Lockhart had initially thought the first reply would come from his sister, but the response from Ragnok the goblin at Gringotts Wizarding Bank arrived first.
On the morning after his mother’s birthday, he received the goblin’s reply, just as he was preparing to carry out his duties as a Hogwarts professor by persuading the parents of Muggle-born students.
Considering the time it took for an owl to fly back and forth with a letter, Lockhart surmised that the goblins had made their decision within minutes of receiving Rosmerta’s introduction.
That made sense.
At this point, Ragnok probably hadn’t yet been fooled by Ludo Bagman’s leprechaun gold, especially not during major events like the Quidditch World Cup or the Triwizard Tournament.
He would still have at least a basic level of trust in wizards.
“Dear Mr.
Lockhart:
I am very interested in the proposal you put forward and would be happy to await your visit.
Please suggest a time for an appointment so that we may make the necessary preparations.
Sincerely, Gringotts Wizarding Bank”
Lockhart thought for a moment and scheduled the meeting for three days later, confident that this would allow enough time for the owl to return and for Gringotts to prepare.
He promptly wrote his reply, not keeping the Gringotts owl waiting too long, and as he tucked the parchment scroll into the leather pouch on its leg, he also offered it an extra fried fish.
The owl snapped up Lockhart’s “postage” in one go, seeming quite pleased with the treat.
After swallowing the fried fish with its head tilted back, it flapped its wings and flew away.
His sister still hadn’t called, so Lockhart set a Reminder Charm by the telephone, grabbed his car keys, and headed out.
The list Dumbledore had given him wasn’t long, only twelve names.
Hogwarts admitted fewer than a hundred students each year; Harry Potter’s year had only around forty.
This was evident from how the staff prepared their lessons – Madam Hooch had twenty brooms ready for the Flying lesson with Gryffindor and Slytherin, and Professor Sprout had twenty pairs of earmuffs for Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
This year was slightly better than the last, with over seventy students, possibly due to a baby boom in the wizarding world following Voldemort’s first defeat.
The vast majority of these young witches and wizards came from pure-blood or half-blood families.
Furthermore, not every Muggle family that received an owl-post letter was clueless.
Ministry officials had always visited families when a child first showed magical talent, issuing warnings and providing some level of explanation, so parents generally didn’t dismiss Hogwarts’ letters as a prank.
This meant that the parents who still refused to let their children attend Hogwarts likely had other considerations.
In the usual course of things, Ministry officials would be happy to add extra “safeguards” for these children, ensuring they wouldn’t experience further magical outbursts and could live normal lives as Muggles.
Pure-blood wizards were more than happy to see this happen; they had no desire for dirty “Mudbloods” to enter the school and tarnish glorious Hogwarts.
But Dumbledore, mindful of Hogwarts’ historical peak of one thousand students, found the current enrolment of around three hundred rather paltry.
He wanted to attract as many Muggle-born witches and wizards as possible, and in the process, balance the influence of the pure-blood families.
While his extensive experience would allow him to persuade a group of parents if he chose to, he didn’t want to waste too much time on such matters.
Given that Voldemort’s return was inevitable, and Dumbledore had already encountered a fragment of Voldemort’s soul the previous year (during the Philosopher’s Stone incident), the priority was to accelerate his plans and mould the perfect saviour he envisioned.
He simply didn’t have the time to haggle with a bunch of parents.
Dumbledore had noticed that a student like Justin Finch-Fletchley, a British “posh boy” destined for Eton, had his mother change her mind after reading Lockhart’s books, enrolling him in Hogwarts.
It seemed Lockhart’s charm was effective across all age groups.
And so, the task fell to Lockhart.
“Even a venomous snake has its uses,” Dumbledore had privately remarked to Professor McGonagall.
“Even if he’s just a fraud, the process of his true colours being revealed will be educational for the students.
It will teach them what kind of person to be, and what kind not to be.”
Lockhart himself, of course, was unaware of these specifics, but that didn’t stop him from taking the matter very seriously.
After all, politicians cultivated successors and built factions starting from school days.
Since Lockhart was determined to become Minister for Magic, the best strategy was to influence young minds while they were still impressionable and cultivate loyal followers.
This way, even if he stopped teaching at Hogwarts after a year, a club passed down through trusted students would provide a steady stream of new blood for his political base.
He drove all the way to South Kensington in the Chelsea district of London and parked outside a rather distinctive residence.
The house itself wasn’t large, but considering this was one of the most expensive areas in Britain, anyone qualified to live here couldn’t be underestimated.
When Lockhart had first seen the address, he’d guessed as much – these people would do just fine without Hogwarts.
Why send their child to an unpredictable place completely outside their control?
As he rang the doorbell, a young woman in a formal skirt suit slowly opened the door for him.
“Hello, is this the Mason residence?” Lockhart asked politely.
Hearing this, the young woman looked him up and down.
Lockhart had dressed meticulously for this meeting.
Besides a crisply ironed white shirt and handmade trousers with sharp creases, he wore a sky-blue wizard’s robe, modelled after a tailcoat but lengthened and modified.
With about eighty-five percent Muggle clothing elements and fifteen percent wizarding characteristics, the outfit wouldn’t seem too odd to Muggles while adding a unique touch of elegance.
Combined with the natural affinity that sky blue holds for women, Lockhart had clearly put thought into it.
People were visual creatures.
Neat attire and a handsome appearance always made a good first impression, and colors and styles could provide certain psychological cues.
Dressing well was a compulsory lesson for any competent civil servant or politician
The woman seemed to let her guard down slightly.
“Yes, and you are…”
Lockhart put on his standard business smile.
“I am Gilderoy Lockhart, a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
I believe I have an appointment…
Might I ask, miss, is Mrs.
Mason at home?”
The young woman’s eyes flickered for a moment, and she unconsciously smoothed her hair.
“I am Mrs.
Mason.”
Lockhart immediately adopted an apologetic expression.
“Forgive me, please.
My mistake, Mrs.
Mason.”
“It’s quite alright,” Mrs.
Mason said quickly, waving off the apology.
“So you’re Professor Lockhart.
I had imagined…
actually, I’ve met officials from your ‘Ministry of Magic’ before.
I thought all wizards were…
less concerned with appearances.”
“I must apologise for any trouble they may have caused you, madam,” Lockhart said.
“It’s in the nature of public officials to be arrogant towards those who hold no power over them.
That holds true whether in the wizarding world or the non-magical one.”
“That’s certainly true,” Mrs.
Mason agreed knowingly, clearly no stranger to dealing with such types alongside her husband.
“Might I ask where I should park so as not to inconvenience you or your neighbours?” Lockhart inquired further.
Only then did Mrs.
Mason realise it might be somewhat rude to keep her visitor standing at the door.
To cover her lapse, she stepped outside and pointed towards a path between her house and the neighbour’s.
“You can take your car through that side passage and park it by the garage in my backyard.
I’ll prepare some refreshments.
What would you like?
Tea?
Coffee?
Or perhaps a brandy?”
Lockhart didn’t step back.
“Tea will be fine, thank you.”
Under Mrs.
Mason’s curious gaze, Lockhart raised his right index finger and snapped it towards his car.
The car immediately shuddered back to life, then obediently rolled along the path Mrs.
Mason had indicated and disappeared behind the house.
But Mrs.
Mason could see perfectly well – there was clearly no one inside the car!
Seeing her stunned expression, Lockhart offered a light-hearted remark.
“It’s a fully qualified car now.
About time it learned to drive itself.”
Mrs.
Mason swallowed hard, then stepped aside.
“Please, come in.”
(End of Chapter)