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Chapter 176: Are You Sure He's Not Endorsing Toothpaste?
Chapter 176: Are You Sure He’s Not Endorsing Toothpaste?
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom,
Ivan was quite surprised to see Lockhart after a long time. Had this guy really quit and run away?
Many of the young wizards shared Ivan's thoughts. More than a few had overheard their conversations in the hallway, and the rumor had spread during the long wait.
Only the fans who idolized Lockhart still firmly believed that their idol would never be scared away by a mere curse.
Hermione was somewhat shaken. Ron was betting with her that Lockhart definitely wouldn’t come, and they wouldn’t have to attend Defense Against the Dark Arts class for the rest of the year.
However, the truth once again proved Ron wrong. Just as he finished speaking, Lockhart appeared at the classroom door, still wearing that trademark smile, his gleaming white teeth dazzling the young wizards.
Lockhart quickly walked to the front of the class and said rapidly,
"Hello everyone! I bet you were all wondering where your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had gone, thinking he had run home in fear after hearing about the curse, right?"
At this point, Lockhart lowered his voice and scanned the faces of each young wizard, building up their curiosity before raising his voice again.
"Of course not! I am Gilderoy Lockhart! Recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award!"
Sparse applause echoed from the audience, mostly from the young witches who still had some faith in Lockhart. The other young wizards looked at him with a mix of disbelief and doubt.
Lockhart's return undoubtedly lifted Hermione's spirits. She gave Ron a triumphant look, then stood up and said loudly,
"I always knew you wouldn’t be afraid of a curse, Professor! You once said in your autobiography, Break with a Banshee, that no one in the wizarding world knows more about lifting curses than you!"
"Right you are! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Lockhart's face darkened. He felt exhausted just hearing those words, but he had to grit his teeth and award Hermione points.
"Then what were you doing in the headmaster's office, Professor?"
A young wizard suddenly asked from the audience. Lockhart looked around but couldn’t identify who had spoken. However, it didn’t faze him. He cleared his throat and explained,
"Good question! Upon learning that this position might be cursed, I immediately went to your headmaster, Dumbledore, to understand the origins of the curse and prepare to break it!"
At this point, Lockhart playfully winked and continued,
"I bet you can't imagine what I found in the headmaster's office. Headmaster Dumbledore was secretly reading my books! I never thought this old sly fox was one of my fans!"
Harry, who heard this, was utterly astonished. He couldn’t imagine Professor Dumbledore idolizing Lockhart like Hermione. This was certainly the most outrageous thing he had heard all year!
Ivan watched Lockhart, who was confidently speaking at the front of the class, and couldn’t help but marvel at how truly thick-skinned and resourceful the man was. Not only was he shameless, but he always found a way to justify his previous blunders.
In a certain sense, this was truly a talented individual!
If only Lockhart hadn't been so obsessed with fame and had done a series of foolish things far beyond his capabilities in the original timeline (such as attempting to challenge Snape), he wouldn't have lost his reputation at the school in just a few months.
For the entire class, Lockhart spent the time telling everyone how he had convinced Headmaster Dumbledore to reveal the information about the curses.
When he got excited, Lockhart even asked Neville, who was sitting on his right, to come up and play the role of Dumbledore, recreating the scene. The young wizards in the class were stunned.
It's worth noting that when Lockhart was looking for an assistant, Hermione immediately raised her hand high, but Lockhart pretended not to see her.
Because he now wanted to stay as far away as possible from the two young wizards who had defeated the professor, and naturally, that included their friend Hermione.
"Lockhart actually dared to say that Dumbledore is his fan in class, that's just ridiculous!" After class, Harry couldn't hold back his criticism of Lockhart's unrealistic statements as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room.
Ron nodded in agreement.
Although Hermione was quite depressed by Lockhart's repeated snubs, she still instinctively defended him. "That's not necessarily true. Professor Lockhart's books are so well-written; Headmaster Dumbledore might have read them too!"
The three of them quickly got into a heated debate over the issue.
Ivan didn't join in the discussion. Instead, he was looking at the homework Lockhart had left for them, or rather, a questionnaire that they needed to fill out before the next class.
He noticed that it was three pages long, with dozens of questions.
1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?
2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
3. What do you think is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement so far?
Ivan flipped through the pages.
What troubled him was that he could answer most of these questions. Could he be a die-hard fan of Lockhart?
Ivan fell into a state of confusion, only to remember that last year, to investigate the habits of Trolls, he had read Lockhart's "Travels with Trolls", and when researching werewolves, he had looked into "Wanderings with Werewolves." Unconsciously, he had memorized a lot of information about Lockhart.
"Ivan, what do you think?" After a heated debate with the others, Hermione turned to seek Ivan's opinion.
Harry and Ron also looked over, thinking Ivan would definitely be on their side.
But to their amazement, Ivan was seriously filling out the questionnaire left by Gilderoy Lockhart, and he had already completed a third of it.
Hermione happily leaned over to look, but soon frowned. She pointed to the third question and corrected him.
"You got this wrong. Professor Lockhart's secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and sell a series of hair care products, not to promote his toothpaste!"
Ivan's expression was a bit strange.
What, Lockhart didn't endorse toothpaste? Then why are his teeth so shiny?
(End of Chapter)
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