The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 311 Forgetting Everything!

After chatting with Gemma for a while, Moriarty returned to his single bedroom, which included a spacious bathroom, making it very convenient.

Instead of taking advantage of the convenience, Moriarty chose to sit down in the chair in front of the desk, where Gemma told him some important news.

That means second-year wizards can choose a few elective courses to try out during the Easter holiday to prepare for the third year.

Lilith and Jericho have already made their selections and have been studying for over two months.

Only Moriarty had no choice; he was still playing Quidditch in Hyprose at the time.

This means that when Moriarty moves up to the third year, he must choose one or two courses from the electives that will become compulsory in the third year.

Elective courses include: Ancient Runes, Arithmetic Divination, Protecting Magical Creatures, Divination, and Muggle Studies.

Recalling the elective courses Gemma had told him about, Moriarty decided to choose Ancient Runes and Divination.

As far as Moriarty knew, Lilith had chosen ancient runes and divination, just like herself.

Jericho also chose Ancient Runes, but couldn't stand arithmetic and divination, so he chose Muggle Studies instead. His family had business dealings with Muggles, presumably for the purpose of inheriting the family business.

Marcus chose the course on protecting magical creatures, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Hagrid would become the professor of that course three years later, in 1993.

Penelope chose Ancient Runes and Divination. She originally wanted to choose Muggle Studies, but when she saw that Lilith had chosen Divination, she decided to sign up for Divination instead.

Many girls choose to have their fortunes told, and Moriarty could tell why.

I remember mentioning before that I was interested in divination... *cough*

As he thought about it, Moriarty began to feel embarrassed.

However, it wasn't because of that unreliable charlatan, Sybil Trelawney.

However, Trelawney also had moments of inspiration; Moriarty not only wanted to decipher the prophecy, but also wanted to enter the state of making a prophecy.

If conditions allowed, Moriarty wouldn't mind becoming a prophet.

After thinking for a while, Moriarty went to bed. He had Lockhart's class the next morning, and he wanted to go to the classroom early to see what Lockhart was up to.

Moriarty wasn't the only one with this idea; the little snake and the little lion in the third grade both thought the same way.

On Tuesday morning, twenty minutes before class, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on the third floor was packed.

Without a doubt, this is the office with the highest user turnover rate!

Because each teacher has their own personal style, the furnishings inside will change at any time.

Moriarty remembered that in the first year, it was Professor Randy who decorated the classroom like an old castle, with a purely dark style.

Then came the second year, Diana. The classroom was as beautiful as Diana's, with silver and soft green as the main colors.

After Diana taught three classes, Professor Randy returned to being the classroom's user.

This year, Lockhart became the user.

Although Lockhart didn't come, the whole classroom was filled with his distinctive style.

The ceiling and walls were transformed into flower beds, filled with colorful flowers, making the classroom look like a greenhouse.

Then the walls were covered with colorful envelopes, all of them letters from female fans to Lockhart!

At the back of the classroom, a small mountain of books was piled on the floor, all of them novels by Lockhart!

The students' desks and chairs were also painted gold, and the floor was covered with a silver carpet, making it look magnificent.

The grand occasion prevented the little snake and the little lion from arguing, and instead they engaged in a heated discussion.

Outside the classroom, Filch peered out into the hallway. After the Sorting Ceremony yesterday, Lockhart had asked him to decorate the classroom according to his description.

Filch got up very early today to decorate the classroom, otherwise the flowers wouldn't be fresh. He was standing here to ask Lockhart for credit.

About five minutes before class started, Filch saw a blue figure wearing a tall purple wizard's hat, with two cages floating behind him. He quickly went to meet him.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the new professor, Lockhart.

"Professor Lockhart, I dressed up as you suggested, and the children are overjoyed."

Filch said with a hint of flattery.

Lockhart nodded in satisfaction, and seeing Filch, he felt a surge of emotion.

Back then, in an attempt to show off, I sent myself 800 Valentine's Day cards, which forced me to skip breakfast because a lot of owl droppings and feathers fell into my cereal.

Filch spent a great deal of effort cleaning up the messy breakfast.

Seeing Filch's slightly hunched back, Lockhart felt a pang of guilt.

But what does Filch mean by blocking my way?

Lockhart was baffled. Class was about to start, so he moved to the left, and Filch also moved to the left. Then he moved to the right, and Filch also moved to the right.

In short, it's about not letting yourself move forward!

Lockhart stared at Filch with some displeasure, the nickname he'd given Filch back in school flashing into his mind, until he saw Filch's snobbish smile and Lockhart understood.

So it turns out they wanted payment.

"Mr. Filch, since you helped me decorate the classroom, I certainly won't treat you unfairly," Lockhart said with a smile. Filch beamed. "To express my gratitude, I'll treat you to sweets and honey money. Here's one hundred Galleons."

Lockhart pulled a small cloth bag from his robe, tossed it up and caught it again, making a tinkling sound inside.

Filch's eyes followed the bag up and down, and when he heard the crisp sound, he shuddered as if he had tasted nectar. He could already see a hundred gold coins beckoning to him!

"Thank you, Professor Lockhart. I knew you were different from everyone else—remember those eight hundred greeting cards you sent yourself?" Filch said excitedly, reaching out to take the Galleon. "And you even had your name engraved on the Quidditch pitch in 20-foot-long letters!"

Lockhart showed no intention of handing over the bag. After listening to Filch's words, a hint of nostalgia flashed in his eyes. "Yes, I was silly back then, all I wanted was to be famous."

"You're a big celebrity now."

"Yes, so I don't need to give you Galleons." Lockhart grinned mischievously, and Filch looked shocked, as if he had a completely new understanding of Lockhart.

Lockhart pulled out his wand and casually waved it at Filch, "Forget everything!"

Filch's shocked expression gradually calmed down, and then, under the magical effect of the powerful forgetting spell, all his memories of Lockhart asking him to arrange the classroom and asking Lockhart for credit disappeared.

"What am I doing here?"

Filch scratched his head in confusion. Shouldn't he usually be in the auditorium watching the kids eat at this time to keep those naughty kids from fighting?

To be fair, this phenomenon almost disappeared after Mr. Moriarty arrived.

Even the mischievous ghost stopped causing trouble.

But there are always one or two troublemakers, yes, the Weasley brothers!

Filch remembered and hurried off, completely forgetting about the 100 Galleons.

"Goodbye Lockhart, I have to hurry to the Great Hall."

Lockhart smiled as he watched Filch's retreating figure.

His powerful forgetting spell once again helped him avoid unnecessary trouble.

As for whether Filch would suffer from amnesia, Lockhart was naturally not worried. He was a memory master, and erasing a little bit of memory was nothing to the human body.

In some cases, it's actually a good thing.

Lockhart walked toward the professor without any qualms; his return to Hogwarts had left him with many feelings.

Some people, like Filch, always inspire a mischievous thought, no matter how much time has passed.

Listen to the Weasleys' two little guys sparring with Filch. When it's their turn to teach them a lesson, should I teach them a few tricks myself?

There are also some people who, no matter how much time has passed, are both respectable and evoke thoughts of mischief; Snape was one such person.

However, Lockhart was certain that those who wanted to tease Snape were only trying to make him laugh; in any case, Lockhart had never seen Snape laugh.

There are also some people who will always be respected, no matter how much time has passed. Professor Flitwick is one such person.

Lockhart thought about the ridiculous things he had done in the past and really wanted to apologize to his former dean, Professor Flitwick.

But since I'm a celebrity now, just like the young master said, nothing is more practical than making some achievements to impress Professor Flitwick.

Lockhart took a deep breath in front of the classroom door. This was his first lesson. He adjusted his facial expression with practiced ease, put on a charming smile, and pushed open the door.

Lockhart's antics during his school days were no less than the Weasley brothers'. Besides sending himself 800 Valentine's Day cards and having his name engraved in 20-foot-long letters on the Quidditch pitch, as mentioned in the text, he also projected his portrait into the sky like a Dark Mark. He even applied to start a school newspaper just to see his name printed on it. This was mentioned in a previous chapter, specifically the one where Moriarty recommends Lockhart to Dumbledore as a professor. In short, Lockhart wanted fame from a young age. He told his classmates he could create the Philosopher's Stone before graduation and planned to lead the England Quidditch team to World Cup victory, ultimately becoming Britain's youngest Minister for Magic! However, Lockhart's antics were merely to satisfy his vanity, while the Weasley brothers' pranks were simply for creating fun—this is the biggest difference between them.

(End of this chapter)