Three days later, on Sunday night, in the Headmaster's office.
After receiving Headmaster Dumbledore's summons, Snape walked to the gargoyle on the eighth floor. "Sizzling Honey Candy!" As Snape's voice sounded, the stone beast moved aside, revealing the upward stairs leading to the Headmaster's office. Soon, Snape entered the office and looked at Headmaster Dumbledore, who was sitting at the desk, writing.
Snape's face was expressionless, and he asked in a calm voice, "Headmaster, why do you want to see me?"
Snape's voice seemed to wake Dumbledore. The old man put down the quill in his hand, raised his head, and looked at the head of Slytherin House.
Dumbledore seemed accustomed to Snape's flat tone. He smiled and said jokingly, "Snape, I heard that your relationship with the new professor, Lockhart, has been going well recently. It seems that our Professor Lockhart is very good at making friends."
Hearing Dumbledore's joke, Snape frowned slightly and asked directly, "Headmaster, is there something wrong with Lockhart?"
Then, Dumbledore was shocked to find that Snape said eagerly, "If there is a problem with Lockhart, I will catch him now. I believe that with a bottle of truth serum, any secret can be revealed. Well, the magical ruin held by the opponent also needs to be revealed."
Hearing this, Dumbledore looked a little strange. He could sense Snape's impatience. Did Lockhart offend Snape? Why did it seem like Snape was more eager to catch Lockhart than he was?
So he shook his head and said quickly, "Snape, Lockhart is fine at the moment. I would like to hear what you think of Lockhart first?"
Hearing this, Snape felt a little regretful. With the Headmaster's order, he could rest assured and capture Lockhart. However, regarding the Headmaster's question, Snape thought for a moment and said, "I don't know much about Lockhart. However, if you ask me to comment, I can only say that Lockhart is a very generous person."
The last time Lockhart bought banned potions, he spent thousands of gold galleons. This time, Snape appraised the materials and got a lot of potion materials for free. Not to mention that Lockhart later ordered more batches of potions. It can be said that through Lockhart, Snape made a lot of money.
Hearing Snape's comments, Dumbledore was a little dumbfounded. Generous! What on earth did this Lockhart do to make Snape evaluate him as generous?
So he asked with some curiosity, "Why do you say generous?"
Snape thought about it and felt that it would be best not to bring up the matter of selling forbidden potions. Then he said in a deep voice, "I don't know much about Lockhart, but I often hear many students in Slytherin House say that Lockhart rewards them with various snacks and magic items."
But after thinking about it, he added casually, "The reason why he came to me is to refine some potions, and the price is not low. So I think he is very generous."
In response, Dumbledore nodded slowly to express his understanding. He also had some guesses as to why Lockhart went to Snape, and sure enough, it was for the potion.
Immediately afterward, Snape asked directly, "Headmaster, is this about Lockhart? Or is there something else I need to do?"
Dumbledore said with a smile, "Snape, don't worry, nothing big will happen this time. I heard that your relationship with Lockhart is developing well. I want you to help me pay attention to his research and test his views on Squibs, mixed-bloods, and pure-blood families."
"Headmaster, are you sure Lockhart is fine?" Snape asked with a frown. "If there is a problem, my personal suggestion is to arrest him directly and apply Veritaserum."
Seeing Dumbledore still shaking his head, Snape asked curiously, "Headmaster, before I begin to monitor him, I need a reason."
After thinking for a while, Dumbledore said in a deep voice, "Lockhart is currently conducting a magical research. If this research is successful, it will affect the entire wizarding world. So, I need to know his attitude towards half-bloods, pure-bloods, and squibs."
Hearing this, Snape nodded slowly, and at the same time, he was a little curious about the magical research mentioned by Headmaster Dumbledore. He asked a few questions and heard some introductions from Dumbledore. The image of Lockhart in Snape's mind changed dramatically.
As the exchange between Snape and Dumbledore ended, Dumbledore watched Snape leave the office, lost in thought. After entering the inheritance library, he searched for relevant traces of runes. What surprised him was that there was no material at all in the library. Therefore, there is no reason for him to be careless. It has been said in the wizarding world since ancient times that one must be wary of unknown things.
Flashback to Tuesday night, Snape's office.
Lockhart was a little surprised when he heard Snape's decisive agreement. Before he came, he had invited Filius Flitwick, a wizard who had won many duel competitions, to join the Duelling Club. To be honest, it took a lot of effort. After all, the Duelling Club was hosted by him, and Filius Flitwick could only participate in it as an assistant. Finally, because he was also a wizard from Ravenclaw, and he had agreed to some conditions from Filius Flitwick, the other party had just officially decided to join the Duelling Club.
Therefore, for the always indifferent Snape, Lockhart was prepared to spend a lot of effort to persuade him to participate. He didn't expect that the other party would be so decisive.
At this moment, Snape looked at the surprised Lockhart and directly put forward his conditions: "I need certain rights to select members, as well as the right to choose the course content."
After hearing Snape's conditions, Lockhart thought about it and nodded in agreement. Because this seemed to be similar to the conditions proposed by Professor Filius. It seems that every head of the house has a heart for his own house to succeed.
"Snape, let me tell you that Professor Filius is also joining the Duelling Club. Our first meeting will be held on Sunday. We professors can further discuss the details in the next few days."
After hearing what Lockhart said, Snape thought about it and found that it had no impact, so he nodded to express his understanding.
Lockhart saw this, a faint smile appeared on his face, and after chatting for a few words, he said goodbye. Walking out of Snape's office and strolling through the corridors of Hogwarts, Lockhart was a little excited in his heart. He found that although his plan had some twists and turns, it went smoothly.
Originally, he organized the Duelling Club to get some resources from Hogwarts. But following Professor McGonagall's very strict review and the fact that he had opened up a new source of income, he gave up this idea completely.
But he wanted to make the Duelling Club bigger. It would be best to invite all the famous professors in the school, and it would be best if Dumbledore also joined. On the one hand, it can provide better teaching quality for young wizards. On the other hand, he now hopes that the club can serve as a hub for him to have intense discussions with these top masters in various fields at Hogwarts around magic and runes.
Well, actually, Lockhart hasn't forgotten his original vision: Create a workers' club!
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