"What is it, Lockhart?" Madam Pince raised her head and asked with some confusion.
Ever since Lockhart had borrowed a copy of the Hogwarts library book list from her, he had become a frequent visitor to the library. Almost every day at noon or in the evening, he would come to read and borrow one or two books. Over time, the two had grown quite familiar with each other, and their relationship had become more casual—though it certainly didn't hurt that Lockhart was handsome.
"Madam Pince, I'm currently working on a research project and need to borrow a lot of books. Is that okay?"
"How many books do you need? Which ones? Let me take a look first." As the librarian, Madam Pince immediately focused on the key points of Lockhart's request.
Lockhart smiled helplessly and handed over a list of books, wishing she would agree without hesitation so he could take a batch of books back to his office.
Madam Pince frowned slightly after examining the list. The number of books Lockhart wanted to borrow was quite large—a total of 60 books! She looked at Lockhart suspiciously and asked, "Professor Lockhart, what kind of research requires so many books?"
Lockhart answered frankly, "Recently, I've been studying ways to reduce the cost of alchemy, and I hope to get some inspiration and information from these books."
After hearing this, Madam . Pince glanced at the book list again and saw that most were indeed related to alchemy. She then remembered the rumors around the school about Professor Lockhart giving magical amulets to outstanding students. It seemed that the generous Professor Lockhart was also feeling the pinch and wanted to cut costs in his alchemy work.
Tsk tsk tsk!
Madam Pince looked at Lockhart with a strange expression, but he didn't think much of it since she had agreed to his request and was now fetching the books.
A while later, Lockhart walked towards Madam Pince, with four tall stacks of books floating behind him. Soon, Mrs. Pince looked at the towering pile of books and scratched her head in distress. There were a total of 60 books, divided into four stacks, each as tall as a person.
She sighed softly, carefully compared the parchment in her hand, and dutifully confirmed the information.
"Professor Lockhart, the 60 books have been confirmed and there are no problems. When will you return them?"
Lockhart thought for a moment and quickly said, "Soon, probably in two or three days. I just need to compare some information and then I can return them."
Madam Pince grumbled, "Why can't you just do it here in the library? There's no need to borrow so many books at once."
Lockhart smiled, packed the books into his space bag, and left without saying more. After all, how else could he bring so many books to the Marvel world if he didn't borrow them from the library?
As he walked towards his office, Lockhart didn't notice the portrait nearby shaking slightly, as a figure in the portrait quietly left.
Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office
Dumbledore sat at his desk, gently removing his half-moon spectacles to clean them. After putting them back on, he continued reading the book on his table—Lockhart's latest publication, "Magical Me."
It seemed unusual for the experienced White Wizard Dumbledore to read such a book. Although its plot was interesting, it shouldn't hold much value for him.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the blank portrait next to him, and a voice quietly reached Dumbledore's ears. "Albus, I just saw Lockhart borrowing a lot of alchemy books. He must want to improve his alchemy skills. You also know that in the past two weeks, he has given many alchemy items to the outstanding young wizards."
"Okay, I understand," Dumbledore turned his head, nodded slightly towards the portrait, and said gently, "But, Principal Armando, could you please help me keep an eye on Lockhart during this time?"
"Okay, no problem, Albus," came the voice from the portrait of Principal Armando Dippet.
Although what Principal Dippet said dispelled some of Dumbledore's doubts, he had noticed a discrepancy. The Lockhart described in the books seemed vastly different from the real Lockhart. One was a normal adventurer; the other was more of a pure researcher. While books could be exaggerated, the difference here was too great.
After all, this was an autobiography written by Lockhart himself!
At this moment, Lockhart sat in his office, looking at the countdown on the system page with a slight smile.
[There is a 5-minute countdown to the time it takes to travel to the Marvel world. Please be prepared to travel.]
To prevent any accidents, Lockhart reviewed his memory from a month ago—the last moment he had stopped at the Kamar-Taj Library. Then he waved his wand to arrange the Kamar-Taj books as he remembered, holding them gently with both hands.
Everything was exactly the same as the moment before the shuttle, including his clothing, expressions, and even his eyes.
Soon, a system prompt sounded in Lockhart's ear. At the same time, a faint light flashed, and his figure quietly disappeared.
[World teleportation begins, host please be prepared.]
[Search for the solidified world shuttle channel.]
[Search successful, transfer.]
[Transmitting.]
[Welcome the host to return to the Marvel world.]
[Warning: After staying in this world for 30 days, the soul will gradually be imprinted with the mark of this world. You need to leave this world in time to avoid being affected by the world's aura.]
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[More Chapter available at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
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