"I don't think that's necessary, Mr Lockhart. I'm afraid you're not going to be my nominee." Ivan shook his head and refused without hesitation.
"Why? Have you found someone?" Lockhart raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he did not give up.
"You know, I'm a Level 3 Order of Merlin, a well-known figure in the wizarding world. There are very few people in the Order of Merlin that I don't know…"
As Lockhart was boasting about himself, Harry interrupted him.
"Ivan's nominee is Professor Dumbledore! Sir!"
Lockhart's continuing speech came to a halt, as he would never claim to be more famous than Dumbledore.
At that moment, Harry recalled Ivan's earlier words and took another stab at him.
"And Ivan received a Second-Class Order of Merlin!"
Lockhart's confident smile froze on his face.
As a recipient of the Order of Merlin, he was not qualified to be nominated for the Order of Merlin!
This is why Ivan was so adamant that Lockhart could not be named…
"Ah… I… I see." Lockhart was embarrassed, but his thick skin allowed him to quickly adjust.
"What a pity. I was going to say that I had a good talk with the Head of the Order of Merlin the other day and wanted him to nominate you, but Dumbledore beat me to it."
"I'd really like to thank you for that…" Ivan said, speechless. He thought Lockhart was quite a talented fellow, being able to come back on his own and even befriending the head of the Order of Merlin.
"You're welcome. It's my job to guide the younger generation!" Lockhart waved Ivan on the shoulder, taking his sarcastic words as a sign of gratitude.
Perhaps because he had been repeatedly rebuffed in front of Ivan, Lockhart did not try to be clever with his words.
After announcing in public that he would be the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts next year, Lockhart left in style to the applause of the crowd and the doubts of a few.
This caused Ivan to lament the stupidity of these fanatical fans. Lockhart's words were full of loopholes, and anyone with half a brain could see that he was trying to ride on his popularity. However, these fans believed that Lockhart was trying to help his juniors out of kindness.
"I think next year's Defence Against the Dark Arts class is going to suck," Harry complained as Lockhart disappeared into the distance.
Although he had only been in contact with Lockhart for less than ten minutes, Lockhart was acting like a comical and absurd clown, constantly trying to impress him.
"How could that be? Professor Lockhart is still very good. He was so good in the book. Maybe he was just a little impatient today!" Hermione defended Lockhart in a soft voice. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she was obviously upset when Lockhart pushed her away.
Yvonne shook her head in exasperation, not knowing how to tell Hermione that Lockhart was a liar. After all, he didn't have any proof, and it would be better to wait for him to reveal himself next year.
Not unlike Hermione, who seemed to think Lockhart was a good person, and Mrs Weasley.
She had been in a hurry to get Lockhart's autographed copy of the book, but was stopped by the crowd at the bookshop. When she came out, she talked about Lockhart's charm, which made Mr Weasley jealous.
Mr Weasley handed a set of old books to Ginny and turned to Ivan. "Hales, did you have anything else to do after buying the books? If you have time, how about coming to the Burrow?"
"That's right, Ivan, come and play at our house," said George and Fred, looking excited.
Ivan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, I'd rather stay and read."
As much as he wanted to visit the legendary Burrow, he had already made plans for the future and did not want to change his mind at the last minute.
Crucially, if he went to the Burrow for a few days, he would be left alone.
"Very well, then." Arthur looked disappointed, but did not press the matter.
Mrs Weasley took the opportunity to teach the boys a lesson.
"Look, look, all of you! All you do is play all day. When do you ever want to come to the bookshop and read? Especially you, George, and you, Fred! If you had Ivan's learning spirit, I wouldn't object to you doing research around the house!"
After being reprimanded, Ron, George, and Fred looked at Ivan with resentment, and Ivan said that he could not help them.
When everyone had finished buying their textbooks for the next year, Ivan waved goodbye to them, and Hermione wanted to stay and read, but Mr Granger had other things to attend to and did not feel comfortable leaving her alone.
"That's strange, why haven't I seen Malfoy and his father?" After seeing the Weasleys off, Ivan looked around for Malfoy and his family.
He then realised that it was probably because of him that Malfoy Senior did not go to Borgin and Burke's to discuss the sale of Dark Arts items, so he might have gone home after buying his books.
It would be nice not to have Malfoy Senior poking his nose in, thought Ivan, turning back to Flourish and Blotts.
After Lockhart's departure, the place became noticeably more deserted, with only a few parents and their children remaining.
The owner of Flourish and Blotts was a kindly middle-aged witch with round spectacles, who was flipping through a book.
However, when Ivan got closer, he saw Lockhart's smiling face on the cover of the book.
It was clear that she was a fan of Lockhart's, and Ivan was left speechless.
"May I have the pleasure of reading here for a few days, madam?" Yvonne asked, considering the importance of magical knowledge.
"If it's inconvenient, I can pay a certain reading fee!"
"Do you want to read here? Of course! I mean you can read it if you want. There's no need to pay an extra fee. You're welcome here whenever you want." The witch put down her book and looked at Ivan in surprise.
"Thank you!"
Yvonne nodded politely, then wandered around the bookshop.