Chapter 22: Dumbledore’s Problem!
"Professor McGonagall, long time no see." As soon as Lockhart emerged from the magic fireplace with green flames still lingering, he saw Professor McGonagall sitting at the desk opposite him and immediately greeted her.
Professor McGonagall raised her head and looked at Lockhart, who had smooth blond hair and was wearing a dark green robe. She looked at Lockhart in front of her as she recalled the student he had been before.
"Lockhart, you look a little unwell," Professor McGonagall said, staring at Lockhart with serious eyes, "But your clothes are quite exquisite," she added.
After Lockhart heard this, he smiled awkwardly—he had decided not to use the floo network for travel again. It seemed that learning Kamar Taj's portal magic must be put on his priority list.
Immediately, with a slight wave of his right hand, the Sling Ring flashed, and a simple rune appeared in front of him, emitting a faint light.
Rune - clean!
In a flash of light, Lockhart took on a new look, and all the dust on his body was removed by magic.
Professor McGonagall looked at the runes that had just appeared with great interest. Although she was a little surprised, she didn't say much.
"The principal is waiting for you in the office. You know the location. The password is - Carrot Cake."
"Okay, Professor," Lockhart responded politely, left Professor McGonagall's office, and walked toward the principal's office.
Looking at the very familiar corridors and stairs of Hogwarts in his memory, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. This time he had come to Hogwarts to see Dumbledore, which was considered a debriefing before class.
In the past, he had shared his class ideas with Dumbledore through owl envelopes.
Today was the first time he would meet Dumbledore. As usual, they would talk about the specific details of his class.
Soon, Lockhart reached the eighth floor and stood in front of the gargoyle. After tidying up his clothes, he cast a self-created spell on himself—[Lockhart's Shine].
With a smile on his face, his white teeth exposed, his chest puffed out, he spoke confidently to the stone.
"Carrot Cake!"
Boom!
The stone beast moved to the side, and the wall behind it cracked open, revealing an upward staircase.
"Lockhart?" Dumbledore's voice came from deep down the stairs.
Lockhart quickly replied: "Yes, Headmaster, it's me." Then he strode up the stairs and walked into the principal's office.
Walking to the top of the stairs, he entered a spacious and beautiful circular space.
Looking at the heads of the past principals of Hogwarts hanging on the surrounding walls, Lockhart waved politely.
Entering the principal's office, he saw a huge table with long thin legs standing not far away. Dumbledore, with silver hair and half-moon lenses, sat behind it.
"Good morning, principal!" Lockhart stepped forward and greeted him politely.
"Wait a minute, you can eat some candy on the table, and we can talk after I finish with this."
"Okay, principal, you go ahead and take your time." Looking at Principal Dumbledore who was looking down at the book he was reading, Lockhart responded and looked around the entire room.
Apart from the portraits of the past principals of Hogwarts hanging everywhere, the thing that caught Lockhart's attention the most was a bookcase at the back.
"Nicolas Flamel on Alchemy"
"36 Ways to Use the Patronus Charm"
"Advanced Black Magic Knowledge"
Just looking at some of the titles of books in the bookcase, Lockhart's eyes lit up, and he wanted to open Dumbledore's bookcase immediately, borrow a few books, and read some.
Pity, Lockhart quickly withdrew his gaze and looked at the silverware and some potions of various colors next to him. Soon Lockhart was staring at a bracket by the window.
The phoenix, covered in golden feathers, held the stand tightly with both claws and turned its head to stare at Lockhart curiously. Looking into each other's eyes, Lockhart showed the most friendly smile in his life, his eyes shining and his heart even warmer.
This was a phoenix. It could survive for thousands of years through rebirth. Its tears alone could cure most diseases in the world, and were the core material of many precious potions. Even just one feather from the body cost dozens of gold galleons.
Seeing the phoenix not far away, Lockhart subconsciously wanted to get closer and closer.
"Cough!" Dumbledore coughed slightly and looked at Lockhart's eyes, which seemed to be reminding him of something.
Lockhart came back to his senses, his expression straightened, as if he had not had any evil thoughts just now.
Then, watching Dumbledore close the cover of the book, his expression froze, and then he said with a smile on his face: "Principal Dumbledore, I didn't expect you to also like the book I wrote."
The cover of the book was engraved with conspicuous words - "Days with the Snow Monster" by Gilderoy Lockhart.
"The writing is quite good, quite interesting," Dumbledore smiled without any cover-up, then took the book away to reveal a character profile.
When Lockhart saw it, his pupils shrank, and instead of lowering his head, he raised his chest and showed a brighter smile on his face.
"Needham Mack, male, 45 years old, lives in the snowy mountains of the Himalayas. He spends all his time with snow monsters."
Needham Mack was the source of the book material for "Days with the Snow Monster".
The original Lockhart had stolen his memory to write this book.
"Headmaster, what do you want to know about the snow monster? The main character in the book is right in front of you," Lockhart said humorously to himself.
"Haha, speaking of snow monsters, I really want to know more about it," Dumbledore laughed, raised the book at hand and asked, "I thought the best way to deal with snow monsters was the Fire-Making Spell, but I didn't expect it. The book way is completely different from what I thought."
"Principal, the snow monster is indeed different from what most wizards think. This is because the snow monster has lived in the ice and snow for a long time and has extremely strong magical defense capabilities. Ordinary magic spells cannot harm it at all. At the same time, in the ice and snow, the power of the Fire-Making Spell or Incendio will be reduced, so it is not the best choice. To deal with snow monsters, I personally recommend using the leg-tripping spell. Although it is a small spell, the snow monster's movement will be hindered. It's easy to fall down due to the leg-tripping spell whether it's escaping, capturing, or even killing, it's the only choice."
"It seems that you are quite experienced in this area," Dumbledore smiled after hearing this. "It seems that I'm right to choose you for the Defence Against the Dark Arts course."
Hearing this, Lockhart smiled and said nothing more.
He knew that meeting with Dumbledore was risky, and he was not stupid, he must digest the knowledge in his memory.
Stolen memories are also memories, and knowledge will never be false.
By the way, stealing memories seems to be a shortcut to learning knowledge.
The thought flashed through Lockhart's mind.
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