Hogwarts: A Chinese-Style Professor

Chapter 71 The Position Vacant Again

Just two days after Lockhart became professor, rumors spread like wildfire.

Some say that Professor Lockhart doesn't understand spells or how to teach; he just asks people silly questions in class.

Some say that the protagonist of the stories in Professor Lockhart is not actually him, but rather that he happened to hear these stories and then changed the protagonist to himself.

The rumor spread so quickly and was completely unfounded that it infuriated many Lockhart fans.

Hermione sat in the Great Hall, listening to the whispers around her and the occasional mention of "Lockhart," and she was furious.

Harry and Ron, however, didn't seem to care and even tried to comfort her.

"Hermione, they're right, don't be angry."

“How can you say he’s right! Professor Lockhart has only been at Hogwarts for two days, and they—you all treat him like this? Do you think that’s fair to him?”

"Oh—fair?"

Ron took a bite of his bread and glanced at Harry across from him, whose eyes were calm—his buddy had been acting strangely lately, his expression was terrifyingly somber, and sometimes Ron felt like he didn't even recognize him anymore.

“If you compare him to Professor Quirrell, then these discussions are indeed unfair to him.”

Ron spread his hands.

"But his comparison is with Professor Levi, you understand, Hermione."
Professor Levi showed us a ruthless trick on the first day—Professor Lockhart's Cornish elves were captured—and it's already been figured out that he asked Hagrid to get them for him.

But what about Professor Li Wei? He was created directly using Transfiguration, not to mention all the transformations he underwent afterward.

"Of course I know Professor Li Wei is excellent—"

Hermione couldn't continue.

If she continued, she couldn't help but feel that her stance was too biased towards Professor Lockhart.

This thought would make her feel like she had betrayed Professor Li Wei in her heart.

"Hermione, do you still have the assignment Professor Levi gave you in the study group?"

Harry suddenly spoke at that moment.

"I'll leave it as is—I've already finished everything, what do you want to do with it?"

“I’d like to try it myself and learn from it—Professor Lockhart can’t teach us anything, and I can’t waste the time Professor Levy spent being petrified.”

"Woo—dude, you've really impressed me after killing the basilisk. What are you planning to do next? Become a dragon slayer?"

Ron looked at Harry as if he didn't recognize him.

Hermione was also somewhat surprised—she noticed that Harry had really matured a lot these past few days—he no longer played chess with Ron in the common room every day, and she often saw him in the library.

"Okay, I'll lend it to you."

Seeing her friend 'cheer up' and want to study hard, she naturally supported her.

"Ron, you'd better come with me too."

Harry took the initiative to suggest it to Ron.

"Uh—okay—you can make a copy for me first, but I can't guarantee I can finish it."

Ron looked a bit annoyed.

But his heart was far more panicked than that—he felt that Harry's personality had changed drastically and he was now someone he didn't recognize—had his heart also been locked up?
After just one week, the rumors intensified.

Where Lockhart used to walk down the corridors, he could always hear the adoring screams of young wizards; now, however, it had turned into gossip.
Lockhart felt that people were talking about him wherever he went.

Even worse, it's that woman Rita Skeeter!
Those damned paparazzi reporters, I don't know how they got information about the castle from the outside, but they published all of his actions in the Daily Prophet, making it the headline every time!

Gilderoy Lockhart, the embodiment of courage and talent, is about to illuminate Hogwarts!

→

Gilderoy Lockhart, suffered a major setback on his first day as Hogwarts professor?

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The young wizards at Hogwarts are growing increasingly resentful of Gilderoy Lockhart!

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Gilderoy Lockhart, a worthless fellow, is about to slink out of Hogwarts! Lockhart was furious as the situation continued to deteriorate!
Teaching at Hogwarts was the most regrettable decision he ever made!

Why would he want to come here and hang out with a bunch of destructive little devils whose minds are filled with nothing but spells and battles?

Now, he's getting a constant stream of letters from owls every day, asking about the situation at Hogwarts and whether they need to speak out in public to help him salvage his reputation.

Lockhart certainly wanted to salvage his reputation.

But what those people said was true!

That damn Rita Skeeter! How did she manage to get those exclusive interviews with the students? Could she possibly have gotten into the airtight Hogwarts?
"I can't delay any longer. I have to find a way to salvage my reputation, or leave—that's right, I can just leave here and say that there's no room for education to flourish on Hogwarts grounds!"

Those stubborn students are all muscle; you can't see any thirst for knowledge in their eyes—

Lockhart's eyes grew brighter with each thought, so much so that he didn't pay attention as he passed a corner of a corridor—after all, this was Hogwarts, where would anyone attack him?
"All petrified!"

Before Lockhart lost consciousness.

What was heard was the boy's snickering.

On the very night that Professor Lockhart was attacked, Professor McGonagall posted notices in the common areas of the four colleges, instructing everyone to assemble in the Great Hall at six o'clock in the morning.

"Boom."

She slammed the latest issue of the Daily Prophet onto the table; the headline read:

[Breaking News! Professor Lockhart was attacked by students inside the castle and fell into a coma; he wasn't even able to fight back!]

She didn't understand why reporters could get information about the inside of Hogwarts Castle.

But she had more important things to deal with at that moment!

"For over a hundred years—Hogwarts hasn't seen such a despicable act in over a hundred years! A student attacked a professor in a corner and beat him so badly he ended up in the hospital!"

"What on earth are you going to do!"

No one spoke.

Younger students were either shocked by what happened or began to feel a sense of lingering fear.

The older students lowered their heads, a hint of disdain flashing in their eyes.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor should be the most skilled wizard in combat—someone who can be easily defeated by a full-body binding charm from a younger student should just leave Hogwarts as soon as possible.

They probably wouldn't have imagined six months ago that their thinking would undergo such a radical change in just six months.

"I solemnly warn you, if this happens again, anyone I catch will be fired, absolutely!"

Professor McGonagall's warning was like a cold wind blowing through everyone's hearts.

Everyone behaved themselves.

But after that attack, Professor Lockhart's reputation was completely ruined, and students no longer expected to learn anything from his classes—they began to miss Professor Levy terribly.

It's ironic that some of them actually thought it would be a good thing for Professor Lockhart to replace Professor Levy.
After he was discharged from the hospital after three days, his fans kept asking him to prove something—but the more they asked, the more Lockhart had to use more ridiculous and lame excuses to cover it up.

In the end, he couldn't hold on any longer, and even though Professor McGonagall rejected his resignation, he had to leave—in a less-than-dignified way.

But it might be a chain reaction.

It's unclear when it started, but new dirt on him began to surface in the wizarding world, and friends of wizards he had previously attacked came forward to strongly accuse him.

His stories were all stolen from other people; he shamefully obtained their stories and then erased their memories with a forgetting spell!
In the past, no one would have believed this.

However, given Lockhart's poor performance at Hogwarts, many things gradually came to light.

Lockhart soon found himself in big trouble—the night before he was to leave Hogwarts, he was unceremoniously asked to leave by the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic.

He is now likely to face a life sentence in Azkaban.

No one expected this.

Only one month has passed.

The position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts is vacant again.

(End of this chapter)