Hermione looked at the corpse.
"Confringo!"
Lester's corpse instantly exploded into pieces, flesh and blood flying everywhere as his remains scattered across the ground.
Tom frowned slightly and looked at Hermione in confusion.
"What are you doing?"
Hermione put away her wand, glanced at the remains on the ground, and said flatly:
"There wasn't a single wound on his body. Anyone could tell he'd been hit with the Avada Kedavra Curse."
"Did you really intend to let our Deputy Head Gilderoy Lockhart take him back like that and claim the credit?"
"Would the Ministry of Magic reward him, or arrest him and call that an achievement?"
Indeed, Hogwarts had barely begun its summer break before Gilderoy Lockhart eagerly submitted his resignation, stepping down as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and joining the Ministry of Magic.
Minister Cornelius Fudge personally received and interviewed the rising celebrity wizard.
The two got along wonderfully.
Lockhart was famous and had countless supporters. Fudge believed his joining would bring the Ministry of Magic plenty of benefits.
They hit it off immediately, each getting what he wanted. Fudge made the decision on the spot, appointing Lockhart deputy head of the Auror Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
The position, the perks, the sheer height of his starting point left all the seasoned Ministry hands utterly dumbfounded.
They had seen careers take off like rockets, but never a rocket with a nitrous boost!
Lockhart did not disappoint, either.
In little over a month after taking office, he found and killed three Dark Wizards who had long been on the Ministry's wanted list, proving himself as though he had cheat codes enabled.
At that rate, Lockhart would probably earn another promotion very soon.
Of course, Lockhart had not forgotten his old trade-writing.
A book