This cursed Defense Against the Dark Arts position is a death trap; every teacher who takes it meets misfortune, misfortune that only accumulates over time. Not only is teaching for more than a year out of the question, but there have been instances where instructors couldn't even teach for less than a year before being forced to stop.
Injuries, kidnappings, deaths...
Dumbledore had quite a few people he favored for the position, but none were willing to accept.
After all, who would willingly get involved with a curse? Wizards capable of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts would undoubtedly understand the terror of curses.
Especially considering Voldemort's influence, Quirrell's death last year was already attributed to the curse.
With someone having just died, even fewer people would be willing to come.
"Actually, my original plan was to find Gilderoy Lockhart, and he had agreed, but unfortunately..."
Roger pouted. "That guy who steals other people's life experiences using the Memory Charm?"
"Yes, him," Dumbledore said, unsurprised that Roger knew Gilderoy Lockhart's true nature, as he was Roger.
Gilderoy Lockhart's public persona in the British wizarding world was that of an adventurer who wrote books about his exploits.
These books were bestsellers.
Breaking Up with Female Ghosts, Traveling with Ghouls, Vacationing with Mother Yaksha, Sailing with Vampires... If the content of his books were based on real experiences, then as a 'practical' wizard, he would have been perfectly qualified to teach.
But unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The content of his books came from the experiences of other wizards. Lockhart would glean the details through conversation, then use the Memory Charm to erase the original owner's memories of those events and claim them as his own.
Dumbledore had read these books. Lockhart wrote them brilliantly, but in his pursuit of narrative excitement, he sacrificed magical rigor, which Dumbledore noticed as a flaw. After careful review, he found that the content of the books bore a resemblance to the experiences of some of his old friends.
Dumbledore visited his friends and discovered their memories had been altered, confirming that Gilderoy Lockhart was indeed a fraud.
Therefore, on one hand, the curse's reputation had grown too strong after the recent death, requiring a foolhardy individual unafraid of curses. On the other hand, the presence of Harry and Roger had subtly shifted the atmosphere of the school and even the British wizarding world.
Thus, Dumbledore wanted to use Lockhart to demystify fame and legends, preventing students from becoming overly engrossed in them.
It was also a way to sacrifice Lockhart and stabilize public sentiment.
However, he hadn't anticipated that Roger would become a Ministry of Magic official a while ago, which changed things.
Humans have a cognitive bias where they tend to project their own perceptions onto others.
Those driven by profit genuinely cannot believe in selfless devotion; even when it occurs, they dismiss it as a performance, convinced there must be ulterior motives and calculations behind it.
Innocent people, on the other hand, often say, "Don't always think the worst of people," ignoring those who have been harmed.
Lockhart, as a fraud, was no different.
Seer? The Boy Who Lived?
His reputation was indeed immense, but after reading the newspapers that would print any lie for sales, Lockhart felt that, like himself, much of it was exaggerated.
But there's a saying: battle reports can lie, but the front lines don't.
The content in newspapers and rumors circulating in society could be amplified by public opinion.
However, a Ministry of Magic official in charge of a region at the age of eleven.
Let alone seeing it, Lockhart had never even heard of such a thing! Looking back at the 'legendary stories' in those newspapers, Lockhart fell silent.
So, my stories are all fabricated, and yours are all real?
What's the point of playing this game anymore? I'm out! Realizing that his actions were likely to be exposed by the Seer, Gilderoy Lockhart immediately declined the teaching position he had agreed to with Dumbledore and once again embarked on an "adventure" abroad to escape trouble.
After explaining the reason for Lockhart's flight, Dumbledore continued, "So, I have no choice but to shamelessly beg an old friend to see if he'll do me the honor of teaching for a year."
The old friend Dumbledore mentioned was certainly not Grindelwald. No matter how ambitious he was, he wouldn't invite a Seer skilled in manipulation to educate the next generation of British wizards.
One year would be enough for Grindelwald to plant countless hidden schemes.
The friend he spoke of was someone else.
"Nicolas Flamel?" Roger recalled Dumbledore mentioning this alchemist to him.
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded.
After the incident with Voldemort at Hogwarts concluded, the Philosopher's Stone was returned to its rightful owner, Roger. However, Dumbledore did not immediately return the Philosopher's Stone to Nicolas Flamel.
This was because, just two days after the Voldemort incident, Roger achieved Eternal Life.
Dumbledore encountered the Three-Dimensional Theory.
He realized that a magnificent era might arrive at any moment, and at such a time, the existence of a powerful wizard on the side of order could be crucial.
He could not allow Nicolas Flamel to simply choose death and embark on another great adventure.
The world still needed Nicolas Flamel. A wizard who had lived for 665 years, if he were to switch to the Three-Dimensional Law, his foundation would make him unimaginably powerful.
When the future's direction is uncertain, having an additional strong individual on one's side brings greater peace of mind.
Therefore, it wasn't until Dumbledore possessed the Nirvana Fire that he returned to Devonshire, where Nicolas Flamel lived in seclusion, with the Philosopher's Stone.
Because Roger's plans did not yet extend beyond his control, Dumbledore didn't divulge the technical details but did explain the potential future development directions of the world, persuading Nicolas Flamel to "stay" for a while longer.
Nicolas Flamel said he needed to consider it, and a decision was likely imminent.
"That's truly something to look forward to," Roger said with great interest.
As another successful individual on the path to Eternal Life, Roger was very keen to communicate and learn from him.
Roger had read many books on magic, but Nicolas Flamel was a firsthand witness to the content of many of them. He expected that Nicolas Flamel, with his different perspective, could bring him significant gains.
Knowing that the second-year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was likely Nicolas Flamel, Roger didn't delve further into the topic.
Instead, he turned and asked about his original reason for coming: "Headmaster Dumbledore, what's the current international situation like?"
"Will it affect me if I travel internationally?"
Roger wasn't worried about himself; after all, he had a danger sense and wouldn't be in danger, but he was concerned about how it might affect other aspects.
Although Roger was a Seer, his future-seeing abilities beyond his danger sense were only at the level of Professor Trelawney's divination skills. Occasionally, he could glimpse fragments of the future to find inspiration for games, but anything else was quite unsatisfactory.
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