I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 163 Catherine: Aren't you afraid of going to hell?

Professor Meg the Cat... oh no, I mean Professor McGonagall is quite good at comforting people, and she quickly made Tifa feel less upset.

To be fair, Professor McGonagall is usually very gentle. As long as her students don't make mistakes, she's even gentler than Dumbledore.

However, given the character of the Gryffindor students, it seems rather difficult for Professor McGonagall to remain calm throughout the semester.

If you want to keep Gryffindor students from getting into trouble, even the national football team of Rieslings would have a hard time winning the World Cup.

The other three professors also paid their respects to Lockhart's remains. Everyone was very sad, especially Snape.

"You still owe me a bottle of Felix Felicis..." he muttered to himself, pinching his large hooked nose and staring at Lockhart, thinking to himself, "Forget it, he's gone, let's just forget about it."

There are a few universally applicable excuses in the world: "It's a holiday, and since we're already here, the person is already gone." Actually, it's not so much an excuse, but more of a way to save face for others and for yourself.

Snape certainly understood this principle. As the saying goes, "robbing Peter to pay Paul," and the money would come from the debtor. He would make up for the loss of the bottle of Felix Felicis by taking it from Dumbledore.

As the principal, I can't just let my professors run out of money and not pay it back, can I?

Thinking of this, Snape gave a sinister smile, which startled Hermione and Ron.

The two whispered among themselves, and when they looked up again, they found Snape staring at them with a gloomy gaze.

Noticing the two looking up, Snape, like an owl, slowly turned his head back.

Professor McGonagall clapped her hands, and seeing that she had attracted people's attention, she said to the three children, "Alright, children, I think you should go back now."

"You stay, Louis," Professor McGonagall emphasized Louis's name.

The three kids didn't dare to try to get a chance from Professor McGonagall like they did with Dumbledore. They exchanged a glance and slunk out of the headmaster's office.

This perfectly and vividly illustrates the saying that "a local official is more powerful than a distant one."

"Albus is really something, sigh." Professor McGonagall shook her head helplessly and looked at Tifa: "People should be buried after they die. Gilderoy is, after all, a professor at Hogwarts. If you don't mind, we can hold a funeral for Gilderoy."

"Thank you, Professor." Tifa's eyes were red, and she still couldn't stop the tears.

After discussion among several deans, it was decided that Professor Gilderoy Lockhart's funeral would be held in the Great Hall of Hogwarts three days later.

The cemetery is located on a hillside far from the castle, where many faculty, staff, or students who died at Hogwarts are buried.

After all, Professor Lockhart was a part of Hogwarts, studying there and dying there. If we disregard his actions, he could be said to have died a worthy death.

However, his actions somewhat tarnished Hogwarts' reputation.

Many people wrote to Hogwarts wanting to attend Lockhart's funeral, especially his fans—in fact, almost all of them were his fans.

But it's hard to say whether to envy or pity her. More than a thousand fans attended Lockhart's funeral, and that was only because they could find the time on the day. But she only had one friend.

"So that's why you're gloating?" Catherine asked, sipping her coffee in the office.

For some reason, Catherine was wearing gold-rimmed glasses today, and her elegant and intellectual aura made Louis feel a little unable to control himself.

The senior is truly versatile. Aside from not quite capturing the younger sister vibe, she perfectly embodies the intellectual, mature, and queenly auras.

Having a wife like this is a cure-all... but Louis has a cheat code, so it's not a big deal.

He took the coffee Christa handed him, shook his head, and denied it, saying, "I'm not that kind of person... I wouldn't say I'm gloating, but I really don't feel sorry for anyone."

"Hmm." Catherine nodded. "I don't like Lockhart either."

"Don't you want to ask why?" Louis was suddenly speechless. He had originally planned to give Catherine a good talking-to about Lockhart's misdeeds, but Catherine's lack of response made him feel a little uncomfortable.

It feels like... well, like you've taken your pants off and she tells you she's on her period, it's incredibly frustrating.

Seeing Louis's troubled expression, Catherine chuckled and adjusted her glasses. "Alright, go ahead and tell me."

Her voice is very gentle, giving off a sophisticated and mature vibe.

"I'm not saying anything more." Louis got angry, crossed his arms and leaned against the table with a touch of arrogance, turning his head to the side.

Catherine covered her mouth and chuckled, stood up and walked over, put her arm around his shoulder, and whispered sweetly in his ear, "Oh, tell me..."

"If I don't tell you, I'll get emotional," Louis thought to himself, secretly pleased.

"Please...?" Catherine shook Louis, her voice growing softer and softer.

This is really unbearable...

"Alright, alright." Louis cleared his throat. "Since you've asked me so sincerely, I'll mercifully tell you."

"The books about him are basically all made up—oh, I'm not quite sure of my wording here, I should say they're stolen." Louis shrugged. "Like that country called 'Southief' at the southern tip of some peninsula in the Far East, they like to steal other people's things and claim them as their own."

There's a bit of personal bias involved. It seems that Louis and his grandfather have a grudge against Japan and South Korea. The grandfather is extremely hostile to the Japanese, and the grandson is extremely hostile to the Koreans.

Of course, neither the Japanese nor the Koreans were exactly good people either.

"That's the kind of person Lockhart was. In his own words, 'Readers wouldn't want to read about the deeds of an ugly old American wizard, even though he saved a village from werewolves. Wouldn't it be awful to put his picture on the cover? He has absolutely no taste in clothes.'"

"These are his original words. He adapted the old wizard's story into 'Walking with Werewolves'."

"There is also 'Breaking with the Ghost,' which describes his exorcising of the female ghost Wanlun. It was actually the achievement of an old witch, but he stole it for himself."

Catherine was somewhat surprised. She had always thought Lockhart was just a good-for-nothing, and that his book was most likely made up. She never expected him to be such a despicable person.

"What about the people who experienced the stories he stole?" Christa asked innocently.

Louis gave her a pitying look: "Silly dragon, there's a spell in the magical world called 'Forgetfulness'..."

"Oh my god..." Although Catherine was somewhat aloof, she still had very upright values. She really couldn't accept that such a person could be a teacher and a professor at Hogwarts.

"I really don't know what Dumbledore was thinking, how could he let someone like that be a professor..."

Her expression showed some disappointment. As the headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore's decision to accept such a person as a professor was not something a headmaster should do.

"Hey, this has nothing to do with us." Louis shrugged. "His funeral is in a couple of days, and I really didn't expect so many die-hard fans to come and pay their respects."

"That scumbag!" Catherine said through gritted teeth, "Merlin must be blind to have fans for such a scumbag!"

"Let's look at the bright side," Louis said, patting Catherine's hair. "His funeral friends couldn't even fill Myrtle's bathroom..."

Myrtle: "Don't mention it."

Louis wasn't making this up at all; it was thanks to Lockhart's personality that he'd offended so many people over the years. People like him, who love to show off and act superior all the time, rarely find true friends.

At most, you can make a couple of drinking buddies and have a meal of Lizhuang boiled pork together, but do you think such superficial brothers would attend a funeral?

That's definitely not possible; how can you get the money back after giving gifts?

"So what are you planning to do? Expose his true colors at the funeral?" Catherine leaned against him. Now that Louis had eaten some golden fertilizer, he was a head taller than Catherine. To be honest, although he was still a bit thin, Catherine enjoyed the feeling of nestling in Louis's arms, especially when his chin was on top of her head, which always made her feel inexplicably at ease.

"Oh no, I wouldn't," Louis said softly, toying with Catherine's soft hand. "Losing such a great bestselling author and a professor so popular with students is a loss to the entire wizarding world..."

"But you..." Catherine turned her head, looking at Louis with some surprise, "Didn't you say he..."

"What did I say about him?" Louis squeezed her little hand and chuckled softly, "Think about it, retrieving his remains from the lair of the monster that devoured the great adventurer and bestselling author, and successfully killing the monster... that's a good opportunity to gain popularity."

"But that doesn't contradict exposing his true colors..." Catherine, who hated evil, still felt disgusted by Lockhart's plagiarism.

"So, do you think it sounds better to avenge a bestselling author, a great adventurer, or to avenge a conman?" Louis squeezed her little hand again.

"Moreover, if this were to be exposed, it would be a huge blow to Hogwarts' reputation. Just think about it, Hogwarts actually accepted a fraudster as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher... Tsk tsk, not only Hogwarts, but even Dumbledore's reputation would be ruined."

Catherine looked at Louis again, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

After a long pause, she finally said softly, "Aren't you afraid of going to hell, Louis?"

"Oh, my little darling Cathy... I never knew you had a theological inclination."

Louis's tone was incredibly irritating, and he even rubbed his nose against Catherine's cheek as he spoke. No sooner had he finished speaking than Catherine angrily stomped on his foot.

"Look on the bright side. At least he could create value for me, couldn't he?" Louis gently bit her earlobe and said with a grin, "Overall, his death contributed more to the magical world than his entire life."

Catherine chuckled at his words, nudged Louis's waist with her elbow, and looked up at him. "Have you finalized the funeral details with the deans yet?"

"Of course, to show my respect for this adventurer, I specially asked Ye Zi to invite a suona band," Louis said with a smile.

"Suona? That's not bad, but why this instrument?" Catherine didn't know much about this instrument.

"In my mother's homeland, there is a saying..." Louis looked up with a touch of nostalgia, just as Ye Ziyan walked in.

She chuckled lightly, teasing Louis and his companion who were embracing, "You two are so lovey-dovey in broad daylight, don't you get hot..."

As she spoke, she walked over and sat down in Louis's office chair. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, we were talking about Lockhart's funeral, and we happened to be talking about the suona. Little Moon doesn't know what a suona is, so I'll introduce it to her."

Ye Ziyan raised her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly: "Alright, I'd also like to hear your opinion on this instrument."

Louis sighed, feigning a literary air: "Of all the musical instruments, the suona reigns supreme. It's either for ascension to heaven or for weddings. The pipa lasts a thousand years, the zither a ten-thousand-year lifespan, and the erhu plays a lifetime. The suona's first note ends the whole affair. The music begins, the cloth is laid on, and the whole village, young and old, awaits the meal. Some walk, some carry, followed by a sea of ​​white. The coffin is lifted, the earth is laid, and relatives and friends weep. Firecrackers explode, the suona plays, the procession moves on. At first, one doesn't understand the suona's meaning; the second time, one is already in the coffin..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ziyan kicked Louis's shin with her small foot: "You little rascal, why do I feel more and more like you've lived in Seris? It's like you know more about it than I do..."

Louis chuckled, not answering, but instead asking, "Tell me, is my description accurate or not...?"

"It really is a vivid description..." Ye Ziyan sighed, resting her chin on her hand, gazing wistfully into the distance, feeling a pang of homesickness.

"Anyway, the suona is quite loud, so with that as cover, we can talk about other things." Louis clicked his tongue. "Yeah, this funeral is definitely timed. Anyway, I'll have plenty to talk about with Fudge."

……

The next day at breakfast, Louis was having a special meal when there was a knock on his door.

"Louis, Louis." It was Ron knocking on the door, his voice urgent.

Christa opened the door, and there stood not only Ron, but also his inseparable Hermione and Harry.

Louis gracefully picked up a napkin, gently dabbed it on his lips, then turned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Professor Sprout's mandrakes are ripe, and Madam Pomfrey has made them into an antidote. Luna is awake!" Hermione said quickly, but her eyes remained fixed on the bacon on the table.

She swallowed hard. She hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and the cafeteria clearly wasn't serving bacon today, so why did Louis have it?

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Please sit down." Louis turned around and asked Christa to bring over a few chairs. "There must be a lot of people at Madam Pomfrey's place. Let's go there later and fill our stomachs first."

The three of them had no objections; in fact, apart from Hermione, the other two were also craving bacon.

"Didn't they say the cafeteria wasn't serving bacon today?" Hermione asked between bites.

"Oh, Cathy made breakfast today." Louis's tone was calm, but the three of them could detect a strong sense of showing off.

His unspoken message was, "See, isn't my wife a great cook?"

At that moment, even though they hadn't eaten more than a few bites, the three little ones already felt full.

It was fed dog food.

They couldn't go to see Luna empty-handed. Louis brought a bouquet of fresh flowers, while Catherine brought a book called "Learn Divination from Scratch," because she thought the eccentric Luna was perfect for this kind of divination.

Louis, of course, knew that Luna's talent for divination was off the charts, so he didn't object to Catherine's idea.

The infirmary had long since been emptied, leaving only Luna, the Lovegood brothers, and her sister Akko.

Because Luna was feeling weak, she planned to rest for a while before going out.

"Hi, Luna," Louis greeted her, placing the bouquet on the bedside table.

Catherine also placed the book next to the bouquet.

"Beautiful flowers, thank you, Louis." Luna's voice was still ethereal, like singing. "Thank you too, Catherine. It looks like you two are together now."

"Yes," Louis said with a smile, squeezing Catherine's hand.

He then looked to the side: "Hello, Zlatan, and Akko... This must be Mr. Lovegood, Luna's father?"

Luna's father, whose hair was blond like his daughter's, stood up and solemnly extended his hand: "I am Xenophilius Lovegood. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."

"I'm Luna's classmate and good friend, you don't need to be so polite." Louis smiled and shook Xenophilius's hand. "I'm also a big reader of The Quibbler."

"Really? That's an honor." Xenophilius suddenly became very happy, as if he were very proud.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Luna said she had rested enough and wanted to be discharged from the hospital.

Mrs. Pomfrey's medical wing didn't require any discharge procedures; she simply said goodbye and left the wing with Luna.

On the way, Louis called out to Zlatan.

"What's wrong, Louis?" Zlatan asked curiously.

Louis looked at the wizard who resembled Eevee so much in height, build, and appearance, shook his head to shake off the feeling of déjà vu: "I have a somewhat immature idea."

"Tell me about it." It was Zlatan who became interested, as was Ibisevic...

"Have you ever thought about becoming Minister of Magic?" Louis looked intently at Zlatan.

"Me?" Zlatan was stunned for a moment before laughing and patting Louis with his fan-like hand: "Zlatan doesn't think he can become Minister for Magic."

"Have confidence, Zlatan," Louis said with a firm look in his eyes. "I think you're a good fit."

Zlatan stared at Louis for a long time, then shook his head with a smile: "Don't think about that. Fudge is still serving as Minister of Magic."

Louis immediately understood his deeper meaning. He neither explicitly accepted nor explicitly rejected it, but simply said, "Fudge is still Minister of Magic," the subtext being, "I might consider it if Fudge steps down."

They're all ancient fox spirits; there's no need to spell it out. They're quite adept at playing out the classic tales of Liaozhai.

The two foxes, one large and one small, exchanged a glance, their unspoken agreement on the exchange of benefits remaining unspoken.

(End of this chapter)