Chapter 9: Anyway, Defence Against the Dark Arts Has Always Been This Bad
"Fairy tales?"
Dumbledore fell into thought. His life experiences were so vast that he could easily find countless instances that aligned with Lockhart's fairy tale theory.
"Yes, magic is the ultimate romance of fairy tales," Lockhart repeated the sentence. "Wizards like me who grew up in the Muggle world have a particularly strong feeling about this when entering the school. Professor Dumbledore, you probably find it hard to understand that wonderful experience of stepping into a fairy tale world."
"That kind of experience makes it extremely easy for me to become obsessed with magic, even with too many fanciful imaginations, and it is precisely this that has brought more varied possibilities to my spellcasting."
"You can seek confirmation from wizards who have transitioned from the Muggle world to the wizarding world."
"Of course, I think I'm the one who understands this theory best."
This statement might not have been humble. From the time Lockhart entered Hogwarts as a child until he stepped into wizarding society, although there were various difficulties to overcome, most of it was smooth sailing, easily acquiring social standing that even wizards from well-established pure-blood families couldn't obtain.
Take his senior, Snape, for example. He also spent his childhood in the Muggle world, but for him, entering the wizarding world probably didn't feel like romance.
Goldie, the little monkey, curiously clung to the edge of the wizard robe pocket, revealing half of its golden, furry head as it curiously looked at Dumbledore opposite. This was the second wizard it had encountered in its life who wasn't afraid of its abilities.
It then looked at the shelf on the desk, where a large, fiery red bird was watching it intently, scaring it to shrink back into the pocket.
Lockhart picked a grape from the table, reached into his pocket, handed it to Goldie, patted its head, signaling it to be quiet, and then looked at Dumbledore with anticipation.
"What do you intend to do?" Dumbledore placed his intertwined fingers on the table, his gaze full of scrutiny.
"I know I shouldn't rashly change Hogwarts' teaching style and rhythm, so I plan to weave fairy tale-style exercises into the curriculum," Lockhart's idea was extremely cautious, and he looked at Old Dumbledore carefully.
"But there are too few students in each class from only one house to complete such exercises. I urgently hope to involve every young wizard. At the very least, all four houses in one year level should take such classes together."
"Trust me, I think I have a certain understanding of why the school has houses, but I want to say that the fairy tale-style exercise part is precisely where students from different-styled houses should participate together."
"The Dark Lord or the ambitious one can be Slytherin, the wise scholar can be Ravenclaw, the brave one can be Gryffindor, and the pragmatic and those who quietly dedicate themselves can be Hufflepuff."
"Of course, sometimes trying to have them play roles of other styles, or even swap roles, might make it easier to broaden their horizons."
"What do you think?"
Genius!
Teaching all four houses together would directly reduce the number of classes to a quarter, and the preparation work would also be reduced to a quarter!
Dumbledore didn't answer immediately, but fell into thought. After considering it, he looked at the portraits of the headmasters on the wall, "Perhaps someone can go and fetch Professor McGonagall for me?"
There was hope!
Lockhart's eyes lit up, and he waited with Dumbledore for Professor McGonagall's arrival with anticipation.
Professor McGonagall arrived faster than expected. The beginning of the school year was a busy time, and she wasn't resting at this hour but was lecturing the prefects. Her office wasn't too far from Headmaster Dumbledore's.
Lockhart's suggestion was not just a change in teaching methods for her; it involved a change in the entire school's teaching schedule for both teachers and students. Heaven knew how much time she would have to spend to properly sort this out.
But Professor McGonagall, who seemed rigid and adhered to rules, was far more flexible than Lockhart imagined. She only pondered for a moment before agreeing with the idea.
"I'm not sure if Professor Lockhart's views are correct, but I must say, Professor Dumbledore, the past educational outcomes of our Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum at Hogwarts have not satisfied me. I look forward to the possibilities that the knowledgeable Lockhart can bring."
The meaning was clear: Defence Against the Dark Arts had always been this bad, so why not let Lockhart try?
This...
Lockhart looked at Professor McGonagall, who was looking at him with expectation, and suddenly felt a little moved.
The feeling of being trusted was truly good.
Perhaps this was Professor McGonagall's personal charm, willing to give those she recognized more opportunities to showcase their abilities.
Just like making an exception to allow the first-year Harry Potter to participate in the Quidditch matches that were so important for house points, perhaps Harry's feelings at the time were similar to his own.
Moved, and accompanied by pressure.
Fortunately, the ability enhancement brought by the fairy tale atmosphere was not something Lockhart was making up. This was the reason why the original Lockhart's strength improved so quickly.
Lockhart didn't mind making this secret public.
The original Lockhart thought so too.
However, the original Lockhart hoped to maximize the value of this secret, which was why he didn't write it down in books.
He planned to participate in 'Harry's Heroic Fairy Tale' to gain the greatest value, and finally use real-world examples to write a book, ultimately achieving the greatest possible gain.
Improvement of his own strength, the title of a teaching master, the profits from publishing books, the improvement of his relationship with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the gratitude and future connections of so many benefiting students, and so on.
Looking back at the original story in his memory, Lockhart did indeed do this. In his classes, he often had students come to the stage to play the roles in his book's battle stories.
The problem was that he lost the students' trust early on, and also clumsily failed to create a good enough immersive atmosphere for the students to get into the adventure fairy tale roles. The effect was terrible.
So much so that in the original story, Harry and Ron frantically complained about such stupid actions, and even the little fangirl Hermione couldn't refute them.
Now, could he do this well?
Lockhart looked at the expectant Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, a standard perfect smile on his face. He stood up and said solemnly, "Just you wait and see. No one understands magic better than I do!"
He would fulfill the original Lockhart's regrets, he would sort out the original Lockhart's unfinished business, and he would do it in the best way possible!
After that, he would completely devour, absorb, and digest those memories of the original Lockhart.
By then, at the very least, he would possess the original Lockhart's strength.
Top-tier Memory Charms, and the barely usable Apparition, Cleaning Charms, Unlocking Charms, simple healing spells, and all the other skills the original Lockhart had honed through numerous adventures.
...
The next day.
The first class of the school year was an extremely special experience for every young wizard, because Professor Lockhart, witnessed by Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, would experimentally hold a large class for all the young wizards.
Seven year levels in one class.
Anyway, just like that, a lively class was indeed arranged by Professor McGonagall. Almost all the professors were affected by the class schedule adjustments, so they simply came to audit, wanting to see what kind of tricks Lockhart could pull.
"He's such a show-off!" In the corner, Ron couldn't help but complain, following everyone into the Great Hall, as the school had no other place that could accommodate so many students for a class at the same time.
"Ron!" Hermione was unhappy. "I don't think you should evaluate a professor who wants to teach you more valuable knowledge like that!"
"Oh, really?" Ron chuckled. "When we were badmouthing Snape before, I didn't see you get angry."
Hermione was about to explode with anger, turned her face away, indicating that she didn't want to talk to him anymore.
Soon, the Great Hall quieted down under the organization of the prefects from each year level.
Our show-off, Professor Lockhart, wearing a magnificent pure gold wizard's robe, walked onto the stage with light steps. He had just inquired about the previous teaching progress from the upper-year students, and to give everyone a small test, he had a few students cast the 'Sonorus' charm on him.
Plan successful!
"Students..."
His voice spread to every corner of the Great Hall. Because his voice was too loud, he quickly lowered his tone a little, speaking more steadily, and talked eloquently about a few interesting stories about Defence Against the Dark Arts to warm up the atmosphere.
Only then did he smile and look at all the students, as well as Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape, who had come to audit in the corner...
Okay, almost the entire school had come.
He wasn't nervous at all, and his expression was even more excited.
Because he knew that making everyone have the stereotype of him being 'a master of magic' would start from today's class.
This was called a flying start.
"So, let's get to our main topic for today."
"What I want to discuss with you today is—the true meaning of magic!"
Look, nothing could raise the level of impressiveness more than such a topic.
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