Hogwarts’s idiot professor

Chapter 104: What It Means to Be a Master of Magic

The deaths of old Mr. and Mrs. Crabbe were clearly a significant event. The Ministry of Magic's Aurors arrived swiftly, and even a large number of high-ranking officials from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement were alerted.

Among them, three were most prominent.

Dolores Umbridge, Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic and member of the Wizengamot.

Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office.

And Corban Yaxley, Head of the Magical Accidents and Catastrophes Department.

These three high-ranking officials seemed to possess extremely strong personalities, especially Undersecretary Umbridge. The moment she arrived, her gaze immediately fixed on the Hogwarts children.

Or rather, in the eyes of this influential figure, who came from humble beginnings and had painstakingly climbed to the very top of the wizarding social pyramid, the room was almost entirely filled with pure-blood families, an incredibly glaring sight.

She clearly intended to do something, but an incredibly eye-catching presence instantly suppressed her actions.

Even Auror Head Scrimgeour and the old bureaucrat Yaxley had to make their presence seem a little milder.

Rita Skeeter, the famous journalist from the Daily Prophet.

Heh heh, this was the power of "Ravenclaw," suppressing the three high-ranking officials of "Slytherin" origin, forcing them to behave better.

Rita wasn't afraid of these important figures; in fact, it could be said she specifically targeted them. She even dared to provoke Dumbledore, let alone a few mere bureaucrats.

When the three appeared, she excitedly told Lockhart that the opportunity for his new book, Where to Find Dark Magical Creatures, to explode in popularity had arrived. Being a bestseller was not enough; this time, she intended to push the book's sales higher than the combined sales of all other books on the list.

Then, she could use this as a springboard to stir up a hot debate: which was more professional, Where to Find Dark Magical Creatures or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? This would elevate Gilderoy Lockhart's reputation to be on par with Newt Scamander.

How did one gain the title of Master of Magic?

In her eyes, that's how it happened.

Don't think she was being kind; after exploiting Newt's reputation, she would start exploiting Lockhart, and she guaranteed Lockhart would cooperate with her. Hmm, that's how the dregs of Ravenclaw were; it was a transaction.

Of course, it hadn't reached that stage yet. The main goal now was to exploit these three high-ranking officials: Umbridge, Scrimgeour, and Yaxley. It was a pity Minister Fudge wasn't there; otherwise, the effect would have been even better.

Rita told Lockhart to be tougher later; she would take a picture of Professor Lockhart guarding the students against these evil, rotten officials, guaranteeing that he would jump into prominence by stepping on the Ministry's name, making Lockhart the most hotly discussed wizard in the entire wizarding society.

Emmm.....

How to put it, Lockhart really had to do that.

Because Umbridge had already started giving orders to Aurors like Kingsley and Tonks, bypassing Auror Head Scrimgeour, demanding that they routinely inspect everyone's wands first.

This was clearly a troublesome matter. During the adventure in the fairy tale world and the battles against dark wizards and werewolves, some of the young wizards' actions had more or less crossed the line.

The most problematic was Hermione's wand. If it was examined with a Prior Incantato spell, wow, an Unforgivable Curse. Umbridge would absolutely not hesitate to send Hermione to Azkaban, regardless of whether Hermione had cast it.

If Dumbledore then stepped forward to protect the students, it would be even better; this high-ranking official, who had always been trying to push for the Ministry to have more jurisdiction over magical schools, would have more bargaining chips.

Lockhart highly doubted that, in such a situation, Rita would still stand by his side, or if she would choose to pursue the more sensational news.

"This is not a good idea!"

He strode out, standing heroically in front of Kingsley, his face filled with genuine protectiveness for the young wizards. "We are also victims. Old Crabbe sacrificed himself to protect the children. If it weren't for them, you would have found dead students everywhere when you arrived!"

"Your actions will only cause more harm to the children's minds! They should not be investigated like criminals!"

Auror Kingsley clearly wasn't pleased with doing such a thing and couldn't help but look at his superior, Scrimgeour.

Scrimgeour was even less pleased. He extremely disliked Umbridge's overstepping commands and even less liked the approach of pointing fingers at victims before an investigation could even begin. This would only increase the difficulty of the case.

However, a series of events over the past six months had utterly eroded his prestige.

The inexplicable death of a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, touted as the safest place in the world (Professor Quirrell); another theft case at Gringotts, described as the most secure place in the world (Voldemort's failed Horcrux transfer); and then the supposed opening of the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts, with two students almost dying—

The Aurors had been unable to uncover anything, and in fact, had no chance to intervene.

But the public didn't care about that. The Auror Office, the institution responsible for maintaining peace in the wizarding society, began to suffer various attacks. This clearly had a significant impact on Scrimgeour, who had a lot of blame piled on him, leaving him somewhat weak-kneed in front of Umbridge.

Umbridge pushed Auror Tonks aside, angrily looking up directly at the tall Lockhart. "Are you going to defy the Ministry's orders?!!!"

Lockhart wasn't worried about her. He smiled brightly. "Never mind the Ministry, if Death Eaters want to harm my students, they'll have to step over my corpse first."

"Death Eaters?" Umbridge was clearly startled, instinctively stepping back, then angrily retorted, "You should know what topics should not be casually mentioned!"

"Because it was Death Eaters who attacked us!" Lockhart scoffed, looking down at her. "Many people know that the Dark Lord has appeared and is purging traitors. The one who attacked us was Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf, a loyal servant of the Dark Lord back in the day. Umbridge, are you sure you want to get involved in this?"

"You—"

He watched as the toad-faced woman's face, usually fierce in appearance but timid in reality, gradually turned pale. A slight smirk played on his lips. "Knowing this situation, do you still dare to meddle?"

Umbridge swallowed hard, seemingly intimidated, her eyes darting, unwilling to face Lockhart.

In fact, Umbridge could never be so weak-willed. As a half-blood witch from the social bottom, the daughter of a Ministry janitor with no background, she had climbed to the high position of Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic. Her inner strength was immense; it was impossible for her to be intimidated by Lockhart's words or unverified rumors.

Lockhart had employed a subtle technique.

A very strange technique.

It was a small trick to unleash the wildness within his heart. With almost imperceptible magical fluctuations, he released the caged werewolf from his mind, infusing it into his gaze and voice, carrying an incredibly powerful oppressive and high-level predatory aura.

Just as ordinary wizards involuntarily shiver and fall into negative emotional states when looking at a Dementor, the wild werewolf caged in Lockhart's mind also had this kind of influence on people's hearts, characteristic of a dark magical creature.

This was a powerful aura rooted in magical logic, its essence utterly ferocious and malicious.

A small test yielded remarkable results.

How could magic be so inconvenient? It shouldn't be likened to Muggles' firearms but rather integrated into every aspect of a wizard's life, omnipresent.

Magic is power; it's not just about magic's influence in fighting and killing.

Compared to the somewhat虚called Master of Magic title that Rita helped create, Lockhart was now truly embarking on the path of a Master of Magic, naturally possessing the authority that should rightfully belong to him.

For instance, the respect these Ministry officials should show.

Respect that didn't require a balancing of interests. He only needed to stand up and speak, and those wizards who couldn't build a strong mental defense within themselves had to show him respect.

Just like a rabbit's respect for a king tiger.

Umbridge's face quickly changed from pale to flushed. Such cowardice made her feel ashamed. She dared not imagine how her Ministry subordinates would view her; it was likely everyone was laughing at her in their hearts right now.

Yet, she dared not be forceful with Lockhart again, finding herself in an awkward position.

Fortunately, a voice appeared just in time, breaking the deadlock.

"What's going on here?"

Minister for Magic Fudge had arrived!

And accompanying him was Albus Dumbledore!

Fudge understood far more than Umbridge. A quick glance at everyone's positions and expressions instantly gave him a clear assessment of the situation.

He quickly walked past Umbridge and the others, grabbing Harry Potter's hand in the corner of the crowd. He looked him up and down as if extremely concerned, then visibly relaxed when he found no problems. He then surveyed the young wizards. "Are the children alright? Is everyone unharmed?"

"Scrimgeour! Scrimgeour!" he loudly called to the Head of the Auror Office. "Quick, have the Aurors immediately take the children to the hospital for examination! We must ensure the children are alright!"

What defines a Minister for Magic?

This is what defines a Minister for Magic!

His appearance instantly defused the tension in the air. He calmly directed his subordinates to smoothly handle the situation.

Umbridge was assigned to follow up on this matter, accompanying the young wizards to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, thus being diverted from the scene.

Professor Snape also left with the young wizards. He didn't trust these Aurors at all; he had to guard against possible attacks appearing suddenly at any time.

The bodies of the dark wizards and werewolves from the Crabbe family's Flobberworm farm were also cleared out as quickly as possible. The sight of so many figures registered as wanted by the Aurors sent shivers down one's spine.

Merlin's beard!

Fudge looked almost as if he was about to faint. He couldn't imagine the level of public condemnation the Ministry would face!

He wiped cold sweat from his face, occasionally glancing nervously at Rita the journalist, very worried whether this incident would ultimately be used by some to attack him.

Perhaps it was time to offer this jumpy journalist some favors.

Being the Minister for Magic was simply too difficult for him.

Corban Yaxley, Head of the Magical Accidents and Catastrophes Department, shared a similar sentiment of despair.

He was absolutely certain that the attack he had arranged would not implicate him. That foolish werewolf Greyback didn't even know that he was the one behind the arrangements.

But...

He seemed to see Gilderoy Lockhart pointing at him, saying something to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore showed no expression, simply standing there in silence, yet he exerted immense pressure on Yaxley.

....

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