Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 156 155. Lesson Plan and Lockhart Wants to Help
"Very good, Harry," Professor McGonagall couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled, "I think this sentence can become the house rule of Gryffindor. At least they won't cause any trouble that they can't control."

"That might be a little difficult." Thinking of the things his classmates did under the banner of Gryffindor, Harry also laughed. "For them, fun is the most important thing."

"Yeah," Professor McGonagall sighed. She knew Gryffindor too well. "Never mind... When you are ready to learn Animagus, just come to me, Harry. I'm always here - as for now, let's deal with more urgent matters."

When it came to business, Professor McGonagall turned serious.

"According to the normal process, new professors need to submit applications for the textbooks they decide to use at the beginning of the school term, and then students will purchase them in Diagon Alley. In addition, the class timetable is also arranged before the start of the school term, so everything must be prepared in advance."

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Professor," Harry said sincerely.

"You're welcome, Harry. We all know this is not your problem." Professor McGonagall shook her head slightly and said, "And you have to be prepared. You may be under a lot of pressure next, not only from students' doubts about you, but also -"

"The Ministry of Magic's doubts," Harry said calmly. He knew what Professor McGonagall was worried about for him, "or the doubts from the wizarding community."

"It's great that you understand," Professor McGonagall sighed. She looked at Harry worriedly, "To be honest, I really don't understand why Professor Dumbledore is so anxious to let you... You are still young, aren't you? It's obviously not too late for the new course to start next year."

"Thank you for your concern, Professor." Harry smiled at Professor McGonagall, "But please rest assured that such a small doubt cannot shake me, and my will cannot be destroyed by a few gossips from others."

"I need to prove the existence of elements and the significance and necessity of shamans to the wizarding world as soon as possible. In fact, they are all waiting for me to prove it." Harry said something good for Dumbledore. "Please don't blame Headmaster Dumbledore. He is trying to help me."

“In the future, when my apprentice officially enters the wizard society, people will slowly accept this new magic and the existence of shamans… This is a long process, and I am ready for it.”

Professor McGonagall stared at Harry. His face looked a little immature because of his young age, but...

"Okay," Professor McGonagall said with a smile, but it was so fast that it was almost unnoticeable. "Then Professor Potter, since you are now a formal professor and the Shaman class is no longer a simple club activity, please submit a lesson plan to the Transfiguration Office tomorrow."

"Huh?" Harry was confused.

What is a lesson plan?
"Don't get me wrong, Professor Potter. Every professor needs to report his or her teaching plan to the school. How will you teach? What goals do you need to achieve each semester? What is the course schedule? If you need to use outdoor venues, such as taking students to the Forbidden Forest, you need to apply in advance."

At this point, Professor McGonagall noticed that Harry's eyes had become clearer, and she immediately suppressed her laughter and continued:
"In short, you just need to write down how you plan to teach and what level you expect students to reach after each semester on a piece of parchment and send it over." Professor McGonagall became more and more serious. "Yes, Hogwarts does not change professors at will, but as the oldest magic school in Europe and the only magic school in the British wizarding world, we have the responsibility to provide the best education for young wizards."

"...to prevent some incompetent professors from getting away with it and misleading students," Professor McGonagall snorted coldly.

Even though she didn't directly point out the name of the professor who had gotten away with it and misled the students, Harry knew who Professor McGonagall was talking about without even having to think about it specifically - she didn't even try to hide it. At the matriculation dinner last night, Professor McGonagall had already shown enough indifference towards Lockhart.

To be honest, this is indeed a bit rare. After all, Professor McGonagall is indeed a serious and fair person. To make such a person blatantly show resistance and indifference... Well, Lockhart is still quite capable.

"I will, Professor." Faced with the professor who seemed to have begun to accumulate anger in vain, Harry did not want to know why Lockhart had offended Professor McGonagall to this extent today when it was only the first day of school, so he agreed quite sincerely.

"Very good, Professor Potter, I have attended your class, and I believe you will be a good professor." Professor McGonagall nodded and said with satisfaction: "Remember to send the list as soon as possible. The Shaman class must be started within this week so that students will not miss too much. Do you have any requirements for the class hours?"

"During the day, morning or afternoon is fine," Harry replied briefly.

“How many classes a week?”

"It's not clear yet," Harry thought for a moment and said, "I have an idea, but it requires your and Headmaster Dumbledore's approval. Can we discuss it in detail when I send the lesson plan tomorrow?"

"Okay," Professor McGonagall nodded, "but it has to be quick. It will take time to adjust the class schedule and notify everyone."

"I will."

Professor McGonagall came in a hurry and left in a hurry. As the deputy headmaster, she had a lot of things to deal with when Dumbledore was not in charge.

And Harry... he was still thinking about how to write the lesson plan.

This was an area he had never been exposed to before. While thinking this, Harry walked out of the castle. He had to tell Hagrid the good news - now the two of them were finally neighbors.

Hagrid would be pleased.

Harry was happily thinking about what kind of house he should build next to Hagrid's hut, when he heard a noise - and a girl's scream.

Suddenly becoming serious, Harry rushed towards the source of the sound. He saw - he - to be honest, after seeing what was going on over there, Harry wished he had not come.

A group of girls.

There were students from both junior and senior grades, but all of them surrounded the man in bright robes who was actually glowing... To be honest, it was the first time Harry saw someone who drank toy potion as if it were water.

Well, but from another perspective, does this mean that Lockhart is just handing the money he earned by abusing his power into his own hands?
After all, a bottle of Shining Potion is quite expensive... Harry thought wildly.

The girls surrounded Lockhart and were talking to each other about something. They laughed from time to time and even screamed when Lockhart said something. Shaking his head, Harry turned around and was about to leave. He thought something had happened.

"Harry? Harry!"

Lockhart's voice suddenly became louder. Harry turned around abruptly, grabbed Lockhart's hand that was grabbing his shoulder, and then coldly pushed it away.

Lockhart was a little too familiar. Harry still remembered that this man had ill intentions towards him. No matter whether it was the time in Flourish and Blotts or just now, he just wanted to arrest him directly without even saying hello - this was different from the Weasley twins.

"What's the matter, Professor?" Harry asked coldly.

"Oh, Harry, don't be in a hurry." Without feeling awkward about what happened just now, Lockhart just turned around and said to the girls who had chased after him, "I'm sorry, everyone. It's been a great time spending time with you all, but now, I have something I want to talk to Harry about - as you all know, we are both quite famous in the wizarding world."

So the girls left with laughter, and Lockhart said goodbye to them warmly. He turned around and put his arm around Harry's shoulders when he could no longer see them. This time, Harry did not shake him off. "Harry, ah, Harry - are you still calling me professor?" Lockhart said cheerfully. He looked around, then lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I heard everything - you are going to be a professor too, right?"

"Huh?" Harry looked at Lockhart in surprise.

Is Lockhart so well-informed? His becoming a professor hasn't even been published in the Daily Prophet yet. It's normal for Dumbledore to ask for the opinions of the old professors, but Lockhart is just a new professor, and it's very likely that he will only work for a year...

"Oh, Harry, don't look at me like that." Very satisfied with Harry's reaction, Lockhart grinned and said, "A man who has won the "Wizard Weekly" Most Charming Smile Award five times, an honorary member of the Anti-Dark Magic League, and a winner of the Order of Merlin, Third Class - whether I like it or not, people will tell me a lot of things."

"...That's right." Harry nodded.

But does Lockhart have to mention his honors every time he meets someone?

Harry didn't like this style, nor was he interested in dealing with this kind of person. But before he left, Lockhart said, "Do you want me to give you some experience from my predecessors, Harry?"

"I have traveled on the same ship with vampires, lived and ate with werewolves, and stayed with Tibetan snowmen for a whole year. Everything I have experienced is something you have never seen or imagined." Lockhart said with an attitude of an experienced senior: "Yes, even though this is my first time to take on the responsibilities of a professor, it is obvious that my past experience will make me more...at ease."

"Don't be shy, Harry," Lockhart said enthusiastically. "Like I said, if you have any questions just ask me. I'm happy to help you - after all, I'm your professor, right?"

"Harry, Harry, I know what you're thinking, 'You're just a great wizard of international renown, but you've never been a professor', that's so wrong..."

Lockhart was still chattering on, but to Harry it sounded like a buzzing sound. This man was as fast-talking as a goblin. Harry wanted to turn around and leave, but suddenly remembered that he seemed to have something to ask Lockhart.

"I think I do have something to ask you, Professor," Harry suddenly said, "How should I write a lesson plan?"

After all, Lockhart is a well-known writer, and the books he wrote are not only interesting but also contain a lot of useful knowledge. Therefore, Harry wanted to know how Lockhart would deal with this problem. After all, compared with other professors, this man has as many as seven books as teaching materials.

"Lesson plan? Wow! Harry! You finally asked the question!" Lockhart paused for a moment, then his smile became even brighter.

If Harry asked him something related to magic or his previous adventures, he could only find a way to deal with it, but the lesson plan!
Lockhart wasn't bragging, he really felt that he was born to be a good writer of lesson plans.

For a moment, even the smile on his face became real. It happened that the Defense Against the Dark Arts office was on this floor, so Lockhart enthusiastically invited Harry to take a look at the lesson plan he had written. The man even wrote more than one, and finally picked the one he was most satisfied with and gave it to Professor McGonagall.

Harry was shocked.

But what shocked him even more was Lockhart's office - how could someone hang his own portrait everywhere in the room?!
As soon as he entered the room, Harry saw four or five Lockharts smiling at him from the opposite side of the door. Turning around, he saw Lockharts everywhere, either portraits or photos. You have to know that photos and portraits in the wizarding world are movable! They can talk to people!
Harry: "..."

It was not an illusion. He had heard at least five or six Lockharts hanging on the wall greeting him. The office, which was obviously for only one person, felt as lively as a tea party with more than a dozen people.

In particular, there was a huge portrait hanging behind the desk. In the painting, Lockhart was wearing a lavender robe with the same smile on his face - there was even a line of words next to it, which read: Gilderoy Lockhart, winner of the Third Class Order of Merlin, honorary member of the Anti-Dark Magic League, and five-time winner of the "Witch Weekly" Most Charming Smile Award.

Harry: "..."

In his two lifetimes, this was the first time he had seen someone who always talked about his medal and wanted to show it to everyone and anywhere.

Is this crazy?
Lockhart still used the office that Quirrell had once used, but it was completely different from the Defense Against the Dark Arts office in Harry's memory. The floor was covered with a thick purple carpet embroidered with golden stars and moons.

There was a gilded chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Harry remembered clearly that Quirrell had died almost at that location at the end of last year... and no one probably told Lockhart.

Apart from this, the most eye-catching thing is the sundries piled up in the open space next to the window. There are cabinets, boxes and all kinds of miscellaneous things piled together, but there is no dust.

"It's a little messy, I hope you don't mind, Harry. These are the things left by the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I'm going to sort them out before throwing them away." Lockhart tried to cover the pile of debris, but unfortunately he couldn't do it because of his body width.

"Things left by Quirrell?" Harry was a little surprised. He thought Dumbledore would hide all the things used by Voldemort.

"Ah, that Death Eater, right?" Lockhart moved a chair to the side of Harry and shrugged. "Although the Daily Prophet didn't say it, people with quick news always know more."

"Sit down, Harry, and don't worry about these things... Let me look for them, those lesson plans... lesson plans... Aha, I found them, I'm glad I didn't throw them away."

As he spoke, Lockhart excitedly rummaged through his desk. Although the desk was large, it was piled with parchments and various letters. So it took him a while to pull out a few sheets of filled parchments.

"…It's a good thing that you're willing to ask me for help with things you don't understand, but I have to say that there aren't many people like me who are willing to help others in the wizarding world. Most people will ask you for two or three Galleons just to say a few words…"

His mind had automatically blocked out Lockhart's boasting. Harry had realized that no matter what this man said, he could always relate it to himself, so he just looked at the pile of old junk.

Many of them are magical items, crystal balls of unknown purpose, broken mirrors, an arm that looks like a plant... There are so many of them, and there are even many dark magic items and books that look very dangerous.

If these things were seen by Aurors outside, the holder would at least have to spend a few months in Azkaban, but if they were in the hands of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, everything would become very reasonable.

Hogwarts professors have immunity under the relevant laws, and Harry is about to enjoy this right. No wonder Professor McGonagall is worried about Harry.

Bending down, Harry picked up a headdress inlaid with many jewels from a pile of debris. It looked very gorgeous at first glance, and it was decorated with an eagle's head.

"Oh? Do you like this?" Lockhart came over and said, "Well, it's obvious that this ornament was made by someone from Ravenclaw. You know, Harry, we Ravenclaw graduates like things related to eagles."

To be precise, students from the four colleges all like to decorate themselves with the animals corresponding to their respective colleges. Harry has seen lions running through Gryffindor's common room countless times - I guess Ravenclaw's common room is full of eagles.

As Lockhart spoke casually, he snatched the headdress from Harry and put it directly on his head.

"How is it? Does this gem suit me?" Lockhart tilted his head narcissistically, wanting to see his current appearance in the mirror. "Not bad, I originally thought there was only garbage in here."

(End of this chapter)