After writing the letters to Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Tom began processing the letters that the owls had just sent.
Tom sorted the owl mail into different categories: fan letters were filed away to be used as heating material when the world would end. Letters from students applying for the teaching assistant position are also answered, but the content is much the same, using a template. Simply say that you have read their resumes and cover letters, but regret that they are not quite right for the position.
He, Professor Lockhart (Tom), was looking for teaching assistants who were, first of all, sufficiently intelligent and, secondly, hard workers. They also have to be able to work hard because of the heavy workload. Because of the professor's personality, his teaching assistants are expected to have a strong desire to learn; a love of reading would be a plus.
Incidentally, since Professor Lockhart reads many ancient texts, the teaching assistant must know Latin.
The position is only open to students up to fifth year, as seniors have to prepare for their exams. Freshmen are also unfamiliar with the campus, so they are not considered. In the third and fourth years, elective courses have been added, and Professor Lockhart expects them to give priority to their studies, although if they have enough free time, they can work as teaching assistants.
For reasons of fairness and equity, there are no restrictions for men or women.
After examining these criteria, Professor Lockhart found a suitable candidate for the teaching assistant position, to be announced in class another day.
Tom finished the letter in a jiffy and left for class. When he returned from class in the evening, he had on his desk a joint reply from Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. The two professors had spoken privately, and together they had found a suitable time: after dinner.
At that time, none of the three of them had classes; the evening classes were all about history of magic and astronomy, and there was still some time left before curfew, which meant a rare free moment for the deans. Only when it came to T.I.M.O. and EXTASIS exams did Professor McGonagall and the others take their precious time to gather.
Of course, they were a little worried, fearing that they would go there and only hear a lot of nonsense from Lockhart, whose image in their minds had not been completely changed after all.
But as Professor McGonagall stood outside Lockhart's office, she knew it was too late to turn back and that there was no turning back looked at Professor Flitwick beside her.
"Anyway, I have night watch" Professor McGonagall tried to console herself: if it's a big deal, it's time for night watch.
Flitwick paused for a moment, "If your proposal is unreliable, we can play magic chess in your office for a while."
Professor McGonagall: "???"
"It's not just any magic chess, but a modified version, he came to see me today..."
As Professor McGonagall listened to Flitwick's account, it struck her as full of implausibility. She suddenly felt pessimistic about tonight's conversation: indeed, Professor Lockhart was still the same.
He knocked on the door.
Tom was looking at his handiwork: a puppet of adult height, all joints turning flexibly.
"Come in!" Hearing the knocking, he knew the two deans had arrived, so he quickly opened the door to his office.
"Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, please come in!" Tom shifted two armchairs for the two professors.
Professor McGonagall looked at the life-sized doll, frowned and sighed, "Professor Lockhart, what do you want from us?"
Tom pulled out a pot of tea and three cups of tea.
"I've been studying the questions on the T.I.M.O. and EXTASIS exams and have discovered that the practical exams are mainly about deciphering various curses and being proficient in protective spells."
Professor McGonagall looked a bit more serious as she nodded, "Yes, that is why I suggested that Professor Lockhart train his students more in this area. "
Tom shook his head, "There are limits to what a wizard can do. And the little time we have in class isn't enough, and the students aren't making much progress on their own, so I've come up with another idea, but I need your help, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick."
"Does Professor Lockhart, who is so adventurous and an expert in many magical spells, need the help of other professors as well?" Professor McGonagall said to Tom with a hint of sarcasm; after all, very few professors at Hogwarts were willing to ask other professors for help. Lockhart, on the other hand, had pestered Filius to play a game, and Professor McGonagall deeply disliked that behavior.
Tom didn't seem to hear it: he wasn't ashamed anyway, he wasn't as experienced as Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. It was Flitwick who was the best at solving all sorts of hexes.
"Does it have something to do with the puppet?" Flitwick pointed to the puppet in the corner of the room.
"That's right!" Tom stood up, "I was hoping you two could help me make a puppet that could use all sorts of curses and protective spells. This would allow the students to practice with the puppet in class, so they could learn the spells quickly in real life. It would also allow students to help each other with their spells, so they could practice their spells."
Professor McGonagall suddenly found this idea interesting, but gave Tom a suspicious look, "Why don't you go up and fight the students yourself? "
Of course, that's because I know few curses! And if Tom doesn't transform, how can he survive the high-intensity battles of an entire class?
Tom didn't mince words, he said he had a limited number of spells and little knowledge of how to resolve them, so he needed a combat puppet to help him teach them in action.
Professor McGonagall thought for a moment that she had heard something wrong: could Lockhart say he couldn't do something?
But her idea was really for the good of the students, and it would do them a lot of good if it worked. If it was good for the students, Professor McGonagall would give them a hand.
But there was one crucial problem: this idea of Lockhart's was a bit complicated.
Puppets, even if they were semi-automatic, were a pain to create.
"First of all, where does the energy for the puppet come from?"
When a magician casts a spell, he uses his own magical power. If an inanimate puppet is going to do magic, it must have a source of magic.
If the puppet requires the magic of the operator, then it is somewhat useless. Because it has to serve as a teaching tool. No teacher can give a lesson in magic. Magicians rarely run out of magic because battles are not intense enough: most fights are won or lost in a few moves, sometimes with a single blow.
But that doesn't mean a mage's magic is unlimited. Even a teacher would be exhausted if he were to maintain his magic output during a session.