Chapter 169 Lockhart’s Lecture

Draco Malfoy kept looking towards the door, worried that someone might break into the classroom, or that someone might pass by and overhear their conversation.

His father Lucius Malfoy's advice to him was still in his ears. For the first time, Draco realized the true meaning of only following interests and doing everything for the continuation of the family.

After class yesterday, he did not go to the auditorium for dinner with the crowd. Instead, he immediately returned to his dormitory and wrote a long letter to Lucius. The letter described in detail the encounter with Crabbe in the locker room and his feelings for Crabbe. Some conjectures about cloth magic talent and personality changes.

Lucius didn't sleep all night after receiving the letter. He rushed to Hogwarts this morning and asked Draco about the details of Crabbe's change.

His temperament and talent had changed. Lucius originally thought that a dark wizard had sneaked into the school pretending to be Crabbe. But the desire for Quidditch remains, which proves that Crabbe should be himself. So Lucius guessed that he was affected by a dark magic item.

Considering the centaur's words and Crabbe's hiring of werewolves to break into Azkaban during the holidays, this matter must be related to the Dark Lord.

After Draco understood his father's guess, his idea was to tell Principal Dumbledore and Professor Snape about the matter and let Dumbledore deal with the Dark Lord.

But Lucius rejected this proposal. He warned with an expression that Draco couldn't understand: "Don't treat Crabbe as a follower anymore. Give him some benefits appropriately and let him know that you firmly support the glory of pure blood." .”

"At the same time, give Harry Potter some help, some warning, so that he is aware that there is danger in the school. For the rest, there is nothing to do."

…

"Crabbe is controlled by something strange, and it may have something to do with the Dark Lord." Draco's voice was slightly trembling, not only because of fear, but also because of complicated emotions about his father's words.

In the end, instead of reminding Harry, he found Loren and told him everything. As for why, he couldn't tell. Maybe he hated that Potter, or maybe he didn't want Loren and his Muggle friends to be implicated in this matter...

"Controlled... The Dark Lord..." Loren sat across from Draco in the abandoned classroom, his face solemn.

The first thing he thought of was the diary. In the original book, this year it was the diary that manipulated Ginny, opened the secret room, released the basilisk, and set off a series of turmoil. But the diary was burned by the cursed fire with his own eyes, and it is impossible to reproduce it.

Several other Horcruxes, the ring has not yet been opened in Gaunt's old house, Slytherin's locket is in Black's house, and Hufflepuff's gold cup is in Gringotts' vault. It is impossible for them to enter Hogwarts to cause trouble. .

After eliminating all impossible answers, the only thing left is Voldemort's main soul! After possessing Quirrell last year and being defeated, he returned.

He quickly realized that it was probably the last sentence from the diary that made Voldemort have other thoughts and take the initiative to enter the school.

"Is there any other news you can tell me?" Loren asked, his tone gentle and calm, not causing any psychological pressure. It's like a simple question. You can answer it, but it doesn't matter if you don't say it.

Draco struggled in his heart for a while, thinking about Crabbe's sinister eyes and thinking that as Harry's friend, Loren had never targeted him.

He opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice: "During the summer vacation, there were werewolves attacking Azkaban. Although this matter was suppressed, some well-informed families and dark wizards knew that the mastermind behind the scenes was the Crabbe family. people."

"Crabbe's magical talent has improved, and his temperament has also changed somewhat, but he still retains some of his original traits."

Loren listened quietly and looked at him with encouraging eyes.

Draco shook his head and said nothing more, but reminded: "Be careful of purebloods, you and your Muggle friends are the same."

After saying that, Draco stood up and left. He has made the decision to distance himself from Loren in recent times, and has shown a tendency to support purebloods and discriminate against Muggles.

In the abandoned classroom, Loren's fingers traced along the notches on the wooden table top. Under the perception of his fingers, the uneven wood grains transformed into a wonderful touch, which continued to follow his thoughts.

Flamel said that the cursed fire entangled the aura that came out of the diary, and it could only convey one sentence. What sentence did the diary convey that made Voldemort impatient to enter Hogwarts, or was it the destruction of the diary that made Voldemort unable to sit still.

Did Voldemort notice him? What attitude did he have towards him?

He actually had a vague urge to talk to Voldemort, wanting to know the truth about gods, immortality, and sages.

But it was just impulsive. Talking to Voldemort was equivalent to giving yourself away. You didn't know when you were sold. Following the white-robed mage Dumbledore is the right path.

Shaking all the messy thoughts out of his head, Loren walked out of the abandoned classroom to join Hermione.

In the next few days, Loren always wanted to chat with Dumbledore, but every time he went to the principal's office, he failed. Dumbledore was not seen eating in the auditorium. He seemed to have disappeared.

In the second week of school, due to the teaching restructuring, everyone had less homework and more free time, so it became a lot more lively. When Lee Jordan, the most well-informed person, broke the news about the club's reconstruction and expansion of enrollment, and got the approval of several college top students, the excitement reached its peak.

The Transfiguration Club at Hogwarts was once a major contributor to Transfiguration Today.

After a simple idea was exchanged with classmates and corrected under the guidance of a transfiguration professor, it was finally compiled into an article with sound theory and sufficient arguments. A large number of strange ideas were born from the Metamorphosis Club, and accumulated to form an influence that cannot be ignored.

Graduates who have experience in the Transfiguration Club on their resumes can even get a letter of recommendation from a professor of Transfiguration. Even if the position they are applying for has nothing to do with Transfiguration, the reviewer will consider them because of the excellent learning ability and practical ability reflected in the resume. There is also the influence of the club, which values ​​applicants.

The same goes for the Magic Club and the Potion Club, so the club's restart and expansion have sparked endless discussions.

But before the announcements from these clubs were made, another club appeared first. In the Gryffindor common room, everyone gathered in front of the bulletin board.

"Professional club!" Lee Jordan was still very excited after reading this, "Famous best-selling author and adventurer——"

He read a familiar feeling in these words. He skipped the long list of prefixes and went directly to the second paragraph. It was exactly what he thought: "The well-informed Professor Gilderoy Lockhart" A lecture on career topics will be held this Friday to clear up confusion for students who are about to leave school and face society."

"...The inside story of one hundred and eighty-three professions will be explained in detail. Those with outstanding performance will receive a letter of recommendation written by Gilderoy Lockhart."

The senior students had expressions on their faces as if they had eaten something dirty, but they wanted to go.

After the incident in the greenhouse spread, even though Lockhart spread his polished "truth", he could only tell stories and perform stage plays in class, and there was never any magic demonstration, which made most young wizards realize that he was a idiot. .

But it has to be said that Lockhart's long list of identities is quite intimidating, and society recognizes his Order of Merlin, so Lockhart's letter of recommendation is indeed very tempting to graduates.

At noon on Friday, when Loren and Hermione walked out of the auditorium after lunch, George and Fred caught the two of them together. Without saying much, they pushed them towards the classroom where Lockhart was giving lectures.

"Oh, no, you are only in fourth grade. What does Lockhart's career lectures have to do with you?" Loren asked loudly.

Hermione also turned her head, wonderingly waiting for the twins' explanation.

"Lockhart's letter of recommendation can help us get a loan at Gringotts."

"And you can help us get his letter of recommendation."

The twins asked each of them for help with a smile on their faces. They were not slow at all and pushed the two of them to walk quickly.

Lockhart's social status is very useful. Even the goblins of Gringotts recognize it. If Lockhart has a letter of recommendation or even uses him as a guarantor, the twins can easily borrow money from Gringotts to open a joke shop.

However, the reputation of the two at Hogwarts was not very good, and it was difficult to get recommendation letters from Lockhart, so they focused on good students Hermione and Loren.

Loren asked curiously: "Why do you want a loan?"

The twins looked at each other and said in unison: "Start a business!"

Hermione looked at them strangely, but Loren immediately understood what the twins were planning.

"We are not playing a prank this time. If you help us get a letter of recommendation, you can be considered a shareholder."

"Don't ask us what business we started, we won't tell. Even our parents don't know."

In fact, George and Fred kind of hoped that they would join. Hermione and Loren's academic performance was first and second in grade. If they participated in product development, they would be of great help.

Hermione's eyes were blank, Loren smiled and shook his head: "We can help you get a letter of recommendation, and we don't need any shares."

The group of people came to the classroom chatting and laughing. There were already many people waiting here, not only the senior students who were about to work, but also some junior students who came to join in the fun.

Lockhart asked Professor Flitwick for some unknown reason and cast a temporary invisible stretching spell in the classroom, which was enough to accommodate all the students attending the lecture without appearing crowded at all.

The two professors were sitting in front of them discussing something. Lockhart seemed to be showing off his popularity to Professor Flitwick. Looking from a distance, Loren could even feel Professor Flitwick's helpless response.

"Here!" Li Jordan stood up and greeted them from a distance.

Ron and Harry, Ginny and Luna were also sitting nearby. George and Fred even coerced and induced Percy and Penelope to come over. Even Cedric from the college next door was sitting next to them. The main idea is to cast the net wide and catch more fish.

Harry and Ron were very happy this week. The professors were still very busy. No one thought about the Whomping Willow and the car. Their punishment was still not over.

From being anxious at the beginning, I became happy day by day. The lessons were also much easier. Apart from Lockhart and Snape, there were no worries.

After hearing that the twins needed help, the two regarded the lecture as a pastime and happily agreed.

Lockhart stood up, walked to the front and faced the students in the audience: "Ladies and gentlemen, all promising Hogwarts students. Welcome to my first club for the first time. Lecture.”

The voice blessed the loud voice spell. I don't know if it was some knowledge he picked up or the help of Professor Flitwick.

"As an internationally renowned figure, a best-selling author, a famous adventurer, a recipient of the Order of Merlin Level 3, an honorary member of the Anti-Dark Arts Alliance, and a five-time winner of the "Wizard Weekly" Most Charming Smile Award. The Defense Against the Dark Arts course you are currently using The textbooks include "Breaking with Ghosts", "Traveling with Ghouls", "Holidays with Dominatrixes", "Walking with Trolls", "Traveling with Vampires", "Wandering with Werewolves", "With "XZ Snowman's Year Together" and so on are just a few inconspicuous paragraphs in my long adventure..."

The little wizard in the audience frowned immediately, which was not good. That's it, no matter what the topic, no matter what the content, Lockhart can always bring things back to his honor, and then highlight his excellence by citing classics.

Some junior wizards wanted to leave on the spot. Fortunately, Lockhart had anticipated such a scenario and slowly talked about professions.

"Now I want to tell you about Fire Dragon Researcher!"

The ears of the Weasley boys perked up when they heard this. They had an older brother who was studying fire dragons in Romania and was very interested in this position.

"The most important spell to learn when raising fire dragons is the Eye Disease Curse! The Eye Disease Curse is very effective against fire dragons. I once used the Eye Disease Curse to instantly subdue three Hungarian Horntail Dragons in the Romanian Islands..."

Hearing this, Percy curled his lips. George was already cursing in a low voice: "What kind of eye disease curse? This kind of spell that can cause damage to the fire dragon and also anger the fire dragon must not be used. Charlie would rather be bitten by the fire dragon than hurt them."

Fred nodded beside him, but because he was eager for a letter of recommendation, he listened patiently.

In the next half hour, Lockhart recounted several examples of how, with his help, Aurors defeated dark wizards, and how the captain of the Quidditch team was inspired to develop new tactics to defeat powerful enemies.

He spoke so passionately on the stage that the little wizard in the audience was speechless. I didn’t hear any professional insider information, only Lockhart’s great achievements, his versatility, and his proficiency in the core skills of each profession.

Perhaps Lockhart was a little tired from the endless narration, so he stopped and said, "Does anyone want to know anything?"

There were whispers of discussion below, but no one stood up to ask questions, because they didn't know what to ask, whether they harmed the fire dragon under the eyes of the fire dragon breeder, or interfered with the Auror's arrest of the criminal...

Finally, a junior wizard in the corner raised his hand. Lockhart looked at the familiar face and was very satisfied, so he immediately lit him up.

"Professor, I want to know about the profession of memory canceller at the Ministry of Magic." Loren spoke slowly.