Chapter 336 Daily Prophet

The next day was Sunday, and Anthony went to visit Hagrid, who happened to be going to Diagon Alley to buy pumpkin seeds, Big Dog toothpaste, and a paste mixture of dragon dung, sphinx urine, and crow feathers— —Anthony wasn't sure he wanted to know how that last item would affect the flavor of pumpkin juice—so they went to the Leaky Cauldron, chatted with Tom for a while, and bought a few drinks and two sandwiches of different sizes. Hagrid played cards for a while with three or four strangers, and lost several glasses of sherry and mead.

They tried the French fries from the fast-food restaurant recommended by Sirius and visited Flourish and Blotts Bookstore twice. Hagrid enthusiastically suggested that the bookstore purchase more interesting books such as "The Monster Book of Monsters" instead of "the same big bricks", which made Daniel unhappy.

And so, by Monday, Anthony had completely forgotten about the Muggle Studies dinner or Rita Skeeter.

"Good morning." He sat down next to Professor Flitwick and pulled a plate of bacon that was far away in front of him. Professor Flitwick raised his head and smiled happily at him.

Professor Sprout sat on the other side of Professor Flitwick, spreading butter on slices of bread while looking sideways at the Daily Prophet spread out next to his dinner plate.

"There's going to be a crackling card competition in France, and I hope they don't set the lawn on fire again," she said. "Oh! Did you see this, Filius? The Defense Against the Dark Arts is proposing to make the front teeth bigger. Spells such as rods are classified as 'almost unforgivable curses'... The standard is that the spell is only used to cause harm to others and has no other practical value..."

Professor Flitwick leaned forward curiously: "Are there any other spells?"

"I also saw the Soft Legs Curse." Professor Sprout said, "You should take a look first." She had buttered every corner of the bread slices, put down the knife and handed the newspaper to Professor Flitwick. , and started eating by himself.

Professor Flitwick took the newspaper, and Anthony turned his head and started reading with him.

"A Devon witch protested against the proposal. 'It's complete nonsense,' she said indignantly. 'Tooth to stick' is the most practical spell I have ever learned. Every year on Halloween, I use this spell on myself and go to Muggle Halloween events and everyone loves my teeth. I also saved one of my Muggle relatives the cost of having dentures made. Plus, it helped my rabbit fight off five rats that broke into my house.'

"Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, said the proposal was still 'only at the proposal stage'. A wizard who works for the Magical Law Enforcement Scouting Team told this newspaper that there is general agreement between the Scouting Team and the Auror Office. This proposal is quite absurd. 'If we really call these little magic tricks that a fourth or fifth grader can master, the workload would be unimaginable.'

"Nevertheless, it is positive that such voices are emerging. We are pleased to realize that this is just a testament to what a safe environment we are in. Under the Ministry's efficient and enlightened management, we have been able to achieve the goal of success over the past ten years. It is no longer common to hear of anyone being harmed by the Unforgivable Curse, so people are starting to notice other magical harms to themselves and others..."

Professor Flitwick turned the newspaper to the next page: "29 Muggles claim to have seen a group of tomatoes climbing over the fence and out of their neighbor's garden in the evening."

"What other spells were mentioned?" Professor Sprout asked.

"I didn't pay attention," said Professor Flitwick. "I was wondering if the stick against the front teeth would have any effect on the rabbit... Oops!"

He suddenly exclaimed and looked at one of the pages intently. Anthony glanced and saw Lockhart striding towards the camera, with the words "...take care of your heart..." behind him. In the corner of the photo are several students frowning at the camera, and two or three others are whispering in the background.

Professor Sprout asked, "What's wrong?"

"Gilderoy," Professor Flitwick said briefly, quickly browsing the report, "Rita again. Shocking...questionable...dare to think deeply...still the same thing she likes. Eh, When did she meet Miss Granger?"

"Miss Granger?"

Professor Flitwick did not answer Professor Sprout's question and continued reading, looking increasingly angry.

Just then, Anthony heard a burst of laughter from the Slytherin table. He looked over and saw that it was a group of second-year students who were deliberately winking and laughing at Harry, Ron and Hermione who had just entered the auditorium. All three looked puzzled and annoyed.

…

"What happened again?" Harry muttered, sitting down at the Gryffindor table. "I hope it's not because I'm finally going to be expelled. That's the only way to explain why Malfoy is so happy."

"They're sick in the head," Ron said flatly.

Hermione also said: "Ignore them."

"Hey, Granger!" shouted a Slytherin, grinning. "If I were you, I'd read today's paper."

Ron said: "It sounds like you're stealing Harry's spotlight, Hermione. Maybe you're going to be kicked out."

Hermione narrowed her eyes as if she wanted to get angry, but then she burst into laughter.

"Excuse me, can I see your newspaper?" she asked a classmate who was reading the Daily Prophet next to them. The other party was startled, choked on a big mouthful of oatmeal, coughed and waved at her with tears in his eyes, indicating that she should take the newspaper away quickly.

Harry asked, "Didn't you subscribe to the newspaper?" He and Ron also leaned over to read it.

Hermione flipped the newspaper loudly: "I have cancelled my subscription. Ever since they published that nonsense and malicious slander report... Oh!"

Harry didn't even need to ask what she was sighing about. Lockhart's photo was printed on the right side of the newspaper, and it looked like he was about to walk out of the newspaper. Harry felt annoyed and immediately looked away to see the content of the report.

"With the release of the last report introducing Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, countless readers sent letters, eagerly asking the author to continue to uncover the story of this famous adventurer's teaching at Hogwarts. Therefore, the author recently stepped into the majestic castle of Hogwarts again, trying to find out whether this professor with a glamorous appearance really hides shocking secrets as people say.

"Gilderoy Lockhart's resume is as gorgeous as his clothes. When it comes to the most famous adventurers and writers in the past decade, no one will bypass his name. The Dark Arts Defense League awarded him the title of honorary member two years ago, which undoubtedly made him more famous. His handsome appearance, charming smile and self-promotional personality have made him an absolute celebrity in the wizarding world.

"However, one cannot help but wonder: Can an adventurer who is good at self-promotion, rather than a systematically trained expert in Defense Against the Dark Arts, really enable students to master the correct knowledge and skills to resist the dark arts? Whether his teaching method imparts the wisdom of Defense Against the Dark Arts to students may be questionable.

"A Slytherin student showed us a frustrating scene in Professor Lockhart's teaching. 'He never answered my questions and only asked me to find the answers in his bestsellers or autobiography. 'He told us, 'Compared to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he seems to like the club he founded more. I have participated in his club activities twice, but sometimes he told us that he caught the ghoul with a tea strainer, and sometimes he used a teapot, which really confused me. '"

Harry looked up from the newspaper and smiled at Ron. He knew that Ron was thinking the same thing as him.

Although Slytherin's strange smile at them just now made him uncomfortable, he still felt that he didn't mind adding one or two points to Slytherin in this report - if he could add points - but he had to do it in private, otherwise Hermione would definitely be very, very angry.

In fact, Hermione was very angry now.

"That's because the tea strainer caught the last ghoul in the room, and the teapot was the story of his encounter with the ghoul in Cornwall two years later." She pointed at the sentence with the handle of the fork and said, "He didn't read the book seriously at all! The teapot just showed that the ghoul was a magical creature that could be transformed, and the tea strainer proved that it could not be turned into liquid! Professor Lockhart made it very clear!"

Harry didn't want to agree with her against his will, so he quickly read on.

"The club mentioned by this honest and enthusiastic student is called'Lockhart Lock Your Heart Club'. When I arrived at Hogwarts, Professor Lockhart was holding a club activity for the club. The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, which is usually simple and plain, was decorated as a stage full of ribbons and flowers, and Professor Lockhart stood in the middle, among his club members. Why did he decorate the classroom, which should be serious, so dazzlingly, and why did Hogwarts condone such behavior... All kinds of questions made me dare not think deeply.

"The members of the club are all students of Hogwarts, and they can also be said to be admirers of Professor Lockhart. During the communication between me and Professor Lockhart, they always glared at me and tried to interrupt our conversation.

"Miss Hermione Granger, a second-year student of Gryffindor, is one of them..."

Ron said: "She mentioned you, Hermione!"

"I'm not blind, thank you." Hermione said, her eyes fell on a position far below that line, and she scanned it quickly, "I saw it a long time ago. ”

“…It is reported that Professor Lockhart often calls Miss Granger his ‘best student of the year’, and Miss Granger is also one of Professor Lockhart’s most loyal admirers and followers. In addition, she is one of the closest people around the ‘boy who lived’ Harry Potter. People may speculate that this girl is just an opportunist and fame-seeking person, but more facts show that Professor Lockhart’s most valued students are more than that.

“‘I think she has always wanted to be in the spotlight.’ A second-year student told me, ‘Since she entered school, she has been bragging in all classes to win the favor of professors. I admit that she is a little smart and her grades have always been good, but she really likes to show off too much. I always think that the reason she hangs around Harry Potter is because she wants to use his fame to make herself known to more people.’

“When asked if he thought Miss Granger chose to become Professor Lockhart’s favorite student for the same reason, this lovely student gave the author an affirmative answer without hesitation.

“‘Yes, and I think she can’t wait.’ He said frankly, ‘Compared to the difficult-to-replicate way of becoming famous like Harry Potter, she certainly prefers Professor Lockhart’s path to fame through adventure and writing. However, she used a more radical method.’

“After several requests, he finally agreed to talk in detail about the influence Professor Lockhart had on Miss Granger.

“We all know that before writing his first book, Professor Lockhart had already begun to promote that wizards can live with various dark magical creatures without having to kill them. This caused some waves in the wizarding world at the time and also attracted the first readers for Professor Lockhart’s first book. This story seems to have inspired Miss Granger.

“‘Granger came up with a shocking idea. She wanted to give house elves the same rights as wizards. ’ The student recalled, ‘She thought we should condemn those who own elves until they throw a piece of clothing to the elves. She believes that these abandoned elves will be "freed"... She has been promoting this idea in the school, wanting people to join a house-elves association she founded. '

"He couldn't help laughing when he said this. But after laughing, we can't help but think: Is it something we should worry about that a second-year girl makes such ridiculous remarks for the sake of fame? Are the professors hired by Hogwarts encouraging students' fame and fortune?

"As the concerns of Hogwarts faculty and parents grow, many people begin to question what kind of education students receive. The reputation of our beloved school is at stake, so a more rigorous, serious, honest and reliable person must review our children's learning and ensure that the training they receive is appropriate and decent. It is in this context that the presence of Ms. Dolores Umbridge, the senior inquisitor in the castle, makes us feel a little relieved.

"In conclusion, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart may be a charming and talented adventurer, but will he eventually become a professor and train the next generation of wizards? As events unfold, we can only hope that the Ministry of Magic can act quickly when necessary to ensure that our educational standards are not affected." Our reporter Rita Skeeter reports.