He talked about other things: "Your club has not held events for a long time. If you have the opportunity, you can hold two more. I think the idea of ​​​​the political club is good, but it must be separated from the dueling club."

If Dumbledore refused outright, maybe Lockhart would argue a few more words, but now Dumbledore won't talk to you about it at all, which is tougher than outright refusal

Although Dumbledore was firm, Lockhart was not a person who would be frightened when he touched a nail, so he was still fighting for it.

But unfortunately, the old man is not only experienced, but often far more stubborn than the young man, so Lockhart still failed.

\"I'm very happy that you can take the initiative to care about Harry and the others. But this is not your task now, the fifth and seventh grade exams are getting closer and closer, I hope you pay more attention to this... I heard your The class has already started the first round of review? That's good, no matter how the media criticizes your ability, but students' test scores cannot be faked. The better your grades, the more stable you will be at the Ministry of Magic."

He was absolutely right, and Lockhart had absolutely no way of refuting it.

After entering the 1993 school year, the fifth-grade wizard qualification exam and the seventh-grade final exam are getting closer and closer. As a teacher, the most important thing he should worry about is teaching.

"Oh, yes, Professor Kettleburn submitted another resignation application to me yesterday... Come on, I don't want to blame you, his resignation has nothing to do with you."

Seeing Lockhart a little surprised, even a little guilty, Dumbledore added another sentence.

"...He wanted to resign for a long time. He said he wanted to go home to accompany his grandson, but I haven't been able to find a suitable candidate. Do you have anyone you can recommend?"

■

Lockhart did not hesitate: "Rubber Hagrid, he is the most suitable, whether it is the time spent at Hogwarts or the love for magical creatures, no one at Hogwarts should be able to surpass him. Wait until After the Chamber of Secrets is resolved, he can be rehabilitated."

Dumbledore looked like he had the answer he was looking for.

\"Since you think so too, let him try it." As if he gave Lockhart face to let Hagrid try it

While Dumbledore made Lockhart focus on teaching to keep him from getting himself into trouble, he did remind Lockhart of his own priorities.

While many people within the Ministry of Magic dislike or even dislike Lockhart's entry, whether Lockhart can achieve a corresponding position in the Ministry of Magic largely depends on whether he can maintain his own skills as an expert" and The halo of "Master of Defense Against the Dark Arts".

The latter is easy to say, but the former is an important reflection of his work ability, and the key to reflecting this indicator is the scores of these students in the wizarding exam.

Lockhart forced himself not to think about the three Saviors and to concentrate on his teaching.

He told the students in grades 1 to 4 and grade 6 early that this year's final exam would be a "practice exam" and that all the content they had learned in class would be used.

Although his classmates were very interested in Lockhart's exam and tried to inquire about it, Lockhart remained tight-lipped.

As long as you can proficiently apply what you have learned this semester, passing the exam will be very easy. On the contrary, any lazy behavior of yours will cost you in the exam, because the exam is all-encompassing. "He says.

Chapter 98 Magic List

Limited by his status as a professor, Lockhart has been in the same pain as his students since January.

That is to do review and prepare for exams.

It was only when he was reviewing that he realized how big a hole the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher had dug for him a few years ago.

As the so-called "the foundation is not firm, the ground is shaken", if the knowledge system of these students is compared to a house, then after several years of unreliable professors' teaching, it is described as "full of holes" The Defence Against the Dark Arts system of these students is a compliment.

Because the riddled with holes is just that there are many loopholes in the whole, and the skeleton is still there, but the defense against the dark arts of these Hogwarts students is simply the level of throwing a few bricks into a clearing.

No wonder then that after Voldemort returned, Weasley Brothers Trickster's armor could be sold to the Ministry of Magic. That's probably why the Weasley Twins said at the time that many of the Ministry's employees "couldn't even recite a qualified Iron Spell."

After Voldemort was defeated for the first time, the wizarding world can be said to have been in peace for a long time, so the newly born wizards have no sense of urgency to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the professors are unreliable, so learning it is just like this. Inevitably.

\"You can't do this in the future!"

In the lower grade classes, Lockhart taught the little wizards earnestly: "From the height of the building, all your future achievements are often derived from your current foundation, figure out your own position early, and then Practice your magic in a targeted manner, find the right teammates...it's better than cramming

The little wizards felt very puzzled: "But Professor, we don't have to go out and deal with female ghosts, werewolves and vampires like you do?"

Lockhart got stuck - asking young wizards to spend time on Defence Against the Dark Arts until Voldemort didn't come back is like telling 21st century Americans to dig up nuclear bunkers to keep the Soviet Union from going mad. Fun, not too serious.

"You all think this is unnecessary?" he asked the students.

The student who was questioned hesitated, but nodded.

"Okay, then let's read books and study and prepare for the exam." Lockhart made a very happy look, "Now, please turn to page 130 of "Practical Defense Magic and Its Restraining Against Dark Magic"... "

There was a loud booing among the students—they were booing the guy who nodded.

No recommendation, professor, we think this is a knowledge that requires practical combat, and I am afraid that simply reading books will not help. "

\"As you said, only spells that can still be cast during confrontation are learned spells."

"If we haven't seen Greendig, how can we be sure we can deal with it?"

You say what I say, anyway, their implication is that the teaching method is very good now, and everyone doesn't want to read books.

They have also heard a little about the "tragic situation" of the students in the fifth and seventh grades. Those people are studying from morning to night every day. Even in the most practical Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were fascinated by Lockhart's intensive review method of "smoothing the knowledge framework + two rounds of total review" on the Muggle side.

Although they knew that sooner or later they would be gone, but no one wanted to taste it right away.

Fortunately, Lockhart did not intend to do so.

"Okay, then let's continue to practice magic... After a semester of study, I have a general understanding of your talents. I made a list for each of my classmates during the Christmas break, which has a list of Analysis of tactical positioning and advice on the magic you need to learn in the future, the person I read the name, please come up and pick up the list...Miss Hannah Aibo!"

"arrive!"

Like others, Harry and the others also got an analysis table of their own.

\"Battlefield...Assassin?"

Harry stared at his list and whispered word by word, ""Excellent reflexes and skills make you the first person to react when the team encounters an emergency. You must learn to cut into the enemy line at the right time, attack the weakest link in the enemy line, and remove obstacles for your teammates...\"

^What about magic? There should also be magic suggested to learn below. ' Hermione reminded

Harry continued to look down: under the premise of maintaining agility, you should learn as many curses as possible that can be used quickly and have quick effects in order to sneak attack on the enemy\'One glance spell, stun spell, Obstruction spells, disarming spells, restraint spells, silence spells, iron armor spells, flying spells, patron saint spells... God, there are quite a few. "

"But they all fit, don't they? And you know what to study now," Hermione said.

In Lockhart's comments to her, he wrote: "You are resourceful, broad-minded, always able to use the most suitable magic at the right time, and you are born to be the brain of a team.

Although I believe you can learn any magic, for efficiency, I recommend that you learn some magic that will keep you calm first, and then focus on learning how to control

A spell that controls the effect.

Suggested magic—group protection, group restraint, stun spell, blindness spell, confusion spell, whistling spell, freezing spell, horrific gear field…”

And Ron's evaluation is also not low. Lockhart gave him the status of a remote battery, so he also lost a bunch of magic spells such as fire spell, freezing spell, and weather spell.

Even Neville Longbottom, Lockhart has developed a suitable development direction for him - that is the meat shield.

Although Neville's reaction was a little slower, his strong will, strong physique, and trust in his companions could make him go further in the tank.

And Neville himself seemed a little confused because he didn't know how armor spells, crowd protection, polarized shock absorption, magic weapons, shield summoning, and plant manipulation would make him a great Auror.

Even more confused than him is Seamus Finnigan.

"Flying sand and rocks, thunder explosions, houses collapsed, blasting out, blazing flames, torn apart..."

He whispered his own "Suggested Magic List", feeling that he was discriminated against by the professor.

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand, you can slowly experience it in practice in the future." Lockhart said to them kindly.

In addition to the unfinished form of the first grade, he gave such a suggestion to the students of the other grades. Although the workload is a bit heavy, but fortunately there are not many students at Hogwarts, so he can always handle it.

Even if this thing can save a few deaths in future Hogwarts battles, his work will be worthwhile.

Chapter 99 Tax X Final Exam

To better prepare for his final exams, Lockhart went to an import store in Diagon Alley to order a batch of magic seeds to use as a plant wall for the maze.

When the owl brought the bill, Lockhart suddenly felt that he understood the meaning of Knockturn Alley very well.

Because of such a formal import, the Ministry of Magic needs to file it and draw taxes from it. And the Ministry of Magic's customs tax is too high, and the seeds Lockhart ordered from the Netherlands doubled in price when they arrived.

After all, there are only about 10,000 wizards in the UK. It is really hard to support hundreds of Ministry of Magic employees. If taxes are not high, many employees will be hungry.

Like Arthur Weasley, although the "Department for the Prevention of Misuse of Muggle Objects" is a cold yamen, it is also a director, with the power to make laws, but life is still tight.

And there's more - Newt Scamander worked at the Ministry of Magic for the first two years of his Hufflepuff graduation, when Newt's salary at the Ministry was only 2 silver sic a week. , not to mention the money to support so many magical creatures for him, it is very difficult to support himself.

That's why Newt accepted the entrustment of the silent book company to write a textbook about magical creatures. If it weren't for the income this textbook brought him, I'm afraid he would still be living a poor life.

According to Lockhart, many of the employees at the Ministry of Magic have side jobs, or their families make money outside, and they fight for a little policy for their family's business within the Ministry of Magic.

In this case, the Ministry of Magic is not infiltrated by a wealthy family like Malfoy

And strange. Even if some people are stubborn and can not bow down for five silver coins, when they see their wives and children starving, they may have to bow their heads.

The main reason why a black market like Knockturn Alley exists is probably not because of the sale of black magic items, but because it can avoid the taxation of the Ministry of Magic. Lockhart promised the principal that Knockturn Alley would be banned, but it might not be that easy to fulfill.

The Mundungus of the Order of the Phoenix is ​​a typical example. The reason why the peddler who came from the thief can get a meal is because of the business provided by customers such as Weasley Tricks. Fred and George, while rich, were unwilling to throw money at the Ministry for no reason. That's why Mundungus was very nervous after hearing Harry say that Moody might be looking over here, and immediately shot the thing.

The more unwilling wizards are to pay the tax, the more the black market thrives; and the more the black market thrives, the less the Ministry of Magic gets taxed; Taxes...it's a complete vicious circle.

But the Ministry of Magic cannot reduce its workforce.

Because of the existence of the "Wizard Secrecy Act", they have to support a large number of amnestics; in order to maintain law and order, they have to pay Aurors high salaries, otherwise no one will be willing to die; in addition, they can't fall behind even when they contact foreign wizards. For the face of the Great Empire, the diplomatic reception is another expense.

Fortunately, there is still some income to protect magical creatures, and the parts of magical creatures can be sold for some money, otherwise the Ministry of Magic will really go to eat dirt.

This time Lockhart bought the seeds through regular channels, so he had to hand over half of the money to the Ministry of Magic.

He stuffed the bill into his box, intending to save it for later, and he got the seeds next to the school's vegetable field.

"Hi, Hagrid!" he called the school's gamekeeper.

Because Hagrid is not a student, like other professors, he can't be paid for refereeing the dueling club, otherwise it would be too insulting.

So Lockhart had no choice but to do things in a roundabout way, like sending some booze every once in a while, and getting some durable goods from the Muggle world and Diagon Alley to Hagrid.

He never asked him to do things when he gave gifts, but he never gave gifts when he did things—a hypocrisy, but it was the adult way of doing things.

Lockhart opened the large package in his hand, and reached out and grabbed a handful of seeds:\"Look at this, the travel gold leaf privet imported from the United States will move every year after it grows, and I want to use them as a hedge. stingy, create a magic labyrinth... What do you think?"

Hagrid seemed interested: "The plant fence? No problem, but what are you doing with it?"

"I'll use it for the final exam," Lockhart explained simply.

"Exam? That's a big deal." Hagrid laughed. "Leave it to me. The privet flowers should bloom in May, just in time for your exam."

"Thanks, Hagrid."

"Thank you, it's a matter of your own accord."

As a hunting ground keeper, Hagrid's biggest job, apart from watching the students to prevent them from entering the forbidden forest, is watching the vegetable garden and hunting for Hogwarts.

Because food cannot be concocted by magic, so wizards still need to farm and eat vegetables

Just like the pumpkins for Halloween and the essential pumpkin juice for meals, although Hagrid can use the Expansion Charm to make pumpkins in the vegetable garden bigger, the nutrition of individual pumpkins is still the same as those of ordinary pumpkins that have been fertilized with dragon manure.

Magic itself can't be used as food. At most, you can deceive your sense of taste. Like the gold coins of the leprechaun, it will disappear after a while.

However, magic can be used to generate plants and speed up their growth stages, but the fertility of the soil has to keep up.

Fortunately, the wizards have dragon dung - the fertility provided by dragon dung is far greater than that of ordinary manure, but it is precisely because the fertility is too thick that ordinary plants will be burnt if they are not careful, so they also need experienced old farmers to be able to Take measure.

As a half-blood wizard who lived in his sixties, Hagrid happened to have experience in this area. If neither he nor Professor Sprout were willing to help, Lockhart might not be able to find a suitable person. .

After Hagrid accepted the seeds, the two exchanged a little chat.

"How's it going, Hagrid?" Lockhart initiated the conversation.

Hagrid's eyes dodged a little: "It's still the same, what's the difference?

Lockhart's original intention was to ask whether Hagrid was in trouble by the Ministry of Magic after the Chamber of Secrets attack. After all, he was the "murderer" who opened the Chamber of Secrets last time. The same thing happened this time, and it was impossible for the Ministry of Magic not to suspect him.

But looking at Hagrid's current attitude, he is not going to answer.

So he changed the subject: "The principal told me that Professor Kettleburn has offered to resign... Do you have any ideas?"

Chapter 100 Tom, You Are Stealing Floo Fans

In the afternoon, Hagrid pushed open the door of his cabin, feeling as sunny as the sky outside after the snow.

Of course he is happy that his future is promising.

Fifty years ago, he was framed by Voldemort as the murderer who opened the Chamber of Secrets, and ordered to drop out and hand in his wand. If it wasn't for Dumbledore's efforts to protect him, he would have disappeared from this world as an "abnormal" shortly after he lost his father. Even if he could survive, he would probably have to embark on the path of crime.

However, under Dumbledore's arrangement, he became the gamekeeper at Hogwarts and worked there for decades.

Although life is a little embarrassing, at least he has no worries about food and clothing, and he can often break into the forbidden forest and have close contact with his favorite big guys. He is very satisfied with this kind of life.

Thanks to Dumbledore. He often thinks so.