Chapter 2: No One Knows Magic Better Than Me
Lockhart felt that his appointment as a Hogwarts professor should be described as an escort.
Dumbledore, with one hand gripping his arm and the other brandishing his wand to perform Apparition, directly transported him from his doorstep to the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
Nothing could have been a worse experience.
The insane dizziness brought on by Apparition, mixed with the already chaotic memories in his mind, made him feel nauseous to the point of wanting to vomit.
Fortunately, he held it in, narrowly avoiding throwing up on Dumbledore.
Otherwise, he would definitely have died young.
As soon as his feet touched the solid ground, Lockhart almost collapsed weakly, gasping for breath, his heart pounding as if it wanted to leap out of his throat. The suitcase in his hand fell to the ground and sprang open, scattering clothes and belongings messily.
Disheveled.
Extremely disheveled.
"I would have thought someone with your extensive magical travel experience wouldn't appear so unwell," Dumbledore's voice seemed to come from a distant place.
!!!
A jolt went through Lockhart, and his mind suddenly cleared.
He knew very well how someone with no value would be treated.
Dumbledore was definitely not a sentimental person, at least not towards him.
Lockhart didn't respond to Dumbledore's words, simply bending down to gather his belongings.
His brain had never worked so fast.
He didn't know why Dumbledore hadn't used Legilimency on him. Perhaps it was out of disdain, or perhaps he didn't want his own thoughts to be contaminated by his disgusting mind. In any case, this was clearly a good situation.
Dumbledore had lowered his guard, so he had to protect this secret even more carefully.
Therefore, he needed to demonstrate his value and gain the other's approval.
Endure it!
Hold on!
The term for the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was only one year. After he got through it, he could return to his wealthy life.
Taking advantage of the time spent packing, Lockhart finally got into character.
No, it should be Lockhart.
Yes, he was Gilderoy Lockhart!
Lockhart was the answer to whoever asked!
He knew too well what his only advantage was—the impressive aura brought by being a "renowned international figure and author, Order of Merlin, Third Class recipient, Honorary Member of the Anti-Dark Forces League, five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award"!
At the same time, he had also figured out that this impressive aura was actually composed of "exceptional confidence," "exceptional knowledge," and a "confident smile that feared no difficulty."
Come on!
Welcome the first challenge in his life after transmigrating!
Lockhart quickly searched through the information in his mind, analyzing and listing it, and slowly stood up.
"Life always has some surprises, doesn't it?"
He arranged a few suitcases neatly against the wall, then flashed his signature dazzling smile, shrugging at Dumbledore, "You have no idea what I've been through these past few days."
Dumbledore was clearly not interested in what he had been through these past few days, simply going to sit behind his desk and instructing the moving figures in the portraits of past Headmasters on the wall to send for Deputy Headmistress McGonagall.
"Oh, I haven't slept for days..."
Lockhart tried his best to embody his predecessor's persona, familiarly gesturing towards the high-backed chair opposite the desk. Seeing that Dumbledore had no objections, he elegantly swished his wizard's robes and sat down with a plop, launching into a boastful monologue, "You know, I understand Defence Against the Dark Arts too well. I've duelled banshees, subdued ghouls, hags, trolls, vampires, werewolves, yetis..."
Dumbledore raised his eyelids and glanced at him, sighing somewhat helplessly. He placed his hands together on the desk and finally addressed the long string of boasts, "What are you trying to say?"
Lockhart grinned, "I know so much that I don't know how to choose which content to use as teaching examples. You see, my experience is simply too rich."
"I've been thinking about lesson plans these past few days, so much so that I lost track of time." He gestured dramatically with both hands, "Merlin's beard, no one understands Defence Against the Dark Arts better than me!"
Old Dumbledore's expression became strange. Although saying so might seem arrogant, he thought—you're showing off this in front of me?
The figures in the Headmaster portraits on the wall were snickering.
Professor McGonagall arrived quickly. Seeing Lockhart, her face was stern, seemingly not very satisfied with the professor Dumbledore had chosen.
Of course, Lockhart's purple wizard's robes, identical to Dumbledore's, also made her expression a little strained.
As the saying goes, clashing outfits isn't scary; what's embarrassing is who looks worse.
Okay, neither of them looked bad.
It was just that looking at Dumbledore's aged appearance and recalling his glorious past youth couldn't help but make one sigh.
Dumbledore nodded to her, gesturing for her to sit down, before turning his scrutinizing gaze to Lockhart, "Very well, since you believe yourself to be the most suitable candidate for the Defence Against the Dark Arts professorship, and have had ample time to consider it, I'd like to know what wonderful insights you can bring to the young witches and wizards."
These words were clearly what Professor McGonagall also wanted to know. She sat down, looking at him with great curiosity.
The main event was here.
But Lockhart wasn't flustered at all. He even felt that sitting in the chair hindered his speech, and stood up with great enthusiasm.
"More authentic magic!"
"Magic with deeper roots!"
"Magic closer to the real life of the wizarding world!"
Lockhart punched the air forcefully, "Yes, more practical, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall. You both know I graduated from Ravenclaw, where I experienced the most comprehensive academic teaching. But when I traveled the wizarding world, I discovered that the more traditional and useful magic of this world was not what I learned."
Dumbledore looked at Lockhart with some surprise, nodding slightly, showing a hint of anticipation.
Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, had a look of anger rising on her face. She felt that this fellow, who had been boastful even as a student, actually dared to say such a thing. Wasn't this negating Hogwarts' long-standing teaching plan?
"Let me give you a few examples!"
Professor McGonagall was about to speak, but hearing this, she pursed her lips and suppressed her inner irritation.
"Sometimes we have to face monsters maliciously summoned by some wizards..." Lockhart thought for a moment, "For example, the Serpensortia curse. According to our past teaching, we use the corresponding Vanishing Charm."
"But when we face complex or urgent situations, unless we have particularly relevant experience like myself, it's often difficult to immediately recall the corresponding spell."
"After all, we can't expect dark wizards to only use Serpensortia. Perhaps we'll be facing a large, drooling black dog, or crows that peck out eyes."
"A more complex situation is that many people can't immediately determine whether the snake and dog in front of them are fierce beasts raised by a dark wizard or magical creatures that have been summoned."
"Even more complicated is that sometimes they are neither. They are actually some dark magical creatures, such as a Boggart, which transforms based on one's deepest fears."
As he spoke, he leaned on the desk with one hand and the back of the high-backed chair with the other, looking intently at Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, "So, is there a more universal magic to solve all these problems? In the most urgent moments, can we subconsciously use this magic first to prevent further disaster?"
This was a very interesting question.
Because it involved practical application.
Dumbledore even put aside his prejudice against Lockhart and seriously considered this question, "Regarding the summoned creatures in the first half, the universal solution I would use when facing them is 'Finite Incantatem.' Of course, young wizards can use the simpler 'Stupefy.'"
He gently rubbed the strange ring on his hand, "Of course, according to past teaching, we would rather students quickly judge and distinguish whether the creature in front of them is a summoned creature, a real animal, or a dark magical creature, and then easily solve the problem with the corresponding spell. If they can't judge..."
Such a dilemma was almost non-existent in the life of a powerful figure like him who had been brilliant since childhood, and he had never really thought about such a question.
"I have too many methods, but I'm afraid none of them are easily cast by a young wizard."
He had to look at Lockhart, waiting for the answer.
Lockhart didn't rush to answer, but smiled and looked at Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall, who had been involved in the education of young wizards of all grades for many years, quickly gave the answer, "The advanced N.E.W.T. classes do have some complex magic teaching in this area, but practical teaching has revealed that not many students can master it proficiently. Of course, good use of Transfiguration can actually easily solve any problem."
But this also lacked universality; Transfiguration wasn't that simple.
"Alarte Ascendare!" Lockhart spoke of a spell he had learned from an old American wizard, "Even first-year students can easily master this spell. The worst-case scenario when cast is that it can throw the monster into the air and make it fall down."
"In the three major areas of Defence Against the Dark Arts—facing dark wizards, facing dark magical creatures, and facing duels—it can play a very good role."
Lockhart knew countless similar more colloquial spells.
For example, the universal banishing charm for dealing with pixie-like creatures such as Cornish Pixies was "Peskipiksi Pesternomi."
Lockhart constantly searched through the chaotic memories in his mind for various colloquial spells and folk magic to continuously reinforce this claim, flamboyantly showing off his extensive knowledge.
Don't mention it.
Really, don't mention it.
Even the knowledgeable Dumbledore didn't know that there were so many strange folk spells, and in many situations, they were actually quite universally applicable.
Most importantly, these spells were also very low in difficulty, making them very suitable for young wizards to use.
He listened, stunned.
He exchanged a glance with Professor McGonagall, seemingly having to re-evaluate this young man who was still boastful and constantly showing off.
—It seemed, perhaps, maybe, Lockhart wasn't as bad as they had imagined?