https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-554-Visible-Tangible-but-Useless/12526904/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-556-A-Teacher-Who-Understands-Me/12526906/
Chapter 555: Gilderoy Lockhart's Story (Part II)
Chapter 555: Gilderoy Lockhart's Story (Part II)
"He's finally gone."
Lockhart heaved a sigh of relief as Albert's departing figure disappeared from view. This so-called genius wizard, who was rumored to potentially surpass even Albus Dumbledore, truly lived up to his reputation.
Ever since Lockhart started teaching at Hogwarts, he had an instinctive urge to stay away from this brilliant wizard. Unfortunately, his wish had not been granted.
Albert always asked the most pertinent questions. If Lockhart hadn't prepared so thoroughly when writing his books, he might have already exposed himself.
Who would believe him if he couldn't clearly explain his own adventures, the spells he had cast, and the dangers he had faced?
Unfortunately, Lockhart was all too aware that he was a fraud, which was why he disliked dealing with geniuses like Albert Anderson. Who knew what tricky question that young man would come up with next to corner him?
Moreover, it was not just a possibility—Lockhart was certain that Mr. Anderson suspected him.
Although he had no evidence, Lockhart had a strong intuition that Anderson knew something and had started to doubt his stories.
Lockhart couldn't help but question if accepting Dumbledore's invitation to teach at Hogwarts had been the right choice. While his books were selling well and he had gained a wave of attention and fame, Lockhart felt that his actions were somewhat inappropriate, or rather... well, he was starting to regret his decision.
He wanted to resign now! Lockhart had been aware of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's bad luck from the start. After all, anyone who had spent seven years at Hogwarts and wasn't a dunce would know about it.
Although Dumbledore assured him that resigning early would prevent the curse from affecting him, Lockhart had still encountered some unpleasant incidents shortly after arriving at the school.
Initially, he had come to Hogwarts intending to leverage Harry Potter's fame as the vanquisher of Voldemort to boost his own reputation.
Lockhart wanted Harry Potter to become his prized student; this was his primary motive for taking up the teaching post.
When he had met Harry at Flourish and Blotts bookstore, Lockhart had even given the boy a complete set of his books, hoping to gain some favor with the young celebrity.
The entire collection was worth a small fortune in galleons, yet the savior of the wizarding world still didn't seem to warm up to him.
Later, when Potter and his friends arrived at school in a flying Ford Anglia, Lockhart saw it as nothing more than a publicity stunt. So, he helped Harry avoid detention, asking him to respond to his fan mail instead, and took the opportunity to impart some wisdom on dealing with fame and fortune.
However, things didn't go as planned. Even Lockhart could sense that Harry Potter was deliberately avoiding him, which was not in line with his original intentions.
Thus, Lockhart changed his strategy again. He obtained a lot of Quidditch tactics and planned to give Harry private lessons on how to play the game.
Unfortunately, Harry Potter rejected his offer once more.
On the other hand, unlike Harry Potter, another brilliant student at Hogwarts had a good relationship with Lockhart, or rather, the student proactively sought his company. But Lockhart had no intention of using this student, Albert, to enhance his own fame.
He felt that if he got too close to Albert, the boy might discover his secret.
Albert gave Lockhart a very uncomfortable feeling, especially his eyes. Sometimes, those eyes made Lockhart feel as if his deceptions were seen right through, just like earlier when they were discussing the Human-Revelio spell from 'Wanderings with Werewolves'. Lockhart could sense that Albert's eyes held no admiration for him; instead, they sparkled with curiosity and anticipation for the spell.
That genius was intrigued by the Human-Revelio spell! If it were anyone else, teaching them the spell would have been an opportunity to build a closer relationship. Unfortunately, Lockhart didn't know how to cast it himself.
When Albert asked about it, Lockhart almost couldn't answer, and he had to dismiss the boy by claiming he needed time to organize his teaching materials. However, the genius seemed to see right through his excuses and said he would visit again another day.
Compared to a naive boy like Harry Potter, Albert Anderson was truly terrifying. Lockhart himself wondered why this young man seemed so bent on making things difficult for him.
As expected, Harry Potter was much easier to get along with! Although he really didn't want to deal with Albert, the meaningful smile the boy gave him as he left made Lockhart feel uneasy. He had no choice but to return to his old residence to search for something useful.
'Wanderings with Werewolves' had left a deep impression on Lockhart.
There was no helping it; that old Armenian wizard was not only ancient and ugly, but he also had terrible fashion sense and insisted on putting his photo on the book cover, which Lockhart found utterly tasteless.
Back then, Lockhart had spent a lot of time investigating the incident and even visited the village plagued by werewolves. He had cast the Forgetfulness Charm on the villagers, ensuring that both they and the old wizard forgot all about the incident.
Naturally, Lockhart was familiar with the Human-Revelio spell, as it was the most crucial spell in 'Wanderings with Werewolves'. He had gone to great lengths to extract the details of the spell from the old wizard.
The Human-Revelio spell was the old wizard's own invention, but he didn't seem to realize the significance of his creation. Lockhart had once considered using this spell to make a name for himself, as a spell that could temporarily restore a werewolf to human form was incredibly valuable.
So, when Lockhart left, he not only erased the old wizard's memories but also stole the notes and research on the Human-Revelio spell.
He knew the fame he could gain if he could master and publicize the spell. Unfortunately, it was incredibly complex and difficult to cast, and Lockhart ultimately failed to learn it.
Lockhart hesitated about whether to hand over the notebook to Albert or collaborate with him to enhance his own reputation.
What if he made Albert his prized student? Lockhart quickly squashed that idea; it wasn't a wise choice.
"Forget it, it's better if I stay away from him," Lockhart muttered as he opened his cabinet and began rummaging through its contents in search of the hidden notebook.
Half an hour later, he finally found the leather-bound notebook tucked away in a box, with some scattered parchment pages tucked inside. After carefully flipping through the pages to ensure there was nothing else that shouldn't be shown to Albert, Lockhart took the notebook and returned to Hogwarts Castle.
(End of Chapter)
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