Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

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

If Dumbledore refused directly, maybe Lockhart would argue a few more words, but now Dumbledore will not talk to you about this at all, which is tougher than directly refusing

Although Dumbledore's attitude was firm, Lockhart was not a person who would be afraid when he hit a wall, so he was still fighting with reason.

But it's a pity that the elderly not only have experience, but also often far exceed the young people in their stubbornness, so Lockhart still failed.

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

He was all right, and Lockhart had absolutely nothing to refute.

After entering the 93 school year, the fifth-grade wizard qualification exam and the seventh-grade final exam are getting closer. As a teacher, the most important thing he should worry about is teaching.

"Oh, by the way, Professor Kettleburn submitted another resignation application to me yesterday... Don't do this, I don't want to blame you, and his resignation has nothing to do with you."

Seeing that Lockhart was a little surprised, even a little guilty, Dumbledore added.

"...He has been wanting to resign for a long time. He said he wanted to go home to spend time with his grandson, but I haven't been able to find a suitable candidate. Do you have anyone you can recommend9"

■

Lockhart did not hesitate: "Rubeus Hagrid, he is the most suitable, whether it is the time spent at Hogwarts or the love for magical creatures, no one in Hogwarts should be able to surpass him. Wait until Once the Chamber of Secrets issue is resolved, he can have his reputation restored."

Dumbledore seemed to have the answer he wanted.

"Since even you think so, let him try." It was as if he was letting Hagrid try for Lockhart's sake.

While Dumbledore kept Lockhart focused on teaching so he wouldn't get himself into trouble, he did remind Lockhart of his own priorities.

When many people in the Ministry of Magic did not like or were not optimistic about Lockhart's entry, whether Lockhart can obtain a corresponding position in the Ministry of Magic depends largely on whether he can maintain himself as an expert in education" and The aura of "Defense Against the Dark Arts Master".

The latter is easy to say, but the former is an important manifestation of his work ability, and the key to reflect this indicator is the results of these students in the wizard exam.

Lockhart forced himself not to think about the three saviors, and concentrated on his teaching work.

He let out the wind to the students in grades one to four and six early, saying that this year's final exam will be a "practical exam" and they will use all the content they have learned in class.

Although the students were very interested in Lockhart's exam and tried their best to find out, Lockhart kept his mouth shut.

As long as you can proficiently apply the content you have learned this semester, it will be very easy to pass the exam.On the contrary, any of your lazy behavior will make you pay the price in the exam, because the exam is all-round. "He said.

Chapter 98 Magic Checklist

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

That is to review and prepare for the exam.

It was only when it was time for review that he realized how big a hole his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had dug for him a few years ago.

As the saying goes, "the ground is shaken by a weak foundation", if the knowledge system of these students is compared to a house, then after several years of teaching by unreliable professors, it will be described as "full of holes". These students' defense against the dark arts are a compliment.

Because it's full of holes, it's just that there are many holes in the whole, and at least the skeleton is still there, but the Defense Against the Dark Arts skills of these Hogwarts students are simply at the level of throwing a few bricks into an open space.

No wonder after Voldemort returned, the armor of the Weasley Brothers Wheezes could be sold to the Ministry of Magic.That's probably why the Weasley twins said at the time that many employees of the Ministry of Magic "couldn't even cast a proper Iron Armor Charm".

After Voldemort's first defeat, the wizarding world can be said to have been at peace for a long time, so the newly born little wizards have no sense of urgency to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts. In addition, the professors are unreliable, so it is difficult to learn it like this. It is inevitable.

"You must never do this in the future!"

In the class of the lower grades, Lockhart taught those little wizards earnestly and earnestly: "From a lofty building to a flat ground, all your achievements in the future often come from your current foundation, figure out your position early, and then It is better to practice the magic you are good at in a targeted manner and find suitable teammates... It is better than cramming

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

Lockhart got stuck—asking young wizards to spend time on Defense Against the Dark Arts before Voldemort returns is like telling 21st-century Americans that they should dig nuclear bunkers to prevent the Soviet Union from going crazy. Just have fun, don't take it too seriously.

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

Although the student who was asked hesitated, he still nodded.

"Okay, then let's read 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 Restraint against Black Magic"... "

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

No recommendation, professor, we feel that this is a subject that requires actual combat, and simply reading books may not be of much help. "

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

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

You say what you say, anyway, what they mean 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 current "tragedies" of the students in the fifth and seventh grades. Those people are studying from morning to night every day.Even for the most practical Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were overwhelmed by Lockhart's intensive review method of "smoothing the knowledge framework + two rounds of general review" on the Muggle side.

Although he knew that sooner or later he would have to go through such a experience, but no one wanted to taste it right away.

Fortunately, Lockhart hadn't planned 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 student during the Christmas holiday. Analysis of tactical positioning and suggestions for the magic you will learn in the future, anyone whose name I can read please come up and get the list...Miss Hannah Aibo!"

"To!"

Like everyone else, Harry and the others also got their own analysis form

"Battlefield... Assassin?"

Harry stared at his list, and whispered each 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's formation at the right time, attack the weakest link in the enemy's formation, and clear the obstacles for your teammates..."

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

Harry continued to look down: You should learn as many evil spells that can be used quickly and have quick effects as much as possible while maintaining your agility, so that you can sneak attack on the enemy. Curse, Disarming Curse, Binding Curse, Silencing Curse, Armor Curse, Flying Curse, Patronus Curse... oh my god, there are so many. "

"But it's all fitting, isn't it? And you now know what to study in the future," said Hermione.

In Lockhart's comment to her, he wrote: "You are full of wit, wide vision, always able to use the most suitable magic at the right time, and you are born to be the brain of the team.

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

A spell that suppresses effects.

Suggested magic—mass protection, group restraint, stun spell, blindness spell, confusion spell, screaming spell, freezing spell, fear tool field..."

And Ron's evaluation was also not low. Lockhart gave him the status of a long-range turret, so he also lost a lot of magic such as fire spells, freezing spells, and weather spells.

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

Although Neville's reaction was a bit slow, his strong will, strong physique and trust in his companions could definitely allow him to go further on the road of tanking.

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

The one who was more confused than him was Seamus Finnigan.

"Flying sand and rocks, thunderbolt explosion, house collapse and ground sinking, blasting out, blazing flames, falling apart..."

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

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

Except for the students in the first grade who have not yet been finalized, he has given such suggestions to the students in the other grades.Although the workload is a bit heavy, but fortunately there are not many students in Hogwarts, so he can still handle it.

Even if this thing can save a few people from dying in the future Battle of Hogwarts, then his work is worth it.

Chapter 99 Taxation X Final Exam

In order to better prepare for the final exam, Lockhart ordered a batch of magic seeds from the import store in Diagon Alley, which he planned to use as a plant wall for the maze.

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

Because such a formal import and export, the Ministry of Magic needs to file for it and collect taxes from it.And the Ministry of Magic's customs tax was too high. After the seeds that Lockhart ordered from the Netherlands arrived, the price doubled.

After all, there are only about 1 wizards in the UK. It is really difficult to support hundreds of employees of the Ministry of Magic. If the tax is not high, many employees will go hungry.

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

And what’s even worse—Newt Scamander worked in the Ministry of Magic for the first two years of his Hufflepuff education, when Newt’s salary in the Ministry of Magic was only 2 Sickles a week Well, let alone enough money for him to support so many magical creatures, even it is very difficult to support himself.

That's why Newt accepted the commission of Obscure Book Company to write a textbook on magical creatures. If it weren't for the income this textbook brought him, he might still be living in poverty.

According to Lockhart's knowledge, many employees of the Ministry of Magic have side jobs, or their family members 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 rich family like Malfoy.

And it's strange.Even if some people are strong enough not to bend their waists for five Sickles, they may have to bow their heads when they see their wives and children starving.

The main reason why a black market like Knockturn Alley can exist is probably not because of the sale of black magic items, but because it can avoid taxes from the Ministry of Magic.Lockhart promised the principal to ban Knockturn Alley, but it might not be so easy to fulfill.

Mundungus of the Order of the Phoenix is ​​a typical example. The kind of second-hand dealers who come from petty thieves are able to eat because of the business provided to them by customers like Weasley's Wheezes.Although Fred and George are rich, they are unwilling to throw money to the Ministry of Magic for no reason.That's why Mundungus was particularly nervous when he heard Harry say that Moody might be looking at this side, and immediately sold the things.

The more wizards are unwilling to pay taxes, the more prosperous the black market is; and the more prosperous the black market is, the less taxes the Ministry of Magic has; the less taxes they have, they have to continue to increase the tax rate; the higher the tax rate, the more wizards are unwilling to pay. Taxes...it's a total vicious cycle.

But the Ministry of Magic cannot reduce its employees because of this.

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 also have to pay Aurors high salaries, otherwise no one will work hard if they have no money; in addition, they can't be left behind even when contacting foreign wizards For the face of the Great Empire, diplomatic reception is another expense.

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

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

He stuffed the bill into his own box, planning to save it for later discussion, and he took the seeds next to the school's vegetable field.

"Hi, Hagrid!" he called to the school gamekeeper.

Since Hagrid wasn't a student, he couldn't be paid to referee the Dueling Club, like any other professor, because it would be too insulting.

So Lockhart could only do roundabout things, such as sending some wine every now and then, and sending 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-it was a hypocrisy, but it was the way grown-ups did things.

Lockhart opened the large package in his hand, and reached out to grab a small handful of seeds: "Look at this, the traveling golden-leaf privet imported from the United States will move every year after growing up, and I want to use them to make hedgerows Hey, create a magic maze... What do you think?"

Hagrid seemed interested: "Plant fence? No problem, but what are you going to do with it°"

"I'm going to use it for my final exam," Lockhart explained simply.

"Exams? That's a big deal." Hagrid laughed. "Leave it to me. It should be May when the privet flowers bloom, just in time for your exams."

"Thanks, Hagrid."

"Thank you, it's a matter of duty."

As a hunting ground guard, apart from watching the students to prevent them from entering the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid's biggest job is to watch the vegetable garden and hunt for Hogwarts.

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

It's like pumpkins for Halloween and the pumpkin juice that is a must for meals. Although Hagrid can use the expansion spell to make the pumpkins in the vegetable garden bigger, the nutrition of individual pumpkins is still the same as that of ordinary pumpkins with dragon manure.

Magic power itself cannot be regarded as food, at most it can deceive one's sense of taste, and it will disappear after a while, just like the leprechaun's gold coins.

However, magic can be used to stimulate plants and speed up their growth period, but the fertility of the land must keep up.

Fortunately, the wizards have dragon dung—the fertility provided by dragon dung is far superior to that of ordinary manure, but it is precisely because the fertilizer is too thick that ordinary plants will be "burned" if you are not careful, so experienced farmers are also needed. Grasp the measure.

As a half-blood wizard who lived over 60 years old, Hagrid happened to have experience in this area. If he and Professor Sprout were unwilling to help, Lockhart might not be able to find a suitable person.

After Hagrid accepted the seeds, the two exchanged pleasantries for a while.

"How are you doing, Hagrid?" Lockhart initiated the topic.

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

Lockhart's original intention was to ask whether Hagrid had been troubled by the Ministry of Magic after the Chamber of Secrets attack.After all, he was the "murderer" who opened the secret room last time. If the same thing happened this time, it is impossible for the Ministry of Magic not to suspect him.

But judging by Hagrid's current attitude, he didn't intend 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 stole Floo powder

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

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 was ordered to drop out of school and hand over his wand.If it weren't for Dumbledore's efforts to protect him, he might have disappeared into this world as a "heterogeneous" not long after he lost his father.Even if he survived, he might have to commit crimes.

However, under Dumbledore's arrangement, he became the hunting ground guard at Hogwarts and worked here for decades.

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

Thanks to Dumbledore.He often thinks so.