The slacker professor at Hogwarts

In Lockhart's view, the magical path of a wizard has two extremes: the academic school and the spiritual school.

The academic school always produces masters; they never stop exploring the path to higher levels of magic, such as Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel, and Herbalist Professor Pomona Sprout.

The spiritualists, on the other hand, advocate acting naturally. They live their lives like a fairy tale, and magic naturally chooses them.

So, strangely enough, spiritual wizards always give people the feeling that "they are the real wizards" rather than magicians.

For example, there's Newt Scamander, the macabre conservationist; Sybil Trelawney, the divination professor; and Luna Lovegood, who's coming to the office this time.

This is a little witch whose personality is completely opposite to Hermione Granger's; Hermione is inclined towards 'logic and reason', while Luna is inclined towards 'intuition'.

Wizards who take the spiritual path often give people a strange feeling, as if they are crazy witches or mad wizards, but if you accept this style, you will find that they are actually very easy to communicate with.

Ginny's Weasley family is also an ancient wizarding family, so they are very accepting of wizards of this style.

The two girls have a very good relationship.

Of course, these two little witches, who grew up in the same village and were the same age, might have had a lot of interaction when they were young, but Lockhart didn't know that.

He simply stood in the corner outside his office, watching Luna comfort the anxious Ginny as the two friends encouraged each other as they entered their offices.

The two little witches didn't realize that the office they entered contained a huge book, which closed as they walked in, completely immersing them in the world within the book.

Lockhart stroked his wand, his expression flickering, before finally flicking it and striding toward the office door.

"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly rang out from around the corner of the corridor.

Lockhart nearly jumped in fright, then turned around and saw Dumbledore. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but complain, "Professor Dumbledore, are you always this elusive?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly, with a hint of "you know what I mean" helplessness in his expression. "I've been paying more attention to what's happening at school lately, and when I sensed a strong magical fluctuation, I came to check it out."

The powerful magical artifact, "Carlo's Bedtime Story Fairy Tale Book," was once again opened as a trap, which clearly touched a nerve with him.

Lockhart understood. "My 'Duel Club' is preparing to recruit some outstanding new members. This is a test."

He had a smile on his face, but he was cursing under his breath.

Ginny is involved in the secrets of Voldemort's Horcruxes and diaries, and he doesn't want Dumbledore to get involved at this time. Otherwise, if Voldemort's curse is triggered again, he'll have nowhere to cry.

Lockhart was surprised to discover that the biggest obstacle to avoiding being cursed again was Dumbledore.

You old Deng, you're on Voldemort's side, aren't you?

Are you specifically targeting me?

Lockhart was always good at disguising his emotions; his face was full of composure and calmness, and no problem could be seen at all. Unless Dumbledore was planning to use Legilimency on him, then there was nothing he could do.

Dumbledore nodded and said nothing more.

He highly regarded Lockhart's teaching ability and sense of responsibility, considering him a good professor.

Lockhart waited until Dumbledore left before striding into the office.

Or rather, step into a fairy tale book.

The scene in the fairy tale book was exactly the same as his office, even down to the cracks in the wall and the Cornish elves hanging in front of them.

The two little witches, guided by Professor Lockhart's words, gradually relaxed their tense emotions and began to share their understanding of magic.

At the entrance, the real Lockhart, who was about to make his move, couldn't help but listen for a while and couldn't help but be amazed.

Ginny Weasley is a typical "warrior" type of wizard, with a keen sense of timing in battle and a strong instinct for fighting.

Luna is a very special kind of witch, like the "Forest Witch" and Professor Trelawney, who possess a unique spiritual insight in certain areas.

In mystical systems, the images perceived by the spirit are not real, but are based on reality.

For example, the "harassing fly" that can cause mental confusion is a manifestation of the wizard's mental state.

A liar could never be Luna's life partner, because she could always clearly see the other person's state—yes, see it directly.

In the book, Luna warns Harry not to stand under the mistletoe, saying, "There are often hooks growing inside."

The 'Hook' is a creature that exists only in the mind and not in reality. This parasitic plant draws water and nutrients from its host and eventually withers away together.

Interestingly, in the context of wizarding society, kissing under mistletoe is a custom that represents romantic love.

The implication here... emmm...

All I can say is that Harry and Cho Chang's relationship back then was very complicated.

Sometimes, there are wizards with innate talent who are so dazzling. These two little witches are truly promising talents.

Teaching one is the same as teaching two, so he began to seriously consider bringing Ginny and Luna into his "Duel Club".

Of course, while mentoring apprentices is important, there are still some things that need to be done.

Next, Professor Lockhart took a crystal ball from a shelf behind his desk, which was crooked and bent by the trunk of a large tree. He then pretended to tap it with his wand, making the two little witches look at the crystal ball carefully to see if they could get some inspiration.

As an internationally renowned bestselling author and magic master, his words did not arouse any doubt in Ginny and Luna.

They gazed curiously at the magical crystal ball, wondering what wondrous things would happen next.

They froze instantly, an overwhelming fear filling their hearts. Even the office seemed incredibly dark, as if only a crystal ball could be seen twinkling.

Lockhart's gentle voice sounded in my ear, yet it seemed to come from a very far place: "Relax, try to completely relax. The best way to deal with the influence of dark forces is to think about the most beautiful and happy things, and believe that it will bring you infinite strength."

This works!

Luna soon felt much better.

Ginny, however, was somewhat confused. There were so many happy things in her life, but upon closer reflection, they didn't seem to be that happy.

Guided by the professor's words, she had to constantly delve into her memories, to uncover the most beautiful memories of her soul.

well.

baby.

In the pitch-black darkness, Lockhart stood behind her with a smile, his wand subtly pointing at her, watching her gradually enter a state of deepest, most open-mindedness.

He knew what level he needed to reach because Tom had set an example for him.

With a gentle wave of her wand, strands of silver threads emerged from Ginny's head, yet remained completely hidden in the darkness.

This is to guard against Tom in the Horcrux of the diary. Even though he also has the ability to enter memories and observe the surrounding environment like in the Pensieve, he has no way of finding out from Ginny's memories that he was hiding nearby.

The scene setup doesn't require much complicated operation; it's simply a matter of adjusting the lighting in the environment, just like in "Carlo's Bedtime Story Fairy Tale Book".

Lockhart understood all too well the nature of memory; some missing parts would not leave a trace in memory.

He can easily grasp this balance.

The Oblivion Spell cast at this moment is a copy.

He copied every single memory Ginny had of coming into contact with the Horcrux diary, leaving no detail unchecked.

Obtaining comprehensive and detailed information is essential preparation before going to war.

Chess games are often decided outside the chessboard, and Lockhart, who was ready to go all out, had countless ways to influence Ginny.

As for altering Ginny's memories, he won't do that for the time being.

Tom couldn't be fooled by the Forgotten Curse's manipulation of his memories, at least not now. He had to come up with a plausible explanation for Tom so that he wouldn't become suspicious.

Ultimately, Lockhart's target wasn't Tom, but Voldemort outside of school.

It may seem like there's no difference, but the differences are actually huge, and there's a lot of room for maneuver.

Hehe~

"There's plenty of time in the future~"

"Let's take our time!"

Let me see what terrible thing our Mr. Riddle has secretly done to this poor little witch.

In the shadows, a smile quickly spread across Lockhart's face.

He stared blankly at the snake-like monster from his memory, which had been released and was now ravenously eating rats in the sewers.

Hagrid's roosters were all killed.

A locked room...

It's time to open it!