A Certain Hogwarts Magician Professor

The little wizards who were eating breakfast in the auditorium whispered.

Hermione borrowed a newspaper from the next seat, pointed to the text, and said, "Look here,' Lockhart tampered with wizards' memories, and after obtaining their stories, he used Oblivion to make them forget everything. Only seven victims were found and their memories were permanently damaged.'"

The chicken legs in Ron's mouth were no longer fragrant. "So, I almost lost my memory forever?"

He still felt inconceivable that with the level of magic Lockhart showed on weekdays, he was able to make sneak attacks many times.

Harry also said with a lingering fear: "You may not even know that you have lost your memory. Who would have thought that he is a real master of the Oblivion Curse?"

"It's terrifying that I spent a week in the same office with someone like that." Ron took a gulp of pumpkin juice.

"I wonder who caught Lockhart?"

"Isn't that the Auror at the Ministry of Magic, I heard Dean say."

"Impossible, I asked the fat lady, and she said no outsiders came that day." Hermione said casually.

"How did she know?" Ron looked shocked. "It was just a portrait."

"Ron, the portrait also retains its own character. The fat lady is fond of opera and chatting. She often visits other portraits when no one is there." Hermione squinted, "As long as you praise her for singing more. Well, she'll be happy to share some gossip with you."

"And to be fair, her songs aren't bad."

...

That afternoon, in the principal's office, Felix and Dumbledore sat face to face, discussing the aftermath of Lockhart's arrest.

There were plates of small cakes and cookies on the table, and two glasses of pumpkin juice.

"Unfortunately, more people may be hurt than originally expected," Dumbledore said softly.

"More than his adventures?"

"Yes, he can't guarantee that every story he encounters is compelling enough."

Felix flipped through the newspapers on the table, "Why didn't you see the Rita Skeeter report?" It wasn't like her.

Is it because he was afraid that his attack on Lockhart would be exposed? But memory is difficult to use as evidence, especially since the perpetrator himself is a master of memory. Even if Lockhart identified Rita Skeeter in court, it would be of little significance.

"She's having some trouble." Dumbledore stuck a piece of cake with a small fork. "It tastes pretty good, Felix, I highly recommend it."

Felix inserted a piece into his mouth, "Will she get herself into trouble? That's a smart guy."

Dumbledore glanced at him. "Smart people make mistakes, and they are more likely to find loopholes in the rules than the average person, so the mistakes may be bigger."

"So her trouble is—"

"According to the information I got, she did everything possible to find out the inside story of Lockhart's arrest, and then hurried to the Ministry of Magic to register Animagus that day."

"Animagus." Felix swallowed the cake and repeated. "Yeah, Animagus, illegal Animagus..."

He finally understood why Rita Skeeter had attacked Lockhart.

"I guess her transformation must be some kind of small creature." Felix's tone was very certain.

"It's a beetle," said Dumbledore calmly. "If the facts are what we think, there's a reason why she's been well-informed over the years. From what you've judged before, Lockhart was under the Oblivion Charm, but he Having been freed from the spell, it puts her in a very embarrassing situation."

Memories can be faked, but magic doesn't lie. If Lockhart does testify against Rita Skeeter as an illegal Animagus, there must be quite a few people at the Ministry of Magic who would be interested in checking it out.

In recent years, Rita Skeeter has acted recklessly, and I don't know how many people have offended.

"I don't think she'll get that easily," Felix said.

After a moment of silence, Felix said, "Headmaster Dumbledore, there are still five months until the next school year. What about the school's Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"

Dumbledore also showed a distressed expression, and he couldn't help but smack his lips and sigh: "The professors of this course are exhausted really fast."

"So, the Dark Lord's curse is real?"

"I think so, since I rejected Voldemort, no Defence Against the Dark Arts professor has been able to teach for more than a year," Dumbledore said. "I think he must have been very angry and rejected twice."

"Twice?" Felix looked at him strangely. "You rejected him twice?"

I, who was rejected three times, was still eating cake in the principal's office.

"No, Felix," said Dumbledore lightly, blinking his eyes. "Headmaster Dippet thought he was too young and rejected him. He disappeared for ten years after that, and when he came to apply again, I barely recognized him, and I categorically rejected him."

"Professor Snape has always been obsessed with this class." Felix beat the side drum for his dean.

"Severus..." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows: "I won't give this class to him."

"Why? During my school years, no one died, only one or two suffered minor injuries. It seems that the curse has little effect."

"That's because no one has served on this course for more than a year," Dumbledore sighed softly. "This is the only way I've come up with, but over the past three decades, the reputation of this class has not been very good, and it has become increasingly difficult to find qualified teachers."

This is indeed true.

The reason why Felix rejected the Defense Against the Dark Arts course was, on the one hand, because the default term of this course was one year, which was never exceptional, which was not in line with his purpose; on the other hand, this position was really evil, and every professor At the end of the term, there are more or less surprises.

But in his view, this time the risk is not great. Snape can completely replace the half-year class, and the big deal will be handed over to a new professor next year.

Felix offered his advice.

"But Severus will still be teaching at Hogwarts next year, won't he?" Dumbledore looked at him meaningfully.

"You mean, as long as this person is still in school, the curse will not stop?" Felix asked sharply.

"According to my observation, this is the case. I also invited several out-of-date Defence Against the Dark Arts professors to transfer to other positions, and a serious accident happened..." Dumbledore fell into memory. Class doesn't matter."

The information he revealed was amazing. It was almost like saying that once you get cursed, you must escape from Hogwarts for a year at most, or you will not be spared even if you resign from the Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

Whoever Dumbledore was looking for would not be looking for Snape.

Felix completely dismissed the idea of ​​helping him get a teaching position in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the two began to discuss the curse itself.

"How did he do it?" Felix asked.

It seemed unbelievable to him, because Voldemort's curse was a little too connected to the school.

But Hogwarts itself actually has a very good defensive system, and it is difficult to be affected by external influences.

"The rest are all my guesses. Quan should be chatting at tea time."

"certainly."

"I think Voldemort cleverly used his status as the heir of Slytherin, plus he was also very good at curses... In short, when the two are combined, the effect is amazing." Dumbledore said.

"Can Voldemort affect the running of Hogwarts?" Felix asked horribly. This statement is amazing...

"No, Felix. The Hogwarts order has existed for thousands of years, and even the return of Salazar Slytherin will not be able to reoccupy the school."

"That--"

"Voldemort paid a great price, and by all indications, he gave up forever Hogwarts' sanctuary for him - a power that belonged exclusively to the descendants of the four founders, and cast this curse with his own hatred."

After a long silence -

"Then what is the way to lift the curse?"

"Voldemort's death." Dumbledore lowered his eyes.

"So you knew early on that he wasn't dead?"

"Yes, I always knew." Dumbledore murmured: "The existence of the curse speaks for itself."

Next, the two discussed the issue of the curse for a long time, and Felix knew a lot of information about Hogwarts.

When Felix left, Dumbledore sat quietly in his chair, on the slender-legged table, a collection of strange silverware, whirling and puffing out small puffs of smoke.

On the wall were the portraits of the old school principals and the old school principals, who were whispering and discussing the topic the two of them had just discussed.

A tattered, wrinkled wizard hat sat on a cabinet shelf across from the table. At this moment, a slit near the brim of the Sorting Hat opened like a mouth: "Dumbledore, this is not like you."

Dumbledore's long fingers clasped together. "Do you have any ideas, Sorting Hat? I'm all ears."

"You said a lot today, and I thought...you would bury it in your heart."

"Maybe I was just hooked and Felix was a good listener."

"Perhaps... but you are revealing the secrets of the school little by little. That is the authority of the headmaster. Dumbledore..."

The portraits on the wall stared at the Sorting Hat.

"...I guess, you want to train that boy?"

Dumbledore smiled, his beard quivering slightly: "The Sorting Hat, what do you think of him, from your own perspective?"

"He wants to study me, I can see it, even though he hides the idea. What an excellent wizard, reminds me of Lady Ravenclaw, and I'm very much looking forward to him growing up." The Sorting Hat grinned. mouth said.

Dumbledore showed a surprised expression. He had been with the Sorting Hat for nearly half a century. Naturally, he knew that although the Sorting Hat respected the four founders, it had the most special affection for two of them, one was Gryffindor, the other was Gryffindor. One is Ravenclaw.

This is a very high evaluation for the Sorting Hat.

The old man regained his calm and said, "Voldemort's presence is getting stronger and stronger, and I have a hunch that the time for his return is not far away. I also have to do some preparations, although it may not be useful."