As soon as she saw the kids, Mrs. Weasley let out a sigh of relief before Thomas and his friends heard her words. "Oh, there you are, good.". She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute …"
Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. When Thomas laid eyes on Gilderoy Lockhart, he couldn't help but feel both amused and annoyed by what he saw. The man's appearance was indeed attention-grabbing, with his robes of forget-me-not blue and his wizard's hat placed at a jaunty angle. But there was something about Lockhart's demeanor that rubbed Thomas the wrong way. The way he posed for the pictures and flashed his dazzling smile at the crowd felt insincere and calculated almost as if what he was doing was to look as good as possible.
As Lockhart began to address the crowd, Thomas listened intently, but the more he heard, the more skeptical he became. Lockhart regaled the audience with tales of his supposed heroic exploits and daring adventures, all of which seemed too perfect, too heroic to be true. Thomas couldn't help but notice the lack of substance in the man's stories. They were all about him, about how skilled and brave he was, but there was no mention of any real challenges or struggles he had faced, making the boy believe that everything about Lockhart was just one big fat lie.
"He's a fraud," Thomas whispered to Harry, who was standing next to him, also looking less than impressed.
Harry nodded in agreement. "It certainly seems that way. "
The longer Lockhart continued to speak, the more Thomas noticed that the middle-aged women that made up 90% of the audience seemed to be captivated by his charm and charisma. They were hanging onto his every word, eager to believe the tales of his heroics. But Thomas couldn't help but see through the facade. It was all just a performance, an act to maintain his reputation as the great Gilderoy Lockhart.
"He's manipulating them," Thomas remarked, his expression growing more serious. "He's feeding their desire for heroism and admiration, and they're falling for it."
Just as Harry was about to say something, a short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash. In a moment of negligence, the short man bumped into Ron pushing the boy away before snarling at him.
"Out of the way, there. This is for the Daily Prophet!"
"Big deal, we are here for our school books!" Ron snapped back, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.
Gilderoy Lockhart heard him and looked up. He looked at Ron for a second before his eyes went wide open when he saw Harry, The Harry Potter, standing near a random-looking ginger kid. A second later, he jumped on his feet and rushed as fast as his legs could towards Harry shouting as hard as he could so that everyone could hear him. "It can't be Harry Potter?"
The crowd parted, whispering excitedly making way for their hero to meet an even younger hero. Seizing the chance, Lockhart dived forward, grabbing Harry's arm, and pulling the boy to the front, to Harry's horror. The crowd burst into applause when they saw that, making Harry extremely embarrassed as his face turned bright red when Lockhart signaled the photographer to photograph them. Seeing this, the short man starts clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over Thomas, the Weasleys, and the Grangers.
"Give them a nice big smile, Harry," Lockhart whispered, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page of all the newspapers. We are the bread and butter of all of their dreams."
When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to his friend, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the man said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!"
Meanwhile, when they heard that Thomas and the twins face palmed at the same time, as Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Ron looked at the fraud of a man as if he was some world wander. Nevertheless, Lockhart didn't stop his speech. "When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography, which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge."
The crowd applauded once again, making the three boys (Thomas, George, and Fred realize just how dumb some people were in the presence of their self-entitled greatest hero).
"He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
While Lockhart was boasting about his new job, Fred leaned closer to Thomas and whispered, praying to Merlin his mother won't overhear him. "Say, Grayson, will you and James be up for some real action against our newest and greatest Defense Against Dark Arts professor? My handsome twin and I plan to make his life a living hell and as much as it pains me to admit, George and I aren't exactly the smartest of the bunch. So we need the help of the great Thomas Grayson and his friend. So what do you say?"
Hearing his words, Thomas knew that this was his chance to make this fraud of a man realize just how stupid his decision was and grinned while shaking Fred's hand to both twins' delight.
While the three boys were planning the downfall of Gilderoy Lockhart, the crowd continued to cheer and clapped as Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.
"You can have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own unsigned bo…"
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" A familiar voice that Harry had no problem recognizing scoffed at him. He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer and dislike for him.
"Famous Harry Potter," Draco continued his attacks. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."
"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" Ginny got on her feet and rushed towards Draco. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry and for the first time since Harry met her, the little girl looked extremely angry at the blonde boy.
"How cute Potter. You got yourself a little girlfriend." Draco sneered at Harry and Ginny, making Ginny scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books. Meanwhile, Thomas refused to get any of the books Lockhart was selling choosing to rather get them when the man wasn't here. When the three of them reached the place, where Harry and Ginny were arguing with Draco.
"Oh, it's you," Ron said, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"
"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Draco. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those books."
Thomas walked behind Draco, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, and calmly put his arm around the blonde boy's neck. He wore a friendly smile on his face, but anyone who knew Thomas well could see that he wasn't happy to see this.
"Hey there, Draco," Thomas said casually, his grip on Draco tightening ever so slightly. "Long time no see. How's your dad been treating you?"
Draco's eyes widened, and he tried to put on a brave face, but the fear in his eyes was clear to everyone. He could feel the imminent danger emanating from Thomas, and he knew better than to mess with him. He gulped and stammered, "Um, h-hi, Grayson. It's, uh, been fine. Just fine. Nothing special."
Thomas's smile widened, and he leaned in closer to Draco's ear, his voice taking on a low, threatening tone. "Good to hear. Now, here's a friendly piece of advice – stay away from Harry and my friends. And especially, stay away from the little bundle of pureness. Got it?"
Draco nodded frantically, his eyes darting between Thomas and Harry, who was watching the scene in shock. Ron and Hermione looked equally shocked, but they knew better than to interfere when Thomas was in this kind of mood.
"Good boy," Thomas said, finally releasing his grip on Draco's neck. "Now run along and don't let me catch you bothering them again."
Draco wasted no time and practically fled from the scene, not uttering another word. Thomas turned back to Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, his friendly smile returning as if nothing had happened.
"Sorry about that," Thomas said casually. "I just couldn't resist giving him a little reminder to behave himself. He can be such a pest sometimes. I might have to talk with his father about this tomorrow."
Hermione couldn't help but giggle, while Ron grinned widely. Ginny looked at Thomas with newfound admiration, grateful for his intervention, and unbeknownst to everyone, a small piece of her mind will always think about this blonde boy with clear blue eyes and a kind smile on his face. Harry, though taken aback by the sudden turn of events, couldn't help but feel relieved that Thomas had his back.
"Thanks, Thomas," Harry said, genuinely appreciative. "I owe you one."
"No problem," Thomas replied, waving off the thanks. "Just doing my bit to keep the peace. Now, let's get out of here before Lockhart spots us and tries to sell us more books we don't need."
Just then, they heard Arthur's voice. "Kids!"
Arthur made his way towards them, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."
"Well, well, well. What do we have here, Arthur Weasley."
When everyone turned their heads towards the source of the voice, they saw Lucius Malfoy standing with a hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.
"Lucius." Arthur greeted while nodding coldly.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," Mr. Malfoy replied with a grin. "All those raids … I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
"Obviously I was wrong," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy."
"On that, I agree, Arthur." Mr. Malfoy spoke while his pale eyes strayed to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who was watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley … and I thought your family could sink no lower ."
Seeing all of this happening, Thomas knew that if he didn't interfere the twins or Ron might do something they will regret so before that could happen, Thomas walked forward, calmly but confidently, and greeted Lucius Malfoy with a polite nod. "Mr. Malfoy, a pleasure to see you again."
Lucius raised an eyebrow, looking slightly amused. "Thomas? What brings you here?"
"Oh, just doing some shopping with my friends," Thomas replied nonchalantly. "But I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Mr. Weasley here. I have to say, sir, that this is not a lawful display of such a wizard as you should show in public."
"And what do you know about wizarding laws, boy?" Lucius sneered, not particularly interested in engaging with the soon-to-be teenager.
Thomas's kind smile didn't waver as he replied, "Well, Mr. Malfoy, I've had the opportunity to learn a thing or two. You see, under wizarding laws, displaying disdain and arrogance towards others, especially those from different backgrounds, is not something one should be proud of. It hardly befits a prestigious house like yours."
Lucius's face contorted with anger, but before he could respond, Thomas continued in a calm and composed tone, "But I do believe in giving everyone a chance to change. After all, as the goblins say, 'What is dead may never die, and who is rich may never get richer.'"
Lucius's eyes narrowed, recognizing the battle cry of one of the goblin clans. He was taken aback that this young muggle wizard knew the saying of a clan that killed hundreds of wizards in the war.
"You might be a right young man. It was a pleasure meeting you Arthur. I hope you will be early tomorrow, Mr. Grayson."
"I can assure you sir that I will be on time. I wish you and your son a good day."
Once Lucius and Draco left, Thomas finally relaxed. It wasn't easy to act like that but it was the least he could do for his friend's family, considering that they treat him like a son.
< Just change "3" with "e" Patr3on Link : https://patr3on.com/meatbunkun>