章節 17: Ch. 17

-Monday 7th of September, 1992-

I glide through the corridors on my way to the Great Hall with a charming smile fixed to my face. My billowing tawny robes only add to my image of importance. Of course, the floating train of broom crates following in my wake add to my air of significance.

My plan for replacing the ancient brooms used by Hogwarts is a rather simple way to buy some goodwill from the staff and students. I had fully intended to replace all of the worn brooms used for flying lessons and purchase a second set for use during Quidditch games, but that plan was quickly modified when I saw the price for eighty broomsticks.

Coming in at a price of just under seven-thousand Galleons, the brand-new Bluebottle broomsticks were the top of the line in reliability and safety. While not the fastest brooms on the market, their stability and comfort were top-notch. Unlike the Bluebottle customer service.

Those arseholes didn't even offer any sort of discount; not for the huge purchase or even for my celebrity status! Using my skill, Magical Broomology that I acquired from Rolanda Hooch, I was able to decipher most of the charms used in the making of the Bluebottle broomstick, but that failed to impress the hard-nosed broom dealer.

I know I could have easily duplicated the charms and runes used on most flying broomsticks, but that would have taken me weeks, and my time is much too precious for that. I was only able to save a bit of money by opting out of the anti-burglar buzzer, and in an act of petty revenge, I made sure to tactfully allude to how overpriced the brooms were in my self-written article for the Daily Prophet.

That'll serve the stingy buggers!

I'm just happy the recovered coins from the Room of Hidden Things covered nearly half of the expense. Once I'm able to pawn some of the gems, I'll be able to recoup all my loses.

My only concern now was that Madam Hooch heeded my request to attend breakfast this morning. It would be such a waste of a dramatic entrance for me to arrive bearing gifts and the Flying Instructor to not be present to receive them. That subtle fear was the reason I was only running a few minutes late to the requested time.

Finally arriving at the entrance to the Great Hall, I struck my patent-pending heroic pose. As I surveyed the half-filled house tables, I flicked my head to move my coiffed hair a bit to gather more attention. With a curt nod after confirming most of the students were giving me their undivided attention, I turned my gaze to the back of the hall.

Ignoring Dumbledore in the massive golden throne at the center of the staff table, I focused my attention on the spiky-haired witch sitting near the end of the table. With my target acquired, I ignored the other staff members as I patiently waited for the witch's amber-colored eyes landed on me.

"Showtime," I mumbled under my breath after I gained Rolanda's attention.

"Good morning," I loudly greeted the silent hall. I proudly strolled down the main aisle with my best smile in place. It didn't take long for people to notice the small caravan of levitating crates behind me and begin to speculate about their contents.

"Recently, when I went out for a relaxing jaunt on my broom, I was unexpectedly overcome with a sense of nostalgia, when I spotted several students flying about on Hogwarts' broomsticks," I regaled my captive audience once I reached the middle of the Great Hall.

"Can you imagine my surprise, when I discovered the broomsticks being used today, are the exact same ones I, myself, learned to fly on?" I asked the student body with a look of disbelief on my face. "And to be honest, even in my days as a student, the brooms already had a bit of age on them."

"Now," I theatrically thundered with a charming smirk, "I fully endorse the superb guidance dished out by Madam Hooch, but I can not endorse the relics she is forced to use!"

With the barest of movements from a few of my fingers, the lid to the first crate pops open. Making a grabbing motion towards the first box, it takes only a moment before a shiny new broomstick rushes into my grasp. Placing one foot on a stirrup, I maintain my standing posture as I slowly fly towards Madam Hooch.

"Madam Hooch," I called as I stepped off the broom in front of the staff table. To my pleasant surprise, Rolanda was moving around her end of the table with her hawk-like gaze fixed on the broom.

Holding the broom in two hands, I stared at the approaching witch and raised my voice for the students to hear. "I, Gilderoy Lockhart, present to you, Madam Rolanda Hooch, and Hogwarts as a whole, eighty Bluebottle broomsticks," I declared to the explosive applauding of the students and several staff members.

Madam Hooch thoroughly ignored the rambunctious students as she gently accepted the offered flying broom, her eyes scrutinized every inch of the magical artifact. Finished with her inspection, Rolanda raised a curious look up at me.

"I thought for sure I would find your autograph somewhere on the shaft, Gilderoy," Rolanda quietly teased with a smirk of her own.

"Who says you won't?" I humorously asked.

With an undignified snort, Rolanda gives me a full smile. "Thank you, you little showboat," she said with a healthy mix of gratitude and playfulness.

Turning towards the slowly calming student body, Madam Hooch sternly began to rattle off a slew of rules for the new broomsticks. While she addressed the Great Hall, I slightly turned to give the baffled looking Headmaster a not-so-subtle wink. With a flourish of my robes, I spun and made my way out the side entrance, a victorious smirk tugging at my lips.

There might be little I can do to cover some of Old Gil's crimes, but there is quite a bit I can do to increase my standing and popularity. Hopefully, with enough good-will, people will be skeptical of any past crimes that come to light.