Chapter 590 The Wisdom of the Principal
Late at night, just after the curfew in the castle, Lockhart put on his cloak and held an oil lamp, and began to patrol the corridors.
Since the unfortunate Colin Creevey was attacked by the Slytherin heir in the middle of the night, Dumbledore has asked the professors to get up in the middle of the night to patrol to prevent similar things from happening again.
It is said that the targets of the Slytherin heir's attack are all wizards born in Muggle families, so Lockhart is not worried at all that he will be attacked. He is a mixed-race wizard, and he is also a professor in the school. No matter how courageous the other party is, he will not attack the professor.
Actually, what made Lockhart irritated was not that he got up to patrol in the middle of the night, but that the first half of the semester was almost over, and he himself had never achieved the purpose of coming to Hogwarts College.
Being a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts requires taking a lot of risks. Lockhart originally hoped that he could gain higher popularity by becoming the teacher of the "famous Harry Potter", but this wish has always been Couldn't go any further.
Lockhart knew he had to do something, otherwise the first half of the term would really be over.
Today, Lockhart did not patrol according to his usual route. Instead, he stopped in front of the stone monster on the third floor. After reciting the correct password, he took the stone stairs to the top floor.
It is just after eleven o'clock, and Professor Dumbledore must not have rested yet. Maybe he can...
Lockhart raised his hand and knocked on the door of the principal's office. After a moment, the door opened from the inside.
Lockhart was a little surprised to see an unexpected guy here. He recognized Snape at a glance. This guy is the most unpopular professor at Hogwarts. It is said that Harry Potter also hates it. Snape.
After noticing Lockhart's gaze, Snape raised his head and met Lockhart's gaze, frowning slightly.
"Good evening Gilderoy, did you find something?" Dumbledore cast a doubtful look at Lockhart.
"No, no." Lockhart showed his signature smile towards the two of them and stated the reason for his visit, "That's right, I noticed that the last attack made the students very tense. Tight, maybe we should find a way to alleviate this situation."
Snape frowned upon hearing this. It was obvious that he couldn't compliment Lockhart's high opinion. He felt that it would be no good for him to mention this matter at this time.
"We can give the students some confidence." Lockhart immediately stated his plan: "I hope Professor Dumbledore will allow me to open a dueling club in the castle so that students can have the opportunity to train their self-defense abilities."
"You mean to fight that so-called monster?" Snape said softly. He seemed to be holding back his laughter.
"Of course not, that is very unrealistic, but I think it is quite necessary for students to have some self-defense capabilities." Lockhart turned to Snape and said, "I have used magic to protect myself from harm countless times, and Through a small activity, we can try to reverse the depressing and tense atmosphere in the school, and I think it is necessary to give it a try."
"This is a good idea. Tell me about your plan, Gilderoy." Dumbledore noticed Snape's confused look and explained with a smile: "The atmosphere in the school is indeed a bit depressing, and It doesn’t hurt to let the students learn something useful.”
"This is just an idea. Please give me a few days. I will definitely be able to come up with a concrete plan." Lockhart was very excited. He did not expect that Professor Dumbledore would actually agree to let him organize a dueling club in the school.
"Severus." Lockhart turned to look at Snape and invited, "I hope you can serve as my temporary assistant."
At this moment, Snape's expression was gloomy and terrifying, as if he would pull out the wand at any time and hit Lockhart with Avada Kedavra.
“Then I’ll bother you then.” Dumbledore looked at the two of them and said with a smile, not giving Snape a chance to refuse.
“You should not agree to his stupid decision.”
As soon as Lockhart left, Snape immediately complained to Dumbledore that he didn't want to be Lockhart's assistant at all.
"Stupid, no no, this is a good opportunity." Dumbledore said meaningfully, "Also, I think Gilderoy's words are very reasonable. The atmosphere in the school is indeed a bit bad. Maybe he can help everyone liven it up. atmosphere."
For some reason, Snape heard something else from Dumbledore's words.
"With all due respect, people like Lockhart will only make things messy." Snape made no secret of his disgust and contempt for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. "If we really want to hold a dueling club, it will be totally unacceptable. You can leave it to me to host it.”
Based on Snape's understanding of Lockhart, the guy held the dueling club definitely not to teach students dueling skills, but to attract everyone's attention.
Lockhart had been doing this all term, much to Snape's disgust.
"No, Severus, Gilderoy is more suitable than you." Professor Dumbledore looked at Snape deeply and said softly, "However, with your help, I believe the students can gain something. "
There is no doubt that Professor Dumbledore also knew who Lockhart was, so he asked Snape to help him.
Dumbledore really couldn't find any reason to refuse Lockhart's proposal.
Since the last attack, the atmosphere in the school has indeed become very depressed, and everyone is worried that they will be the next unlucky person to be attacked.
Dumbledore also believed in Lockhart's ability and there must be a way to liven up the depressive atmosphere in the school.
And, most importantly, Dumbledore thought this was a good opportunity to let other students see Lockhart's true face.
The more Lockhart is exposed, the easier it is to reveal his flaws.
He believed that after the first half of the semester, many students in the school had doubted Lockhart's ability, but this was not enough. After everyone sees Lockhart's poor performance in the dueling club, I believe the students will truly realize that Lockhart is not as brave as his book says.
This is also one of the reasons why Lockhart was invited to Hogwarts to serve as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Normal school life allowed Lockhart to gradually reveal his true self. His ego and desire for fame overcame his caution. Dumbledore believed that Lockhart's scam would be exposed soon.
(End of this chapter)