Chapter 220 Lockhart finally makes the headlines

Lockhart's office.

The place was decorated very luxuriously, looking like a high-grade five-star hotel.

The walls around the office were hung with pictures of Lockhart, only the people in the pictures either had a downcast expression or were full of anxiety.

As for Lockhart himself ...

He was walking back and forth in his office, his face anxious one moment, bereaved the next, and full of panic another time.

"It can't go on like this!"

Lockhart looked at himself in the mirror and muttered to himself, "You have to find a chance to prove yourself, that you, Gilderoy Lockhart, are a master of magic!"

It was just, that as soon as those words were uttered, Lockhart returned to that dejected look.

He knew what level he had.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Lockhart worked hard to gain fame and fortune. He was successful, he became the most celebrated author in the British wizarding community and was awarded the Order of Merlin, Third Class.

He had made a name for himself!

But at some point, he suddenly realized that he had lost the ability to cast spells.

He could cast spells, but the spell he cast would not be what he wanted to cast.

So much so that he couldn't even beat a second-year young wizard now.

And this matter was witnessed by dozens of people simultaneously.

Everyone in Hogwarts Castle now knew that he was a watered-down liar.

Lockhart was filled with fear.

Right now, all these rumours were still confined to the castle, but he knew that they would soon flow out of the castle and end up being known to the entire magic world.

After all, there is a family behind every young wizard in the magic world, and no one can ignore their influence.

Just then, out of Lockhart's sight, a small beetle flew in from outside the open window. It landed in a hidden corner, its eyes staring straight at Lockhart.

If you looked closely at the beetle's eyes, you would realize that the beetle was actually in a state of excitement.

"Damn Andy Collins!"

Lockhart gritted his teeth and cursed, "I didn't anticipate that a second-year young wizard would have mastered silent spell casting and that I would make a big fool out of myself!"

Lockhart felt that he still had some skill.

He felt that if Andy recited an incantation, he could dodge away even if he couldn't defend against it.

But Andy's spell casting was too fast, so fast that he couldn't react in time.

"I should have cast a Memory Charm on him!"

Lockhart spoke in a voice filled with hatred, "Just like those people, all it takes is one Memory Charm to forget everything."

However, just as the sentence was uttered, Lockhart lost it and sighed, his voice a little panicked, "I can't, too many people saw me get knocked out, and now everyone in the castle knows about it."

"I can't possibly cast a Memory Charm on all of them."

"What am I going to do?"

"I must do something to restore my lost fame."

"And this must not be allowed to spread outside the castle."

Lockhart's entire being is in a state of panic, and he is unsure of what he should do to salvage his dying reputation.

He didn't even have a way to prove himself.

Because other than the Memory Charm, he simply couldn't cast any of his spells properly.

'Memory Charm!?' The little beetle in the corner was excited in her heart at the moment.   

What had she heard?

Combined with those speculations that Andy had mentioned in his letter, Rita Skeeter instantly finished brainstorming the whole truth of the matter.

Those adventures of Lockhart were all other people's, he heard those stories from other people's mouths, then he cast Memory Charm on them, and finally made those stories his own.

Big news!

Rita Skeeter believed that as long as she reported this matter, not only would Lockhart lose his reputation, but even the Order of Merlin, Third Class award and Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League position would be affected.

Because they trusted a liar.

Having got the information she wanted, Rita Skeeter wasn't interested in watching Lockhart continue to go crazy - as entertaining as that was.

She was going to return to the newspaper office overnight, write up the article, and publish it in tomorrow morning's Daily Prophet.

That would surely shake the entire British magic community.

Even Fudge would have to thank her for that because Fudge was now on the verge of being driven mad by public opinion in the wizarding world.

This was the first time Azkaban had been attacked since it was used as a wizard prison - and Fudge was the current Minister of Magic.

This has led many to believe that Fudge is incompetent.

Rita Skeeter was on the verge of going crazy with joy.

***

The next morning, Andy saw the headline he wanted in the paper.

Lockhart had finally made the headlines.

Hermione also came over to Andy's side and read the paper with him.

"Lockhart has spent many long years inquiring about other people's adventures. After getting the information, he would cast a Memory Charm on them to make them forget those events ..."

The young witch softly recited, "Lockhart would then turn those adventure narratives into his own experiences, and then write them into a book as a way to gain great profit and fame ..."

"Even the Order of Merlin, Third Class award; Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League position was swindled and bought by him, not only is Lockhart not an adventurer, but he's even a dark wizard himself, and maybe the Azkaban attack is related to him ..."

"Of course, I don't believe he can do that; Lockhart couldn't even defeat a young second-year wizard in class, his magic ability is only a little bit better than a Squib's, he is probably just a lackey of those people ..."

"On top of that, I was forced to wonder if Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, has actually gone senile. He has recruited lousy Professors for two years in a row, can children really get a good education at Hogwarts?"

When reading this, Hermione's expression didn't look too good, "How could she say that about Professor Dumbledore?"

Andy said calmly, "Because it's the truth. Quirrell is a Death Eater and Lockhart is a fraud."

Hermione retorted, "Professor Dumbledore might have simply been deceived by them."

"That's why she said he had gone senile!"

Andy spread his hands, "The greatest wizard of the twentieth century was very smart when he was young. But he's now over a hundred and ten years old, so it's normal for his mind to be less sharp."

"It can't be said that Dumbledore knowingly hired Quirrell and Lockhart even though they had problems, right?"

Needless to say, this was a dead end.

Dumbledore couldn't refute it at all, he could only acquiesce that he was a senile old fool and couldn't say anything beyond that.

Andy felt that he had been merciful.

At least Andy hadn't spilled about Gryffindor and Slytherin group brawl to Rita Skeeter.

"Fine!"

Hermione felt that she had no reason to refute Andy's words at all, putting the newspaper down, Hermione suddenly changed her words, "Ms. Skeeter's aesthetics are a bit questionable, but she's really capable, she found out all the details about Lockhart in just one night."

"She's simply better than Auror!"

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