Harry Potter: Glory Bows to Me

"Lockhart!"

Andy's eyes instantly lit up brighter than light bulbs.

"Merlin's hair, this is first-hand information, I must get it this time--"

He stood up and said to them righteously: "I'm sorry, I need to leave you temporarily for a while. There, there is a mysterious power calling me... Oh, Seth, I think you will not be angry with me--"

Cedric rubbed his temples that were swollen from the noise around him, and said helplessly: "Go quickly, we'll wait for you here."

Andy felt relieved and stretched his head to squeeze into the crowd.

Five mugs of steaming, frothy butterbeer were quickly served.

"What a nice smell!" Harry exclaimed.

Amanta picked up her cup and took a sip. The rich aroma of butter was completely dissolved in the beer. After taking a sip, a warm current surged down, melting her limbs.

"really not bad."

Draco looked at them doubtfully: "Really? This stuff is really delicious?"

"It's really delicious. Don't you want to try it? We don't have this in Hogwarts."

Cedric raised his glass and blew the froth off the butterbeer.

Draco looked at their expressions and saw that there was indeed nothing unusual, so he raised the cup, sniffed it carefully, and took another sip.

"...It's not bad indeed."

"I didn't expect Lockhart to arrive so quickly."

Amanta sighed as she looked at the packed Three Broomsticks.

"Still so ostentatious--" Draco frowned.

Cedric looked at them in confusion. "I'm sorry, it seems... you don't like Lockhart very much? But I think he is young and promising..."

His words were cut short by Harry's accusatory gaze.

"Cedric! How can you like someone like that?"

Harry curled his lips, seeming to be extremely angry at his aesthetic level.

Cedric waved his hand: "Harry, how can you say that? Even if you are dissatisfied with him, he is our future Defense Against the Dark Arts professor after all..."

Amanta sighed.

"Cedric, if you think he's good-looking, I have nothing to say, but... well, to tell you the truth, all the experiences he's so proud of are made up."

Cedric's eyes widened. "Compiled? Really? How did you know?"

"Dumbledore told us," said Harry mysteriously.

Cedric seemed to want to ask something else, but the current situation no longer gave him the opportunity to do so.

They were still sipping their butterbeer when Lockhart, the center of the crowd, suddenly pushed through the crowd and walked towards them.

His actions caused a group of little witches to scream.

The people who had surrounded him just now cast envious and jealous glances at Amanta and the others.

Lockhart was wearing a flowing green robe and a green hat with a gold rim on his shining golden hair. He held his head high and walked over in what he thought was a very elegant manner.

"Harry Potter, is that you? As soon as I heard this enthusiastic student mention you just now, I wanted to come over and talk to you."

Andy was beside Lockhart, winking at them.

Lockhart grinned, revealing a set of white teeth that were even brighter than in the photo. He moved a chair uninvited, pushed Cedric and Draco aside, and sat next to Harry.

Draco frowned and distanced himself from him.

Harry looked uncomfortably between them, then at Lockhart in confusion.

"Professor Lockhart? What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Of course, but before that... Harry, look at the camera, here, and just smile." Lockhart instructed.

He put his arm around Harry and pulled him in front of him, giving him an intimate smile.

Only then did Amanta realize that there was a short man holding a huge black camera squeezing out of the crowd. He was excitedly holding up the camera and pressing the shutter button frantically.

"Harry, did you come here specially to see me?"

Lockhart asked, smiling, in the gap between switching positions.

"Ah... No, no, Professor."

Harry stammered.

Lockhart smiled brightly.

"Don't want to admit that you're a shy teenage boy? I get it. I understand. I know you're just like them, queuing for hours just to get a photo signed by me."

Lockhart pulled a photograph from his bosom. He quickly signed it with a fancy quill pen, then lifted the photo and kissed it on the back.

This action caused the crowd to scream again.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I decided to give the last autographed photo of the day to Harry Potter. He was so young, yet he dared to break the school rules and come here just to witness my elegance with his own eyes. Isn't this worthy of a reward?"

Lockhart waved the autographed photo in his hand to everyone with a cheerful look on his face, then handed it to Harry.

Harry took it stupidly, and Amanta felt like his brain was about to be burned out.

"Harry, don't worry. I will be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts starting next week. You will be able to see me every day. Are you excited?"

Lockhart whispered soothing words to him, then he stood up, holding Harry's hand aloft.

"Take two more pictures!" he ordered the short man holding the camera.

The short man jumped around trying to find the angle, and he frantically pressed the flash. A cloud of purple smoke blew out of his camera, making the air in the crowded Three Broomsticks even more turbid.

Amanta was almost suffocating.

"Harry, get excited, you're going to be on the front page of tomorrow's Daily Prophet with me!"

Lockhart didn't care about Harry's daze at all, and proudly pulled him into various poses.

After Lockhart blew a kiss, the crowd's screams became even more terrifying. They rushed over and pressed Amanta against the edge of the table.

Cedric pushed aside the arms of the two people in front of him, and shouted to Amanta through the gap with difficulty: "You go out first, I'll stay here and watch Harry——"

Amanta pulled Draco away from the table with difficulty and squeezed out of the store step by step.

She felt like her lungs were about to explode from all those Lockhart fanatics.

After an unknown amount of time, they finally left this terrible place.

Amanta gasped for breath and leaned exhaustedly against the sign next to the door.

She rubbed her instep, and said with lingering fear, "Thanks to Harry and Lockhart, we almost died there."

Draco was also wiping his leather shoes with a gloomy look on his face.

“Are these people crazy?” he complained.