Of course, he would never admit that himself. He merely said he had too many replies to fans to sign and could not spare the time.
He dressed it up as training Hermione, his teaching assistant.
Hermione sighed softly.
She had figured it out: Dumbledore had sent her here to be a workhorse.
In the Marvel Universe, she had made S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries do all the grunt work for her. Now it was finally her turn.
What went around really did come around.
"Harry, Harry, Harry."
As Lockhart signed his name, he smiled at Harry beside him. "Can you think of a better way to spend detention than helping me reply to my fans?"
Sitting to his left, Harry offered an awkward but polite smile.
"No, Professor."
After leaving the library, not only Hermione but Harry too had been roped into helping him answer letters, under the grand pretext of "an exchange between three celebrities."
The three of them stayed in the classroom late into the night.
"Fame is a fickle friend. Celebrities must act as celebrities should. Remember that."
Lockhart dispensed his philosophical wisdom with great earnestness, having completely forgotten what a sorry sight he had been earlier that day.
By acting as celebrities should, do you mean abandoning your students and running away on your own...? Hermione snarked inwardly.
"Ahaha..."
Rather than respond, Harry gave Hermione a pleading look.
Noticing his gaze, Hermione held up a stack of test papers.
"Don't look at me. Want to trade?"
Looking at the red crosses covering the pages, Harry swallowed and forced a smile. "I'll stick to my letters. Ahaha..."
"Say, Professor Lockhart, have you ever considered a career at the Ministry of Magic?"
Hermione suddenly said:
"With your heroic record, I think you could easily secure an important position