William had imagined what his new colleague might look like, but he never expected the new colleague to be a tooth fairy.
Considering the wide array of magical creatures and the numerous peculiar transformation spells in the wizarding world, he didn't rule out the possibility that the other party was a puppet or a magical artifact crafted from false teeth.
"This is Professor Gilderoy Lockhart," Professor McGonagall introduced, with a rare expression of discomfort on her face, as she gestured toward William.
"This is Professor Lee William."
"It's an honor for Hogwarts to welcome two, hmm, professors of Defensive Magic Studies this year. It's quite unusual. Although I've mentioned it before, I must reiterate; Welcome to Hogwarts."
William shook hands with Lockhart; the "tooth fairy", and exchanged greetings. Then, the two of them sat on the chairs directly opposite Professor McGonagall. Lockhart's gleaming white teeth occasionally flashed, reminding William of his earlier guess about this new colleague.
Professor McGonagall began tidying up the desk.
A pile of various reports and bills was stacked together, while a few lively quick-note quills obediently hopped into a drawer under the Professor's wand. William glanced at the documents on the desk and noticed that the topmost one was addressed to Dumbledore.
There was no doubt that Dumbledore had delegated most of the school's administrative tasks to this Deputy Headmistress.
As he speculated internally about just how much of a hands-off leader the so-called greatest white wizard was, William handed over his prepared forms, which included his chosen teaching materials and the grades he hoped to instruct.
Professor McGonagall took the forms, carefully examined them for a moment, then pulled out Lockhart's application form from the desk to compare the two.
"The teaching materials are fine, but there seem to be several conflicts regarding the grades you both wish to teach."
She pushed the forms forward and said, "You've both chosen to teach lower-year students, but the upper-year students also need instruction; especially since they are approaching major exams and require guidance from their professors."
William glanced at Lockhart's form and saw that he had selected years one through five, leaving years six and seven unclaimed.
As for William, he had considered his lack of experience and opted to teach only years one through four, leaving the upper years to the presumably better-educated new professor.
Thus, the issue arose; Who would teach the upper years?
Professor McGonagall directed her gaze toward Lockhart. While neither professor had prior teaching experience, she favored Lockhart slightly more.
From an official standpoint, Lockhart was significantly older than William and had spent more time immersed in the magical arts. He came with an impressive array of accolades, and his adventures were well-documented in his books. His experience and qualifications far exceeded William's.
From a personal perspective, William, after all, was an untrained "wandering wizard" who hadn't received formal education at Hogwarts. With the founding of Hogwarts over a millennium ago, such self-taught wizards had become increasingly rare, and their abilities varied widely. On the other hand, Lockhart was a graduate of the prestigious Ravenclaw House, known for his excellent academic performance. Professor McGonagall naturally had more trust in this Hogwarts alumnus.
All things considered, Lockhart seemed far more suitable to teach the upper years than William.
But just as Professor McGonagall was about to speak, Lockhart beat her to it, quickly interjecting, "While I would very much like to teach the upper-year students, I happen to have some friendships with the people responsible for setting the exam questions. To avoid any accusations of bias that could tarnish the integrity of those students' results, I believe it's best if I don't involve myself with students who are about to take their exams."
William was stunned; What kind of excuse was that?
In one breath, he had insulted three groups!
He implied that the exam officials were corrupt, suggested that the school's professors didn't have the same connections he did, and insinuated that the students would happily cheat if given the chance.
And if all this were true, why on earth was he still willing to teach the fifth-year students?
William watched as Professor McGonagall's expression darkened.
But it seemed the Professor managed to restrain herself.
"Alright, then. Professor William, do you have any difficulties taking on the position of teaching upper-year students'; um, Wizard Self-Defense Magic?"
Yes, William wanted to say, but his excuses were nowhere near as convincing as Lockhart's.
Since he didn't particularly mind teaching the upper years, he simply didn't decline.
"Alright then, I'll take responsibility for the sixth and seventh-year students. Although this isn't what I initially anticipated, there's still a month left, which should be enough time to prepare the lessons."
"It's too exhausting for one person to take on five year groups at once, and the fifth years also have their O.W.L. exams coming up. I hope, Professor William, that you can also take responsibility for the fifth-year students along with the upper years."
Professor McGonagall quickly jotted notes on both of their forms. William noticed that Lockhart's expression looked slightly displeased, but he didn't object to the decision.
"In that case, I'll inform the students to purchase the assigned textbooks themselves. Your schedules and common room arrangements will be sent via owl within the next week."
Professor McGonagall glanced at the time, signaling that the meeting was over and it was time to leave.
***
William and Lockhart stood up to take their leave, but just as William finished his farewell, Professor McGonagall added suddenly, "Professor William, could you stay a moment? I just remembered we haven't discussed the elective courses for the sixth years yet. These need to be arranged based on their O.W.L. results."
It wasn't a particularly complicated matter.
After the O.W.L. exams in their fifth year, sixth and seventh-year courses became electives. Students who were interested in continuing their studies or whose future career plans required it could choose to advance. However, the number of slots for advanced classes was determined by their prior exam results.
For reasons unknown; whether intentional or not, Professor McGonagall left Lockhart's textbook list in full view of William.
"Gilderoy Lockhart's Travels with Trolls," "Gilderoy Lockhart's Holidays with Hags," "Gilderoy Lockhart's Year with the Yeti" …
A long list of titles, all authored by Lockhart.
Was this Professor really here to teach? Or was he just here to sell books?
Considering that sixth and seventh-year students had already been filtered twice; once by exams and once by professors, William had every reason to suspect that Lockhart had abandoned these two years simply because the class sizes were too small.
"Students with an E; 'Exceeds Expectations,' the second-highest grade, should also be eligible for electives, don't you think? Perhaps they underperformed during the exams. If their future career plans require a higher-level certificate, this would give them a chance to strive for it," William said.
He carefully reviewed the grade sheet and generously opened up the registration eligibility for a group of students, even though typically only those with the top grade of O, 'Outstanding,' would qualify.
"Alright, I'll inform those students. The list of registrants will be given to you at the start of term, along with the schedule and classroom arrangements."
After addressing William, Professor McGonagall finally looked up and noticed Hagrid, who had been standing at the office door the entire time.
"Oh, Hagrid, I'm sorry, I completely forgot about you. Is there something you needed?"