Lockhart Exposed

What was supposed to be a Transfiguration class turned into a performance class.

Many young wizards rushed over upon hearing the news, crowding the classroom to the brim.

"Very good." Professor Marchbanks clapped enthusiastically.

"Child, you are now the eighth registered legal Animagus of this century. Congratulations!"

"Then you should have this certificate too."

Marchbanks handed William a golden certificate.

The words "Most Promising Newcomer Award" were written in gilded lettering.

William paused for a moment, then accepted his fourth award to date.

He had previously received the Order of Merlin and two "Award for Outstanding Contributions to Hogwarts.

"Don't be surprised, I'm the editor-in-chief of 'Transfiguration Today' magazine, but I won't be in this position for more than a few years before I hand it over to Minerva," Marchbanks chuckled.

William took the certificate, but what he really wanted to complain about wasn't the certificate itself, but rather... was it really just handed out like that?

Professor McGonagall was particularly excited when she mentioned it, and William thought there would be some major award ceremony.

It doesn't have to be as formal as the Order of Merlin, but it should at least have some sense of ceremony, right?

William was dismissed with such a flimsy piece of paper, giving him the impression of a third-rate workshop.

It's like he handed over the gold nugget he found on his land to the government, and they gave him five hundred yuan, then said in a thick local accent, "This is a banner from the state for you, fellow villager!"

Something feels off.

Clearly, William was overthinking it.

"Transfiguration Today" is not an official magazine, but rather an authoritative academic journal.

The "Most Promising Newcomer Award" is also unofficial, intended only to encourage outstanding performances by young wizards in Transfiguration.

If Marchbanks hadn't known William, the certificate would have been sent directly by owl; there would have been no need for him to deliver it in person.

This award, aside from its honorary nature, does not involve any Galleon and does not include any ceremony.

After all, their magazine takes a high-end academic approach, and its sales are far lower than the Daily Prophet, so they don't have the spare money to do anything fancy.

"With this award, the school will help you apply for the International Young Wizards Scholarship," Professor McGonagall said from the side.

"Oh, "William suddenly realized.

The Most Promising Newcomer Award is one of the certificates recognized by the International Confederation of Wizards, and with this honor, one can apply for international scholarships.

This scholarship was awarded by the International Confederation of Wizards.

The International Confederation of Wizards is an intergovernmental organization in the magical world, roughly equivalent to the United Nations in the Muggle world.

Think about it, what kind of value should the scholarship the International Confederation of Wizards gives you be?

It's no exaggeration to say that with this certificate, William could work in any department of the Ministry of Magic without needing to take an exam.

Most importantly, Dumbledore is the Grand Master of the International Confederation of Wizards.

Adhering to the principle of keeping the benefits within the family, William's scholarship level will undoubtedly be the highest.

This will be a considerable sum of money!

Therefore, as long as your grades are good enough, you not only won't need to spend any money to go to school, but you can even make a small profit when you graduate.

Dumbledore followed this path back then, winning every award he could get by the time he graduated.

Sometimes, influence is built up little by little in this way.

Dumbledore was to help William establish influence.

"Let's take a picture. The next issue of 'Transfiguration Today' will feature your paper and news about your award," Marchbanks said, gesturing to a photographer nearby to take a picture.

"What happened? What happened?"

A voice suddenly came from the crowd, and Lockhart squeezed through the crowd and strode toward them, his turquoise robes fluttering behind him.

"Which newspaper is it? Who are they interviewing? I don't know anything about it," Lockhart asked excitedly.

Lockhart walked into the classroom, hooked his arm around William's shoulder, and cheerfully exclaimed, "William, don't ask! We meet again, William!"

"You told me during summer vacation that you didn't want to be interviewed by reporters, how about that?" Lockhart affectionately put his arm around William's shoulder.

"Seeing my picture all over the newspapers makes you jealous, doesn't it? That feeling of fame, isn't it?" Lockhart said. "So you couldn't wait to hire reporters?"

"Come on, sir," Lockhart said with a beaming smile, "A photo of two is the perfect deal, we need to get on the front page!"

"Who are you?" Professor Marchbanks asked impatiently.

"Excuse me, you don't recognize me? I am the famous wizard Lockhart."

Marchbanks shook her head, indicating that she did not recognize the flamboyant man and even felt a little disgusted.

She feels disgusted by effeminate men.

She preferred Dumbledore's type, he was more masculine!

Lockhart saw the certificate in William's hand, stared at its contents, and read, "For outstanding Animagus attainments..."

"Animagus... I'm familiar with this spell. In fact, I used it when I was dealing with Byron the Ghost," Lockhart boasted eagerly.

"So you're an illegal Animagus?" Professor Marchbanks squinted.

Being an illegal Animagus is against the law and requires imprisonment in Azkaban.

Although Lockhart didn't know what Animagus was, that didn't stop him from hearing the word "illegal".

He hesitated for a moment, looked at William, and asked:

Which newspaper do they belong to?

"Transfiguration Today"

"Transfiguration Today? Never heard of it. Looks like some tabloid." Lockhart straightened his back again.

He wasn't afraid as long as it wasn't a major newspaper.

A commotion arose from the crowd, all staring wide-eyed at Lockhart.

It's one thing for younger wizards not to know, but for a wizard of Lockhart's caliber to not even know "Transfiguration Today"?

William was also somewhat taken aback.

This is similar to graduating with the Doctor but not even knowing about China National Knowledge Infrastructure).

Could Lockhart's true identity actually be the Doctor?

Indeed, reality is far more fantastical than fiction!

Lockhart realized he might have made a serious, basic mistake. He muttered something to himself, made an excuse, and hurriedly left.

"Where Albus find such an incompetent good-for-nothing..." Marchbanks's voice was particularly loud.

There was much discussion and doubt about Professor Lockhart's competence.

Soon, the magazine "Transfiguration Today" became a hit at Hogwarts.

Walking around campus, almost every young wizard had a copy in their hand.

At noon, Harry and Ron sat down at the Gryffindor table, with Hermione beside them, her "Transfiguration Today" spread out on a milk jug.

She was eating her meal while watching intently, occasionally picking up a pen to doodle.

"Hey Hermione, can you please stop carrying that magazine around like that!" Ron said impatiently. "Everywhere we go, we see people looking at it."

I really don't understand what's so interesting about it.

"That's because you don't understand!" Hermione retorted sharply. "If you're at a high enough level, you'll find a lot of interesting content."

William's article, in particular, contained many thought-provoking methods that cannot be learned from textbooks.

"You and William study in the library every day, doesn't he teach you?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"That's different. William hasn't told me about such advanced topics yet, so I'm doing my own research beforehand."

His article is very profound; even Professor McGonagall praised it highly. It wouldn't hurt to take a look beforehand.

"That's because William wrote at the beginning of the article—'Thanks to Professor McGonagall for teaching me Animagus.'" Ron said sourly, "If it were me, I would also highly praise that article."

Harry nudged Ron.

Ron said unhappily, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?!"

"Of course not! I'm simply recommending this article from an academic perspective, nothing more!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out.

She stood behind Ron, clutching her textbooks, her lips tightly pressed together, her expression icy.

"Ah!" Ron was so frightened that his corpus cavernosum went limp, and he almost fell off the chair.

"Mr. Weasley, if I were you, I wouldn't speak ill of others behind their backs, especially not my own headmaster!"

Professor McGonagall said angrily.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I'm not..."

Professor McGonagall interrupted sternly, "You two, go see Mr. Filch this Saturday! As punishment for stealing a car into the school!"

"What are we going to do, Professor?" Harry asked hastily.

"Go ask Mr. Filch yourself, I don't know either!"

Professor McGonagall finished speaking coldly, then turned and left.

She had originally intended to plead with Filch to reduce the punishment, but now it seems... best to forget about it.

(Thanks to the boss of "Taotie Demon Dao" for the reward)