Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 279: Ah...

"Get out of the way!"

A short, grumpy man, holding a large black camera, yelled at Ron.

"This was filmed for The Daily Prophet!"

He jumped around taking pictures. Each time the flash went off, a puff of purple smoke came out of the camera.

"very impressive."

Ron said, rubbing his foot that had been stepped on.

Sheehan didn't go to see Lockhart; instead, he took the whole set of books and prepared to pay for them. Soon after, he ran into Justin on his way away from the crowd.

"It seems our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a bit... unreliable."

Justin frowned, and Sheehan followed his gaze. Behind the table, Lockhart had somehow grabbed Harry and was giving a passionate speech:
"ladies and gentlemen,"

Lockhart shouted loudly, waving his hand to quiet everyone down.

"What an extraordinary moment! I want to take this wonderful occasion to announce something small that I've been keeping under wraps for some time."

When young Harry walked into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography—I would gladly give it to him for free on the spot—”

A round of applause broke out from the crowd.
"—But he didn't know,"

Lockhart continued, shaking Harry so that his glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose.
"He will soon get something more valuable than my humble work, 'The Magic Me.' In fact, he and his classmates will get a real, magical me."

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am extremely pleased and proud to announce that this September, I will be the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The crowd applauded and cheered.

"Of course, of course, there's another important piece of news: I will find and teach that mysterious Mr. Hermes about defense against the dark magic, helping him achieve even greater results in defense against the dark magic than in alchemy!"

At this, the crowd erupted in cheers, seemingly unable to wait for this moment to unfold.

Only some wizards with profound demeanor looked disdainful—did they know what they were saying?

This included Professor Quirrell, who arrived too late and missed out on the "Teacher of the Wise" interview. He gave Lockhart a deep look and then tried to find any newspapers that might not have been sold out.

“Sheen, I think you should stay away. The professors at Defense Against the Dark Arts seem to be… a bit strange.”

Justin said quietly.

Sheehan nodded. His only surprise was that Justin had discovered the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's curse so quickly.

“I will naturally earn his respect, just like Master Terra—proving that is the simplest thing.”

He showed off a set of gleaming teeth.

"Look, this beautiful young lady who attends Hogwarts is already eagerly awaiting my arrival."

An excited Hermione was invited up by him.

"Yes, sir."

Hermione was so excited she was a little dazed.

"Oh, and this gentleman too."

He spotted the quiet Sheen in the crowd at a glance.

Lockhart was in a very good mood at this moment, because he knew the reason behind the fact that Master Terra was included in the Chocolate Frog card - naturally because of the mysterious Hermes.

So when Dumbledore came to him, he wished he could just move into Hogwarts.

A curse? It's just a rumor.

To be featured on a Chocolate Frog card—what an exhilarating honor that would be!

"Sir, are you my fan?"

he asked with a smile.

Sheen met his gaze in silence, and at that moment he felt inexplicably uneasy.

"Oh, let me ask you a different question. Were you very excited about my arrival?"

He made amends.

Sheen was speechless. Out of so many people, he was the one who got dragged up here…

As for the excitement... "Alright—next one—"

Lockhart, without batting an eye, summoned the next wizard.

"He doesn't quite seem like a professor, he's more like..."

Justin walked over to Sheehan, his brow furrowing even deeper.
"A clown in a circus."

He was surprised when he said this, but he didn't expect that Sheen would also look at him in surprise and nod silently.

As the two were talking, a heated argument broke out in the audience.

“I actually saw you go into the store, Weasley.”

It was Malfoy making a sarcastic remark.
"I bet your parents will have to go hungry next month to buy all this stuff."

Ron blushed, threw the book into the cauldron, and charged toward Malfoy.

Harry and Hermione grabbed his clothes tightly from behind.

"Ron!"

Mr. Weasley squeezed through with Fred and George.
"What are you doing? It's too messy here, let's go outside."

“Oh dear—Arthur Weasley.”

It was Lucius Malfoy. He had one hand on Draco's shoulder, and a sneer on his face was exactly the same as his son's.

"Lucius."

Mr. Weasley nodded coldly.

"I heard you're quite busy with official duties, sir."

Lucius Malfoy said,
"So many searches... I bet they paid you overtime, right?"

He reached into Ginny's cauldron and pulled out an old but neat copy of "The Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" from among Lockhart's brand-new, shiny books.

"Looks like there isn't. My God, what's the point of being a scoundrel among wizards if you can't even get a decent reward?"

"We have very different views on what constitutes a scoundrel among wizards, Malfoy."

He said.

"of course."

Lucius Malfoy said.

His light-colored eyes darted around, landing on the Grangers, who were watching them with trepidation, and then on Sheehan.

“Look at the friends you’ve made, Weasley… I thought your family had sunk to the very bottom.”

There was even a mute person on stage just now…

Before he could finish speaking, Mr. Weasley roared and lunged at him.

Even faster than him was the black-robed sorcerer who appeared in a phantom form, his expression ferocious, his wand pressed against Lucius's throat, emitting a faint green light.

"If you say another disrespectful word to my husband—"

Professor Quirrell's imposing presence intimidated a large group of wizards, and everyone was terrified by the sudden turn of events.

Malfoy had no idea what he had done; his mind was completely blank. But the murderous intent in the other man's eyes was so obvious that his face turned deathly pale.
"How dare you-"

"Ah——"

I apologize for my mistake!

Malfoy fell to the ground, and Quirrell's bloodshot eyes calmed down a little.

Things took an unexpected turn, and only then did Malfoy realize who was standing in front of him...

Former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

But that's not important. What's important is that he's the acting manager of that fairytale shop...

So that gentleman… as his gaze trembled as he shifted over, the wizard who would become the greatest wizard of the future, the triple-great Hermes, Dumbledore, and Nicolas Flamel, who had been publicly praised and supported, was calmly watching him.

(End of this chapter)