From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

While William was collecting the items and helping with the appraisal, taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to the items, William managed to take something from almost every student.

"Mr. Weasley, go back and write a report on wizards who have had their wands stolen in history. It's due before class next week. Any objections?"

"Penelo Krivate".

Another magic wand was pulled out.

The remaining students began frantically checking their belongings—but unfortunately, while their attention was focused on identifying the items, they most likely lost their items as well.

"A report?"

"Yes, Professor."

The sacks were unfolded again and again, and the students who were sitting down were all half a head shorter.

But this didn't stop William from smiling and handing out things to the whole class.

“I think everyone got their own wand, and I’m sure of that.”

"Actually, I've noticed that many students are putting their wands in the wrong place—don't put your wand in your back pocket. Not only is it easy to blow your butt up, but to your enemies, putting your wand there is no difference from leaving it on the street."

"Although the magical world is peaceful now (William suppressed his guilt for lying), it is always important to remember to keep your wand in a safe and convenient place—if even a cauldron can explode in front of you, what else is impossible?"

"Alright, everyone, cheer up, get out of class dismissed. Apart from that paper, there's no other homework, but I hope everyone can find the best spot for their wands before the next class."

I wonder if the students are happy?

William, smiling happily, was the first to walk out of the classroom.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Shock! The professor actually...

"Ha, how did Professor William's first class go?"

In the faculty lounge, William had just pushed open the door when Professor Adams, the herbalist, and Professor Singed, the alchemist, surrounded him, asking for his impressions of the very first class.

It was only the first day of school, and neither of them had any classes. When William came over after class, the two were playing Wizards Chess.

Although each professor has their own office, most professors spend their spare time there unless they have something to do—it's too boring to be alone in the office.

A minute earlier, when William pushed open the door to the lounge, Professor Singed, who was about to lose, stood up in surprise. He then accidentally knocked over half of the chessboard and, amidst the murmurs of the chess pieces, enthusiastically uttered the very first sentence.

Professor Adams, unwilling to give up, then gathered around.

"Alright buddy, it's just a game of chess. It's more important to care about your new colleague right now, don't you think?"

"Alright, I'll let it go this time, but if I remember correctly, Professor Lockhart is also teaching the first class today?"

Lockhart? That new professor?

William, who was slightly relaxed after the easy and pleasant completion of the first class, became a little nervous—he had already gained a preliminary understanding of just how legendary the talkative Professor Lockhart really was over the past two days.

Although the professor, like a prosthetic tooth come to life, constantly flaunted his smile and achievements, those accomplishments were described in a rather vivid and detailed manner.

William swore, based on his two lifetimes of experience, that it was impossible to write such vivid adventures simply by making up stories. He had read through a book, and all the details in the story were incredibly reasonable, far beyond the level of fiction.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is considered a legendary novel, is so relatable because Luo Guanzhong actually served as a strategist. Many of the contents seem a bit unrealistic – the adventure stories are written so realistically that if anyone says they are made up, William will be the first to jump out and smash their head in disbelief.

Some people crave fame, others pursue profit; both are normal. William has seen people who do charity work so much they want to announce it to the whole world, but they genuinely spend real money on it.

Therefore, William had no doubt that the new professor was truly capable—being a show-off and being truly capable are two different things.

……

The faculty lounge was a long space filled with mismatched old chairs.

Compared to the professor's private office, the furnishings here are much more casual, with hardly any tables. However, the entertainment facilities are quite comprehensive, with a full range of board games and card games.

Although it was late summer, a weak fire burned in the fireplace to dispel the dampness. However, there was no one around the fire. William was led back to the table with the chessboard by the other two professors, and they began to discuss what it felt like to teach a class.

Clearly, Professor Adams was very interested in Professor Lockhart. When the three of them chatted about the students' little antics in class, Professor Adams would mention Professor Lockhart almost every few sentences.

Strangely, almost half an hour had passed since get out of class ended, but Professor Lockhart still hadn't appeared in his office.

Most of the professors who had taught their first class in the afternoon but had no new lessons came to the lounge one after another. Whenever a professor opened the door, Adams would always look up at the door.

At this moment, Professor Singed suddenly asked with a hint of unease:

"Adams, do you admire Professor Lockhart a lot?"

I'm still here. If you two are close, you can talk privately—your relationship hasn't reached that level yet, has it?

Not only Adams, but even William was startled by this question.

But to his surprise, Professor Adams honestly admitted it.

"I wouldn't call it admiration, but sometimes I do envy that professor. Although I really enjoy herb class and am willing to take care of them day after day in the greenhouse, and even more willing to nurture students like I would herbs, I still envy Professor Lockhart."

Adams said in a very serious tone:

“Look, he can easily go on adventures in dangerous places, deal with monsters, see herbs from different places, and see all kinds of scenery—I’ve been at Hogwarts for three years, and although I still love it here, I always imagine that I can go on adventures like that and see all the potions in the world.”

This guy really idolizes Professor Lockhart—William was a little surprised, but quickly came to terms with it.

Based on the information he currently has, Professor Lockhart has become famous throughout the wizarding world through his books. Returning to Hogwarts to teach is simply a way for a well-known alumnus to hold the title of professor—it's just that the word "honor" is removed.

His main profession is taking risks, and writing books is his side job. Judging by his achievements alone, he is more than qualified to be a professor. Now he is just a side job plus a professorship, so it is understandable that he is regarded as an idol.

But Professor Singed, standing nearby, clearly didn't think so: "That's not right. You're so capable, you can even fix the greenhouse problem yourself. Hogwarts holidays are long, you have plenty of time to go on adventures during the summer!"

Blind student, you've discovered the key point!

But Adams' face suddenly turned red, and after looking around, he glared fiercely at Professor Singed—to be honest, his unusually large physique, developed from working in the greenhouse, looked extremely intimidating at that moment.

"Keep your voice down! You remember, I only got an A (pass) in Defense Against the Dark Arts in fifth grade, I didn't have a NEWTs certificate at all!"

He spoke to the two of them in a low voice, making no attempt to conceal William's presence.

Defense Against the Dark Arts...A...

William instantly understood—so you look tall and strong, but your fighting ability is probably only that of a few geese.

In other words, apart from him, the professor who was brought in, the other professors probably also have amazing achievements in their main subjects, but it's hard to say about their other courses.

That's not a problem. Even in top-tier high schools, the teachers are only average in terms of academic ability when they take the college entrance exam—unless you go back to the year they took the exam. And in a place like Hogwarts where certificates are calculated separately, the overall academic performance is even worse.

But Singed suddenly burst out laughing, though the sound was very low and was quickly suppressed, but Professor Adams, who was paying close attention, still noticed it.

"You bastard, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, I just remembered something funny."

William had been forcibly suppressing his laughter, but at this moment he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Professor William, what are you laughing at again?"

"I……"

William forcefully suppressed the latter half of his speech, just as the door opened.

“I saw Professor Lockhart come in!”

Chapter Fifty-Eight: A First-Rate Adventurer, A Clumsy Professor

"He looks a bit disheveled."

A mess?

William couldn't help but take another look at Lockhart as he walked in—his robe was still that extremely bright emerald green robe, so neat it looked like it had just been styled; his hair was perfectly styled, as if he had just had it done with hair wax; and his smile was still the kind that showed the most teeth. How could he be considered disheveled?

“You must be mistaken, Professor Singed. How can this place be such a mess? It looks like it was just cleaned up and is perfectly suitable for a banquet.”

Has it just been tidied up?

William recalled the thoughts that had crossed his mind and realized that this was quite possible—but it wasn't a big deal, just a mild case of mysophobia. Even friends wouldn't have the right to say anything strange about it, let alone colleagues.

"Exactly. If you ask me, your alchemy class has too few courses. It should be placed as an elective in the third year, just like the other subjects."

"Hmm?" The alchemy professor, who had been reprimanded by Adams, narrowed his eyes and revealed a sly smile.

"Well, it seems I really should get down to business. I probably won't be able to finish the special fertilizer this month. Alchemy experiments can't keep using dragon dung as a material, can they?"

"Don't do that, Professor Sprout will kill me, especially this month, the school's Whomping Willow was injured, and there's probably going to be a big shortage of fertilizer again."

"The 'Hit-and-Beat Willow'?"

William heard the name and was about to ask a question when he suddenly heard a very enthusiastic voice.

"Ha, William, how was the first lesson?"

Lockhart walked toward the three of them with a beaming smile. If William hadn't known that the professor had just finished class like him, he would have thought that the professor had returned from a victorious battle or made some major discovery.

"It's not bad. The students are quite well-behaved, and the classroom order is good. They were just a little nervous at the beginning, but they got over it quickly."

"That's good. It seems like you did a good job. How was the classroom atmosphere? Was it pleasant enough?"

Lockhart flashed his signature smile.

Joy?

William thought about it carefully. He was quite happy, but he guessed that the students writing papers probably weren't so happy.

But before William could answer, Lockhart began to reply on his own.

"Of course, of course, I'm not targeting you, Professor William. It's just that during my many years of adventurous travels, I've developed some unique insights into Defense Against the Dark Arts—well, the new course name is too cumbersome, so let's just call it that—and experienced many interesting things."

“This is not boasting, Professor William. I am often burdened by fame, but I would prefer people to focus more on my abilities and my adventures. Students are interested in my adventures, which is fine; I just happen to have some strengths in that area. I believe you will be an excellent professor.”

……

The long, uninterrupted string of words nearly confused William, and it took him a while to understand what the enthusiastic professor meant—he was probably there to teach him how to conduct a class.

'My self-defense magic is definitely a level below. He's a renowned adventurer, while I've only been learning magic for a short time. I haven't even properly mastered the Silent Spell, so I have to make up for it with unorthodox knowledge.'

Considering all this, even though William didn't quite agree with Lockhart's teaching methods, he still patiently listened to him for quite a while.

'That's strange, why is it only theory and not practice? Is this some kind of hidden trick?'

William, while skillfully playing the straight man, tried to absorb something useful, but after a long time he found nothing of value—some of the knowledge was even from years ago and hadn't been properly summarized.

This made the conversation increasingly uninteresting, but the other two professors in the audience became quite interested and offered many useful tips on controlling lecture time and keeping students engaged—Adams mainly pointed out that the alchemy professor would occasionally chime in to show that he was still participating in the discussion.

"Then so be it, Professor William."

After a long conversation, Lockhart finally ended his pointless sermon, waved, and left the faculty lounge.