My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 207, Section 204: You Be the Professor

Lynn looked at Lockhart, who was standing there in a daze, and his feelings were complicated.

Voldemort was captured by him, but the curse related to Defense Against the Dark Arts not only didn't disappear, it seems to have been strengthened instead.

Lockhart would have reaped what he sowed, having his memories erased by the Oblivion Curse and becoming an idiot, but he still spent a year at Hogwarts. Now, he's in this state before he's even gone to school.

Leon rubbed his hands together, looking quite embarrassed.

Actually, he was a victim in this whole affair, but he felt somewhat guilty for using excessive force in self-defense, which had left Lockhart mentally impaired. Seeing Lynn's serious expression, he assumed he was a fan of Lockhart and couldn't help but offer some words of advice.

"This person is a fraud. If he tried to do this to me, then his other experiences were probably fabricated using the same methods. He doesn't deserve any sympathy."

Lynn shook his head: "I know he's a fraud, but the key point is that he was hired by Professor Dumbledore this year to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Now that he's in this state, he has trouble even moving around normally, let alone being a professor."

Only after Lynn said this did everyone realize that this fraudster could actually become a professor.

Rozier said sarcastically, "Dumbledore must be blind to have chosen a fraudster as a professor at Hogwarts."

"It's possible that this person applied on their own initiative, and Professor Dumbledore couldn't find anyone else, so he had no choice but to accept it."

Lynn stopped paying attention to Lockhart, who had become an idiot, and went back to the dining table.

Simon had prepared a grand feast, and he waved his magic wand to conjure up all sorts of dishes on the table.

"So what do we do with this person now? Do I have to go and explain this to Dumbledore?" Leon asked Lynn cautiously.

"No need, it wasn't your fault in the first place." Seeing that the table was full of food but no one had touched it, Lynn could only greet people like a host inviting them to dinner, "Eat, eat. When we leave later, I'll just take this person to Dumbledore. This person reaped what he sowed. As for the selection of this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, let him worry about it."

Only after he spoke did Rozier and the others pick up their knives and forks and begin to eat.

Simon's cooking skills were indeed excellent; his steak was even better than that of the house-elves at Hogwarts, making Lynn thoroughly enjoy his meal.

There were also dessert cakes after the meal. Even though he couldn't eat any more, Lynn was still very tempted. In the end, Simon thoughtfully packed several boxes for him to take home and eat slowly.

After lunch, he said goodbye to Lockhart and Rozier, promising to visit them often.

The saints were all quite old. Even though wizards generally live much longer than Muggles, they were already in their twilight years. They were living a very comfortable life in Abrose, and Lynn had no intention of asking them to do anything for him.

His biggest gain from this trip was finding the missing Lockhart. After leaving Abrose, he didn't go home, but instead had Kira take him directly to Hogwarts, intending to take Lockhart to Dumbledore to claim credit.

Dumbledore gave Lynn the right to come and go from the headmaster's office at any time. The stone goblin in front of the door jumped aside as soon as it saw Lynn, without even needing him to give the password.

Lynn pushed open the door and went inside. He was having a lucky day; not only did he find Lockhart, but Dumbledore was also unusually in his office.

Old Deng was lying in a chair, resting with his eyes closed. On the table in front of him, a quill pen was automatically writing and drawing on a piece of parchment.

Hearing the noise at the door, he opened his eyes.

"Ah, it's Lynn."

He called out and then quickly spotted Lockhart beside Lynn. Dumbledore immediately noticed that something was wrong with Lockhart.

He frowned and used Legilimency on the dazed Lockhart, but Lockhart's mind went blank and he had no memory of anything.

"What's wrong with him?"

Lynn plopped down opposite Dumbledore and recounted Lockhart's "horrible" experience at Arbroath once more.

Dumbledore listened with a frown until Lynn finished speaking, then he tapped the table lightly with his finger and said something.

"It's not their fault."

Lynn knew that when he said "they," he meant Leon and his group.

"Lockhart has only himself to blame for being in this state, but what about this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"

What really gave Dumbledore a headache was this: he genuinely couldn't find a suitable candidate, otherwise he wouldn't have put Lockhart in this position in the first place.

Lynn, acting like a strategist, offered Dumbledore some advice: "Why don't you let Professor Snape become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? Hasn't he always wanted to do that? Just let him have that wish."

After all, Snape had taken good care of Lynn at school, so Lynn felt there was nothing wrong with saying a few good words for him.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore did not have this idea.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts professors are hard to find, and Potions professors are just as difficult to find." Old Deng shook his head. "Especially now that there's less than a month left before school starts, suitable candidates are even fewer."

Lynn was at most giving Dumbledore a suggestion; whether or not it was adopted was up to him. In any case, he didn't care who would ultimately take the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

With Lynn's current mastery of dark magic, and I'm not bragging, even if Old Man Dumbledore himself were to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he might not be able to teach him anything.

To put it somewhat dramatically, if he weren't too old, he could easily be the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts!

"Lynn, how about you be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for a year?" Dumbledore asked abruptly, looking at him with a smile.

Lynn was lost in thought when he subconsciously replied, "Of course."

Suddenly, he realized what Dumbledore was saying.

"That's a huge problem!"

He stared wide-eyed as Dumbledore slammed his hand on the table. "Why would you even think of that? I'm only a third-year student, barely a month past my thirteenth birthday, and you want me to be a professor at Hogwarts? Are you kidding me?"

Dumbledore comforted him, saying, "Age is not a problem. Can't you shapeshift? Just take Lockhart's place and impersonate him to attend class. Although he is a fraud, very few people know his true nature. Using his appearance to attend class will be enough to convince everyone."

"I've only been in magic school for two years, my abilities are insufficient."

"Be modest, be modest. If you're not capable enough, what are all the Aurors in the entire Su Kingdom? Slugs? Excessive modesty is arrogance. Don't underestimate yourself."

"I just want to be a student, not a professor."

"A student who doesn't want to be a professor isn't a good student. Besides, becoming a professor doesn't mean you can't be a student. The third-year courses aren't too difficult for you, are they? I'll give you a special leave slip. Go to your third-year classes when you have time, and if you don't have time or don't want to go, then don't go. What's the big deal?"

"The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is cursed; I'm afraid of dying."

"Who said there's a curse? Those rumors are just that. You've been at Hogwarts for two years now. Look at why Fawkes and Quirrell got into trouble. They didn't come to be professors to teach; they had ulterior motives. As long as you have no ulterior motives and just teach honestly, what trouble could possibly happen to you? I can guarantee you that as long as you don't cause trouble, you'll be perfectly fine as a professor. You'll step down peacefully next year and go home comfortably."

Dumbledore now completely lacked the reliable aura of his former self, resembling more like the head of a pyramid scheme trying to recruit newcomers into their wealthy and luxurious family.

Lynn stared at Dumbledore with half-closed eyes, refusing to give an answer.

Dumbledore didn't waste any more words. He knew Lynn was the type who wouldn't act until he saw a benefit, so he changed his approach and directly told Lynn about the advantages.

"If you become a professor, you can take better care of your own house. Slytherin has won the House Cup for several years in a row, and you don't want it to end, right?"

"I earn my points through my own abilities; I don't need to resort to any of those fancy tricks."

"The professors at Hogwarts don't earn low salaries."

"Hehe, I've never touched money, I have no interest in money."

"With the title of professor, you can freely browse any book in the library, including those in the restricted section."

"This is interesting."

Lynn stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Money is nothing to him. If Lynn cares about anything most in the magical world right now, it's magical knowledge.

Every true wizard has an insatiable thirst for and pursuit of knowledge. Lynn now possesses several key spells, including the spread of dark magic and the modification of Animagus, all of which he acquired from magic books.

Although he had already arranged for Old John to carry out the plan to acquire Hogwarts, once successful, the entire Hogwarts would be his, and at that time a mere library would be as easy for him as entering his own backyard.

However, this plan cannot be accomplished in a short time, and Lynn does not intend to announce it to the world immediately after buying the twelve families' seats on the Hogwarts Board of Governors, as that would inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

So Dumbledore's offer was quite tempting, but it was far from enough to make Lynn accept it.

"After you became a professor, playing two roles at once was also very helpful for your plans in your third year."

Old Deng's words were rather veiled, but Lynn could understand what he meant.

Dumbledore clearly sensed that Lynn was interested, so he pressed on.

"And isn't it interesting to become a professor and then secretly teach your friends?"

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Lynn looked at him with disdain.

"What kind of person do you take me for? I only have one condition."

Dumbledore smiled at him and asked, "What are the conditions?"

"Once I become a professor, I can stop working whenever I want."

"make a deal."

(End of this chapter)