Lucas felt that his journey of taking up the position of Hogwarts professor should more accurately be described as an escort mission.
Dumbledore grabbed his arm with one hand and waved his wand with the other, Apparating them directly from Lucas’s doorstep to the headmaster’s office at Hogwarts.
There was nothing worse than this experience.
The nausea caused by Apparition, mixed with the already chaotic memories in his mind, made him feel as though he was going to vomit.
Fortunately, he managed to hold it in…
Barely avoided throwing up all over Dumbledore..
Otherwise, he would truly have died young.
The moment his feet touched solid ground, Lucas nearly collapsed onto the floor, gasping heavily and feeling as if his heart was about to leap out of his throat.
The suitcase in his hand slipped and burst open, scattering clothes and other items messily everywhere.
Pathetic.
Utterly pathetic.
“I would think someone accustomed to magical travel would not perform so poorly.” Dumbledore’s voice seemed to come from far away.
!!!
Lucas’s heart jolted, and his mind suddenly cleared.
He understood very well how a person without any value would be treated.
Dumbledore was absolutely not a warm and compassionate man.
Lucas did not respond to Dumbledore’s words, simply lowering his head to tidy up his luggage.
His brain had never worked so fast before.
He didn’t know why Dumbledore hadn’t used Legilimency on him.
Perhaps it was because of disdain.
Perhaps Dumbledore simply didn’t want his own mind polluted by Lockhart’s messy thoughts.
Either way, the situation was clearly good.
Dumbledore had lowered his guard, so Lucas needed to protect this secret even more carefully.
Which meant: Demonstrate his value and gain the other man’s approval.
Survive!
Endure!
The Defence Against the Dark Arts professor position only lasted one year anyway.
Once he survived it, he could return to his wealthy and comfortable life.
Using the time spent organizing his luggage, Lucas finally entered the proper mindset.
No, it should be Lockhart.
That’s right.
He was Gilderoy Lockhart!
No matter who asked, he was Lockhart!
He understood perfectly well what his only advantage was: the prestige that came with being an ‘internationally renowned figure and author, recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award!’ At the same time, he had figured out that this prestige was essentially built from “extraordinary confidence,” “extraordinary knowledge,” and “the confident smile of someone unafraid of all difficulties.” ‘Come on!’ ‘It’s time to face the first challenge after transmigrating!
‘ Lockhart quickly gathered the information in his mind, analyzing and listing it as he slowly stood up.
“Life is always full of surprises, isn’t it?” After placing the suitcases neatly by the wall, he revealed his trademark dazzling smile and shrugged at Dumbledore.
“You have no idea what I’ve been through these past few days.” Dumbledore clearly had no interest whatsoever in what he had gone through.
He merely walked behind his desk and sat down, instructing one of the moving portraits of former headmasters on the wall to summon Deputy Headmistress McGonagall.
“Oh, I haven’t slept for days…” Lockhart tried to embody his former persona and gestured casually to the high-backed chair opposite the desk.
Seeing no objection from Dumbledore, he elegantly flicked his wizard robe and plopped down.
Speaking grandly, he continued, “You know, I understand Defense Against the Dark Arts too well.
I’ve dueled Banshees, subdued Ghouls, Hags, Trolls, Vampires, Werewolves, Yetis…” Dumbledore lifted his eyelids to glance at him and sighed somewhat helplessly.
Folding his hands atop the desk, he finally addressed the lengthy nonsense directly.
“What exactly are you trying to say?” Lockhart grinned.
“I know too much.
So much so that I don’t even know which material to select as teaching examples.
You understand, my experiences are simply too extensive.” “I’ve been thinking about the lesson plans so much these past few days that I lost track of time.” He made exaggerated hand gestures.
“By Merlin’s beard, no one knows Defense Against the Dark Arts better than me!” Dumbledore’s expression became rather strange upon hearing that.
‘Although it was a bit arrogant, are you really going to show off like this in front of me?’ The moving portraits of former headmasters on the walls all snickered.
Professor McGonagall arrived quickly and pulled a stern face when she saw Lockhart.
She did not seem very pleased with Dumbledore’s choice of professor.
Of course, it was hard for her to keep a straight face when she saw Lockhart in a purple wizard robe, the same style as Dumbledore’s.
After all, matching outfits weren’t scary.
The embarrassing part was whoever looked worse in them.
Well… neither of them looked bad.
But seeing Dumbledore’s aged appearance while remembering the brilliance of his younger days inevitably stirred feelings of melancholy.
Dumbledore nodded to her, signaling that she should sit down, then looked at Lockhart critically.
“Very well.
Since you believe yourself the most suitable candidate for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and since you have apparently spent considerable time thinking about it, I would like to know, what remarkable insights can you offer the young wizards?” Clearly, this was also something McGonagall wanted to know.
After sitting down, she looked at him with probing curiosity.
The main event had arrived.
But Lockhart was not nervous at all.
In fact, he felt that sitting down hindered his speech, so he stood up passionately.
“More authentic magic!” “Older, more time-honored magic!” “Magic closer to the real life of the wizarding world!” Lockhart waved his fist forcefully.
“Yes…
more practical magic!
Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, you both know I graduated from Ravenclaw House.
I received the most complete academic-style education here.
But while traveling through the wizarding world, I discovered that the more traditional and practical forms of magic were not the things I learned in school.” Dumbledore looked at Lockhart with surprise, nodding slightly and finally showing some interest.
Professor McGonagall, however, immediately became angry.
She could not believe that this boastful man, who had always been all talk even as a student, would actually dare to say such things.
“Let me give a few examples!” Professor McGonagall had just been about to speak, but upon hearing that, she pursed her lips and restrained her irritation.
“Sometimes we are forced to face monsters maliciously summoned by wizards…” Lockhart thought for a moment.
“Take the curse Serpensortia Curse, for example.
According to traditional teaching methods, we would respond with the appropriate Vanishing Spell.” “But in complex or urgent situations, unless someone possesses extensive experience like I do, it’s often difficult to immediately recall the corresponding spell.” “After all, we cannot expect Dark Wizards to use only snake-summoning magic.
Perhaps we’re facing a drooling black dog, or ravens trying to peck out our eyes.” “The more complicated issue is that many people cannot immediately determine whether the snake or dog before them is an actual beast kept by a Dark Wizard or a magically summoned creature.” “And sometimes, it’s neither.
It could instead be a Dark Creature, such as a Boggart taking the form of one’s inner fears.” He propped one hand on the desk and the other on the high-backed chair, gazing intensely at Dumbledore and McGonagall.
“So then…
is there a more universal spell capable of resolving all such problems?
In the most urgent moments, could we instinctively cast that spell first to prevent the situation from worsening?” This was an interesting question.
Because it involved practical application.
Dumbledore actually cast aside his prejudice toward Lockhart and seriously considered the matter.
“As for the first category…
summoned creatures—I suppose my universal solution would be Protego Maxima.
Of course, young wizards could instead use the simpler Finite.” He gently stroked the strange ring on his hand.
“However, according to traditional teaching methods, we prefer students to rapidly determine whether the creature before them is a summoned construct, a real animal, or a Dark Creature, and then resolve it using the appropriate spell.
If they cannot determine the difference…” For someone as naturally gifted as Dumbledore, such situations had practically never occurred in his life.
He had never really thought deeply about such a problem.
“I possess many methods, but I fear none of them are things a young wizard could easily perform.” He had no choice but to look toward Lockhart and wait for an answer.
But Lockhart did not answer immediately.
Instead, he smiled and looked toward Professor McGonagall.
As someone who constantly dealt with students of all ages, McGonagall quickly provided her own answer.
“Upper-level N.E.W.T.
classes do teach certain advanced forms of magic for such situations, though in practice few students truly master them.
Of course, properly used Transfiguration can solve almost any problem.” But that was not always the case; Transfiguration was not that simple.
“Alarte Ascendare!” Lockhart recited a spell he had learned from an old American wizard.
“Even first-year students can easily master this spell.
At the very least, it can launch a monster into the air and slam it back down.” “In all three major fields of Defense Against the Dark Arts, facing Dark Wizards, facing Dark Creatures, and dueling, it can be highly effective.” Lockhart knew countless folk-style spells like this.
For example, the universal repelling charm used against fairy-like creatures such as Cornish Pixies employed the incantation: “Pesky little pixies, stop bothering me already!” (Peskipiksi Pesternomi!) Lockhart continuously searched through the chaotic memories in his mind for all kinds of rustic magical slang and folk spells, further reinforcing his arguments while showing off his broad knowledge in every possible way.
And honestly?
Really honestly?
Even someone as knowledgeable as Dumbledore had no idea that so many strange folk spells existed among ordinary wizards—and that in many situations, they were surprisingly versatile.
Most importantly, these charms were easy and ideal for young wizards.
Both Dumbledore and McGonagall were stunned.
The two of them exchanged glances.
They realized that they had no choice but to reevaluate the young man before them, the same endlessly boastful, self-aggrandizing braggart as before.
But somehow…
Possibly…
Maybe…
…Lockhart wasn’t nearly as terrible as they had imagined.
(End Of This Chapter)