Chapter 193

Page 193

If Professor Rozier hadn't stepped in last year, Dumbledore might have had to teach the students himself.

Now that Dumbledore has entrusted the "task" to Isaac, how can Professor McGonagall feel at ease?

Isaac... only knows a few people in the wizarding world?

Therefore, Professor McGonagall's letter explicitly and implicitly expressed her concerns about the selection of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the next school year, and indicated that Isaac could let her know if he had a preferred candidate.

She can also help if a suitable candidate cannot be found.

What else can Isaac say?

All I can say is, long live Dean Cat!

Regarding the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next semester, Isaac actually has a suitable candidate.

That was Sirius's werewolf buddy: Remus Lupin.

What is the most crucial criterion for evaluating whether a professor is qualified to teach a course?

Of course, it depends on how well the teacher performs in this course.

Coincidentally, Remus Lupin does have some talent in teaching and educating students.

This can be verified whether we look at the original timeline or Isaac's prophetic vision of the future.

The most fundamental way to evaluate a professor's quality is to see how much a student can learn from that professor.

In the original timeline, was Quirinas Quirrell, Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in his first year, incompetent?

To be honest, Quirinas Quiro is really not bad.

This guy was able to stay at the university to teach after graduation, and after a year of training outside, he was able to become the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, an important practical course at Hogwarts.

This is enough to prove that he is really not bad.

He went to the forests of Albania and was then possessed by Voldemort.

But Dumbledore had never seen him in his neurotic state before he returned to England.

This means that Quirinus Quirrell is qualified to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

So how well did he teach?

It was a complete mess.

Isaac once suspected that Gilderoy Lockhart, in his second year, must have heard about Quirrell's exploits to have dared to come to Hogwarts to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Gilderoy Lockhart, as a "marketing master" in the wizarding world, surely knows his own limitations.

Lockhart is like an "idol" in the wizarding world; there is no one competing with him on this track.

His lead can be described as unparalleled.

So here's the problem: Lockhart knew perfectly well that the things written in the book had nothing to do with him, that they were all other people's experiences, and that he himself couldn't use any magic other than memory magic.

Why did he dare to go to Hogwarts to become a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?

Isaac believes the root cause lies with Quirinas Quiro.

How does Quirrell attend classes at school?

Quirrell always wears a huge purple turban on his head, which he claims is a gift from an African prince to thank him for helping to get rid of the resurrected zombie.

The entire classroom and the headscarf reeked of garlic, which he said was to ward off the vampires he had encountered in Romania.

The smell was so strong that students even used it to play pranks.

These are Quirrell's physical and olfactory characteristics.

In this respect, Gilderoy Lockhart really deserves praise.

Lockhart and Quirrell are complete opposites in this respect.

Because of Lockhart's "idol" status, he has extremely strict requirements for appearance, clothing, and even body odor.

A "sloppy" look like Quirrell's would never be seen on Lockhart.

If Lockhart were to actually do that, it would be better for him to die.

Aside from his appearance, Lockhart's speech and mannerisms also give him a significant edge over Quirrell.

In the original timeline, Quirrell had a severe stutter, his voice trembled, and he would frequently twist his fingers; even his own shadow could startle him.

When he saw Harry stuttering out "Po-Po-Potter" during roll call, he quickly looked away from Harry's scar.

He always looked frightened, as if he was constantly worried that something terrible might pounce out.

Lockhart is much more confident than Quirrell.

If conditions allowed, Lockhart could have even used arias to teach an entire lesson.

Finally, there's the classroom content.

Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was almost entirely filled with boasts of his "near-death" adventures, such as how he faced resurrected zombies face-to-face and "how he barely managed to stay alive."

The students treated it as a joke, and didn't learn any truly useful defensive spells or combat techniques.

For example, when Simo pressed him for details about the resurrected zombie, he immediately blushed and changed the subject. The students in the class privately felt that he didn't have any real skills.

What about Lockhart?

This guy may not be very skilled with his hands, but he has a lot of knowledge in his head.

The fundamental reason why Lockhart became a magical idol lies in the "substance" in his books.

It's important to know that all the adventures in Lockhart's books are based on the memories of old wizards, and these stories are all true.

Lockhart's approach to danger in the book is also correct.

A true story, coupled with superb writing.

This is what made Lockhart a magical icon in the wizarding world.

Quirinas Quirrell had the knowledge, but he kept it to himself and didn't teach it. Lockhart, on the other hand, really wanted to teach, but he didn't have a systematic lesson plan.

Or perhaps, the memories he stole were simply fragments of those wizards' adventures.

If asked about these adventures, Lockhart could answer perfectly. However, these adventures are, after all, fragmented and unsystematic.

It's still a bit difficult to teach a proper class.

But it doesn't matter, Quirinas Quilleau set a bad precedent for Lockhart.

If Quirrell can be so submissive in class, why can't Lockhart rehearse a stage play in class?

At least he didn't let the students smell garlic in class.

Clearly, Gilderoy Lockhart has mastered the art of competing to be the worst without any formal training, and he has even found himself a fairly "equal" opponent.

-----------------

These are all reasons, according to Isaac's analysis, why Ridgelow Lockhart would have taught at Hogwarts in the original timeline.

Now, a new problem arises.

In the timeline where Isaac exists, Quirinus Quirrell was killed by Dumbledore blocking the fountain.

The professor for the first year was Venda Rozier. Regardless of Professor Venda's background, she was at least a good teacher.

Wenda is the strict teacher type, and a strict teacher can effectively motivate the Hogwarts students of the appropriate age.

Lockhart couldn't possibly think that just because Wenda Rozier was able to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, he, Gilderoy Lockhart, could be the same person, could he?

Chapter 235 Boosting Popularity

Isaac put down Professor McGonagall's letter and picked up Lockhart's envelope, opening it.

This letter was not addressed to Isaac, but to Dumbledore.

Lockhart's writing was also quite good; the letter was ornate and mainly stated that Lockhart had heard that the position of Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had not yet been secured for the new school year.

If Dumbledore ultimately fails to find a suitable professor, he is willing to serve as the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the following year.

Although Lockhart said this in his letter, his attitude was not so firm.

His words were so humble that he completely placed himself in the position of a candidate.

To put it simply, it's a backup plan.

Lockhart saw himself as a backup option for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

That's interesting.

“Kreacher, does Lockhart have any new books to promote lately?” Isaac asked Kreacher, who was waiting for his orders.

“I’ll go and inquire for you right away, Master Isaac. Please wait a moment.” Kreacher bowed to Isaac, then Apparated and disappeared from the study.

A few minutes later, Kreacher returned with firsthand news from the book company.

“Young Master Isaac, Gilderoy Lockhart does indeed have a new book project, his autobiography, ‘I Am Magical.’”

His new book will be available about a week before Hogwarts starts.

“Really?” Isaac nodded slightly, then asked, “What are the sales prospects for this book?”

“Not very good,” Kreacher replied immediately. “The Magic Books Company conducted some market research on ‘Me Who Has Magic.’”