The slacker professor at Hogwarts

Chapter 360 It's my turn to play!

On the way back, the Death Eaters quietly left the group. Many people saw this, but no one said a word.

Well, the Azkaban escapee swaggered away in front of the Aurors without a word.

This is an extremely delicate situation.

But it's actually quite easy to understand, just as Lockhart said—we must learn to respect the will of the most powerful wizard of our time.

As everyone can see, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Lockhart all seem to have tacitly approved of this.

As a result, no one dared to openly defy Voldemort's will.

The foul can't even be blamed on Voldemort first, since the most unique person in this situation is Bellatrix, the Death Eater whom Minister of Magic Fudge and Lockhart brought out of Azkaban. She is now a full-time employee of the Ministry of Magic—a Silent Person of the Bloodline Department of the Department of Mysteries, with the background of permanently imprisoning Azkaban prisoners.

Many people have no choice but to accept this.

That's how the magic masters' will works. Dumbledore will make illegal, unregistered keyholes right in front of them, and Lockhart will need people he deems useful. Since these big shots mostly abide by universal agreements, everyone has no choice but to turn a blind eye.

Arriving at a room in the Ministry of Magic with a pool, Tonks carefully held the "seeds of hope" that the boss had given him in his hands, filled the pool with water, and threw them in.

The seeds looked just like real seeds, and were very light, floating on the surface of the water. They had absorbed some water and swelled up slightly.

"Everyone, please be quiet," Professor Sprout gestured for silence. "They will only begin to grow in a quiet and threatening environment."

Many of the people who were whispering immediately shut their mouths.

After a while, under everyone's watchful eyes, these seeds began to swell and twist rapidly. First, a strange sprout that looked like a human head emerged, followed by tiny limbs. They quickly transformed into tiny people the size of insects.

Pfft!

With the sound of a heavy object hitting the pool and water splashing everywhere, seven adults quickly appeared in the pool.

They splashed around in the pool for a few moments, touched the bottom, and quickly poked their heads out to the surface to breathe deeply.

"Oh~~"

Many people exclaimed in unison.

Lockhart's expression was a little strange. He remembered a snack from his childhood—shrimp chips. He remembered watching adults fry shrimp chips and seeing them puff up like that when he was a kid.

Dumbledore waved his wand and, out of humanitarian considerations, conjured some simple clothes for these people so that they wouldn't have to face so many people staring at them naked.

"They are actually quite useful," Lockhart suddenly said to Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort, keenly sensing the unique ecological niche these Purgers, who wielded technology in one hand and magic in the other, occupied in the new era's social structure.

"In the space between Muggles and wizards, in a seemingly unknown territory, someone is already quietly exploring it."

Grindelwald nodded grimly. "I know what you mean, but you can't ignore their ideals or even their beliefs!"

Lockhart simply smiled. "Don't forget the fairies. The wizards eventually allowed these groups that were anti-wizards back then to exist. They just needed some reformation."

"Reform?" Grindelwald turned to Lockhart, a cold smile on his face. "So you're planning to follow Albus's foolish approach, trying to change people's deeply ingrained beliefs, hoping they'll have a positive impact on society?"

Even Grindelwald, who is known as the most persuasive man, must guide others according to the circumstances. He does more to inspire and guide the inclinations and thoughts deep within the other person's heart than to reverse or change them.

This is something that is almost impossible to accomplish.

It's like he had a way to turn Snape's love for Lily into hate, but to make Snape completely indifferent to Lily on a mental level? Ha, he couldn't do it!

Humans are emotional beings, and the Purgers were not born anti-wizards; they all went through a process of life experiences that have become an integral part of their lives.

Lockhart shrugged. "No, I don't change their minds; it's very difficult to change other people's minds. I can only change their identities."

"Your position determines your perspective; a change in status naturally leads to a change in mindset."

Grindelwald paused for a moment, then suddenly thought of a Squib, Mr. Filch, the Hogwarts doorkeeper, who, with Lockhart's help, could now cast a Patronus Charm that was quite excellent.

"You'd better not do that!" Grindelwald's heterochromatic eye flashed as he tried to glimpse the possible future, but he ultimately disagreed. "There are so many Squibs in this world, you don't need to target these Purifiers. They shouldn't have magical powers; that would only be a disaster for the Muggle world."

"The Muggle world?" Lockhart blinked.

Grindelwald's lips curled into a slight smile as he turned to Voldemort. "What do you think?"

Voldemort wholeheartedly agreed, "Once the Purifiers possess magical powers, their first target will definitely not be the wizarding world, but rather they will turn their attention to Muggles, ideally gaining control of the power of several Muggle kingdoms!"

"I'd love to see you do that," Old Voldemort chuckled, his tone full of mockery. "When the Purifiers lead the Muggles in a war against the wizards, you'll be the ultimate evil villain, and I'll be the wizards' savior!"

He naturally hoped for this scene, as it would be to his advantage, but he knew that neither Dumbledore nor Grindelwald would allow it to happen, so he could only tease them rather than secretly push for it.

Lockhart rolled his eyes at the two dark wizards, ending the discussion.

What followed was rather boring.

These purgers will be taken by the Aurors for separate interrogations, and their records will be compared with some of the data recovered from the previous mall outpost office before they enter the Wizengamot interrogation process, at which point a verdict will be made.

Lockhart, not wanting to get involved in these matters, simply left with Sirius and Lupin.

Sirius Black was eager to wake up the sleeping Snape.

On the way, Lockhart chuckled mischievously and said nonsensical things, "There are such plots in fairy tales, where the princess falls into a permanent sleep, and the prince on a white horse arrives, kisses her with full love, and wakes her up."

Sirius and Lupin looked at him with strange expressions.

"I swear!" Beams of light emerged from Sirius's chest, trailing streaks of light, and converged around the group to form Snape's figure.

He stared intently at Lockhart and Sirius, "If anyone dares to do such a thing, I will kill them!"

Sirius was furious. "You're acting like I would do that! It just disgusts me!"

And so, only Lockhart's cheerful laughter remained in the air.

They returned to school via Apparition; during the Triwizard Tournament, Hogwarts opened the entrance to the Castle Bridge.

"This place will likely be closed again, or even completely sealed off. From now on, everyone will have to use the New Era Basin station to enter and exit, and access checks will be set up at the forks in the road leading from the basin to the three schools."

Sirius observed the Forbidden Forest in the distance with a thoughtful expression, where Professor McGonagall was talking to a group of pure-blood families.

It has to be said that he has started to show some differences.

He was no longer a mere brute warrior; now he bore the future of the Black family on his shoulders, and certain things naturally began to swirl in his mind.

In the past, when he saw Lucius, Barty the Elder, and others approaching Professor McGonagall, he would have just watched coldly. But now he thought that these people had probably already begun to plan their early establishment in the New Age Basin.

Although this basin is the border area of ​​the three schools, everyone knows that it was created by Hogwarts Headmaster Dumbledore, so the management rights naturally belong to Hogwarts.

As everyone knows, if you need anything about Hogwarts, just ask Professor McGonagall.

"They're planning to build a new commercial street here, bigger than Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village," Lockhart said, sharing what he knew. "Aberforth approached me about it, planning to rent shops and the upper floors of my building to open a large tavern and inn."

The more you get to know Aberforth, the more interesting he becomes. He's not lazy and lacks initiative; rather, he embodies a philosophy of "non-action" similar to Lockhart's previous life.

We will not actively push for change, but we will make some necessary changes in accordance with the changing environment and times and the general trend.

Both involve change, but the biggest difference between them is that one remains unchanged and changes the world according to his own will, while the other does not change the world but changes himself according to the world.

The idea of ​​building a large hotel didn't stem from any ambition, but rather from a sense of "Oh, I should do this now, it can be done now, I can do it."

The only pity is that his son Cressdon died; otherwise, such a person would have been a perfect pillar to continue the family's glory.

Very stable.

As the group drew closer, their conversation could finally be heard.

"Gentlemen, may we discuss this later?" Professor McGonagall seemed very busy, trying her best to suppress her irritation at these annoying school folks.

"You are also members of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, so you should know what issues the school needs to address most immediately!"

The most important thing now, of course, is to guide the wizards from all over the world who have come to upgrade their Burrows.

Move to the New Era Basin.

This didn't seem like a difficult task. She had already discussed the plan with several college deans and planned a location in a corner of the New Era Basin.

But they never expected that someone would have already furnished their large tent with a lot of furniture, even though it was just a temporary rest area for the competition.

A large, comfortable four-poster bed, a complete sofa set, and even a complete set of kitchen utensils and stoves—someone has already started cooking here!

What really made Professor McGonagall uneasy was that a wizard had already filled the roof with all sorts of flowers and small fruit trees, not the kind in flowerpots!

This made the relocation even more troublesome. They couldn't just remove the core magic stone and take the building materials to the New Era Basin to reassemble it. They had to find a way to move the entire house there intact!

In addition, when it comes to actually putting it into practice, all sorts of problems have emerged. For example, with these stacked houses, the people on top have to dismantle the houses below before they can be moved; otherwise, the whole building will collapse like unstable building blocks.

Professor McGonagall had a tense expression on her face as she tried her best to handle the unexpected situations and bring things back into order.

But it's still a mess here.

And yet, these school board members still came and caused trouble.

Lockhart listened for a while, looked around, and suddenly spoke up, "I'll handle it."

Professor Lockhart is so reliable! — Professor McGonagall often remarked that Professor Lockhart always stepped up when problems arose and then easily solved them.

"Oh, that's wonderful." Professor McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief, but also asked with some doubt, "What are you planning to do?"

"Simple, this is very simple for me."

Lockhart flashed his most perfect smile, gently drew his wand, and gracefully waved it upwards.

Silver mist surged, and the ground seemed to shimmer with a silvery liquid luster, spreading outwards to the surrounding areas.

It was like silver mist rising from a silver lake.

Many wizards found this scene familiar. If you zoom out, it's actually a common scene of wizards using the Pensieve.

Those silver mists were the water mist formed from the silver threads of memory, and finally condensed into a liquid silver liquid in the meditation basin.

Lockhart gently waved his wand, and a huge silver image appeared—a massive Pegasus with outstretched wings, obscuring the sky and the sun.

This is his guardian spirit, the passionate horse.

Pegasus emerged from the silver lake and soared through the silver mist, a sight that held a very clear symbolic meaning in Lockhart's eyes, but unfortunately, those around him could hardly understand it.

Pegasus flapped its wings, and many people felt as if it were carrying them as it flew at high speed.

But visually it's so strange, as if we're stuck in one place, only the world is moving wildly.

This is a spell that combines the magical concepts of Dumbledore's Transfiguration and Voldemort's Flight.

Lockhart had previously used this move at the Ministry of Magic with Fudge and Sir Humphrey, a Muggle.

However, that time only people were brought along, but this time it went a step further, bringing along the community formed by the stacked seven or eight or even more than ten-story dilapidated houses.

Everyone stared in shock at the scene before them.

In the dim light, the wings of the Pegasus fluttered, and in the silver lake beneath their feet, one could almost see the Pegasus's broad back bearing everything. Above the silver lake, these people stood there, looking at the stacked houses on the lake and the rapidly changing environment outside the lake.

They could see the tall trees of the Forbidden Forest receding into the distance, the magical creatures within the Forbidden Forest curiously observing them, and the road from Hogwarts extending towards the New Age Basin.

This magical scene then caused many people in the New Era Basin to gasp in surprise. Some of the bolder wizards rushed forward and jumped into the silver lake, as if they had jumped onto a moving train, quickly distancing themselves from the others who were originally beside them.

"Professor McGonagall, where should we place her?"

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Professor McGonagall!"

Lockhart's shouts finally startled Professor McGonagall, who quickly pointed in a direction, "There!"

Professor McGonagall was not simply shocked; what she was seeing was not unusual. Albus had demonstrated this amazing transfiguration technique in class before.

She just didn't expect Lockhart to have learned it too, and then she naturally wondered if she could too.

Of course she could. Her skill in shapeshifting was extremely high, and while others were just watching the spectacle, she had already figured out the tricks of the trade.

If one big shot does this, she'll be amazed; if two big shots do this, her pride won't allow her not to do it.

She was now wringing her hands restlessly, wanting to stop Lockhart—"Let go of these houses, let me try! It's my turn to play!"

steady!

She inwardly cried out that she should act more composed and precise.

Lockhart quickly found the location: in front of a small hill, Hagrid was carrying an incredibly huge log and forcefully slamming it into the ground, seemingly building a gate to a residential complex.

Hagrid was clearly startled by the exaggerated sight of an entire neighborhood rapidly approaching, and he stared wide-eyed in disbelief, letting out a gasp.

Then he was carried onto this silvery lake and moved quickly forward with everyone else.

But it stopped quickly, and the entire lake began to rotate left and right, as if adjusting its angle. Many people who were looking at the swaying scene outside the lake felt dizzy.

Finally, with a slight tremor, the Pegasus vanished, and the silver lake and mist receded rapidly, disappearing as well. Everyone, along with the houses, steadily appeared in a corner of this planned village in the New Era Basin.

"Done!"

Lockhart looked at everyone with a smug expression.

"Bravo Gilderoy Lockhart!" Lucius Malfoy finally couldn't contain his excitement and shouted.

His cheers clearly resonated with everyone, and they all joined in.

"Keep a low profile, keep a low profile~"

Lockhart laughed heartily, greeted Professor McGonagall, and walked towards Lockhart Tower with Sirius, Lupin, and Snape.

On the way, Sirius looked at Lockhart thoughtfully and suddenly said, "I've been thinking about your spellcasting style before. I thought it was a bit more flashy and dazzling, um—"

He couldn't think of any adjectives; he was really trying his best to choose his words.

Snape gave the answer directly: "Peacock-like spellcasting, I've been like this since school!"

Yes, that's true, but you can't just say it like that!

Sirius glared at Snape with displeasure. "But I realize now that's not the case. I've discovered your true spellcasting abilities."

Lockhart blinked. "Passionate, I said that."

Sirius nodded, but then gave a different answer, "I've noticed that your spellcasting always leans towards that 'magical world is truly wondrous' atmosphere."

interesting!

His statement was clearly correct, and Lockhart fell into deep thought.

It is said that bystanders see things more clearly, but there are actually not many people as outspoken as Sirius Black. People rarely have the opportunity to receive honest, sometimes offensive, evaluations from others.

But this is really important.

As the group walked, approaching the massive station and arriving in front of the Lockhart Building, a commotion could be heard from afar.

"Professor, Professor, you've arrived! Come and see!"

George turned around and saw Lockhart and the others. He waved excitedly and ran over, shouting loudly.

Fred followed, gesturing wildly with his hands to express his shock. "Hermione, our Granger lady, she just suddenly announced in the dueling club that she has completely entered a new level, a realm where magic is at her fingertips!"

George clicked his tongue in amazement, adding, "She just said so arrogantly that she was going to take on our whole group by herself! All of us!"

Aberforth Dumbledore, who loved spending time with these little ones, was also there. Hearing the two brothers shouting, he didn't take it seriously. "What's the big deal? I did the same thing when I was at Hogwarts, running up to the ring and yelling for everyone to come up!"

Invincible!

Campus Duel Champion!

Suppress all peers!

Yes, during the period after my brother Albus graduated.

"Hermione?" Lockhart was a little curious. He didn't keep an eye on the young wizards' growth every moment, so he didn't know how Hermione had suddenly become so amazing.

Walking forward, you can see Hermione looking up proudly, talking to Harry and the others. Not far away, some mischievous members of the Duel Club are preparing various props and venues for testing.

While those who excel may inspire envy and jealousy, the unique atmosphere within the Duel Club makes many believe they are no less capable than others, leading them to view the Duel Club as pioneers and trailblazers.

Everyone is eager to see what tricks Hermione will pull.

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