Ever since receiving Dumbledore's personal letter at the end of June, Lockhart has been hesitating whether he should accept Dumbledore's offer to serve as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts?
To be honest, being a professor at Hogwarts is indeed a respectable profession with good salary and benefits, but the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a special case.
When Lockhart was in school at Hogwarts, he knew that something bad would happen to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors every year, and he would have to resign from his job. Many Defense Against the Dark Arts professors would even suffer from various troubles.
, was admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
As far as Lockhart knew of the case, the last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who taught them had stayed in the hospital for seven years because of a spell, and he still has not fully recovered.
That's not even the worst part. Rowena Smith, the last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, actually disappeared. Her whereabouts are still unknown, and her life or death is uncertain.
The former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Mr. Quirrell Quirinus, died tragically in the dungeons of Hogwarts. These cases directly illustrate the horror of the curse.
Lockhart was completely uninterested in such a high-risk profession. He still cherished his own life, and there was really no need to joke about it.
Moreover, Lockhart has never been short of money after the sales of his novels. What's more, as a writer, Lockhart is on the rise of his career. His autobiography "Magical Me" is about to be published. There is no need at all.
There was no reason to take this risk. Now he was only interested in how to make himself famous. Just a month after Gilderoy Lockhart wrote a letter rejecting Dumbledore's employment, he actually received another letter indicating that Dumbledore was about to visit.
.
To be honest, Lockhart didn't really want to meet Dumbledore. He knew the other party's intention, but after much hesitation, he still didn't directly refuse to meet Dumbledore.
In fact, Lockhart wanted to know how Dumbledore would convince him, and it was not a good idea to refuse directly. After all, he still needed to give Dumbledore some face.
At the end of July, Dumbledore braved the hot sun and knocked on Gilderoy Lockhart's door on time.
"Long time no see, Dumbledore."
After Gilderoy Lockhart invited Dumbledore into the room, he said straight to the point, "I am just a novel writer, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is not suitable for me."
"No need to be modest, Gilderoy, I believe you are capable enough to do this job." Dumbledore smiled and said: "After all, you have already done so many amazing things, I remember you still seem to be Defense Against the Dark Arts
As an honorary member of the Alliance, he is very suitable to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
Gilderoy Lockhart couldn't help but widen his eyes. Although Dumbledore's praise made him feel comfortable, but...
"I know what you are worried about. In fact, you don't need to worry so much about the curse. Bard also served as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor last time and still left the job safely." Dumbledore seemed to see through Lockhart's worries.
, continued: "You only need to resign more than half a month in advance like Bud did, and you won't run into trouble."
Lockhart looked at Dumbledore suspiciously. He naturally knew about Bard's role as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and escaped unscathed, but could he really do it?
There is no way, the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts is really notorious, and no one has been able to hold the position for more than two years.
"With your connections, you should be able to find a lot of people who are willing to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, right?" Lockhart asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, I can't find a more suitable candidate for the time being. The professors for this course are exhausted too quickly." Dumbledore looked embarrassed. "If you give me more time, I will definitely be able to find other suitable professors."
, but now..."
"Sorry Dumbledore, I'm afraid I'm not qualified for this job. As you know, my new book "Magical Me" has been published, and I need to think about what to write for the next book." Lockhart interrupted directly.
, "Novel creation is more suitable for me. It is a safe job."
"You can write the story of your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said without hesitation: "Mr. Albert has a good relationship with several Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. Maybe you will have a common topic.
.”
"You mean Albert Anderson, the one who won the International Wizard's Chess Championship not long ago." Lockhart was a little surprised. He had naturally heard of the name of the youngest International Wizard's Chess Champion.
"And Harry," Dumbledore added.
"Harry Potter?"
"Harry already enrolled in school last semester and is in his second year this year."
To be honest, Lockhart has no interest in Albert Anderson, because he is not a genius. Chatting with a genius will undoubtedly reveal his flaws, and the genius' "teacher" is Bud Brod.
Lockhart was somewhat interested in Harry Potter, the savior. If he could be the teacher of the "Famous Harry", it would undoubtedly make him more popular than doing other things.
Especially if he can write those things in his own book, he believes that the next book will definitely sell well.
In the end, the desire for fame defeated Lockhart's little caution, and he accepted the job because Dumbledore allowed Lockhart to resign early and allowed... Anyway, the headmaster gave Lockhart a lot of favors.
free.
Lockhart also plans to take this opportunity to make the books he writes become textbooks that students need to buy. There is no doubt that his works will be popular again, and he will accumulate among students and improve his reputation.
"Okay!" Lockhart agreed, "But I have a request. If anything happens, I hope to resign early. I never think that I am better than the previous dozens of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, since they are all
I can't get rid of the curse, so I think I'd better take precautions."
"Okay, I'm glad you can accept this job." Dumbledore smiled and shook hands with Lockhart, "I think you won't regret it."
"I hope so!"
…
Soon, God gave Lockhart an unexpected surprise. At the signing and sale of "Magical Me" at Flourish and Blotts Bookstore, he met the legendary savior: Harry Potter.
This savior was indeed as famous as the legend said, and immediately attracted the attention of countless people.
Lockhart seized the opportunity, took many photos with Harry, and announced that he would become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. At the same time, he gave Harry a complete set of his books as a meeting gift. He hoped that
While using Harry's fame to make headlines, he also gained some of Harry's favor and laid the foundation for the next "Harry's Teacher".
Of course, if Lockhart knew that what he did made Harry hate him, I wonder what he would think.