Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 268 Lockhart's Influence
The headquarters of The Prophet newspaper, located on the south side of Diagon Alley at Charing Cross Road in London, England.

New employees are going through the onboarding process.

Thanks to the revenue generated by the Mirror News program, the newspaper office was renovated and updated during the last holiday. The office was decorated with a seamless stretching spell, and the desks were made of Albanian hardwood, which had a metallic feel under the candlelight. The desks were piled with parchment manuscripts and printed materials.

The newspaper staff gathered together to discuss the new colleague.

The mysterious wizard who was parachuted in temporarily had no interview, assessment, training or trial period. Even his name was concealed. His office was located at the end of the most secluded corridor in the headquarters, and he was directly responsible for editing footage from the Mirror News.

The newspaper's attitude seemed overly formal.

Editor-in-Chief Guffer and Ms. Skeeter received the young professor who had come with them. The ensuing conversation was even more shocking. News business, advertising rates, profits and revenues—they answered whatever was asked, revealing the newspaper's important information.

Their solemn demeanor made the other employees feel unfamiliar.

The young employees responsible for handling the onboarding procedures waited at their respective workstations, under the constant gaze of Editor-in-Chief Gu Fei, which made them appear somewhat flustered. The lingering drowsiness from waking up early in the morning instantly dissipated, and they completed the entire process in a very short time.

Rita offered to take the new employee to the office, while Editor-in-Chief Gu Fei accompanied the young professor on the tour.

A light drizzle fell outside the window as Melvin sat at the conference table in the newspaper's editorial department, reviewing documents and reports.

He looked up and asked the editor-in-chief, Gu Fei, who was standing next to him, "The current host is Cecilia, right? I remember she graduated from Hogwarts two years ago, and even took my Muggle Studies class. After graduation, she came directly to the newspaper as a news anchor."

"I don't know where she is on a field mission. She and another reporter are following up on the werewolf bill." Editor-in-Chief Gufie sat down next to her. "A half-blood witch who grew up in Muggle society, she knows a lot about journalism. She's always thinking about finding big news that will shake the wizarding world. She says she wants to become the queen of news in the wizarding world and establish a journalism award in her own name to rival the Pulitzer Prize in the Muggle world."

Where is Professor Levent?

The meeting room door was pushed open, and a witch rushed in carrying a pearl pouch. "I took the Knight Bus. The interview with Umbridge wasn't over yet, so I handed the follow-up over to Cecilia and came straight back."

This is a witch reporter in her thirties, her clothes damp with rain, gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, her brown hair messy and curly, her style somewhat exaggerated, seemingly imitating Rita Skeeter, her lipstick painted like a cannibalistic demon, and her ten fingers adorned with bright red nail polish.

“Betty Braithwaite…” Editor-in-Chief Guffer turned his head, frowning slightly, “Don’t be rash in front of Professor Levent.”

“I apologize for my rudeness. I just want to see Professor Levent in person and have a talk with him.”

Braithwaite was beaming with excitement, as if she were not meeting a school professor but currying favor with a newspaper director. "Professor Levent, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Betty, a reporter. I greatly admire the Mirror you created. I have many thoughts I'd like to discuss with you about Mirror journalism."

This journalist witch appears to have done her background research.

“I’m very interested in your ideas, but I can’t stay at the newspaper office for too long today.” Melvin paused for a moment, seemingly troubled and regretful. “Why don’t you go back and organize those ideas into a manuscript and send it to Hogwarts? We’ll have plenty of time to exchange letters.”

“Of course!” Braithwaite exclaimed excitedly.

Melvin watched the witch leave the meeting room, then turned to the newspaper editor, his eyes questioning.

Gu Fei thought of Braithwaite's personality, paused for a moment, and shook his head: "She admires Rita's previous writing style and believes that attracting attention is the mark of a journalist's ability, while facts and truth are merely tools to stir people's hearts."

"The idea is somewhat extreme, but being extreme does not mean it is completely unacceptable."

Melvin nodded thoughtfully. "This reporter might be able to reach a cooperation agreement with Lockhart."

Upon hearing this, editor-in-chief Gu Fei fell into thought.

……

The room at the end of the corridor.

Lockhart held his wand level, standing before the mirror embedded in the wall, watching the silver mist swirl on the transparent glass screen, lines and colors outlining the scene. A faint white light lingered at the tip of his wand, trembling slightly, and the clouds of memories trembled along with it.

Rita, holding several vials of memory-enhancing potion, stood to his side and slightly behind: "You still remember the Forgetting Charm and the False Memory Charm, huh?"

“I… I seem to remember that the Forgetting Charm can block other people’s memories, and the False Memory Charm can create non-existent scenes.” Lockhart spoke slowly, casting a spell while recalling the memory. “These memories from the brain will not be forgotten, and I can change them.”

“I know, this is one of your old tricks.”

Rita's eyes flickered slightly behind her glasses. Six months of imprisonment had worn down her pride, and the ouroboros mark on the inside of her arm had swallowed her arrogance. Now, she had changed her original strange and exaggerated hairstyle and appeared much more composed.

Lockhart didn't answer; he was still adjusting to the feeling.

He gripped the wand tightly, and a slight throbbing pain began in his head, as if a crack had appeared in a dam deep within his mind, from which a trickle of water was flowing.

The mirror before my eyes began to darken, the silver mist resembling surging snow, and a gentle, persuasive voice sounded in my ear:

"How exactly did you do that? Tell me the details..."

Details? What details?
Recalling the newspaper articles I had read in the closed ward of St. Mungo, I had a vague feeling that the reports were true: that Gilderoy Lockhart was a fraudster who stole other people's legendary adventures, and that he was Gilderoy Lockhart.

Some fragmented images flashed by again, memories that were even more blurred. Lockhart seemed to be facing some monsters from a first-person perspective. He heard a familiar voice say that what kind of memories shape what kind of personality.

“Compare these memories with the press release next to you. Your job is to add appropriate visual content to the press release…” Rita’s explanation was considered onboarding training. This person’s control over the forgetting spell and the false memory spell was almost instinctive. She was also very skilled at piecing together content to convey information and made a fast pace.

"..."

Half an hour later, Lockhart stood in front of the mirror, cutting and piecing together those hazy memories, thread by thread. Rita said she had other manuscripts to proofread, and left with a complicated expression, leaving him alone in the empty office.

It had been almost two hours since he left the closed ward at St. Mungo's. Without Melem's care, the unfamiliar environment made him feel panicked, but the process of casting the spell made him feel at ease.

But when memories surge like a silvery mist, they are like snowflakes drifting across the sky, often stirring up images deep within my mind.

Lockhart didn't want to recall or accept the conman, so he could only repeat the spell over and over again to numb himself. Lockhart held his wand in his hand; the core of the wand was the heart nerve of a fire dragon, symbolizing power and courage. It was quite useful in his student days, but at some point it became dull and difficult to use, causing his magical skills to gradually decline. After losing his memory, it became much easier to use.

Shaking off the jumbled thoughts swirling in his mind, Lockhart silently waved his wand.

……

"This is Prophet News, I'm Cecilia Haynes."

"Four werewolf clashes have recently occurred in the Scottish border region. Fenrir Greyback attempted to attack the children of Aurors, but failed. As he fled the scene, he stated that he would bite and infect as many wizards as possible, in order to create enough werewolves to conquer wizards, especially the children of Ministry of Magic employees..."

"The Ministry of Magic held an emergency meeting, attended by leaders from multiple departments. The Department of Law Enforcement is facing a new round of pressure, and Senior Undersecretary Umbridge Dolores publicly stated that it will never yield to the vile and cruel werewolves."

Will the "Anti-Werewolf Act" continue to be implemented? Will Ms. Dolores's tough stance be met with compromise due to werewolf threats?

Editor-in-Chief Gu Fei took a sip of wine, then got up and approached the busiest counter at the Leaky Cauldron. The pub was expected to stay open until late tonight, with a large number of wizards discussing the news. The attention of the entire pub's patrons, even those focused on Quidditch matches, was drawn to the event.

It's not just the recent news reports, but also the news footage edited by the new employees.

As a former bestselling author, Lockhart, even with the loss of his past memories, can still accurately control what the audience wants to see. Without modifying the news articles, he can convey subtle information and spark heated discussions among the audience simply by cropping and splicing the images.

As a senior editor at the newspaper, Barnabas Gough was also unsure. After reviewing the article, he found no obvious problems, but he had a vague feeling that something was wrong, so he came to the Leaky Cauldron to collect audience feedback.

He was simply instinctively wary of Lockhart, who stole memories and manipulated readers' interests.

He downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, squeezed past the counter, ordered a new cocktail, and lingered in front of it, where he could hear half the bar's conversation.

The news from the mirror continued to play, and the wizards' discussions never ceased.

"Dolores will certainly not compromise; she doesn't have any children!"

At this moment, Umbridge's profile was displayed on the mirror screen. Her origins were unknown, her parents' identities were kept secret, and after graduating, she entered the Ministry of Magic as an intern in the Office for the Prevention of the Abuse of Magic. She quickly made achievements, was promoted and received a raise, and eventually rose to the position of Senior Deputy Minister.

At the opportune moment, a clear photo of Dolores's face is revealed: a broad, sagging face, short curly hair adorned with a cute velvet bow, paired with a high-pitched, affected voice...

Within seconds, people felt disgusted and began to criticize her promotion as illegitimate.

"Have you heard? Dolores got promoted by paying money. She implemented the Anti-Werewolf Act just to exploit werewolves and their families' Galon!"

"Hey, I heard she's Fudge's mistress, they're having an affair, they're in the minister's office during the day..."

Gu Fei looked up and saw the scene in the mirror after the meeting. Dolores and Fudge walked together after leaving the room. What was originally a normal conversation between the minister and the deputy minister was presented from a special angle. Fudge listened attentively, and the short, fat witch smiled. At first glance, they looked like a real couple.

This reporting style is reminiscent of Rita's past work, but it is more subtle than textual guidance and the visual hints are more effective.

Undoubtedly, such news featuring prophets can attract more viewers, spark more heated discussions, and generate a greater impact.

But what's the price?

Gu Fei frowned in thought, recalling what the professor had said that morning. He put down the cocktail he hadn't yet tasted, quietly slipped out from behind the bar, and left the bustling pub alone.

The discussion inside is still ongoing:
"How could that be? Fudge is stupid but not blind. He likes beautiful witches like Lady Rosmerta, not some short, fat, pretentious pink toad."

"Who knows? Maybe he has some hidden fetish..."

……

Late at night, in the conference room of the Prophet's Newspaper.

Members of the Mirror News team attended the meeting. Editor-in-Chief Barnabas Goughfe sat at the head of the table, holding today's news report in one hand and flipping through it repeatedly. The cover page featured the Daily Prophet's crystal ball logo.

The discussion has been going on for a while now, with everyone talking about the impact of the new employees.

“We’ve got rough statistics from pubs all over the country. Nearly half of all the wizards in Britain watched the show, and the elegant clothing stores have seen the impact and are willing to increase their advertising fees,” Gu Fei said calmly. “This is good news for us, good news in the short term.”

The staff looked up. Reporters and editors, who were used to handling news information, were very perceptive of meaning and quickly noticed the shift in the second half of the sentence.

The joyful atmosphere faltered. Since the Daily Prophet launched its film and television program, their business had been thriving, consistently leading the way. These employees firmly believed that film and television news would replace newspaper news, a fact reflected in their financial statements and daily expansion.

The sudden appearance of a new employee brought about changes, and the Prophet's newspaper achieved a new breakthrough, but now the editor-in-chief is telling them that this change is not good news.

“The audience likes it, and businesses are willing to spend money…” Betty Braithwaite said with some doubt, “We haven’t distorted the facts or concealed the truth, so what’s the problem?”

A discussion erupted in agreement, and the employees whispered among themselves, not wanting to see their bonuses slip away.

"Do you think the audience are all idiots?"

Gu Fei tapped the table, his deep voice carrying the editor-in-chief's authority, suppressing the noise in the room.

“Once or twice, no one might notice, but after a few repetitions, someone will eventually see the hints and suggestions in the images.” Gough said expressionlessly. “The Daily Prophet has grown to its current state by navigating between various factions, neither offending officials of the Ministry of Magic nor completely siding with its readers. Fudge and Dolores are still in office, and the Minister’s office can issue new decrees at any time. Do you intend to see the newspaper disband and all the wizards here go home?”

Silence fell over the conference room.

"I consulted Professor Levent and have also discussed with the board members about forming a new program team. The new staff will be transferred from the news department starting tomorrow to begin producing entertaining science content."

Gu Fei stood up and closed the report. "You can suggest and provoke this program however you like, as long as you don't distort the principles of magic. Do whatever makes it attractive."

(End of this chapter)