The slacker professor at Hogwarts

033 Severus's Potions Class

The Dark Lord's curse did not cause Lockhart any trouble in his school life.

Aside from his regular classes, he tried to avoid wandering around the school to avoid triggering any incidents. After class, he would either stay alone in the library or office to read, or hang out with students from the "NEWT Enhancement Class" and the "Duel Club," any one of whom was stronger than him.

—He has always been like this.

Nothing has changed.

That afternoon was probably the most crowded day in Lockhart's office.

All the advanced class and club members were present.

Unlike the lower grades, the upper grades do not have classes from morning till night, giving them ample time to receive training from professors.

As for why the club members were also here, we have to mention Mrs. Hooch of the flight class. It is said that she once again successfully ruined the class. Apart from the student who was injured and took all the blame, the other young wizards had another relaxing and pleasant afternoon.

Harry and his friends wouldn't normally be so obedient as to go to the professor's office for solitary confinement during their hard-earned free time, but when they turned around, they found that Draco and his friends had come straight here without stopping. Wow, how could they be outdone?

And so, more than forty young wizards filled the office to capacity.

But it was surprisingly quiet.

Harry and his classmates were busy searching for information and organizing notes, while the upperclassmen in the advanced class were also engrossed in writing down last year's exam questions that Lockhart had obtained from the Ministry of Magic.

The results of the ultimate wizard exam determine the future of these young wizards.

And it was almost decisive.

Not to mention the extremely strict academic requirements of the various departments of the Ministry of Magic, other organizations in society also only accept the most outstanding small group of students.

For example, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Healings requires its therapists to have grades of "good" or above in at least five subjects.

This requirement is now on par with the Auror difficulty set by the Ministry of Magic!

Even the "gifted students" of the Wizarding World—Quidditch players.

Besides needing exceptional talent, young wizards also need to have impressive achievements before graduation—at least stand out from the school team and make it into the national Quidditch team.

In the original Triwizard Tournament, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang Academy of Magic had already led his national team to the Quidditch World Cup finals as the Seeker before the tournament even began.

There aren't many respectable jobs in the wizarding world, and not many in the general public either. If you want to go into business, unless you have a unique skill like the Weasley twins, you can only go home and inherit the Leaky Cauldron like Hannah the Iron-Hat Queen.

This is the harshest reality facing upperclassmen!

If you fail even one subject, you can almost certainly say that you'll never have a good job in your life.

Of course, those with exceptionally good family backgrounds, like Draco Pancy or Newt Scamander, can still work at the Ministry of Magic even if they drop out of school.

This is why Voldemort's advocacy of pure-blood supremacy garnered such widespread support; resources in the Wizarding World are extremely scarce, so they have to fight for them.

The vast majority of wizards spend their entire lives struggling at the bottom of society.

Those who were academically weak were alright, like Snape's mother, who married a Muggle furniture merchant and never missed life in wizarding society, even after her family fell on hard times.

There are too many people like that, including Lockhart's mother.

What's most frightening are those who are stuck in the middle, and in order to compete for more social resources, they naturally start to come into contact with simple, easy-to-learn but extremely powerful dark magic.

As a result, there are far too many dark wizards in the strict sense, to the point that the Ministry of Magic has to turn a blind eye to existences like Knockturn Alley, and this is the case in all countries.

Otherwise, if another ambitious bigwig comes along shouting "Dark magic is supreme," and his followers follow suit, it will be another war that will sweep across the entire wizarding world.

In this kind of social environment.

Lockhart's achievements, from a low-level wizard from an ordinary mixed-race family, have made him a prominent figure in the upper echelons of the wizarding world by writing best-selling books, further highlighting the value of his personal brand.

In the eyes of those at the bottom of wizarding society, people might think that Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel are incredibly powerful, but too distant and unattainable. On the other hand, someone like Lockhart can become a real idol for them, someone they worship fervently.

They were less obsessed with Lockhart and more obsessed with a beautiful dream that seemed within reach.

This!

This is the underlying logic behind Lockhart's six-year reign at the top of the bestseller list!

His writing is intended for the majority of people at the bottom of wizarding society, and the knowledge points selected and included in the book are most practical for these people, rather than serving as a reference book for professionals such as school professors or Aurors.

While these fans may not seem to have high spending power, he is a globally renowned author with a huge fan base, making it incredibly easy for him to top the bestseller list.

"No surprises at all~"

Lockhart casually tossed aside the greeting card sent by his senior, Rita Skeeter, and didn't care about the grade.

See, he wasn't showing off. He just clearly knew why he was successful, but in other people's eyes, he was extremely arrogant.

Lockhart wrote to his senior to arrange a date for an on-campus interview, which he then entrusted to an owl to deliver. Lockhart then turned his attention back to the books in his hands.

"Powerful Potions" is a banned book; all the potions in it are prohibited from being made, traded, or used by the Ministry of Magic.

All the potions in the book share a clear characteristic: someone steals something from another person.

For example, compound decoctions are like stealing the appearance of another person.

And the "Mischievous Brain" he's currently reading is the same.

Its function is to extract brain matter containing fragments of the soul from the head of the deceased, make it into a potion, and drink it to know the deceased's last words, hence its other name, "Last Words Soup".

Of course, you can also take advantage of the other party's legacy, such as their bloodline abilities.

Harry Potter must have experienced firsthand the effects of such an evil potion. He had a fragment of Voldemort's soul in his head, which allowed him to easily acquire Parsley's bloodline ability.

The book also cites a very cult case—

The witch screamed hysterically: You have no idea what I want!

The wizard painfully pulled out his wand: I'll figure it out, I swear, Avada Kedavra!

Then, he extracted her brain matter, mixed it into a potion, drank it, and realized how deeply she loved him. So he followed her in death.

The author's intention in writing this short article is almost explicitly stated—one can kill the other party first, without being concerned about the corpse.

Lockhart clicked his tongue, shook his head, and continued looking at the detailed configuration information.

then……

Then, somewhat tragically, he discovered that he seemed unable to understand what was being told.

Industry specializing in surgery.

Lockhart was a poor student. He remembered that several of the dozen or so powerful wizards had the skill of brewing potions, but most of them were not from an academic background.

There are witches who traditionally boil potions in large vats, and tribal shamans who feed medicinal herbs to magical creatures to make potions—these are all strange and unusual folk practices.

There was one half-baked academic, but all I remember were half-baked pharmacists and businessmen who would dilute inferior aphrodisiacs with water and sell them as perfume – those outrageous and shady practices.

For the first time, he felt the urgency of not having enough 'memory' stored in his mind.

Oh no, that's not the right way to think.

Lockhart thought for a moment, then simply packed his things and stood up. Professional matters should be left to professionals, just like how someone as capable as Professor McGonagall would seek his help when faced with problems in the field of defense against the dark magic.

He should go find Snape.

Lockhart looked around at the children and, seeing that everyone was working hard, didn't disturb them. He then called over the wronged fairy and the little golden-haired boy who were sitting on a tree branch in the dense foliage, looking down at the young wizards.

This was agreed upon last night; from now on, they will accompany us when we go out.

The wronged fairy jumped down from the tree, and before she could pounce on him, she extended long pink tendrils like a glowing jellyfish and pierced his body, instantly disappearing into him.

It cannot yet control its abilities well, so it can only choose to hide.

The little golden retriever was much more relaxed, standing directly on Lockhart's shoulder.

It beckoned, and a wisp of black smoke emerged from the hollow of the peach tree beside the fireplace, quickly circled the treetop, and then disappeared back into Lockhart's wizard robe sleeve.

As for the winged demon, it had already been placed in the wizard's robe pocket.

This is Lockhart's current full strength. Compared to his almost dispensable wand, these magical creatures give him far more sense of security.

Go out.

As I approached Snape's office again, a familiar aroma of seafood hot pot wafted towards me.

This herbal decoction has been brewing since the start of the semester, and it's still not ready.

The office door was open, and looking around, you could see Snape seemingly engrossed in writing something at the long table at the far end.

Lockhart raised his hand and knocked on the door, smiling brightly, "Snape-senpai!"

I called out several times, but the other person didn't respond, as if they were mesmerized.

Lockhart hesitated for a moment, then simply went inside. Looking up, he saw that the long table was cluttered with manuscript papers, the top one written in the format of a book cover—"Severus's Potions Class" by Severus Snape.

Yoho~

Senior, didn't you say you weren't interested in publishing a book?

Lockhart chuckled and noticed a pile of reference books covered in bookmarks and folded pages next to the table.

Breaking Up with the Female Ghost

Traveling with Ghouls

Vacationing with a She-Devil

Walking with Trolls

"Traveling with a Vampire"

……

All of them are my own works.

"What should I write next..." Snape muttered, looking troubled as he stared at the manuscript with a furrowed brow.

Lockhart leaned over for a glance and, with his keen experience, immediately offered his answer: "Add a short story about the potion's application to increase reading enjoyment and also make it easier for readers to understand the potion's effects..."

Snape suddenly realized what was happening and lowered his head to write again.

As I wrote...

His hand froze.

Slowly raising his head, as if his neck weighed a ton, as if he dared not look at the person behind him, he twisted his neck little by little.

What came into view was the very person he least wanted to see right now.

Hi~

Lockhart greeted her with a bright smile, "Good afternoon!"

Boom~

The silent, wandless spell, "Blazing Flames," instantly engulfed everything on the long table. Snape, almost instinctively, drew his wand and swung it rapidly at Lockhart, "Oblivion!"

But it's a pity.

If he had intended to cast any other spell, it would have been fine, but it was the Oblivion Charm. Before Lockhart could even get started on his wand-waving stance, Lockhart had already made a dodging motion.

He was extremely familiar with this magic.

No one knew him better than him.

"Forget everything, and all is emptiness!"

"Forget everything, and all is emptiness!"

Three shots were fired in quick succession, but none of them hit the target.

"Hey, Snape, don't get excited, don't get excited, writing a book is nothing, calm down!" Lockhart shouted while dodging the spell.