Douglas couldn't decide whether the Black Lake was simply enormous, or if the students at Hogwarts were just out of shape.
When detention ended right at seven o'clock, they'd barely managed to run a third of the planned route.
Once he dismissed the group, Douglas took a quick stroll around Hagrid's hut before heading back to his office. There was still a fifth-year practical exam to prepare for, along with lesson plans for the coming week.
He pulled up the Scholar Development System interface to review his points tally. (The system's mechanics have been tweaked—earlier chapters reflect this, but it doesn't affect the current reading experience.)
[Scholar Development System]
[This Sunday's Fifth-Year Practical Class: Not yet conducted...]
...
[Total Points]
Student Satisfaction
— 45 classes rated 9 or above: 80 points earned.
(No surprise—practical lessons are always a hit!)
— 21 classes rated 6–9: 20 points.
— 4 classes below 6: 2 points.
Assignment Completion
— 14 classes rated 9 or above: 60 points.
— 38 classes rated 6–9: 30 points.
— 18 classes below 6: 9 points.
Student Progress
— 27 classes rated 9 or above: 40 points.
— 27 classes rated 6–9: 20 points.
— 16 classes below 6: 8 points.
Classroom Engagement
— 55 classes rated 9 or above: 100 points.
— 15 classes rated 6–9: 10 points.
— 0 classes below 6: 0 points.
Teacher's Monthly Composite Score: 0 points—no bonus yet.
(*Monthly score 9+: 1000 points bonus.
6–9: 500 points.
Below 5: –300 points.
The monthly score covers teaching routine, methods, results, teacher quality, and attendance.)
Annual Exam Results
Excellent: 0 students—0 points.
Pass (includes Good, Satisfactory): 0 students—0 points.
Fail (includes Poor, Very Poor, Abysmal): 0 students—0 points.
(*Excellent: 1000 points per student. Pass: 500. Fail: –300.)
[Shop unlocks at 10,000 points.]
[Due to an unknown curse on the host, which will activate in one year, 10,000 points can be spent to remove it!]
By his calculations, Douglas had earned about 379 points in two weeks—mainly because students' performance in practical classes was lackluster.
If every student could learn spells as quickly as Harry and Hermione, life would be much easier.
What really caught his attention was that the system now included exam-based classes in its assessment. That meant if he added more Defence Against the Dark Arts courses, they'd all be counted. At this rate, he might not need to wait the whole year to hit ten thousand points. If things went well, he might even reach twenty thousand by year's end.
He was still crunching the numbers when a knock sounded at the door.
Opening it, he found Percy standing outside, clutching the Daily Prophet.
A satisfied smile tugged at Douglas's lips.
He ushered Percy in. "Good morning, Percy."
Percy handed him the Daily Prophet and a letter.
"Boss, you probably haven't seen today's paper yet—something huge happened!"
Douglas took the newspaper and letter, thinking, What's the big deal? It's just my front-page feature. Percy still needs a lot of training—a real politician doesn't get flustered so easily.
He set the letter aside, opened the paper—
"Bloody hell!"
Douglas couldn't help but shout.
This time, Percy remained perfectly calm, settling at the tea table and pouring himself a cup.
"Big enough for you, boss?
I told you, I haven't seen much of Headmaster Dumbledore since term started.
And lately, Professor McGonagall has been rushing off after every class..."
Douglas's mind was stuck on one thing: My headlines were stolen!
On the front page, two photos:
One showed Lockhart trussed up in a net of ropes, struggling pathetically.
The other was a perfectly staged shot—Lockhart winking with his signature forget-me-not blue eyes and a dazzling smile.
Below it, a small caption: ("At Mr. Lockhart's insistence, his most perfect portrait must be used for his farewell!")
[Renowned Author, Former Third-Class Order of Merlin Recipient, Former Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League—Gilderoy Lockhart—Arrested and Imprisoned!]
Yesterday, the Ministry of Magic received word from Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore: the celebrated author was apprehended during the commission of a crime by Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and Ravenclaw Head of House, Charms Professor Filius Flitwick, who happened to be visiting the victim's home. He was then taken into custody by an arriving team of Aurors...
...Thanks to Headmaster Dumbledore's painstaking investigation, it was discovered that Gilderoy Lockhart had repeatedly tricked adventurers into revealing their exploits, then used Memory Charms to erase their memories and published their stories as his own...
...On the night of the incident, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, at Dumbledore's invitation and armed with evidence, approached Lockhart as his former teachers and Heads of House, urging him to confess...
Professor McGonagall: "He was once an excellent child—he convinced Headmaster Dumbledore to start the school newspaper. He always had the gift of the gab, and no shortage of ability..."
Professor Flitwick: "I always thought his intelligence and talent were above average. With enough hard work, he could have achieved something great..."
...The Order of Merlin declared they had all been deceived by his silver tongue...
"You know how good Gilderoy is at this—sometimes I wonder if I've been Memory Charmed by him myself..."
Dark Force Defence League: "He's our shame! And he's shown us that a Dark wizard doesn't have to be a master of Dark magic... Yes, we firmly believe he's a Dark wizard..."
Gilderoy Lockhart will face the Wizengamot for questioning today at 10:00 a.m.
From the article's details—and his own memories of the original story—Douglas quickly pieced together what had happened.
Dumbledore must have suspected Lockhart's deceit early on, but lacked enough evidence to arrest him outright. Recruiting him to Hogwarts was probably a way to keep him under close watch until he slipped up.
In the original timeline, Dumbledore succeeded. But with Douglas's arrival, Dumbledore must have weighed the pros and cons and decided that hiring Douglas brought more benefit to the school.
(Whatever Dumbledore's real reasoning, that's how Douglas saw it.)
But that left Lockhart—who'd been holding out for the highest bidder—feeling slighted. So after Douglas took the post, Lockhart began undermining him, both openly and behind the scenes. After all, it was celebrity versus nobody.
People started to doubt Douglas's abilities.
Until he revealed his other identity—and completely eclipsed Lockhart.
That drove Lockhart into a panic. Desperate to reclaim his spotlight, he reverted to his old tricks, planning a new book to steal back the fame.
But what he didn't know was that, the moment Douglas officially took office, Dumbledore began closing in.
In some ways, Douglas had to admire Lockhart's skill. It had taken Dumbledore over a week to gather a complete chain of evidence—proof that Lockhart had covered his tracks quite well.
Suddenly, Douglas remembered what Professor McGonagall had said yesterday. He scratched his nose, embarrassed.
So she already knew there was no way he'd make the front page...
Turning to page two, he finally found his own feature—beautifully written, no less!
Especially the photo of him at his desk, brow furrowed in concentration as he revised his manuscript. It perfectly captured the image of a hardworking writer, committed to quality and his readers.
But it wasn't the front page.
Trust Lockhart—even at the end, he never forgot how to draw the spotlight.
Thinking of Lockhart's fate, Douglas couldn't help but reflect.
Well, at least I'm not a plagiarist.
I'm a translator—a damn good one at that!
He glanced at the letter on his desk.
Inside were Mr. Slane's condemnation of Lockhart—and an apology relayed from Mr. Limus.
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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