Ian had certainly never met Gilderoy Lockhart before today.
But as an especially famous celebrity in the Wizarding World, Gilderoy Lockhart's posters had appeared before Ian's eyes more than once, whether in bookshops on Diagon Alley or elsewhere.
He was the sort of person it was hard to pretend not to recognize.
Perhaps many aspects of the Wizarding World lagged behind Muggle development, but it was absolutely not behind when it came to idol worship. Gilderoy Lockhart himself also understood very well how to spend money buying attention for himself.
Even the packaging of some snacks came in Gilderoy Lockhart collaboration editions. He was an incredibly popular celebrity sensation decades ahead of the curve!
From that perspective—
Wasn't Gilderoy Lockhart a genius as well? If he had not been a wizard, he could probably have pulled off all sorts of era-defining stunts at Muggle media companies.
It was just a pity... as a wizard, Gilderoy Lockhart had clearly allocated his talent points incorrectly. Ian truly found it hard to imagine an adult wizard getting himself "solo-killed" in front of a few second year Young Wizards.
If one had to choose the least popular professor in Hogwarts history, perhaps even ace contender Severus Snape might fail to make the top three.
But if one had to find the most incompetent and useless professor in Hogwarts history, Gilderoy Lockhart was undoubtedly the uncrowned king of this category, with no one able to stand alongside him.
"Oh, my goodness, you're the great Gilderoy Lockhart! How could I run into you here? I must be dreaming! Maybe it has something to do with seeing your book a few days ago!" Though Ian was somewhat astonished and inwardly mocking him, he reacted quickly and displayed excellent improvisational Acting Skill.
Such exaggerated Acting Skill might earn