The Ancient Wizards of Hogwarts

Hogwarts, eighth floor, Room of Requirement.

As soon as Hermione entered the Room of Requirement, she couldn't restrain her inner complaints and said angrily:

"How could there be such a person?"

Ash raised his eyebrows and asked deliberately:

"who?"

Although he already guessed who it was.

"Who else could it be?"

Hermione shouted in an exaggerated and weird accent, "Gilderoy Lockhart!"

Cassandra said angrily:

"He doesn't think he's handsome like this, does he?"

Judging from Hermione's attitude, it was obvious that Gilderoy was not just like that when teaching them, but also introduced himself in a 'unique' way in every class he taught.

Hermione rolled her eyes, with a hint of angry dissatisfaction in her tone:

"The truth is, there are a few girls in Gryffindor who actually find him attractive like this!"

"But he quickly messed things up with his actions. First, he asked us to take a full thirty-minute quiz. It turned out that every question was related to his book! I swear, I have never seen such narcissism. people!"

"Moreover, he secretly released a cage of foxes in the classroom. As a result, he was unable to deal with it himself and fled under the siege of the foxes! Many students were bitten by the foxes and were injured by Professor McGonagall. Sent to the school hospital, I won’t be able to continue attending classes for a week! If I hadn’t had the cloak Ash gave me, even I wouldn’t have been able to escape!”

When Harry heard this, while worrying about Hermione, he couldn't help but frown:

"This is not the first time!"

The last time Lockhart released the Cornish Smurf directly in the classroom, but that time Lockhart had no way to deal with the Smurf. His spell had no effect at all, and even the wand was snatched away by the Niffler.

Of course, Lockhart probably thought that he failed last time because he lost his wand, and he probably wanted to prove himself by releasing the fox this time.

Hermione picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip, and said angrily, "I really don't understand why Dumbledore hired Lockhart to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? He doesn't know anything at all!"

Ash, who was standing at the guardrail on the second floor, suddenly said:

"It's not Dumbledore's fault, because Lockhart was indeed the only choice at the time."

Harley asked doubtfully:

"But, aren't there tens of thousands of wizards in the wizarding world? Why is this happening?"

Under the girl's puzzled gaze, Ash whispered:

"Although Hogwarts professors are mostly well-respected in the wizarding world, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is an exception because it is a cursed course."

"Who placed the curse?"

Harry asked subconsciously, but he quickly guessed the answer and said with some hesitation, "Voldemort?"

Apart from Voldemort, she really couldn't think of anyone else who would do this.

"right."

Ash leaned on the railing and nodded gently, "It is said that Voldemort once applied for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but Dumbledore did not agree to his application. This made Voldemort angry and cursed those wizards who held this position."

"In the past few decades, Hogwarts has had at least thirty Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, and no teacher has been able to serve for more than one year. This has led to almost all wizards avoiding this position, even Deng Xiaoping. Blido can only try his best to find wizards to fill the gap."

"Last year, Professor Quirrell, who taught Muggle Studies, was a temporary substitute, but Professor Quirrell's teaching level...well, let's not mention it. Of course, this may also be because he was possessed by Voldemort, so he was not there from the beginning. I plan to teach you well.”

"But no matter what, Professor Quirrell's death has intensified people's fear of this position, and no wizards will take the initiative to apply for it. Therefore, Dumbledore can only fall back and find wizards who are eager for fame and benefits, such as Lockhart."

Cassandra criticized mercilessly:

"But Lockhart is even worse than Quirrell!"

Ash spread his hands:

"This is where the problem lies."

"No one knew Lockhart was at this level until he actually came on board."

Although Lockhart himself is a loser, his books are all based on real events, and no one can fault them at all. At least in the eyes of most wizards, Lockhart is indeed a powerful wizard, otherwise he would not be able to obtain the 'Merlin Order of Merlin Third Class' and become an honorary member of the Defense League against Dark Arts.

Whether it is the Sir Merlin Order or the Dark Arts Defense Alliance, they are extremely valuable in the wizarding world. For example, Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic, and Dumbledore, the principal of Hogwarts, are both recipients of the Order of Merlin, First Class.

Under this premise, although many wizards hate Lockhart and think he likes to show off too much, almost no one will doubt his strength, because the third-level medal of the Order of Merlin is the best proof!

Among those who believe Lockhart has great strength is Dumbledore.

Yes, Dumbledore was also a victim of the 'Law's Hoax'.

Although Dumbledore knew that Lockhart's experiences were made up, he also knew that Lockhart's stories were stolen from other wizards, because two wizards Dumbledore knew were victims of Lockhart's plagiarism. .

However, even if Dumbledore knew that Lockhart's experience was false, he would still have some unrealistic illusions about Lockhart.

In Dumbledore's view, although Lockhart's experience was plagiarized, it did have a realistic prototype. And Lockhart's ability to 'defeat' the original owners of these experiences and steal them from them is enough to prove his strength.

Dumbledore doesn't expect Lockhart to achieve anything, he just needs to do his job step by step.

Considering that Lockhart's career of stealing other people's honors is booming, Dumbledore subtly hinted that becoming Harry Potter's teacher would make Lockhart famous, and Lockhart, who has always been seeking fame and reputation, simply could not refuse. Hit it off immediately!

However, Dumbledore never expected that Lockhart, who he had high hopes for, could be so useless that he couldn't even cast a spell. What's more, I didn't expect that Lockhart is not only useless, but also has no self-awareness, even worse than Quirrell!

You know, Quirrell was afraid that Voldemort's affairs would be exposed, but he pretended to be stupid and stayed there for a whole year!

During this whole year, he almost never took action with outsiders. One of the reasons was probably that he was afraid that the battle would be too fierce and the scarf on his head would fall off. Therefore, when he taught Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, he always followed the instructions and almost never practiced.

So in theory, even if Lockhart is a waste, as long as he learns from Quirrell's methods, follows the instructions during class, and tries to avoid doing anything after class, then Lockhart can completely retire! While going through this school year successfully, you can also write a book called "My Years at Hogwarts". Why not?

However, the 'story' Lockhart wrote not only deceived others, but also deceived himself. He actually thought that he had the strength in the story, and wanted to take the opportunity to 'show off' in front of the students, but he suddenly ended up 'missing out'.

It had only been less than a month since school started, and Lockhart had already become a complete laughingstock. Not only did the professors hate him, but the students also disliked him.

Lockhart's performance also made Dumbledore's situation very embarrassing. After all, it was he who invited Lockhart to teach at Hogwarts. But Dumbledore can't admit his mistake now and say he made a mistake, right? Especially when he knew Lockhart was a liar.

If word got out, even Dumbledore's own reputation would be affected. Although it will not be discredited, it will certainly be questioned by all parties.

So when Professor McGonagall in the original book asked Dumbledore why he asked Lockhart to teach, and what could the students learn from such a vain, fame-hungry person, Dumbledore could only answer stiffly, 'Even if Even from a bad teacher, you can learn a lot: what kind of things you can't do, what kind of person you can't become.'

I have to say that Dumbledore understands high emotional intelligence.

Harry took a bite of the pumpkin pie, frowned and asked:

"But don't we all know that now? Why keep Lockhart around? Can't we fire him?"

"In fact, I'm already doing that."

Ash waved his hand to signal the big bird that wanted to squeeze out of the 'door crack' of the breeding house to back away, and said softly, "I have contacted the other directors of Hogwarts. As long as it gets more than two-thirds of the votes, the board of directors can Ask Dumbledore to fire Lockhart."

Frustrated, Shidejia took back the bird's beak that had stuck out of the door, but a black creature came out of it again. Ash took out a Gold Galleons from his pocket and successfully attracted Sniff.

"Then how many votes are we short of?" Hermione looked impatient.

"That's not the point, Hermione."

Ash threw Sniff back to the breeding facility, and shook his head at the girl's innocent inquiry, "With the connections accumulated by the Black family, it is not difficult to persuade a professor to quit. But the problem is, we can't just fire Loha If you just leave it alone, you still need to find a wizard willing to take over as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, which is much harder than firing Lockhart."

"As I said before, there is almost no one in the wizarding world willing to take this position."

In fact, there is. Snape has always wanted to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Dumbledore would not agree, so he needed to find someone else.

And even if they were looking for someone, Ash and Lucius couldn't just deal with it casually. After all, Lockhart was fired by them and the new professor was hired by them. To prevent their reputations from being damaged, new professors must have real skills and knowledge that make them worthy of the position.

But there are not many people in the wizarding world who are qualified for this position, and even fewer are willing. Lucius knew a lot of people, but most of the people he knew were former Death Eaters, and he had no idea what they would do when they came to Hogwarts.

So the best case scenario is that Dumbledore comes up with someone, but Dumbledore cannot take the initiative to fire Lockhart. As the principal, he cannot directly admit his mistakes, even if he was indeed wrong.

Hermione lowered her head in disappointment and whispered:

"Then how long do we have to wait?"

Ash thought for a moment and gave the girl an accurate answer:

"Before Christmas at the latest."

Why Christmas? Because Christmas will be the second semester, and it will not be that simple to fire Lockhart by then, because the matter will be blown up, and someone will definitely jump out and say: 'Since you said Lockhart is a waste? Then why can you still let him teach at Hogwarts for one semester? ’, or ‘Lockhart has taught for a whole semester, which means that he is not useless, so it is better to let him continue to teach for the rest of the semester’…

No matter what, someone will always find an excuse.

These people may not like Lockhart very much. Their main purpose is to find fault, make things bigger and embarrass everyone. Don't ask them what's the benefit of doing this. It's the biggest benefit to them if others don't benefit.

Although it sounds outrageous, there is such a group of people in the wizarding world.

Of course, it doesn't matter.

Because things will not develop to that point, and even the board of directors' force will not happen, Lucius is just a pawn.

What he did was just to put pressure on Dumbledore.

Ash looked up at the clock on the wall and calculated that the time should be almost there, right? Whether it is Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape, their patience with Lockhart has reached its limit.

——

Eighth floor, principal's office.

When Ash arrived, there were already two visitors in the office confronting Dumbledore.

Snape, with his hair disheveled, said in a low voice:

"No matter what, I cannot accept Lockhart continuing to serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"

Professor McGonagall's voice sounded like she was suppressing anger as she scolded:

"Professor Snape and I have the same idea!"

"Albus, do you know what Lockhart did? He released the elves without restraint in the first class, putting the students at risk. And this time it went even worse. He actually released the elf in the classroom. Release hundreds of untamed vixens!"

"Doesn't he know the poison of Hu Meizi at all? Even if an adult wizard is bitten, he must take the antidote quickly, otherwise his life may be in danger! At least fifteen students have been bitten now, and I'm afraid if there are more Even the school hospital couldn’t treat him in time!”

Snape added coldly:

"Those foxes have already run out of the classroom, and many of them are in the egg-laying period. They don't know where they have laid their eggs. If we can't handle it in time, I'm afraid there will be eggs everywhere in Hogwarts in a few months. It’s these damn pests!”

"Calm down, Minerva, Severus."

Dumbledore had no choice but to press his palms and comfort the two of them with a gentle tone, "I can understand your mood, but I also hope you can understand that it is not that easy to fire a teacher."

"And if Lockhart is fired, who will take his place and teach the students Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Snape said coldly:

"I can teach instead."

"Severus."

Dumbledore sighed, "That means I have to find a new Potions Professor. No, I would rather find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor..."

"Bang bang bang!"

At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside the office, and Dumbledore's voice was still gentle:

"Please come in."

Ash opened the door and was a little surprised when he saw the scene in the office:

"Principal, did I come at the wrong time?"

"No, no, no! You're here at the right time, please come in."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, waved to Ash, and said with a smile, "Severus and Minerva hope to fire Professor Lockhart. They think that his ability...well, is not qualified for Hogg." Waugh's request for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. But I really can't rashly dismiss a teacher I recruited myself, especially if I can't find a successor."

Dumbledore briefly explained the current situation, paused briefly, and then suddenly changed the subject:

"Ash, what do you think about this?"

Ash barely hesitated and said immediately:

"My opinion is the same as that of the two professors. Lockhart is not worthy of being a teacher at Hogwarts!"

"I completely agree with Mr. Black's opinion," Snape said coldly.

Professor McGonagall frowned slightly and said slowly:

"me too."

Although it is a bit harsh, it is basically correct.

Facing the three people who agreed, Dumbledore was a little dumbfounded and his tone was helpless:

"Okay, I admit that Lockhart is a bit...well, unsatisfactory. But we really can't find a better candidate now, and we don't have a suitable reason to fire him. Of course, of course! His teaching level is indeed It’s not great, but it can’t be a reason to fire him, at least it can’t be the only reason.”

Since everyone present was his own, Dumbledore didn't hide it and directly expressed his concerns.

"I have a suggestion."

Facing the silence of several people, Ash proactively suggested, "As the best magic school in the world, Hogwarts should have the best teachers in the world, especially the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. So, we The competition for this position from outstanding wizards cannot be denied, and a qualified Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher should be brave enough to accept the challenge of any wizard."

"The loser can stay and become an associate professor, but only the winner can become a professor at Hogwarts."

"If you want to describe it in Muggle terms, this should be called competitive recruitment."

"Sounds good, what do you think?"

Dumbledore's eyes lit up, but he still wanted to seek the opinions of the other two professors.

"I have no problem with that," Snape said calmly.

As long as he could drive Lockhart away, it didn't matter what method he used.

If Dumbledore couldn't make up his mind, he could help Dumbledore make up his mind.

For example, let Lockhart slip and fall into the Black Lake and be drowned, or be killed by the fish-men living in the Black Lake.

He had at least nine ways to kill Lockhart, nine!

Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and nodded gently, but she was also worried:

"It's a way, but the question is, will other professors be affected by this?"

Ash thought for a moment and replied:

"We can set strict requirements. For example, competitive recruitment will only be held once a year, and Hogwarts pays more attention to the teaching level of teachers than ability, as well as the popularity of teachers themselves. Finally, we can add one more. In the end The right of interpretation belongs to Hogwarts."

After a pause, Ash added, "Besides, I don't think there is a better teacher in the world than at Hogwarts - except for Lockhart."

Dumbledore couldn't help but laugh. He could see that Ash resented Lockhart deeply.

But this is not surprising, normal people would not like Lockhart, whether they are students or teachers.

As for whether the 'competition for positions' would affect the employment of other professors, Dumbledore was not worried. He believed in their abilities.

As for Dumbledore's vision, Ash actually recognized it.

Most of the teachers at Hogwarts were personally selected by Dumbledore, and their abilities are among the best in the entire wizarding world.

In the field of Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall is one of only seven Animagus registered with the Ministry of Magic.

In the field of potions, there are very few people in the wizarding world who can surpass Professor Snape.

Although the other professors are not impressive in appearance, they are also top wizards in their professional fields.

For example, Professor Flitwick, although he is not tall, his control over magic spells is extremely superb. He was a dueling champion when he was young.

Another example is Professor Sprout. Although she looks short and fat, she is unrivaled in the field of herbal medicine.

For example, Professor Sprout has a greenhouse full of poisonous tentacles. There are at least thirty poisonous tentacles in it. Each poisonous tentacle has at least fifty leaves, and each poisonous tentacle leaf can be sold on the black market. The high price of 10 galleons is equivalent to the value of a unicorn's tail hair.

In other words, the poisonous tentacles of this greenhouse alone are worth at least tens of thousands of gold galleons!

And if there is anyone who is the most useless professor at Hogwarts besides Lockhart, it is the Divination professor Sybill Trelawney. Whether as a diviner or a liar, her professional level is infinitely close to zero.

But precisely because of this, her career is the least likely to be challenged.

On the one hand, most knowledgeable wizards are skeptical about the accuracy of divination. Professor McGonagall also believes that this is the least rigorous branch of magic. The astronomy professor Sinister had to emphasize this before class. , Astronomy is not some nonsense like divination. Even before Dumbledore hired Trelawney as the Divination professor at Hogwarts, he had no intention of continuing the Divination class.

On the other hand, although Professor Trelawney is a liar most of the time, she is after all the great-great-granddaughter of the famous prophet Cassandra Trelawney, and occasionally she can make some accurate statements when she is delirious. The prophecies, such as the famous prophecy, 'Children born in July will become Voldemort's old enemy' were predicted by her unconsciously, and their accuracy has been verified.

With both worldly 'prejudice' and Dumbledore's 'favor', Trelawney's status will not be challenged even if she is no longer useful.

The only one who will be fired for this is Lockhart.

Ash hesitated for a moment, then slowly said:

"Albus, you have to do this as soon as possible, preferably within a month to select a suitable candidate."

"Why?" Dumbledore was a little surprised.

Ash did not hide anything and said frankly:

"Cassandra mentioned what happened in Lockhart's class in her letter to Mr. Malfoy. I also talked to Mr. Malfoy, and we agreed that Lockhart could not be allowed to continue to behave recklessly, so we planned to contact The other directors have forced Lockhart's dismissal, and this has been supported by the majority of the directors, and now there is only one wizard who can take Lockhart's place."

"If you don't want the board to get involved, it's best to find a qualified Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as soon as possible."

"oh?"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful, and Ash's attitude was very obvious. He could not tolerate Lockhart continuing to teach at Hogwarts, but he was still on his side after all, so he came to inform him in advance. He hoped that he could stop the board of directors' intervention by expelling Lockhart early and avoid the board of directors from weakening his authority as the principal.

This made Dumbledore somewhat relieved, because Ash was still on his side.

Dumbledore frowned:

"Actually, I already have a suitable candidate in mind, but his current condition may not be suitable for teaching. Severus, you also know this person."

Dumbledore looked at Snape, who changed color slightly, as if he had thought of something.

Dumbledore said slowly:

"Remus Lupin."

"No!" Snape said with a gloomy expression and a low voice, "Anyone can do it, but he can't!"

Dumbledore did not rush to speak for Lupine, but instead followed Snape's wishes and explained:

"I can understand your concerns. He is indeed not suitable to teach now."

Professor McGonagall also frowned, obviously worried.

Ash interrupted them at the right time and asked doubtfully:

"Albus, who is Lupin?"

Dumbledore pondered for a long time and said slowly:

"He was also a student at Hogwarts, with Harry's father James, and Sirius Black. Peter Pettigrew was a good friend when he was a student, but on... well, that night as we all know, because of Sirius's betrayal , James and Peter Pettigrew were brutally killed by black magic, Harley's mother also died to protect her, and only Lupine survived."

"He's certainly trustworthy, but there's a small problem, he's a werewolf."

"Werewolf?"

Ash's eyes twitched and his tone was a little subtle, "Are you sure this is a minor problem?"

"certainly."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded, "Although the werewolf will lose control on a full moon night, he can still stay sane as long as he takes the wolfsbane potion in advance. Fortunately, although it is very difficult to make this potion, we have an excellent Potions Master.”

Snape's face was expressionless:

"I won't make a potion for him, so give up!"

Dumbledore smiled, pretending not to hear Snape's categorical refusal.

Professor McGonagall was silent. She knew to some extent what happened that year and had some sympathy for Snape, so she did not speak at this time.

Ash asked thoughtfully:

"Wolfsbane potion? I remember this potion was only released during the summer vacation?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore nodded slightly and said softly, "It was invented by Damocles Belby. Although it is extremely difficult to make, it has been proven to help werewolves maintain their sanity during the full moon. Although the Belby family is not twenty-eight One of the saints, but also a wizard family with a long history. You should have seen their ancestor, Flavias Belby, on Chocolate Frog’s famous wizard card.”

After a brief pause, Dumbledore asked again:

"Ash, I want to know how far your experiment has progressed? Can you help Lupine completely solve his troubles?"

Snape's expression tightened, and Ash also understood Dumbledore's thoughts, but still shook his head:

"The reason why I can turn Shirako and Setsuna into humans is because they exist in 'human form'. All I did was inspire them with huge magic power. But even so, this almost consumed all the magic power."

"The reason why they won't lose control is because they only have wolf form and not werewolf form. Of course, the two do have some similarities. But if I want to completely prevent 'werewolves' from losing control, I still need more research. "

If Dumbledore realized something, he regretted:

"Then we can only rely on the Wolfsbane potion for the time being. I will write to him and ask him to come to Hogwarts."

"I said!"

Snape clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, "I won't make a potion for him!"

Dumbledore said softly:

"No, you will, for her sake."

"..." Snape's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fists tighter, but did not retort.

He knew who Dumbledore was talking about and what Lupine's arrival meant!

He and Lupine have never been friends, not before, not now, and will never be friends in the future! But one thing they have in common is that they are all Lily's friends, at least they used to be.

Even though Snape wanted to kill James, Sirius, Peter Pettigrew, and Lupin, he even wanted to cut them into pieces and torture them with the Cruciatus Curse! But no matter what, Snape also knew what Lily meant to them and what she meant to Lupin.

Snape said coldly:

"No matter what, I won't help him!"

He turned and left the office, not giving Dumbledore a chance to speak.

Professor McGonagall, who had been silent, said solemnly:

"I don't agree with that either, Albus. This has nothing to do with personal grudges, and I have no intention of getting involved in their grudges, but for the sake of the students, we can't put them in danger! What should we tell their parents? Hogwart They hired a werewolf to be their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"Merlin's beard! What will they think? A werewolf is teaching students how to defend against werewolves in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, but the fact is that this werewolf can turn their children into werewolves at any time!"

"Albus! You need to think more carefully!"

Professor McGonagall gave a serious warning and turned to leave the office.

Dumbledore was not surprised by the two people's reactions, but he was still a little disappointed.

Ash said softly:

"The attitudes of Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall fit my impressions of them."

Snape has always had a grudge to seek revenge. He was bullied all the time when he was a student. He couldn't beat four of them alone, so he secretly followed James' group and kept reporting to the teacher, trying to get him expelled. them.

However, this is not possible.

The young Snape simply didn't understand that Hogwarts would not expel students for such a 'little thing', it was just campus bullying.

Unless someone dies because of them, it is impossible for the four James to be expelled.

But in other words, if Snape had died in Lupine's mouth, or been bitten by him and turned into a werewolf, James and the other four would have definitely been expelled. But the price is Snape's life, or he has to endure the pain of becoming a werewolf like Lupine for the rest of his life.

As for Professor McGonagall, she rarely gets involved in personal grudges. The safety of her students is her first priority.

Any behavior that may endanger the lives of students will be strictly prohibited by Professor McGonagall.

So she forced Shirako and Setsuna to stay in school during the summer vacation. Although the excuse was that they failed the exam, and she did make up lessons for Shirako and Setsuna during the summer vacation, in the final analysis, she was still on guard against Shirako and Setsuna, and tried to instill in them They have some correct views, warning them to learn to be patient. If they conflict with their classmates, they can use magic spells on them, but they must not turn into wolves and bite them to death.

Professor McGonagall did this partly because Professor McGonagall was afraid that they would lose control. On the other hand, it is also because Baizi and Setsuna are both students of Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall is not only worried about the safety of other students, but also worried about them.

Professor McGonagall was worried that they would lose control and be expelled for hurting their classmates. She was also worried that she would have to kill Baizi and Setsuna when they "lost control", so she tried her best to avoid all this.

"Eh."

Dumbledore sighed softly. The objections of the two professors were expected by Ash, and of course he was not surprised.

But the problem is that Dumbledore really has no better candidate.

Critical courses such as Defense Against the Dark Arts should either be handed over to outsiders who have nothing to do with them and have no position, or they can only be handed over to the people they trust most. Both Quirrell and Lockhart belong to the former, but Quirrell's defection to Voldemort was not what Dumbledore expected.

But now that we are looking for someone to replace Lockhart, we can no longer use an unrelated outsider, but someone who is trustworthy. And such a person must be a former member of the Order of the Phoenix.

However, in the past wars with Death Eaters, most members of the Order of the Phoenix were killed by Voldemort and Death Eaters in the second half of 1981. All of this was undoubtedly caused by Sirius's betrayal. The special couple also betrayed other members of the Order of the Phoenix.

This has resulted in the once-mighty Order of the Phoenix having only a handful of members still alive. Most of these people are already working at Hogwarts, such as Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. There are only a few people left including Lupin, and the strongest among them is only Lupin.

Dumbledore had no choice unless he was willing to give up the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. So he could only inform Lupine first, and then find a way to convince McGonagall and Snape.

——

At Malfoy Manor, Lucius hummed a tune and poured himself a glass of 1782 wine.

Narcissa looked at her husband's appearance and couldn't help but feel curious:

"What are you so happy about?"

"It's Hogwarts."

The corner of Lucius's mouth raised slightly, "Dumbledore made a wrong decision and actually invited Lockhart to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I saw that he was a liar from the beginning, and now the facts are indeed what I thought." material."

Narcissa asked in surprise:

"Is he really that bad?"

Lucius took a sip of wine and felt extremely happy:

"Narcissa, you should have read the letter written by Cassandra. It is no longer bad enough to describe it. He can't even deal with a few Cornish Smurfs and a Niffler, and now he has let several students enter Even Dumbledore can't keep him if he goes to the hospital."

"What we have to do now is to help Hogwarts find a qualified wizard, let our person enter Hogwarts, and let him replace Lockhart as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"

Narcissa lowered her voice:

"But, have you forgotten? During the summer vacation..."

"It's not a conflict."

Lucius shook the wine glass and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

This may have been a disaster for the Half-Blood and Dumbledore, but for them, it was definitely a blessing.

It's a pity that he hasn't realized it yet, but he has already been betrayed by Ash.

——

In the office of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Lockhart was gritting his teeth and cursing in a low voice:

"That damn liar! Don't let me catch you!"

"How dare you deceive me! Deceive the great Gilderoy Lockhart! I will make you pay for it!"

Originally, when the last Smurf incident occurred, Lockhart had already realized that his 'strength' was indeed slightly different from what he imagined, but this was not just because he had not cast the spell for too long. He would definitely be able to do it again a few times. Can.

But despite this, he has become the laughing stock of the whole school, and it is not that simple to restore his reputation.

To do this, he needs to make a new 'attempt' to prove himself.

By chance, he met a magical animal dealer in Hogsmeade. The other party claims to be an expert in magical animals, and he can even tame vixens, pests recognized by the wizarding world!

Lockhart didn't believe it at first, but soon the magical animal dealer personally demonstrated it to him. The other party released a cage of vixens and asked them to act according to Lockhart's orders, no matter where they were. Whether it was forming his name in the air or attacking a passing wizard under his command, all orders were issued extremely smoothly.

This made Lockhart extremely pleasantly surprised. He thought that he might be able to save the situation through these foxes and make others realize that what happened last time was just a mistake. Controlling these foxes is his true level!

But who would have thought that these foxy girls would actually lose control!

Hu Meizi, who was once extremely obedient, immediately revealed her true colors as soon as she arrived in class, and even intensified her attacks on the surrounding students. And the magic spell that the other party taught Lockhart to control Hu Meizi was completely useless, and it was completely different from what was promised before!

Only then did Lockhart realize that those vixenids were probably not domesticated at all, but were temporarily obedient under the control of a certain potion. However, the side effect of this potion was that it would make people wean Hu Meizi became violent, and even the poison became greatly enhanced.

As a result, many students were hospitalized and Lockhart was completely disgraced.

This made Lockhart very angry and wanted to cut the magical beast dealer into pieces!

It's a pity that he didn't see the person's face clearly at that time. The other person was covered in black robes and had a mask on his face. He only remembered that the voice sounded like a witch. But there are not only 6,000 but also 5,000 witches in the wizarding world. Trying to find someone by voice is just a fantasy!