the troll?" being answered with "can you even do magic? Cast a spell or I won't believe you").

The other students seemed to find the whole affair quite amusing—probably thinking that Dazai was the only one among them not offered the stolen answer key.

Little did they know it was Dazai's gang that had sold the answers to begin with.

In reality, Dazai had taken one look at the cheat sheet and shrugged it off. Though it was nice to taste the fruits of one's efforts, Dazai really didn't want Lockhart to think he cared about this class. It didn't really benefit him one way or the other, to cheat on this exam. Hell's Hounds was in full motion after the heist—that was all Dazai really cared about.

The self-satisfied look on Lockhart's face was a little regrettable, though.

"I'm keeping expectations for my grade low, Sir," Dazai cheekily called as he leaned back into his seat. "If I score above an F, you'll think too much of me."

The room's quiet laughter immediately died out. Lockhart's grating smile flickered for only a second.

Beside Dazai, Blaise coughed to cover a laugh.

Lockhart sniffed. As quick as he whirled on Dazai, he now turned to address everyone else instead. Blaise and Dazai shared a knowing look at that.

"Full marks all around is very impressive!" Lockhart continued as though Dazai had never spoken at all. "You all must have studied my books thoroughly! Congratulations!"

Only a few students had the decency to look abashed at that.

Dazai knew for a fact that everyone in this class—save himself and Hermione—had cheated. He had the galleons in his office desk to prove it. Ron had promptly declared himself Bookkeeper upon seeing their boon and counted it all up for him. Then, he'd written the sum total on their blackboard and circled it twice.

Now, most of the students only stared ahead blankly. Dazai wasn't the only one fed up with Lockhart's sugary charm, it seemed.

"I'm so glad to see how beloved I am," Lockhart continued, oblivious to the dead-eyed stares he was getting. Or, more accurately, the dead-eyed stares the wall was getting. "One really starts to wonder, when their last book sells 52 copies less than the previous one. 52! I counted! But between all of you there must be at least 52 new readers."

Dazai was fairly certain that, as the year went on, Lockhart was actually losing readers. He didn't think anyone could sit through a Lockhart lecture and not loose favor for the man.

"Make that 51."

Again, everyone's eyes snapped to Dazai. Even Blaise startled at the comment, turning a questioning frown to his friend—one that screamed 'what do you think you're doing?'

Dazai pointedly ignored him in favor of watching Lockhart's face twist up in annoyance.

He smothered it within the second, offering a superficial smile. "Of course, no one expects the villain of my story to buy it! That's—"

"Since it's about me, you'll give me a copy for free, right?"

Lockhart's mouth snapped shut with an audible click.