Morning, Lockhart's Office
The golden sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a warm glow over the entire office. Lockhart sat leisurely, holding a magic book and reading it with interest. Sunny, the Golden Snidget who had just finished exercising, took a sneaky look at Lockhart. Seeing that the Keeper didn't notice him, he cautiously walked towards the office door.
When he was close to the door, he turned around to check the distance from the Keeper. Satisfied, he flapped his wings quickly and teleported through space. In an instant, a golden light flashed, and Sunny disappeared from the office.
Lockhart, who was mentally sharp, noticed this but let Sunny leave. The morning exercise was complete, and the next round was scheduled for the afternoon. As long as Sunny was safe, he didn't mind. After spending time with Sunny, Lockhart understood his temperament. Sunny was greedy and active, similar to a child's personality.
Raising children, according to his experience, required a balanced approach—neither too loose nor too strict. Setting goals and daily tasks helped develop good habits and influenced character and actions positively. He didn't have much time to care for Sunny himself, and although Hagrid seemed like a good caretaker, his temperament made Lockhart hesitant. Hagrid might overfeed Sunny, turning him into a fat version of the Golden Snidget. So, for now, he took care of Sunny alone.
While he was reading leisurely, there was a sudden knock on the window. Lockhart turned his head and saw an owl. Seeing the newspaper hanging from the owl's chest, Lockhart's lips curled up in a smile. He quickly opened the window, fed the owl some food, took the newspaper, and opened it expectantly.
The first thing that caught his eye was a huge black headline and a slowly changing picture. The picture was one of him winning the "Wizard Weekly" Most Charming Smile Award. Ignoring the picture, Lockhart focused on the eye-catching title, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
[Squib Becomes a Wizard - Shocking News from Hogwarts]
The appearance of the report marked the official start of his marketing plan. Lockhart turned his attention to the content below.
"How to make a Squib a wizard? This has been a problem in the wizarding world for thousands of years. But after many years of research by Professor Lockhart at Hogwarts, hope has emerged."
"Professor Lockhart said that practicing meditation can allow Squibs to possess magical powers and then perform magic."
"It is said that Professor Dumbledore is very supportive of this and believes that this research will benefit the development of the wizarding world."
"Professor Lockhart mentioned that the meditation method experiment is coming to an end and only needs to be tested on a small scale before it can be promoted on a large scale."
"Therefore, 100 Squibs are now being recruited for the final test. During the testing process, all expenses incurred will be provided by Professor Lockhart. And it's guaranteed that there won't be any life-threatening danger."
After reading the entire report, Lockhart nodded with satisfaction. The Daily Prophet had done an excellent job reporting, covering all the essential points without any unnecessary embellishments. The rest depended on the public's response.
Daily Prophet, Editor's Office
Editor-in-chief Cotton sat in his office chair, looking at the opened envelope in front of him, and shook his head in distress. He knew that resolving this matter wouldn't be easy. Last time, he had chosen to delay the news release, giving pure-blood families and Hogwarts a day to communicate.
Now, looking at the report about Squibs gaining the ability to cast spells, how could he not publish it? If the communication between the two parties had gone smoothly, he would have received relevant information, making it easy to suppress the news. But since he hadn't received any, it meant that Hogwarts or Dumbledore was more determined. Therefore, he had no choice but to make it public and chose the biggest and best position to avoid offending anyone.
Even if the pure-blood families were displeased, they had been given the opportunity, but they didn't take it. Yet, being the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet, he faced problems again. The pure-blood families still hadn't given up and wanted him to report on the high risks regarding Lockhart's research results. Their actions made him feel cornered. Reporting this matter would make him a scapegoat, offending Dumbledore directly.
But not reporting it was also problematic. The Daily Prophet was deeply entangled with various pure-blood families. Although he was the editor-in-chief, he was helpless. How could he solve this?
Editor-in-chief Cotton kept thinking, trying to find a compromise that would shift the blame away from himself. Suddenly, Cotton's eyes lit up as he thought of someone who could stir the pot—Rita Skeeter. She could definitely cause enough trouble to distract everyone.
Thinking of this, Cotton picked up his quill and began writing.
"Dear Miss Rita Skeeter,"
Night, Hogwarts Third Floor
Lockhart cast an Invisibility Charm on himself, becoming invisible. His destination was the girls' bathroom on the third floor. This couldn't be seen by others—a professor running into the girls' bathroom would be scandalous.
Being cautious to avoid accidents, especially with ghosts and portraits around, he soon reached the girls' bathroom. Pushing the copper handle on the door, he slowly walked in and looked around. The bathroom was dark and humid, with stained walls, a waterlogged floor, peeling tiles, and dim candles.
Despite feeling slightly uncomfortable, Lockhart walked forward, focusing on a sink with a small snake pattern engraved on the side wall of the faucet. After finding the right place, he turned to the side room, aware of the ghost that always haunted the bathroom—Myrtle. If not handled well, her presence could lead to leaks.
Not only could the existence of the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets be exposed, but his own reputation would be tarnished. He had prepared for Myrtle. In the innermost compartment, he saw Ghost Myrtle sitting on the toilet, feeling sorry for herself. Lockhart gently waved his wand: "Soul Sleep!"
Instantly, a light gray mist emerged from the wand's tip, spreading around and enveloping Ghost Myrtle. The ghost didn't notice it at all. Myrtle just felt sleepier and sleepier until she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. Seeing this, Lockhart nodded with satisfaction—the last hidden danger was resolved.
Lockhart then focused on the sink with the snake mark. He took out a dark green magic book, the Parseltongue Book he had refined earlier. After turning a few pages, he gently clicked on a word with his wand, infusing it with a bit of magic. Instantly, a hoarse, gloomy voice emanated from the book.
"Hiss. (Open)"
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