The slacker professor at Hogwarts

008 Outrageous Course Schedule

The Black Magic Creature "Three Hands'" method of filling human minds with fear is ineffective against Lockhart.

This is partly due to Lockhart's chaotic mind filled with various memories and noisy voices, but also due to the methods of a well-informed wizard.

Or rather, one's state of mind.

--courage.

It's not Gryffindor courage, but Ravenclaw courage.

The courage required for combat spellcasting is an emotion, and a passionate one at that, while the courage to face dark magical creatures is a state of mind, often a calm one.

This state of mind is an innate ability that allows Lockhart to be unafraid of the negative emotions emanating from many dark magical creatures, including even the most infamous Dementors, the guardians of Azkaban.

In fact, wizarding is a game about talent.

Fantastic Beasts are to Hagrid and Newt, Battle Charms are to Harry Potter, Magical Creatures are to the Weasley twins, and even Ron, the least remarkable character in the original books, possesses unparalleled linguistic talent, easily mimicking Harry's Parseltongue and Peter Pettigrew's voice, and has a natural talent for spells and linguistic magic.

Of course, having talent is not enough; a wizard must know how to make good use of his talent and even find an environment suitable for his talent to flourish.

Those gifted with dark magic should become dark wizards, while those skilled in combat and possessing unique ways of adapting to the rules should become Aurors…

Lockhart dared to say that someone like Snape, who betrayed his faith by choosing Dumbledore to teach at Hogwarts, would have been weaker than he was during the so-called First Wizarding War if he hadn't continued to study dark magic in private.

Because their mindset has been damaged, and they have strayed from their own talents.

Of course, people change. When one's mindset changes, one's talents also change. Who knows?

Take Lockhart for example. He doesn't mind being a dark wizard at all, so he's so greedy that he doesn't decide to extract those memories from his mind, including those of the dozen or so powerful wizards, as well as those of the original Lockhart.

In the wizarding world, it's too easy. With just a little skill, you can hold your wand to your head and extract memories one by one. It's that convenient.

For someone like him who inherited the original owner's top-level understanding and control over the Oblivion Curse, it wouldn't be difficult to do so.

Having arrived in the magical wizarding world, he had no intention of becoming a Muggle again. Instead, he wanted to find a way to digest and absorb the memories in his mind, as well as the emotions, thought processes, values, and states of mind contained within them.

If he was a wizard in his past life, he would definitely be a Ravenclaw, as he was born knowing how to think about and make good use of his talents.

Hermione didn't linger in the office for long. The dark magical creatures, the Boggarts, were making a ruckus in the peeling makeup box, and the Cornish elves were shaking their birdcages vigorously, making her feel like these monsters were about to escape.

After she left, Lockhart closed the doors and windows, then reopened the jar and released the three hands.

"Gurgle~~"

The golden, fluffy little monkey stared at him with wide, curious eyes, its third arm, which had grown from under its right armpit, curled up between its chest and abdomen.

Lockhart took a large apple from the table, broke it in half forcefully, and handed one half to the apple. "Want some?"

"Gurgle~"

The little monkey thought for a moment, then reached out and took the food. It tried taking a bite, and its eyes lit up. It held the food in both hands and chewed it one bite after another, eating very seriously.

"Hahaha~~~" Lockhart laughed heartily, ruffling the little monkey's head. "From now on, you're not allowed to leave my office without my permission. If you can do that, I can get you something delicious to eat every day, okay?"

The chewing sound stopped, and the little monkey began to hesitate, looking at the apple in its hand and then at the door.

"If you don't agree, then I'll have to lock you in a jar. I know you're a special kind of dark magic creature who loves to bask in the sun; perhaps I can build you a little nest by the window?"

The little monkey clearly understood, and turned its head to look at the window in confusion. It was nighttime, and there was no sunlight.

"Never been in the sun?"

Lockhart looked at it with a smile. "Trust me, you'll like it. I know your kind of creature too well."

Many wizards have this stereotype that dark wizards like to stay in dark alleys and that dark magical creatures like to stay in dark and damp corners. This three-handed creature was obviously arranged in this way by the person who kept it.

Distinguishing between wild and domesticated dark magic creatures is simple. Dark magic creatures that have been in contact with humans for a long time can understand human speech and communicate more easily, which is easy to determine.

Who knows which dark wizard Mad-Eye Moody got his hands on from?

"Gurgle~"

The little monkey finally nodded and stretched out its third hand, raising it to its eyes.

Lockhart shook hands with it, and the deal was officially finalized.

This does not mean it fully endorses the deal, but rather that it has decided to try cooperation. If it later discovers that such cooperation will greatly harm its own interests, it will no longer pursue the partnership.

But this is a good start; taming a dark magic creature is no easy feat.

Lockhart could have simply put it in the jar. Dark magic creatures are not creatures in the conventional sense. They do not have the same basic needs as living beings, such as eating, drinking, defecating, aging, getting sick, and dying. They also do not have the ability to reproduce. In academic terms, they are called "non-existent" or "non-human paranormal phenomena."

But he was also too lonely. He also had too many things he couldn't tell anyone, and dared not tell anyone. Keeping a monster as a pet was a good choice.

"From now on, you'll be called Little Golden Retriever."

Lockhart chuckled as he named his new pet.

But his smile quickly faded.

As he sat down at his desk and began his work, intending to take the year's teaching tasks seriously, his gaze suddenly froze.

"What the hell is this?!"

He couldn't help but scream, which made the little golden retriever turn its head to look at him in confusion.

Lockhart was so shocked that he was completely dazed, his pupils dilating violently!

The little golden retriever, carrying an apple in its mouth, climbed up the chair leg onto Lockhart's shoulder, its little head bowed as it looked at the thin piece of paper in his hand, wondering why its new owner suddenly felt a strong sense of fear.

This is something even it couldn't do.

That's how it was done with just this piece of paper.

It tried to read it carefully, but couldn't understand the words on it.

The content on it was the Defense Against the Dark Arts schedule, which was nothing special. The key point was that Lockhart had no idea what an absurd concept it was that a school with seven years and four houses had only one Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Furthermore, unlike Potions or Transfiguration, which teach two houses simultaneously, Blacksmithing is taught separately for each house!

The first year is alright; each college only has one class, so there are only four classes for all four colleges.

From the second to the fourth year, there are two classes, so for the four colleges, there are eight classes.

Fifth grade is a combined class of two lessons, which makes a total of eight lessons.

In sixth and seventh grade, the four colleges finally merged their classes, creating large classes.

That means you have to attend 40 classes a week!

The entire schedule is packed full, leaving no spare time.

But that's not all. The professor also has a crucial NEWT class, which consists of students he selects to continue teaching after the fifth-year ordinary wizarding level exams, in preparation for the ultimate wizarding exams.

This part of the teaching does not have a timetable; it requires consistent weekly instruction from the teacher, essentially like mentoring an apprentice.

"Hiss~~~"

Lockhart gasped sharply, feeling as if he almost fainted.

He suddenly felt a deep respect for Snape, since if he remembered correctly, Snape had worked part-time as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for a period of time in the original story.

part time!

Are you kidding me? How did you do that?

Originally, he was in charge of Potions, part-time Defense Against the Dark Arts, the headmaster's duties, night patrols of the campus, relentlessly targeting Harry Potter, and various school affairs, such as hosting Quidditch matches, etc...

Of course, there's also the ridiculously heavy workload of lesson preparation and homework grading...

Could it be that Snape is too busy to wash his hair?

No, no!

Lockhart was horrified to discover that Snape was not currently working a part-time job. Given the current workload and his past impressions of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the two busiest professors were probably himself and Professor Binns!

Professor Binns is a ghost, so of course he can go without eating, drinking, or sleeping, but he can't.

If he continues like this for a year, he might become the second Professor Binns!

With this kind of workload, there's absolutely no need for Voldemort's curse!

Who could possibly do that!

"Professor Dumbledore!"

"Professor Dumbledore!!!"

Lockhart grabbed the timetable and rushed toward Old Deng's office without hesitation; he couldn't wait a moment longer.

Since he didn't have the password for the principal's office access, he could only stand at the door and shout loudly.

In fact, he knew he should go to Professor McGonagall, as the course schedule was most likely arranged by her, and Dumbledore probably didn't personally handle it.

However, it is indeed inappropriate to disturb a lady in the middle of the night.

After calling for a while, the huge stone beast at the door finally closed its wings. Lockhart rushed to the automatic spiral staircase behind the door and entered the office.

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, wearing a pink wizard's robe studded with many silver moon and star sequins, with a steaming cup of coffee and a large number of documents in front of him.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, a glint of light flashing in his crescent-shaped glasses. He narrowed his eyes. "It's not a good idea to have such a dark magic creature running around the school, Professor Lockhart."

Lockhart paused for a moment, then realized what was happening and quickly pulled the little golden retriever off his shoulder and stuffed it into the pocket of his wizard robe.

The way Dumbledore was treated so roughly and casually with such a powerful dark magic creature caused him to raise an eyebrow, a hint of inexplicable surprise in his expression.

"Is there something you need so late at night?"

Lockhart opened his mouth, looked at the imposing Dumbledore, and suddenly didn't know what to say.

What did you say? You think the workload is too heavy?

This was a shocking thing for him, but it was probably nothing out of the ordinary for Dumbledore, who had been a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts since his youth.

"That's how it is..."

Lockhart reacted incredibly quickly; in the short time it took him to walk from the doorway to his desk, a great idea had already formed in his head.

"I have a great idea about teaching. I don't know if you have time. I'm sorry I was so excited that I didn't notice the time."

Dumbledore gestured for someone to sit down in the empty chair opposite his desk, took off his glasses, and leaned back wearily in the chair. "Please speak."