Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Wizard

Chapter 318 A Warning to Lockhart! Isolation and the Public Disclosure of Neville's Symptoms!

"Hey! Isn't this the compassionate, radiant, and noble Professor Lockhart? You're back?"

Dudley glanced sideways at Lockhart, who had just entered the office, and gave a sarcastic, mocking remark.

At the same time, with a wave of his hand, the office door closed.

Lockhart broke out in a cold sweat, and his straight back slumped.

“Dursley, Assistant Professor, I…I apologize! I was indeed a bit carried away today; I shouldn’t have been so high-profile. I will never do it again, thank you…”

"Alright, shut up!"

Lockhart's long-winded apology was impatiently interrupted by Dudley.

This startled Lockhart so much that he immediately shut his mouth, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Only now you're afraid? Isn't it a bit too late?"

Dudley teleported from his chair to Lockhart's side in a flash, patting him on the shoulder and whispering coldly in his ear.

Lockhart was so frightened by Dudley's unpredictable appearance that his body stiffened. He didn't know whether he should speak or not, and he was both anxious and scared.

After a slight hesitation, he could only weakly ask, "Assistant Professor Dursley, may I speak now?"

Dudley teleported back to his chair, stared at Lockhart for several seconds, exerting a heavy, silent pressure on Lockhart, before finally speaking:

"You've already spoken, haven't you? Make a mistake first, then ask for permission, Lockhart, you're quite the player, aren't you?"

Dudley is ostensibly talking about a trivial matter of whether or not to speak, but he is actually alluding to Lockhart's unauthorized behavior in class.

Lockhart wasn't stupid; he understood what was going on and quickly spoke up to defend himself:

“I wouldn’t dare! Assistant Dursley, I really wouldn’t dare to go against your wishes! I had already consulted you beforehand about organizing the response to Snape’s questions today, and you gave me a lot of help and cooperation.”

Besides... although I was a bit high-profile during the actual execution, wasn't our operation a great success in the end? Why do you need to..."

"Requesting permission?! Success?!"

Dudley interrupted Lockhart again, demanding, "Did you consult me ​​about isolating Snape using the methods of practical and academic wizards? Or did you consult me ​​about making public the aftereffects of the Oblivion Curse on Neville?"

As for success, please don't say it's our success; it's purely your own success!

You're so smart and have such great courage!

Snape's humble admission of guilt wasn't enough, yet you took the initiative, devising a new duel plan to distribute the pressure of treating Neville among the professors, and all while packaging it with such selfless rhetoric. I truly underestimated you!

Dudley's rapid-fire reprimand left Lockhart completely bewildered.

Before Lockhart could reply, still in a daze, Dudley launched into a detailed lecture, continuing:

"Don't you know that the ideological education reforms I implemented at Hogwarts prioritize unity and equality?"

Snape is no longer a dark wizard; he is a professor who genuinely helps build Hogwarts. From a collective perspective and level, he is an object that meets the standards of unity and equality.

You can personally dislike such a person, and you can distance yourself from him and not associate with him, but you cannot label him, distinguish him from the other Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, or isolate him!

Moreover, you used this method in front of dozens of students. Strictly speaking, what you did was undermining the ideological education achievements of Hogwarts!

That's why you used such subtle methods, glossing over the details and not making things too clear. The inexperienced young wizards in the classroom only vaguely understood and didn't take it to heart.

Besides, we're here today with a specific purpose in mind, so I can't reprimand you in front of everyone and Snape. Otherwise, I would have given you a thorough dressing-down right there and then!

After Dudley explained in detail, Lockhart snapped out of his daze.

He never expected that Dali would include this incident in his list of mistakes, and he immediately felt very wronged.

So he weakly spoke up to defend himself:

"But...but, Assistant Instructor Dursley, it was Snape who first spread rumors to ridicule and belittle me. He also said in front of the students, without any evidence, that I was all show and no substance, that I could only tell stories and dared not show my actual combat abilities!"

"So, after today, all the students will know that Snape was wrong, that Snape was deliberately targeting you."

Dali replied directly, "And if you use similar methods, you will suffer similar backlash in the future, understand? Do you also want to be looked down upon by so many people and have your reputation damaged?"

Lockhart understood immediately upon hearing this; when it came to matters of fame, he cared more than anyone else.

“Assistant Dursley, I understand. I will hold a public apology ceremony later and sincerely apologize to Professor Snape.”

Do you think it's appropriate for me to do this during dinner in the auditorium, in front of the entire school?

Upon hearing this, Dudley gave Lockhart another deep look.

Wow! They've mastered the art of "retreating to advance" so skillfully!

Do you simply want to apologize?

Clearly, he wanted to take this opportunity to establish a great image of himself as someone who knows his mistakes, dares to admit them, and puts the overall situation first!

Incidentally, this also serves to highlight Posnep's narrow-mindedness.

"You're really smart! Let's do it your way."

Dudley didn't miss the chance to annoy Snape and readily agreed.

He also cautioned, "I agree, but don't get carried away and push Snape too far."

I warned you long ago that you should keep a low profile until your spells and combat skills have reached the proper level, so as not to let others expose your true colors.

If you don't take it to heart, and someone finds out your weaknesses and sees through your facade, you might not be able to get away with it like you did this time!

Lockhart's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he quickly agreed.

Dudley then spoke coldly: "Then let's talk about your clever actions today!"

“Dursley’s teaching assistant, I did have my own selfish reasons for Neville’s matter, but what I said in class before should have made some sense, right?”

"I don't know when I'll be able to make any progress on my own. Calling on all the professors to help will hopefully give Neville hope for recovery sooner, won't it?"

Lockhart had been thinking about how to deal with the situation ever since he was reprimanded by Dudley. Now that it was being discussed, he mustered his courage and said what he had come up with.

But this explanation only earned him Dudley's ambiguous silence.

Lockhart's slightly relaxed mood instantly tightened again.

He held his breath, barely daring to exhale, and beads of sweat began to seep out of his forehead, sliding down his cheeks, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, onto his clothes, and then dripping onto the ground.

Until Lockhart's face turned bright red and he was about to give up.

Dali slowly spoke, "That's why I didn't stop you before!"

"Hoo—" Lockhart turned slightly to the side and let out a long breath, thinking that he had survived this ordeal.

But Dudley had more to say.