“Fairy tales?” Dumbledore fell into deep thought.
His life experience was simply too vast.
He could easily think of countless examples that supported Lockhart’s theory about fairy tales.
“Yes.
Magic is the ultimate fairy-tale story.” Lockhart repeated the phrase.
“As someone who grew up in the Muggle world before entering Hogwarts, I feel this more deeply than most.
Professor Dumbledore, I’m afraid you would find it difficult to understand the wondrous feeling of stepping into the wizarding world as though entering a fairy tale.” “That experience made it incredibly easy for me to become obsessed with magic, filling me with endless fantasies and imagination.
It was precisely that which gave my spellcasting more possibilities and variation.” “You can verify this with other wizards who entered wizarding society from the Muggle world.” “Of course, I believe I understand this theory better than anyone.” Perhaps that statement wasn’t arrogant.
From the moment he entered Hogwarts as a child until he fully stepped into wizarding society, he had certainly faced various hardships, but his life had actually gone remarkably smoothly.
He had easily attained a social standing that many wizards born into prestigious pure-blood families could never achieve.
Take Severus, for example.
He had also grown up in the Muggle world.
For him, entering the magical world probably didn’t feel romantic at all.
Golden Retriever curiously poked its fluffy golden head halfway out of Lockhart’s robe pocket and stared at Dumbledore across the desk.
This was only the second wizard in its life who showed no fear of its abilities.
Then it looked towards the perch on the desk.
A massive crimson bird was glaring at it fiercely from above.
Frightened, it immediately shrank back into the pocket.
Lockhart casually picked a grape up from the table and put it in the creature’s pocket.
After patting its head lightly to signal that it should stay quiet, he looked at Dumbledore with anticipation.
“And what exactly do you intend to do?” Dumbledore asked, his fingers interlocked on the desk and his gaze sharp and evaluative.
“I know it wouldn’t be appropriate to change Hogwarts’ teaching style and rhythm recklessly, so I plan to incorporate fairy-tale-style roleplay exercises into the curriculum.” Lockhart was being extremely cautious, carefully observing Dumbledore’s reaction.
“But having only one house per class means there are far too few students to make such exercises meaningful.
I sincerely hope every young wizard can participate.
At the very least, classes should include all four houses of the same year together.” “Believe me, I think I understand why Hogwarts sorts students into houses.
But I would argue that exercises in the style of fairy tales work best precisely when students of different styles participate together.” “A Dark Lord or ambitious schemer could be a Slytherin.” “A wise scholar could be a Ravenclaw.” “A hero could be a Gryffindor.” “And a hardworking supporter operating behind the scenes could be a Hufflepuff.” “Of course, having them play roles associated with other houses, or even exchange roles entirely, might broaden their perspectives even more.” “What do you think?” Genius!
If all four houses were taught together, the number of classes would instantly be reduced to a quarter.
The workload for lesson preparation would also shrink to a quarter!
Dumbledore did not answer immediately.
Instead, he fell into deep thought before eventually turning towards the portraits of the former headmasters on the wall.
“Would someone mind fetching Professor McGonagall for me?” ‘There’s hope!’ Lockhart’s eyes lit up as he waited expectantly alongside Dumbledore for her arrival.
Professor McGonagall arrived faster than expected.
At the start of term, the school was especially busy with various affairs.
She hadn’t gone to rest yet and was currently speaking with the prefects, so she wasn’t far from the Headmaster’s Office.
To her, Lockhart’s suggestion was more than just a teaching reform.
It involved restructuring the schedules of all the students and staff in the school.
She had no idea how much work she would need to do to arrange everything properly.
Yet, despite her rigid and rule-bound appearance, Professor McGonagall was far more adaptable than Lockhart had imagined.
After only a brief moment of thought, she accepted the idea.
“I cannot say for certain whether Professor Lockhart’s theory is correct.
However, Professor Dumbledore, I must admit that I have not been satisfied with the educational results of Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts classes over the years.
I look forward to seeing what a knowledgeable wizard like Lockhart might bring to the subject.” In other words…
DADA was terrible enough already, so why not let Lockhart try?
That…
Looking at Professor McGonagall’s expectant expression, Lockhart suddenly felt moved.
Being trusted felt wonderful.
Perhaps that was precisely Professor McGonagall’s personal charm, she genuinely enjoyed giving people the chance to display their abilities.
Just as she had allowed first-year Harry Potter to play Quidditch, which was extremely important for house rankings.
Maybe Harry had felt the same way back then.
Moved…
And pressured at the same time.
Fortunately, the power boost brought by the fairy-tale atmosphere was not something Lockhart had made up.
It was precisely the reason why the original Lockhart’s strength had grown so rapidly.
Lockhart did not mind revealing this secret.
The original Lockhart had thought the same way.
The original version of him had simply wanted to maximize the value of the secret, which is why he never wrote about it in his books.
He had planned to participate in ‘Harry’s Heroic Fairy Tale’ to reap the greatest possible benefits and then publish books using real examples to ultimately reap maximum rewards.
He wanted to increase his own strength.
The reputation of being an educational master.
The profits from publishing.
Closer ties with Hogwarts.
And the gratitude and future connections of the countless students who would benefit from him.
Looking back at the original story, it seems that Lockhart had actually been trying to achieve all of these things.
During class, he would often invite students onto the stage to act out the battle scenes from his books.
The problem was that he lost the students’ trust far too early and failed to create the atmosphere of a fairy-tale adventure.
The results were terrible.
In fact, they were so terrible that, in the original story, Harry and Ron constantly mocked those foolish performances, and even Hermione, his biggest fan, was unable to defend him.
Now, though…
Could he succeed where the original Lockhart had failed?
Looking at Professor Dumbledore’s and Professor McGonagall’s expectant expressions, Lockhart revealed his signature flawless smile.
Rising to his feet, he declared solemnly: “Just wait and see.
No one understands magic better than I do!” He would complete the regrets of the original Lockhart.
The unfinished ambitions of the original Lockhart?
He would accomplish them.
And he would do so perfectly.
After that, he would devour, absorb, and digest all of the original Lockhart’s memories.
At the very least, he would possess the original Lockhart’s strength.
This would include top-tier mastery of Obliviate, as well as reasonably competent Apparition, Scourgify, Alohomora, simple healing charms, and every other skill the original Lockhart had honed through countless adventures.
… The next day.
For every young wizard, the first class of the new school year was an extraordinary experience.
This was because Professor Lockhart would hold a massive combined lesson for all Hogwarts students, witnessed by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.
All seven year groups would attend a single class together.
Professor McGonagall had somehow managed to arrange it through sheer determination.
Nearly every professor had been affected by the schedule changes caused by the restructuring of the classes, so they decided to attend as observers to see exactly what Lockhart intended to do.
“He really loves showing off,” Ron muttered from a corner as everyone followed the crowd into the Great Hall.
After all, there was nowhere else in the school large enough to fit so many students at once.
“Ron!” Hermione immediately became unhappy.
“I think it’s wrong of you to talk about a professor like that when he’s trying to teach you valuable knowledge!” “Oh, really?” Ron snorted.
“Funny how you never got angry when we talked badly about Snape.” Hermione nearly exploded with rage.
She turned her head away sharply, making it clear that she didn’t want to speak to him anymore.
Very soon, the Great Hall quieted down under the organization of the prefects from each year.
Professor Lockhart, wearing a luxurious pure-gold wizard robe, walked onto the stage, his steps light and confident.
Earlier, he had asked upper-year students about their previous teaching experience and, as a small test, had several students cast the Sonorus charm on him.
Perfect.
“Students…” His voice spread into every corner of the Great Hall.
Realizing it was a little too loud, he quickly lowered his voice and continued, telling several interesting stories related to Defense Against the Dark Arts to warm up the atmosphere.
Only then did he smile at all the students and the professors observing from the corners, including Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape.
In fact, almost the entire school was present.
But Lockhart wasn’t nervous at all.
In fact, he became even more excited.
He knew…
The process of making everyone form the fixed impression that ‘this man is a true master of magic’ would begin with today’s lesson.
It was a perfect opening.
“Now then, let us move on to today’s main topic.” “What I wish to discuss with all of you today is…” ‘The true essence of magic!’ See?
There could be no better way to elevate one’s image than with a topic like this.