In the history of Hogwarts, there had been precedents of professors being recruited from Azkaban, but becoming a guest of the Ministry of Magic on the first day of school without even signing a contract was a first for Lockhart.
Lockhart was taken away by the Ministry of Magic officials with a shocked expression. He tried to say something several times but ultimately couldn't say anything. After all, he couldn't say that it wasn't him driving the car but that he had altered the memories of two young wizards, right?
After Lockhart was taken away, Professor McGonagall looked at Harry and Ron. "Sit," McGonagall pointed to the chairs in the room, letting them sit down—there were several chairs even in Snape's office.
"Tell me what happened," McGonagall's glasses glinted with an ominous light. Dumbledore and Snape stood silently by her side. Dumbledore's expression was unusually serious, and although Snape still had his usual deadpan face, there was a subtle hint of schadenfreude in his emotions.
"It's about the barrier at King's Cross Station. It—"
"Professor McGonagall, we had no other choice. We couldn't board the train."
The two hurriedly explained to Professor McGonagall.
"So why didn't you send a letter? Potter, you have an owl, don't you? Even if you did nothing, you could have waited for the Weasleys to come back," McGonagall said coldly.
Harry and Ron were dumbfounded. Indeed, the two options McGonagall gave were much more reliable than flying in a car directly.
"It's infuriating that you blindly followed Lockhart without any independent thinking," McGonagall said.
Harry was frozen, and Dumbledore's expression made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles. He would have preferred Dumbledore to be angry and shout at them, or even slap them. These actions would be much easier to endure than being silently scrutinized.
"Tell me about the process." After staring at Harry and Ron for a while, Dumbledore's expression became increasingly serious. Finally, after a period of silence, he spoke.
Harry spilled everything he remembered to Dumbledore like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.
After finishing, he slumped into the chair. Ron, next to him, was already desperate. He had prepared to pack his bags and go home.
"Are we going to be expelled?"
"Not today. But if something like this happens again, it's not certain. Professor Lockhart is primarily responsible. He failed to fulfill the obligations of an adult wizard, but you also need to recognize your mistakes," Dumbledore rubbed his eyes, deciding the fate of Harry and Ron: a severe warning, notification to parents, no points deducted, and no detention.
Snape's current expression was like that of someone forced to work unpaid overtime during the holidays.
"Dumbledore! They not only ignored the law but also damaged—"
Dumbledore shook his head, "They are not the ones who are wrong. A wrong example can sometimes lead people to blindly follow. Many adult wizards, including myself, can make such mistakes."
He looked at Harry, "Flawed individuals can still be your teachers. You can learn a lot from them, such as what not to do and what kind of person not to be."
After saying this, he left Snape's office.
He warmly invited Snape to taste a dessert with him, and Snape showed an extremely unwilling expression. Although he was reluctant, he was still dragged out of the office by Dumbledore.
After Snape and Dumbledore left, McGonagall's expression was not as severe. She chatted with Harry and Ron about today's Sorting Hat ceremony, provided them with a plate of sandwiches and a jug of pumpkin juice, and then left.
Of course, with the tacit cooperation of several people, Gryffindor did not lose tens of points at the opening ceremony.
...
This year's Sorting Hat ceremony was very strange, with interruptions and absent-mindedness being the norm.
Before the Sorting Hat ceremony began, the students were discussing the "flying car." Especially when the young wizards found that Harry and Ron really didn't appear at the Gryffindor table, it almost confirmed that the two had flown to school by car.
When the opening feast began, the staff table also seemed a bit sparse—Snape, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and Filch were all absent. McGonagall and Dumbledore also seemed a bit absent-minded, and later, the two even left.
The results of the Sorting Hat were almost ignored, not like in the Immortal Sects where there was a rush to grab disciples with great potential for cultivation. There would be no young wizards with "ancient sacred bodies" or "double-pupiled" eyes in the British wizarding world, causing the four house
heads to fight over them.
However, when Peggy was sorted into Ravenclaw, there was enthusiastic applause from the Ravenclaw students. Having pretty girls was always a good thing.
Peggy's sorting process was as agonizing as choosing a wand. The Sorting Hat took a full five minutes before placing her in Ravenclaw.
The next day, everyone was shocked to learn that Professor Lockhart had been taken away by the Ministry of Magic! And this news even made the front page headline of The Daily Prophet.
A stone caused a thousand ripples, and Lockhart became the core of public opinion—not only within the school but also outside. As the parties involved, Harry and Ron were inevitably questioned by curious young wizards again and again. At first, Ron was a bit shy, and the story was stuttered.
But after one morning, their adventure with Lockhart turned into something reminiscent of The Adventures of Harold Roger. If it weren't for a howler from Mrs. Weasley at lunch, Ron might have become an excellent storyteller or writer in the future.
In the following days, Lockhart's news was on the front page every day. This way of making the headlines was something he hadn't expected.
The Ministry of Magic dealt with it very cleanly: the incident on Wednesday was tried on Friday without any delays.
They didn't actually send Lockhart to Azkaban. After all, he was a professor at Hogwarts and a bestselling author. They just fined Lockhart a whopping three thousand Galleons for compensation. However, when this money reached the memory-erasing personnel, only a hundred Galleons were left.
Lockhart bled heavily, but he still made the headlines for three consecutive days. Whether the three thousand Galleons were worth three days of headlines, only Lockhart himself knew. Tom regretted it a bit when he found out. After all, he was a kind child who just wanted to find a stable job for his teacher where he could eat and live without working, allowing him to focus on writing.
But things didn't go as planned.
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(End of this chapter)