Hogwarts Card System Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Charm Level 4

Lockhart looked at Ted with an expression that said, “I’m very pleased with this”:

“What a handsome young man, just like me! Ted got a perfect score! For example, on the question ‘What is Lockhart’s greatest ideal—world peace,’ only you answered correctly. And this one… and this one… Twenty points to Ravenclaw!”

Lockhart: This young man has a bright future! Keep up the good work!

A prompt immediately appeared in Ted’s mind.

“Ding~ Mission triggered:

[Easily Score a Hundred! (Green)]

Lockhart is truly generous with points. Wouldn’t it be a sin not to fleece him a bit?

Objective: Obtain 100 points from Professor Lockhart.

Reward: 300 experience, random card.

Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad~”

Lockhart really gives points! Twenty points just like that!

Yesterday, Ted prevented an explosion, and Professor Flitwick only gave him 20 points.

Today, a single test paper earned him 20 points, as if it cost nothing.

Hermione on the side widened her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed: We agreed to despise this scoundrel together, and you secretly did your homework!

Hermione, having seen Lockhart forcefully latch onto Neville’s fame in Diagon Alley, had a low opinion of him, so she hadn’t taken his textbooks seriously.

That’s why she missed a few questions, and she never expected Ted to get a perfect score!

Ted had studied seriously partly because he usually just skimmed books.

And partly because, even though Lockhart was a bit of a mess, the content of his books actually held significant reference value.

These were genuine knowledge!

Speaking of which, Lockhart had a talent for ambushing old veterans.

So many excellent wizards had fallen into his hands, all over the world, and he hadn’t crashed and burned yet. Impressive!

With Ted there, the conversation never lagged; it was a delightful experience for both parties, and the class felt like home.

In one class, Ted managed to milk 30 points out of Lockhart, practically charming him into a state of pure joy. Lockhart almost took Ted on as his personal, closed-door disciple on the spot.

Lockhart: Being at Hogwarts feels much better than being at home! Ted is a talent, and he speaks so well; I absolutely love this student!

He even thought: If only Ted were the Boy Who Lived, wouldn’t the two of them become the best idols in the wizarding world?! Longbottom is terribly dull; he’s wasting his fame!

…

After class, Lockhart even very cordially told Ted to visit his office whenever he had time, saying that the professor could offer some help if he had any difficulties. After all, he was a celebrity!

Then he flashed a grin at his companions, dazzling them so much they couldn’t open their eyes, and left.

Hermione and the others twisted their heads, looking at Ted with the eyes of a traitor—so you’re the one who brought the enemy here?

Harry immediately jumped out, asking aggressively, “Ted, how could you flatter such a hypocrite! That peacock!”

Jerry also asked, “Do you admire him?!”

“Tell us? What are you trying to do? What scheme are you cooking up now!” Hermione immediately concluded that Ted was planning something against Lockhart, and Ted couldn’t help but inwardly praise her: She’s a good judge of character~

Ted whispered, “I don’t admire swindlers; I’m just farming points. This professor, if you butter him up enough, we can get a lot of benefits.”

“Like what?” Hermione asked.

“Like permission slips to borrow books from the Restricted Section~”

Hermione’s eyes immediately lit up!

His companions: Farming points? Borrowing books? Stunned~ Are those even considered benefits?

Ted: Why are you all so silent, my dear subjects?

Hermione calmed down from her excitement about the Restricted Section pass and asked, “You said Professor Lockhart is a swindler? Do you have any proof?”

Although she really disliked this new professor because of the Diagon Alley incident, he was, after all, a bestselling author, and the thrilling adventures in his books truly made one yearn for them.

But Ted said he was a swindler. Could it be that all those adventure stories were made up?

Ted smiled. “Yes, he’s a swindler.”

“I’ve cross-referenced many sources. The methods for dealing with dark creatures in his books are very accurate, some even groundbreaking.” “But when I checked the news from the places where those stories supposedly happened, the protagonist of the story was often not a wizard named Lockhart.”

“News?!” His companions hadn’t thought of using news to investigate a swindler.

Ted explained how he searched for news about the adventure stories in the books. Lockhart’s stories had all genuinely happened, many of them rumored locally or reported in newspapers.

By combining this information, it wasn’t hard to find discrepancies. Moreover, Ted knew the outcome and then looked for evidence. It was simple to work backward~

The reason Lockhart had been able to roam free for so long under the guise of a bestselling author and great adventurer was simply because information in the wizarding world was relatively isolated.

The sparse population meant infrequent communication, and many people didn’t care about events happening in distant countries.

After all, it was a society where even sending letters required owls; information from neighboring countries could take a day or two to arrive. Meanwhile, Muggles had entered the internet age.

Even in the internet age, some people exploit information asymmetry to deceive others.

His companions were shocked by what Ted said.

Although that peacock was annoying, they never expected that his exciting stories weren’t his own!

Harry suddenly smirked. “What if we go complain to Dumbledore? Thoroughly expose that vain peacock!”

The other companions also looked eager.

Ted naturally couldn’t let them severely disrupt the plot.

“What kind of person Lockhart is, shouldn’t be our concern. Since Dumbledore hired him as a teacher, he naturally has his own considerations.”

“Perhaps Dumbledore thinks he’s a good negative example.”

“So let’s not rush. Do you remember Professor Quirrell from last year?”

“Of course!”

Hermione suddenly looked surprised. “You’re not saying that Lockhart is like Quirrell too, are you?”

Everyone remembered the fear of being dominated by turban-wearing Voldemort again~

Ted quickly said, “Of course not; how could something like that happen again and again? I just think Dumbledore probably knows something about Lockhart’s background; after all, they both grew up under his nose.”

“So, you’re guessing Dumbledore hired Lockhart as a professor because he has some plan?” Harry’s eyes lit up whenever a plan was mentioned.

Ron mumbled, “People with so many plans in their heads are really a headache. Just don’t plan me into anything.”

Hermione, however, was a bit unconvinced. “Are we just going to ignore it?”

She still wanted to uphold justice and bring this swindler who stole others’ stories to justice.

Ted could only comfort her, “Hermione, justice needs strength to be upheld. So, our top priority is to study hard!”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

Neville carefully raised his hand. “Do you think it’s possible that the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is just really hard to fill?”

Everyone looked at each other: Neville, you found the blind spot!

In a small society of less than thirty thousand people, a position that consumes one person a year must surely be infamous by now~

They might genuinely not be able to find anyone!

…

Early in the morning, before the sun had even risen, Ted was already awake and studying in the common room.

He had been researching a new spell these past few days since school started.

His notebook was filled with predictions, magical model designs, spell attempts, and so on.

The inspiration came from the Howler on the very first day of school.

This magical letter that could directly shout out seemed very valuable.

If he could “record” his own voice with magical effects attached, it might be a good method.

Secondly, there was the issue of defense.

At the time, Ted had thought about trying to stop the Howler to save Ron’s face. But he couldn’t think of a good way—after all, he couldn’t just blast the Howler away with a fireball in public.

He realized he didn’t have any defensive capabilities to restrict sound wave attacks.

Actually, the Silencing Charm or “Muffliato” should work. But those were large-area spells, and the Howler could be heard even outside the Great Hall. Just plugging his own ears would be like burying his head in the sand!

So, he combined the Silencing Charm and the Bubble-Head Charm, intending to develop a new spell.

Progress had been good these past two days. He found a lot of information in Ravenclaw’s private study, and although it wasn’t directly related to these low-level charms, it discussed some ideas and methods for developing new spells, which was very inspiring.

“Ansu, don’t move~” Ted smiled kindly.

Ansu: ?

“Muffling Bubble~” Ted pointed his wand, and a burst of magic instantly formed a translucent bubble around Ansu, enveloping it like a water bubble.

Ansu froze, flapped its wings, and quickly flew away, but the bubble stayed wrapped around it.

“Caw~ What is this thing?”

Ted saw Ansu open its mouth, but no sound came out.

“Ha! It worked!”

Ansu: You think you can trap me with this! Watch my cobra move~

Ansu suddenly made a sharp turn in the air, instantly exceeding the Muffling Bubble’s flight speed, piercing through the bubble, and shaking itself free.

“Caw caw caw~ Idiot idiot~” Ansu flew out the window.

“Good boy!” Ted packed his things; the sun was coming out, and he was going for a run.

Just then, the system chimed:

“Ding~ Charm skill upgraded, now Charm Level 4…”

It turned out that Ted’s magical research and development had increased his Charm level.

If you included the wand’s bonus, his Charm skill was already Lv 5, barely reaching the threshold for studying some of the materials left by Ravenclaw.

Of course, only the most superficial part of the materials.

(End of chapter)