bioinnovel Chapter 90 Opening Ceremony
Chapter 90 Opening Ceremony
Chapter 90 Opening Ceremony
As night deepened, the ceiling of the auditorium shone brightly with stars, and countless candles floated in mid-air, illuminating the golden plates and goblets.
The four long tables in the college were filled with students, forming a dense sea of black pointed hats, and Yu Yu's whispers rang out incessantly.
Led by Professor Flitwick, the faculty and staff members went to the faculty seating area and took their seats.
Students from all grades looked up and saw Gilderoy Lockhart waving to them, as if this were not a school opening banquet, but a Lockhart book signing event.
Just as reported by the Daily Prophet, this greasy man in a light green robe is indeed the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
On the first night of school, Lockhart offended almost all the professors with his obnoxious personality, and even earlier, during the summer vacation...
He also incurred the dislike of some students.
Using an individual's entire collection of works as textbooks for the new school year and forcing students to buy these expensive books inadvertently breeds resentment.
In the auditorium, some of the little girls looked at Lockhart with starry eyes, filled with admiration. They were deeply captivated by Lockhart's deeds and appearance.
To be honest, Lockhart is very good-looking, otherwise he wouldn't have won the Witcher Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. However, he always smiles in a silly way, and with those white teeth, he always gives people a greasy feeling.
Unlike the girls who were completely infatuated, the boys didn't give Lockhart a friendly look when he waved and tried to steal the spotlight. They thought Lockhart's smile was like that of an idiot, and his light green robe was even more beautiful than that of the young female professor.
When it comes to young female professors, the male students start searching for the two most attractive members of Hogwarts' faculty.
Basilda wore a light blue robe, without any embellishment, exuding a fresh and elegant charm. Belvina, on the other hand, opted for a more androgynous look, wearing gray trousers, a gray vest, a white shirt, and a gray short cape, which made her appear even more aloof and sophisticated.
The students withdrew their gaze with satisfaction. The two young female professors, one refreshing and the other aloof, cleansed the students' eyes, which had just been poisoned by Lockhart's tea.
Suddenly, someone brought up the year-end banquet from the previous school year, and the students' gazes toward Belvina became complicated. Even the Slytherins felt a mixture of love and hate for Belvina.
Belvina, sitting on the faculty bench, glanced around, taking in the students' complex expressions. She had expected this. Even if she hadn't anticipated it, Professor McGonagall's unusual behavior tonight served as a reminder.
Belvina didn't care. She knew that her "angrily" leaving the year-end banquet was too much. If she could choose again, Belvina would still leave without hesitation, but this time she would do it more elegantly and calmly.
Unconcerned, Belvina lowered her head. On the table in front of her lay a copy of the Evening Prophet's Diary, with a striking headline: "Ford Anglia Can Fly, Muggles Amazed."
Just today, an old Ford Anglia flew over London and all the way to Scotland. At least seven Muggles have confirmed that they saw the flying old car.
Belvina's first reaction was excitement. Who hasn't dreamed of being 007? Owning a car that can travel on land, sea, and air is just too cool!
Surprisingly, as a former official of the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters, Belvina's second reaction was that it was stupid: young Potter and Weasley, two idiots so stupid they could be in a museum.
The Hogwarts Express is only used to ensure student safety and facilitate centralized management; it is not the only way to get to school.
Before the express trains were available, students could travel to Scotland by Apparition, FlooNet, or even by flying broomsticks, or even walk if they wanted.
The best thing Potter and Weasley should have done after missing the train was to stay put and wait for the Weasleys to communicate with the school.
Choose a way to get to school instead of impulsively driving to Hogwarts.
Now everyone who has read the Evening Prophet knows that the Weasleys own a flying Muggle car, a car that has been magically modified.
However, once wizards find out, so do Muggles. The Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters will be busy, and the Office of Misuse of Muggle Items won't be idle either.
As for Arthur Weasley, he hoped that the Ministry of Magic's punishment wouldn't be too harsh, so as not to worsen his already impoverished family situation.
At that moment, Albus Dumbledore arrived, his long, silvery beard and crescent-shaped spectacles gleaming in the candlelight.
After a while, the first-year students, led by Professor McGonagall, walked nervously into the auditorium in a long line, through the sea of black pointed hats, and arrived at the open space at the front of the auditorium.
Compared to last year, this year's sorting ceremony was rather lackluster, with crumpled sorting caps being passed around to the new students.
Applause and cheers frequently erupted from the four college tables.
Belvina didn't pay much attention to the sorting ceremony; only two names of this year's freshmen seemed familiar to her.
The first one is Luna Lovegood, a little girl with silver eyes, dark blonde hair, and pale skin.
Her eyebrows were very light, and her slightly protruding eyes always gave her a surprised expression.
Belvina didn't recognize the little girl, but she was very familiar with her surname: Lovegood, Lovegood of Xenophilius Lovegood.
Another one is Ginny Weasley, Weasley's youngest daughter. She is a very pretty little girl with long, fiery red hair. She looks a bit shy, unlike her wild brothers.
The eldest and youngest Weasley sons had one thing in common: their full names were rarely mentioned.
People seem more accustomed to calling the Weasleys' eldest son Bill rather than William Weasley, and the Weasleys' youngest daughter Ginny rather than Ginny Flame.
After the Sorting Ceremony, Professor McGonagall left wearing the Sorting Hat, but she did not return to the Great Hall as usual, leaving two faculty seats empty. Both the Head of Slytherin and the Head of Gryffindor were absent from the Opening Ceremony.
Headmaster Dumbledore, as he always had, stood up and delivered a very brief opening address, and then introduced the new headmaster, Gilderoy Lockhart.
Lockhart straightened his light green robe as he slowly rose, nodding and waving with his signature goofy smile. He looked more like he was there to hold a press conference than to teach.
Applause and screams erupted in the auditorium. The girls contributed the vast majority of their efforts, and their shrill screams nearly ripped off the magical ceiling and forced open the closed auditorium doors.
British Muggle men enjoy reading The Sun, not because the content is interesting, but because of the hot figures of the Page 3 girls.
British witches enjoy reading The Wizarding Weekly, not because the magazine is particularly interesting, but because the most charming smile of the week is for seeing the brother.
That's right, the wizarding world also has fans and fandoms, with Gilderoy Lockhart being a prime example.
He attracted a lot of attention with his charming (foolish) smile, and with his excellent writing and dramatic stories, he has long held a place in the hearts of witches, making him a top figure in the wizarding community.
Now that Lockhart has arrived at Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the school's female fans are almost going crazy, nearly turning the opening banquet into a massive fan meeting.
If Dumbledore weren't so highly respected, his female admirers, bursting with fighting spirit, might have overthrown him and made Lockhart the new headmaster.
After the sumptuous dinner began, Dumbledore quietly left, presumably to visit Professor McGonagall and Snape.
At one end of the faculty seating area, Lockhart was having a long talk with Professor Sprout beside him, showing off his knowledge and rich experience.
At the other end of the faculty seating area, the three elective professors plus Hagrid were whispering among themselves.
"Guess when Professor Dumbledore will finally lose his patience with Lockhart and kick him out of the school," Bathsheda suggested. "I think it'll be before Halloween."
Paul Bernard disagreed, saying, "I admit Lockhart is annoying, as annoying as ever, but there's no denying he's very talented. Of course, that's on the premise that what he writes is true."
It's not that Paul didn't believe Lockhart's abilities, but rather that Lockhart's behavior during his student days was completely different from his portrayal in the book, making it hard to believe that the excellent wizard in the book was Gilderoy Lockhart himself.
"Think about what he did at school, can you really believe that what's written in the book is true, or that he's just bragging?" Paul continued. "I always felt that he, like Quirrell, was there to smear Ravenclaw."
"Okay, I don't really believe it either, but that doesn't stop us from guessing!" said Bassheda. "Even if Professor Dumbledore can tolerate him, we can still guess 'that'."
In 1982, Gilderoy Lockhart graduated from school, and everyone at Hogwarts breathed a sigh of relief.
In 1992, Gilderoy Lockhart returned to the school, and the faculty and staff were once again on tenterhooks, while the poor students knew nothing.
"If Lockhart continues to be as reckless as he was back then, I hope he leaves as soon as possible," Belvina said. "Merlin, doesn't Professor Dumbledore get restless if he doesn't come up with something new every year?"
Last school year, Dumbledore hid the Philosopher's Stone in the school and had a great time playing with Voldemort and Quirrell.
This year, Dumbledore brought Gilderoy Lockhart back to the school. I really don't know what the old man is thinking; he just can't stand not causing trouble.
If Dumbledore couldn't find a suitable Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Belvina strongly recommended Severus Snape, who was also willing to take the position, making it a win-win situation.
"Hagrid, you're quite close to Professor Dumbledore, you know that?" Belvina asked. "Are you sure our headmaster hasn't eaten too many sweets and lost his mind?"
Hagrid, holding his wine glass, froze. He wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of Dumbledore, but he also felt that Belvina was right and it couldn't be considered speaking ill of him.
"I don't know," Hagrid said vaguely. "I believe Professor Dumbledore. Maybe Lockhart really has changed. People change, after all!"
Has Gilderoy Lockhart made any changes?
Belvina wasn't sure, but she hoped Lockhart had truly changed, only then would Hogwarts' educational problems stop worsening.