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Chapter 162: I'm Afraid You Can't Be My Sponsor
Chapter 162: I’m Afraid You Can’t Be My Sponsor
"I don’t think so, Mr. Lockhart. I’m afraid you can’t be my sponsor." Ivan shook his head and refused without hesitation.
"What? Have you already found someone?" Lockhart raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, but he didn’t give up. He continued, "You should know that I am a recipient of the Third-Class Order of Merlin, a well-known figure in the magical world. There are very few people in the Order of Merlin that I don’t know."
Just as Lockhart was boasting, Harry couldn’t help but interrupt.
"Ivan’s sponsor is Professor Dumbledore! Sir!"
Lockhart’s continuous speech came to a halt. Even if he was arrogant, he wouldn’t dare claim that his fame was greater than Dumbledore’s.
At this moment, Harry remembered Ivan’s previous words and added, "And Ivan received the Second-Class Order of Merlin!"
Lockhart’s confident smile froze on his face.
This was why Ivan had straightforwardly told Lockhart that he couldn’t be his sponsor.
"Ah, I see. That’s a shame." Lockhart was embarrassed, but years of practice had given him a thick skin. He quickly adjusted his expression and said regretfully, "What a pity. I was just about to say that I had a pleasant conversation with the Grandmaster of the Order of Merlin a few days ago and wanted him to nominate you, but I didn’t expect Dumbledore to beat me to it."
"Thanks a lot", Ivan said sarcastically, finding Lockhart to be quite a talent, able to smoothly cover up his lies and even claim a connection with the Grandmaster of the Order of Merlin. He wasn’t afraid that the Grandmaster would expose his lies.
"Don’t mention it, mentoring the younger generation is my duty!" Lockhart patted Ivan’s shoulder, completely mistaking Ivan’s sarcastic words for gratitude.
Perhaps due to being repeatedly embarrassed in front of Ivan, Lockhart didn’t dare to show off his eloquence anymore.
After announcing that he would be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, Lockhart left gracefully amidst applause and a few skeptical voices.
This made Ivan marvel at the blind devotion of these fans. Even though Lockhart’s words were full of loopholes, and anyone could see that he was trying to cling to Ivan to gain some attention, these fans still believed that Lockhart was genuinely trying to help the younger generation.
"I think next year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class will be a disaster", Harry said, watching Lockhart walk away, clearly displeased.
Although he had only interacted with Lockhart for less than ten minutes, the man’s behavior was like that of a ridiculous clown, constantly showing off, which made Harry dislike him.
"How can that be? Professor Lockhart is very capable. He performs so well in his books; perhaps he was just a bit too eager today!" Hermione defended Lockhart softly, her eyes slightly red and swollen, clearly hurt after being pushed away by Lockhart.
Ivan shook his head helplessly, not knowing how to tell Hermione that Lockhart was a fraud. After all, he had no evidence and decided to wait for the man to expose himself next year.
Similar to Hermione, Mrs. Weasley also believed Lockhart to be a good person.
She had rushed to get a personally signed copy of Lockhart’s book but was trapped in the crowd inside the bookstore. Now, as she came out, she talked about Lockhart’s charming demeanor, making Mr. Weasley a bit jealous.
"Hals, do you have any other plans after buying the books? If you have time, why don't you come over to The Burrow for a visit?" Mr. Weasley handed a set of old books to Ginny and then turned to Ivan.
"Come on, Ivan, come over to our place and play", George and Fred also chimed in with hopeful expressions.
"No, I think I'll stay here and read some more." Ivan hesitated for a moment but ultimately shook his head in refusal.
Although he was curious to see the legendary The Burrow, he had already made other plans for the rest of his day and didn't want to change them at the last minute.
Most importantly, if he went to The Burrow for a few days, Aisia would be left alone at home.
"Alright then." Arthur looked a bit disappointed but didn't insist.
Mrs. Weasley took the opportunity to scold the children.
"Look at you all! You're always playing around. When was the last time any of you came to the bookstore to read a book? Especially you, George, and you, Fred! If you had Ivan's dedication to learning, I wouldn't mind you conducting your experiments at home!"
Under her scolding, Ron, George, and Fred all glared at Ivan, who felt somewhat helpless and couldn't do anything to help.
After everyone finished buying their textbooks for the next school year, Ivan waved goodbye to them. Hermione wanted to stay and read with him, but unfortunately, Mr. Granger had other plans and didn't feel comfortable leaving Hermione alone.
"That's odd, why haven't I seen Malfoy and his father?" After the Weasleys left, Ivan looked around but didn't see the Malfoys anywhere.
He then realized that his presence might have deterred Mr. Malfoy from going to Borgin and Burkes to discuss the sale of Dark Magic items, so they might have already finished their shopping and gone home.
Not having Mr. Malfoy around to cause trouble was actually a good thing, Ivan thought to himself and turned back to Flourish and Blotts.
After Lockhart left, the bookstore became much quieter, with only a few parents and their children still browsing.
The owner of Flourish and Blotts was a kind, middle-aged witch wearing round glasses. She was flipping through a book and seemed to be an intellectual lady.
But when Ivan got closer, he saw that the book cover featured Lockhart's smiling face, with his dazzling white teeth clearly visible.
Clearly, she was another one of Lockhart's fans. Ivan felt somewhat helpless, no wonder they invited Lockhart to do a signing here.
"Madam, can I read books here for the next few days?" Ivan asked, adding, "If it's inconvenient, I can pay a reading fee!"
"Do you want to read here? Of course! I mean, feel free to read as much as you like. There's no need to pay extra. You're welcome to come anytime", the owner put down her book, looked at Ivan with surprise, and replied happily.
"Thank you!"
Ivan nodded politely and began browsing the bookstore.
(End of Chapter)
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