Stepping out of the headmaster’s office, Lockhart let out a long sigh of relief.
Although he was quite certain the headmaster hadn’t used Legilimency on him, the man’s vast experience was right there.
Just by observing his demeanor, he could probably see right through a young man like him.
Fortunately, Dumbledore didn’t seem suspicious of him, and when asked about his purpose for applying for the job, Lockhart had glossed over it lightly.
Otherwise, some things would have been difficult to explain.
After discovering he had crossed into the world of Harry Potter and had become the famous “all-talk, no-action adventurer” Gilderoy Lockhart, he had been at a loss for quite some time.
Because the original owner of this body was a complete fraud.
The “glorious exploits” written in his many bestselling works were all plagiarized from others’ experiences, and he had used Memory Charms to make the original individuals forget those events.
It must be said, being able to permanently erase memories from a specific period without side effects was no simple feat.
Lockhart’s sorting into Ravenclaw by the Sorting Hat was well-deserved.
But aside from this excellent skill with Memory Charms, Lockhart had nothing else praiseworthy in magic.
Apart from his decent writing style and handsome face, he was practically useless.
Although, thanks to that face and the plagiarized “thrilling experiences,” Lockhart had gained thousands of female witch fans—spanning all age groups, from Hermione to Mrs.
Weasley—the consequence of having no real talent was his true colors being revealed during his year teaching at Hogwarts.
If Lockhart knew how to hide himself, he might have been able to continue deceiving the world for a while longer relying on his charismatic image.
But his personality was just too terrible.
Even without any real skill, he still loved to step on others to highlight his own “abilities.” The result was that in less than a month, he had made himself hated by everyone, so much so that when he finally lost his memory and was hospitalized, the entire school celebrated.
The current Lockhart hadn’t reached that point yet.
What he inherited from the original owner was that handsome face, undeserved fame, excellent Memory Charms, and the “huge” savings earned from book royalties.
Naturally, after crossing over, Lockhart also went through a period of confusion.
He thought long and hard before deciding to accept Dumbledore’s invitation to teach at Hogwarts.
He wasn’t unaware that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position was cursed, but he decided to take the risk.
Because he knew deeply that if he continued his charade, he would eventually be exposed.
So, Lockhart decided to extricate himself from the mire of fabricated credentials as soon as possible and do some real work to build up his life’s capital.
However, after taking stock of his current abilities, he realized he couldn’t do much at the moment.
As a wizard, the original Lockhart’s spell-casting level was disastrous: apart from Memory Charms, his proficiency in everyday spells and both dark and white magic perfectly inherited the original owner’s standard—which was a complete mess.
Aside from spells related to Memory Charms, Lockhart found that any job requiring actual hands-on work would expose his magical inadequacies within three days, forcing him to slink away in disgrace once his halo shattered.
Clearly, with this level of magical ability, it was absolutely impossible for Lockhart to live a normal life in the wizarding world.
He needed a buffer period to “relearn” his “lost” spells.
And even after relearning them, he would have to endure the reality that his magical level might be inferior to that of a seventh-year Hogwarts graduate for a long time.
Lockhart began to ask himself—for survival, what kind of work should he pursue?
Or rather, what job was suitable for someone like him?
Suitable for an uneducated person, a braggart, someone with skin thicker than the heavens, someone who felt miserable if he didn’t show off for a day, someone with nothing to offer except a good image and high reputation?
…It didn’t seem hard to guess.
The answer was quite obvious, wasn’t it?
I should bloody well become the Minister for Magic!
Only a politician could push the traits of thick skin and a black heart to their limits.
Moreover, being uneducated wouldn’t hinder a political career; in a sense, it might even help.
As Mark Twain said, “The more ignorant a man is, the greater his fame, and the higher his salary.”
Having settled on the goal of running for Minister for Magic, Lockhart finally felt centered and began planning his development path.
Minister for Magic was a good position.
Not only was it the head of many magical civil servants, but it also held the position of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.
Being elected by wizards, it combined the powers of politician, civil servant, and judiciary.
Even that fool Fudge could award himself an Order of Merlin, First Class, while in office.
It was a position of immense power and prestige.
Precisely because of this, many people wanted the job, including many great and idealistic wizards.
Although Lockhart’s foundation was decent, rising to the top would still be very difficult.
Even though this was just the political arena of the wizarding world, he still needed his own interest group, a decent network of connections, a base of supporting voters, and backing from the civil service and legal circles.
All he could currently rely on was his own “reputation” and the “professional skills” honed from climbing the ranks since his clerk days.
That’s why, even knowing the Chamber of Secrets incident was about to erupt and his situation would be dangerous, he still decided to accept the offer from Hogwarts.
Hogwarts was the alma mater of almost everyone in the British wizarding world.
To establish his authority among future young wizards, Lockhart needed to craft an image of “facing challenges head-on.” Besides, it was only for a year.
As long as he survived this year, he could go to the “Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes,” use his Memory Charms to become a Memory Modificator, and officially step into politics.
As for the Voldemort conflict…
for something unavoidable no matter what, he could only choose to face it bravely and firmly stand on the side of the light.
Though somewhat dangerous, the potential rewards were equally huge.
If he managed to survive this period, after the famous Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, he could use his “prophetic” advantage to maneuver and plan, take over Rufus Scrimgeour’s position, and ascend to Minister for Magic.
After staying in that position long enough and reaping all the fame and profit, he could then pass the Minister’s seat to Hermione Granger and continue to pull the strings from behind the scenes.
After all, Hermione was also an extreme admirer of Lockhart.
Dumbledore might have seen through Lockhart’s thoughts, or he might not have, but it didn’t matter.
Old Dumbledore just wanted to mold Harry Potter, the savior, into the shape he desired before Voldemort’s return.
As long as Lockhart didn’t hinder that goal, even if he overstepped a bit sometimes, Dumbledore probably wouldn’t mind.
Therefore, for this year’s plan, Lockhart set his goal to be a competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, build his influence among the students, then do his utmost to preserve his life, not die in a basilisk ambush, and safely take up his post at the Ministry.
For this goal, he needed to quickly improve his magical prowess.
He couldn’t remain someone who only knew Memory Charms.
He also needed to prepare his lessons meticulously, not give himself away in a single class like the original owner.
Lockhart intended to maintain his glorious image for the entire year.
But before that, he needed to go home once to reassure his mother and prepare for the task the headmaster had given him.
This was the first task Dumbledore had assigned him.
Lockhart really didn’t want to mess it up.