The slacker professor at Hogwarts

013 Lockhart's Desire

It must be said that Harry Potter has a certain talent for winning people's attention.

On one rare occasion, Lockhart walked through the school castle without being surrounded by a group of enthusiastic fans. After politely greeting him, the students he encountered all hid in a corner and pointed at Harry.

This made Harry feel terrible.

Lockhart chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, beckoning him to follow.

"Outstanding people often attract jealousy and scrutiny, and endure criticism and gossip. I'm very experienced in this," he said, gesturing to Draco. "I think our Mr. Malfoy feels the same way."

Draco, seeing Harry's astonished expression, simply tilted his head back proudly and gave a soft hum.

"It's obvious that Parsley is an exceptional talent, and I think our Mr. Malfoy, like me, would envy you."

Lockhart's words made Draco feel less proud. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he just pursed his lips and remained silent.

Lockhart then winked at Harry, as if to say, "See, I told you so."

Harry immediately felt much better.

The three of them finally arrived at Lockhart's office. After inviting the two little ones to sit down, Lockhart smiled and continued talking to them.

"In fact, Parsleyanism does not necessarily mean evil. Many people tend to use abilities to distinguish between good and bad people, which is full of prejudiced stereotypes."

"But we can't change these stereotypes, so smart people know how to exploit them."

Draco had been uninterested in Lockhart's invitation, but upon hearing his words, he was suddenly stunned.

His father, Lucius, had taught him that breaking the rules did not signify strength; rather, obeying the rules and then utilizing them was the mark of wisdom.

Perhaps Professor Lockhart and his father would have a lot in common.

"What should I do, Professor?" Harry Potter was drawn in by Lockhart's words.

Lockhart just smiled at him. "What are you doing? Proving you're not a dark wizard? Proving you're not an evil person?"

Harry nodded seriously.

"Sometimes life is really sad. We're always running around trying to prove ourselves," Lockhart sighed, pulling a pen from the pen holder and quickly writing on a piece of parchment on the table before pushing it towards Harry.

"There is a book in the library's restricted section called 'The Oldest Spells,' which contains several powerful and ancient spells, one of which is called the 'Guardian Spell.'"

"People who cannot feel true joy and beauty in their hearts cannot express it. Look, people like to call such people evil, just like the prejudice that having a parsnip voice means a bad person."

He shrugged, looking at Harry with interest. "Countless people with stereotypes can attest that dark wizards are simply incapable of casting the Patronus Charm. That's the easiest way to prove you're a good person, even under the Ministry of Magic's Wisengamour Trial."

"But it's difficult, Harry. Are you confident you can learn it?"

Ha gripped the professor's permission to borrow books from the restricted area tightly; his resolute expression said it all.

"Most wizards in this world can only release a cloud of silver smoke when they cast this spell. Only a very few wizards can summon the Patronus in its complete form. Harry, I have high expectations for you."

This child lacks self-motivation in learning, but now that he has the drive to prove himself, Lockhart is looking forward to the wonderful scene of a second-year wizard successfully casting the Patronus Charm.

He might be able to publish another book, "My Professorial Career and the Untold Story of Harry Potter," and who knows, he could make another fortune in royalties.

What's most interesting is that Lockhart himself had already begun to conceive the general framework and some details of this book after accepting Dumbledore's invitation, and had already had some preliminary content.

With a few minor modifications, it can be published directly.

Tsk, nice~

Next up is our Draco Malfoy.

Lockhart was equally interested in the child. He knew all too well how to pique the child's interest, waving his quill pen and mimicking the famous Disarming Charm gesture, which made Draco's pupils shrink.

Draco had just experienced the greatest humiliation of all, being knocked away by Harry Potter's Disarming Charm in front of the entire school and crashing to the ground in a very embarrassing manner.

"The Disarming Charm is a spell with a very wide range of applications."

Lockhart spoke eloquently, immediately capturing the attention of the two young wizards. "The Dark Cube Defense spell can be used in three main areas: against dark wizards, in duels, and even against dark magical creatures."

"Furthermore, the Disarming Charm can also be used when facing the threat of magical creatures."

In the original story, Harry Potter used the Disarming Charm to make the Spider release him.

"Many people know the effect of the Disarming Charm and how important it is for a wizard who needs a wand, so you must not only know how to use the Disarming Charm better, but also master its counter-charm."

"Yes, except for the Unforgivable Curse, every curse has a corresponding counter-curse."

He demonstrated the casting technique for the famous anti-spell, which is actually very simple: flick your wrist and swing it diagonally upwards like drawing a checkmark.

With a gentle flick, the opponent's attack was instantly neutralized.

"It's actually not difficult; many adult wizards are proficient in the silent casting of this counter-curse."

"Of course, you can start by learning the most basic methods of dealing with disarming spells, so that when you learn counter-spells, you can easily and naturally use them."

"Even when facing an enemy's disarming spell, at the critical moment when you feel your wand is about to fly out of your hand, this casting technique, combined with the wizard's instinct to grip the wand tightly, can quickly make up for the lost opportunity."

This was his reward for the two of them.

Draco's eyes lit up as he listened intently; he never wanted to be thrown on the butt by Harry Potter in public again with a disarming charm.

As for Harry, once he discovered that his Disarming Charm was ineffective against his nemesis Draco, he began to use other spells.

Plans are in place!

Lockhart could proudly declare that probably no one in the world understands the Disarming Charm better than him, not even Dumbledore.

After all, Old Deng was too awesome; almost no one could disarm him smoothly, so he didn't need to specifically study every subtle technique of the disarming spell.

The dozen or so powerful wizards in Lockhart's memory who faced various dangers year after year each had their own rich experience.

Now, Lockhart is teaching these two people almost without reservation.

This part could even be published as a book, detailing the possible disarming spells that a wizard might face from every angle, categorizing and explaining various coping techniques, as well as tips for casting disarming spells.

This even includes different staff-holding techniques for facing enemies of different levels.

"Watch my hand gestures. When facing a stronger enemy, you shouldn't grip your wands too tightly. This will prevent you from being carried away by the wand..."

"As long as you're not completely affected, you can now draw your spare wands and deliver the final, decisive blow when the enemy thinks you're incapacitated!"

"When facing enemies weaker than us, be careful. Their disarming spells will also take effect when they hit you, but they won't knock us away directly. So we need to adopt this posture at this time."

"Does this look familiar? Haha, this is the signature move of maneuvering a flying broom to quickly dodge enemies and maintain the ability to counterattack at any time. It's an application of this technique."

"You'll find that when you strike this pose, the disarmed wand will fly back into your arms. If you just reach out and grab it, you'll even find that the wand stays in your palm, just like catching the Golden Snitch in Quidditch."

"..."

Lockhart didn't notice that several figures had somehow appeared at the office door.

Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape, who had arrived at some unknown time, were also listening intently.

The most comprehensive, detailed, and practical methods, with such erudition and knowledge analyzing every detail of actual combat, even these three veteran wizards who had experienced many wizard battles were amazed.

Professor Snape had to admit that perhaps he had misjudged Lockhart? Was Lockhart really such a fool?

Those boastful words from the past seem to have truly become the best explanation for Lockhart's self-promotion.

He had no idea that Lockhart, who was deliberately gesturing with a quill, was looking at the two young wizards with such envy.

Hemp egg!

He also longed to have the ability to cast spells!

Having so much magical knowledge in his mind, yet being unable to successfully cast it, was pure torture for him.