章節 96: Chapter 96: Curse, What Curse? Wait a Moment, Something's Wrong
Lohart never cared about other people's feelings. He signaled his photographer to take crazy photos, and thick smoke drifted out of the camera, fixing Lohart and Harry on the film.
"We must make it to the front page. Come on, smile more naturally." Lohart revealed his shiny teeth and gave Harry tips on smiling. "I've won the Most Charming Smile Award from Wizard Weekly five times. I like to brag about that."
Even after the photos were taken, Lohart didn't let Harry off.
"Ladies and gentlemen, everyone, look at me, I have an announcement!" Lohart waved his hand, silencing the crowd. First, he presented Harry with an autobiography and his complete works. Then, he declared some breaking news: he would be the new Dark Arts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.
Lohart hoped to win Harry over, ensuring he could continue riding on the Savior's popularity. In his view, after giving Harry valuable books and the opportunity to make headlines, Harry should feel favorably towards him. However, he miscalculated. Harry didn't lack those dozens of Galleons, and Lohart's actions made him extremely awkward.
Just as Lohart was at the peak of his life, a somewhat discordant voice shattered his fantasies.
"Mr. Lohart, what about the curse left by the Dark Lord?"
"Curse? What curse?" Lohart looked puzzled.
"The curse left by the mysterious person!" Tom was acting to the fullest. "It's said that the mysterious person wanted to return to Hogwarts to teach Dark Arts Defense, but the great Professor Dumbledore saw through his plot and refused him. In a fit of anger, the mysterious person placed a curse on this position—no one can teach for more than a year!"
After this statement, the bookstore fell into silence. Most middle-aged women present had experienced that era, and what Tom said was indeed true: from a specific point in time, the Dark Arts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts did change every year.
Previously, people only talked about it privately, but this was the first time someone had said it openly in public.
"Many of those professors encountered misfortune, even death, such as Professor Chilo last year!"
The fans in the audience also shifted their attention, discussing fervently.
"Professor Chilo? I remember he used to teach Muggle Studies..."
"That was a long time ago. Later, Professor Dumbledore had him transfer to teach Dark Arts Defense, but he did die!"
"I heard it was because he was possessed by the mysterious person—"
"No, the Ministry of Magic said he died from hunting unicorns."
Although everyone had different opinions on how Chilo died, one thing was universally acknowledged: Professor Chilo, who had been lively before, died less than a year after taking on the role of Dark Arts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Then the topic gained momentum, and people began searching their memories for the fates of the previous Dark Arts Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. They were shocked to find that this position was indeed a high-risk occupation, with many people retiring, getting injured, or even dying—some were even gored to death by wild boars!
Listening to the remarks from the audience, Lohart's expression almost couldn't hold up, but his good professional demeanor kept the smile on his face. He took a deep breath and then burst into laughter.
"Why are you laughing, sir?" a fan asked cautiously.
"It's really a coincidence because, according to the plan, I was only going to teach for a year! The world is so vast, and I want to continue exploring, so, if you have to say it, this curse also applies to me."
The fans nodded one after another, feeling that this was quite reasonable.
"Don't worry," just as Lohart was almost getting through it, Tom stood up, "As everyone knows, Mr. Lohart is an adventurer skilled in lifting curses. He mentioned in 'Breaking Up with the Female Ghost' that he only used three spells to lift the curse on the female ghost. In the entire UK, and even the whole world, no one understands how to lift curses better than Mr. Lohart."
While Tom was speaking, he danced and gestured as if playing an accordion, completely showing the appearance of a devoted fan of Lohart.
Now, Lohart felt like he was being roasted over a fire. Young Lohart felt for the first time what it meant to be "one fan outweighing ten critics" and what "fans acting as idols' representatives" meant.
"Oh, this..." Lohart just wanted to babble on stage, but the fans below had already split into two factions and started quarreling. One faction believed that the curse was left by the mysterious person, and even Dumbledore couldn't lift it. You black fans, let Mr. Lohart handle it; aren't you making it difficult for him?
The other faction believed that, goodness, you guys were the ones pretending to be critics; you, this group, actually don't believe in Mr. Lohart!
The two factions quickly started arguing, and the situation lost control for a while.
In the end, Lohart could only shout loudly, making everyone look at him.
"I, Lohart, recipient of the Order of Merlin Third Class, member of the Order of Merlin Third Class, honorary member of the Dark Arts Defense Alliance, five-time winner of the Most Charming Smile Award from Wizard Weekly—of course, I hate to mention this because I didn't drive away the female ghost by smiling—will do my best to lift the curse with Professor Dumbledore!"
The fans below applauded, some even with tears in their eyes. At this moment, Lohart's eyes were also filled with tears. Finally, tears of excitement slid from the corners of his eyes, and many fans also shed tears. The atmosphere of the signing event reached its climax.
At this moment, Lohart regretted everything: I'm really stupid. Really, from the beginning, I shouldn't have accepted Dumbledore's invitation. If I didn't accept the invitation, I wouldn't have become a cursed professor, and I wouldn't have been forced by so many people to solve this deadly curse...
Now, he just wanted to say one thing to that young boy: I thank your eight generations—Tommy, um, Jimmy? Timmy?
Lohart couldn't even remember his name.
He was thinking, should he find an excuse to resign from Dumbledore? If he found an excuse, what excuse would be better?
But the next day, he ran out of options because "The Daily Prophet" reported on the front page about his signing event at the Enchanting Bookstore, emphasizing the cursed teaching positions at Hogwarts and listing the unfortunate professors. It also announced his appointment as a professor.
This wasn't the worst part because the next day, Dumbledore unprecedentedly issued a statement in the newspaper—there was no way around it; they still needed to hire a professor every year! So, Dumbledore stated that Hogwarts had absolutely no such curse, and the stories of the professors before were purely coincidental. He looked forward to working with Mr. Lohart to prove this.
Lohart felt like the sky was falling.
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(End of this chapter)
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