The slacker professor at Hogwarts

The first two potion ingredients that Snape improved the recipe for, collecting dew and sound, were very simple things.

But it was precisely this event that completely changed Lockhart's life trajectory.

Prior to this, classrooms, libraries, offices, the auditorium, and the dining hall were all located within the main building area of ​​the school's castle complex.

Now, Lockhart has to step out of this little comfort zone.

He didn't want to keep his mind too tense, constantly worrying about Voldemort's curse; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to live.

However, they don't completely let their guard down, and they always bring their pets with them when they go out.

After class in the afternoon, I carried a pot of learning grass and walked among the little wizards. Watching the little wizards playing and chasing each other, I felt a bit like I was in another world.

These energetic little wizards with their amazing spellcasting abilities are just too much trouble.

Lockhart even encountered a group of young wizards having a poop fight.

Yes, a shit fight!

To be precise, it was a prank involving throwing "stinky feces bombs" at each other—props that were practically no different from excrement.

It looked like poop, smelled like poop, and was smeared all over the corridor.

Lockhart had to take a detour to avoid them.

In this respect, he particularly understood Mr. Filch's anger at Hogwarts; he had no desire to get involved with that stuff.

Especially when he had absolutely no way to deal with it.

The "Cleanse" spell can solve this problem perfectly, but the key is that he can't cast it.

This is why he doesn't usually loiter around school; the slightest problem will expose his true incompetence.

This is why he was so attached to Voldemort's Horcrux magic journal and why he valued the potion that Professor Snape helped him improve.

magic!

He really wants the ability to cast magic smoothly!

"Professor Lockhart!" Along the way, young wizards would greet him, and Lockhart would always give them his perfect smile, offering words of encouragement or signing the books or cards they handed him.

At first, he found it fun to have fans screaming wherever he went, but after a while, he got a little annoyed and started walking in a hurry most of the time.

After all, he wasn't the original Lockhart, and he wasn't so keen on being wildly admired.

But now he has to go back to his original state and interact more with these little fans so that the Xueyin Grass in his hands can hear more voices calling for him.

Unbeknownst to him, he had already begun to resemble the original Lockhart in some ways, at least in the things he did.

Or perhaps it should be called—he is entering the "charming fairytale life of Lockhart, the life thief."

Sometimes he would simply go to the Quidditch pitch and be pulled into the Gryffindor group by his enthusiastic classmate Hermione, where they would sit together and cheer.

Then, as they excitedly rushed towards their own academy team after the game ended, one of them quietly carried the Learning Herb and continued walking towards the Forbidden Forest.

Lockhart did not venture too far into the Forbidden Forest, but only wandered along its edge.

The weather at Hogwarts has been gloomy lately, as if a heavy rain is brewing. The air humidity is very high, making it easy to collect.

The matter is progressing smoothly.

Today he brought an extra small cloth bag, intending to start collecting some fine sand—"sand from the tree-lined paths I walk along when I'm deep in thought"—as the material he chose for making one of his simple "meditation cauldrons".

As dusk fell.

The air was somewhat stuffy on this gloomy day.

The faint shouts of Quidditch training echoed from afar, making the edge of the Forbidden Forest even quieter.

Only a few barks came from Hagrid's hut.

That's Tooth, Hagrid's pet, a Neapolitan Mastiff that looks fierce but is actually gentle.

It's clear that Hagrid went to the Quidditch pitch to watch Harry Potter and the others train again today, leaving Axe alone in the room.

Yaya barked fiercely, sounding somewhat manic, which made the little golden retriever in Lockhart's wizard robe pocket want to give it a "silence."

Fortunately, it now understands to consult its owner's opinion first.

Lockhart simply smiled and shook his head, not letting it frighten Hagrid's pet.

Hagrid's life on the edge of the Forbidden Forest was quite enjoyable. He not only set up several magical creature breeding farms, but also cultivated his own farmland, planted a lot of pumpkins, and even raised some chickens.

Every morning, the crowing of these roosters can be heard throughout the Forbidden Forest and Black Lake, reaching the castle complex.

Of course, this year is somewhat special.

These roosters will all be killed by Ginny Weasley for threatening the Basilisk.

Regarding this, when Harry Potter was compiling information about the Basilisk recently, the young wizards were very curious as to why an ordinary rooster could kill such a powerful monster as the Basilisk.

The answer is actually obvious.

Basilisks and golden retrievers, these kinds of dark magic creatures that defy common sense, are powerful because they defy common sense, and they also perish because they defy common sense.

As long as someone reminds them, hey, you don't exist.

Then they died.

The logic is somewhat similar to the myth surrounding Lockhart's past life, where an old woman selling water spinach said to Bigan, "How can a person live without a heart?" and then Bigan died.

So, is it really necessary to have a rooster crow to remind people that the basilisk is not a normal existence?

Once you understand the underlying logic, there are actually many ways to do it.

Lockhart was picking up sand with a small cloth bag when he passed by the chicken coop. He went over to take a look, but there didn't seem to be any activity.

It seems Ginny Weasley hasn't made a move yet.

He shook his head, not thinking about it, and continued walking towards the Forbidden Forest. Just then, a small figure appeared in the shadows beside a large tree.

She was wearing a long white dress, which made her appear somewhat luminous in the shadows.

Her small face was delicate and beautiful, like a porcelain doll, but her whole face was so pale that she looked like she had lost blood.

She grabbed a large rooster by the neck and lifted it up, tilting her head to look at Lockhart with a blank stare. Her voice was faint, like a murmur in a sleep, as she softly asked, "Are you looking for it?"

Lockhart was stunned.

He seemed to have seen this unique state of little girls somewhere before.

Memories flooded my mind, and I quickly found the answer.

—The Soul-Stealing Curse!

One of the three unforgivable crimes is that it can turn others into obedient puppets.

Lockhart felt a sudden chill and reacted by lunging to the side.

In an instant, as the little girl raised her wand and chanted the spell "Avada Kedavra!" in a very fast voice, a green light almost grazed his hair as it flew past.

"!!!"

Mom!

Lockhart gasped, and before he could even regain his footing, another beam of green light shot toward his chest.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The curse is filled with indifference and malice towards life, even carrying a kind of curiosity that watches human life being destroyed as if a child were pouring boiling water on an anthill. Such a strong evil will is definitely not something that a little girl like Ginny Weasley could possess.

Tom!

Tom!

Thick fog billowed at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and a gray wolf leaped out with light steps, standing between Lockhart and the Killing Curse.

As the spell struck, the summoned forest spirit vanished once more into the mist of the forest.

From within the mist, another ghastly green beam of death-reaping light pierced through.

"!!!"