Chapter 529 The Story of Gilderoy Lockhart
Ever since receiving Dumbledore’s personal letter at the end of June, Lockhart has been hesitating whether he should accept Dumbledore’s offer to serve as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts?
To be honest, being a professor at Hogwarts is indeed a respectable profession with good salary and benefits, but the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a special case.
When Lockhart was in school at Hogwarts, he knew that something bad would happen to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors every year, and he would have to quit his job. Many Defense Against the Dark Arts professors would even get into trouble because of various problems. , was admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Injuries.
As far as Lockhart knows of the case, the last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who taught them stayed in the hospital for seven years because of a spell, and he still has not fully recovered.
This is not even the worst. The last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Rowena Smith, actually disappeared. Her whereabouts are still unknown, and her life or death is uncertain.
The former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Mr. Quirrell Quirinus, died tragically in the dungeons of Hogwarts. These cases directly illustrate the horror of the curse.
Lockhart is not interested in such a high-risk profession at all. He still cherishes his own life, and there is really no need to joke with his own life.
Moreover, Lockhart has never been short of money after his novel became a hit. What's more, as a writer, Lockhart is on the rise of his career. His autobiography "Magical Me" is about to be published. Any reason to take the risk, now he's only interested in making a name for himself. Just a month after Gilderoy Lockhart wrote a letter rejecting Dumbledore's offer, he actually received another letter indicating that Dumbledore was about to visit.
To be honest, Lockhart didn't really want to meet Dumbledore. He knew the other party's intention, but after much hesitation, he still didn't directly refuse to meet Dumbledore.
Actually, Lockhart wanted to know how Dumbledore would convince him, and it was not a good idea to refuse directly. After all, Dumbledore still needs to be given some face.
At the end of July, Dumbledore knocked on Gilderoy Lockhart's door on time despite the hot sun.
“Long time no see, Dumbledore.”
After Gilderoy Lockhart invited Dumbledore into the room, he said straight to the point, "I am just a novel writer, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is not suitable for me."
"No need to be modest, Gilderoy, I believe you are capable enough to do this job." Dumbledore smiled: "After all, you have already done so many amazing deeds, I remember you still seem to be Defense Against the Dark Arts An honorary member of the Alliance, it is fitting that he should be Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Gilderoy Lockhart couldn't help but widen his eyes. Although Dumbledore's flattery made him feel comfortable, but...
"I know what you are worried about. In fact, you don't need to worry so much about the curse. Bard also served as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor last time and still left the job safely." Dumbledore seemed to see through Lockhart's worries. , continued: "You only need to resign more than half a month in advance like Bud did, and you won't run into trouble."
Lockhart looked at Dumbledore suspiciously. He naturally knew that Bard was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and escaped unscathed, but could he really do it?
There is no way, the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts is really infamous, and no one has been able to hold the position for more than two years.
"With your connections, you should be able to find a lot of people who are willing to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, right?" Lockhart asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry Dumbledore, I'm afraid I'm not qualified for this job. As you know, my new book "Magical Me" has been published, and I need to think about what to write for the next book." Lockhart interrupted directly. , "Novel writing suits me better, it's a safe job."
"You can write about your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said without hesitation: "Mr. Albert has a good relationship with several Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. Maybe you will have a common topic. .”
"You mean Albert Anderson, the one who won the International Wizard's Chess Championship not long ago." Lockhart was a little surprised. He had naturally heard of the name of the youngest International Wizard's Chess Champion.
“And Harry,” Dumbledore added.
“Harry Potter?”
“Harry enrolled in school last semester and is in his second year this year.”
To be honest, Lockhart has no interest in Albert Anderson, because he is not a genius. Chatting with a genius will undoubtedly reveal his flaws, and the genius' "teacher" is Bud Brod.
Lockhart is somewhat interested in Harry Potter, the savior. If he can be the teacher of the "famous Harry", it will undoubtedly make him more popular than doing other things.
Especially if he can write those things in his own book, he believes that the next book will definitely sell well.
In the end, the desire for fame overcame Lockhart's little caution, and he accepted the job because Dumbledore allowed Lockhart to resign early and allowed... Anyway, the headmaster gave Lockhart a lot of freedom. .
Lockhart also plans to take this opportunity to make the books he writes become textbooks that students need to buy. There is no doubt that his books will be popular again, and he will accumulate and improve his reputation among students.
"Okay!" Lockhart agreed, "But I have a request. If anything happens, I hope to resign early. I never think that I am better than the previous dozens of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. Since they are all Since I couldn’t escape the curse, I figured I’d better take precautions.”
"Okay, I'm glad you can accept this job." Dumbledore smiled and shook Lockhart's hand. "I think you won't regret it."
“I hope so!”
…
Soon, God gave Lockhart an unexpected surprise. At the book signing of "Magical Me" at Flourish and Blotts Bookstore, he met the legendary savior: Harry Potter.
The savior was indeed as famous as the legend said, and he immediately attracted the attention of countless people.
Lockhart seized the opportunity, took many photos with Harry, and announced that he would become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. At the same time, he gave Harry a complete set of his books as a meeting gift. He hoped to use While Harry's fame made headlines, it also won some favors from Harry, laying the foundation for the next "Harry's Teacher".
Of course, if Lockhart knew that what he did made Harry hate him, I wonder what he would think.
(End of this chapter)