Gilderoy Lockhart

Many wizards may have noticed that the Goblin have become increasingly arrogant and hostile in recent years. They believe this is because the Goblin control Gringotts and possess vast wealth, which emboldens them to look down on Goblin.

Bell completely disagreed with this view. Because wealth cannot give a wizard confidence; magical talent is what truly matters!

If a weak wizard possesses vast wealth, that wealth will only bring him disaster. The saying "possessing a treasure invites trouble" is something everyone understands, right?

So why did the Goblin become so arrogant?

The answer is also very simple: because of Fudge.

As the saying goes, a bad general makes a bad army. With a good-for-nothing like Fudge as Minister for Magic, the fact that the Goblin didn't immediately raise their flags in rebellion is already a testament to their caution.

This is why Bell hates Fudge so much. A politician assimilated by Muggle, he has forgotten what gave him power and money.

Of course, Fudge's situation is not an isolated case in the current Ministry of Magic.

It can only be said that as communication between wizards and Muggle gradually increased, it brought some progress to the Magical World, but also some bad things.

After leaving Gringotts, the three of them strolled leisurely through Diagon Alley.

Bell would buy anything interesting or pretty he saw and give it to Shanna. Elena was much the same way; if she thought something was good, she'd buy it regardless of whether it was useful or not. As a result, the three of them quickly bought a huge amount of food and other necessities.

When the three of them strolled to the vicinity of Flourish and Blotts, they found that the entrance of the bookstore was crowded with people, and the vast majority of them were women, who were excitedly discussing something.

Just as the three were wondering what was going on over there, two young women walked by, talking about what had happened at the bookstore.

"Hurry up, there are already a lot of people, if we're late we'll have to wait a long time."

"I'm so excited! I actually got Gilderoy Lockhart's autograph!"

"Yes, some of my friends knew Lockhart was signing books here and really wanted to come! But they couldn't make it because of work, so they specifically asked me to bring them extra autographs!"

It turned out that Gilderoy Lockhart was doing some kind of book signing at Flourish and Blotts. Bell remembered Lockhart; he was quite a talented guy, but unfortunately, he didn't use his talent in the right places.

A few days ago, when Bell was chatting with Hermione, Hermione mentioned that she stumbled upon Lockhart's book signing event while shopping in Diagon Alley. The Little Witch was quite excited and showed off the autograph to him.

Why is Lockhart selling books again today? Is he going to be doing this every day lately?

"It's Lockhart!!!" Elena exclaimed in surprise.

"..."

━┳━━┳━

Bell had completely forgotten that her own mother was a die-hard fan of Lockhart. Not only did she keep all of Lockhart's books on the bedside table in her bedroom, but she had also read them countless times and would often reread them.

For a while, Elena relentlessly recommended Lockhart's books to Bell. Unable to resist his mother's insistence, Bell ended up reading them all. And, it must be said, they were all quite interesting.

However, Bell, who knew Lockhart's true nature as a bouncy book, certainly didn't want her own mother to squeeze in to buy the book and ask for an autograph.

We already have several sets of Lockhart's books at home!

Seeing her mother looking like she was about to run away at any moment, Bell reached out and grabbed her sleeve.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Bell?"

Faced with the questioning look in his mother's eyes, Bell sent his thoughts to Elena via radio waves.

"If you dare go, I'll be jealous..."

(_)

Looking at her son's adorable little face, Elena was completely charmed. It was the first time she had ever seen her son make such an expression—so cute!

Elena instantly forgot about Lockhart and scooped Bell up in her arms.

"It seems my radio waves have reached its destination," Bell thought.

But why was her mother's reaction different from what she had expected?

Well, as long as the result is good, that's enough.

Shanna, who had been standing to the side watching her Gege, was shocked to discover that her mother had dared to attack Gege! Didn't she see the look of displeasure on her Gege's face? Let him go right now!

Shanna didn't care about being a lady anymore; she grabbed Bell's hand and forcefully pulled Bell out of Elena's embrace.

"Gege, I'm a little tired. Let's go sit down over there and have some drinks. As for Mom, you should go get your autograph! I'm here with Gege, that's enough. After you get the autograph, please go home. I'll go home with Gege later."

After saying that, without waiting for Bell's reply, Shanna took his hand and walked towards a beverage shop not far away.

"Oh dear, is Little Shanna jealous? It's okay, you're Mommy's daughter, so you'll probably grow up to be about Mommy's size someday, right?"

Elena covered her mouth and laughed as she followed, teasingly saying to Shanna.

"No, Mom!? What are you talking about!?"

Bell stared wide-eyed at her mother. Was this something she should be saying to Little Shanna? Besides, Shanna was only 10 years old; how could she possibly understand?

"Hmph! Gege isn't that shallow! Besides, Mom, you're too old for any kind of scale! And I'll definitely surpass Mom in the future. That's what they call 'the student surpasses the teacher,' which is what my Gege taught me!" Shanna said defiantly.

"She understood! Shanna actually understood!!! Good heavens! What on earth did you guys talk about while I was away?!"

Bell stared wide-eyed at his sister, feeling his eyes getting dry.

"Hmph! Shanna, you're too young. You don't understand. No man is without superficiality, and boys are no exception! Besides, your mother is still very young! And I've also heard that boys your Gege's age like mature women!"

A shadow fell across Elena's face. Clearly, age is a perpetually taboo subject for women.

"Hmph! My Gege is special... special!!!"

It was clear that Shanna lacked confidence.

Bell really wanted to cheer Shanna up, but he was indeed a shallow boy... so there were some things he just couldn't bring himself to say!

As their voices grew louder, people started to notice them. Bell didn't want her mother and sister to be surrounded by onlookers, so she quickly spoke up to interrupt their argument.

"I heard Lockhart will be the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts? Is that true, Mother?"

"That's right, honey. You're so lucky, you must study hard under Professor Lockhart!" Elena said happily.

The teaching quality at Hogwarts has been declining in recent years, to the point that some graduates can't even cast the Shield Charm. It's baffling what the professors are teaching. Now, with Lockhart's strong addition to the faculty, Elena believes that Hogwarts ' teaching standards will be greatly improved.

Bell, who knew Lockhart was a complete fraud, didn't refute her mother, but when her mother wasn't looking, she just pursed her lips at Shanna.

Seeing her Gege secretly making funny faces at her while avoiding their mother, Shanna laughed happily, no longer caring that her Gege had spoken to their mother first.

The little girl felt she had won!