Lockhart never worried about other people's feelings, he instructed his photographer to frantically take pictures and plumes of smoke rose from the camera, "fixing" Lockhart and Harry in the photos.
"We'll be on the front page, come on, smile a little more natural." Lockhart flashed his gleaming teeth and gave Harry tips on how to smile: He had won five Wizard's Weekly awards for the most charming smile, an honor Lockhart likes to talk about.
But even after taking pictures, Lockhart wouldn't let Harry go.
"Ladies and gentlemen, look at me, I have an announcement to make!" Lockhart waved his hand to silence the crowd, and first handed Harry a copy of his autobiography and his complete works, and then made the big announcement that he would become the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.
Lockhart wanted to entice Harry to continue using the savior's popularity. In his mind, he had given Harry a book worth a lot of money and a chance to make headlines, and Harry should be happy with it. But he was wrong, Harry didn't need a few dozen galleons, and he was embarrassed by what Lockhart had done.
Just as Lockhart was at the top of his game, a somewhat dissonant voice shattered his illusions, "Mr. Lockhart, what about the curse left by the Dark Lord?"
"A curse? What curse?" Lockhart looked a little confused.
"The curse left by You-Know-Who!" Tom's acting skills were at their peak at this point: "It is said that You-Know-Who wanted to return to Hogwarts to teach as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but the great Lord Dumbledore caught wind of his plan and turned him down. Enraged, You-Know-Who put a curse on the position, so that no one could teach for more than a year!"
A hush fell over the bookstore after this statement, most of the middle-aged women in the room had lived through that era, and Tom was right: since a certain point, the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had indeed changed every year.
It had only been spoken about in private, but this was the first time it had been said in public.
"Many of those professors have met with misfortune, even death, like Professor Quirrell last year!" Tom said.
The fans on stage turned away from the conversation and talked about it.
"Professor Quirrell? I think I remember him teaching a Muggle Studies class before ..."
"That was a long time ago, then Mr. Dumbledore asked him to switch to being a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but he died!"
"I heard he was possessed by You-Know-Who..."
"No, the Ministry said he died from poaching unicorns."
In short, although there was a wide variety of opinions on how Quirrell died, one thing was clear: Professor Quirrell, who had been alive and well up until then, died less than a year after taking over as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
And then the conversation stopped, as people searched their memories for what had happened to previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, and were surprised to discover that it seemed to be a really high-risk profession, as many retired, were maimed, and even died... One teacher was even killed by a wild boar!
Listening to the chatter from the audience, Lockhart nearly lost his composure, but his professionalism allowed him to keep a smile on his face, he took a deep breath and laughed.
"Why are you laughing, sir?" asked one fan cautiously.
"It's actually a coincidence, because as planned, I'm only going to teach for a year! It's a big world out there and I want to move on, so, if I may say so, the curse is valid for me" Lockhart said.
The fans in the audience nodded in agreement, feeling it made sense.
"Don't worry, folks," Tom interjected just as Lockhart was almost muddled, "It is well known that Mr. Lockhart is an adventurer well versed in lifting curses, as mentioned in "Recess with the banshee", no one in England, or the world, knows more about lifting a curse than Mr. Lockhart."
As he spoke, Tom danced with his hands as if he were playing an accordion, as if he were a Lockhart fan.
"Ah, this..." Lockhart just wanted to be on stage, but the fans were already divided into two groups. One group argued that the curse was left by You-Know-Who, and that even Dumbledore couldn't lift it, and that you anti-Lockhart fans were making things difficult for him by asking Mr. Lockhart to lift it.
The other faction thought, "My God, you anti-Lockhart people don't believe in Mr. Lockhart!".
The two factions soon clashed and the situation was out of control for a while.
In the end, Lockhart had to shout, making everyone look at him, "I, Lockhart, recipient of the Third Degree of the Order of Merlin, honorary member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts League, five-time winner of the Most Charming Smile by Witch's Heart magazine, I will do my best to break the curse with Professor Dumbledore!"
The fans present on stage applauded, some even burst into tears, and at that moment Lockhart's eyes also filled with tears. Finally, tears of emotion fell from the corners of his eyes, and many fans burst into tears as well, bringing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
Lockhart was contrite at this point: I should never have accepted Dumbledore's invitation in the first place. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have become the cursed professor, and I wouldn't have been held by so many people to solve this deadly curse...
At that moment, I just wanted to say to that boy: I thank you for that, Tommie, er, Jimmy? Timmy?
Lockhart couldn't even remember his name.
He wondered if he had to find an excuse to give up Dumbledore. And if so, what was the best excuse?
But the next day he was out of options, as the Daily Prophet headlined his book signing at Flourish and Blotts Bookshop and highlighted the cursed professor's position at Hogwarts, taking stock of the professors who had suffered for it, and announcing his appointment as professor...
That wasn't the worst of it, because the next day, Dumbledore made an unprecedented statement in the newspaper, a statement that could not be avoided, as there would be one more professor per year! Then Dumbledore said that there was no such curse at Hogwarts, and that the history of the previous teachers was pure coincidence. He was looking forward to working with Mr. Lockhart to prove it.
Lockhart felt like his world had collapsed.