Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for Harry Potter's second year—no one knew why Dumbledore had chosen him. But since Dumbledore was the one who invited him, he was assumed to be trustworthy, just like Quirinus Quirrell—surely a good man with a story to tell.
With his golden curly hair, dazzling smile, and perfectly white teeth, if Quirinus Quirrell was the kind of person everyone disliked, then Gilderoy Lockhart was the textbook image of a superstar. When he smiled, the witches present all screamed.
He was the very definition of a flawless, confident smile.
"Thank heaven, Harry—we were all hoping you just ended up at a more distant fireplace."
Mrs. Weasley was surprised to see Harry Potter walk into the bookstore clean and unharmed. Earlier, the entire family had traveled to Diagon Alley via Floo powder, but they couldn't find Harry when they arrived. Molly immediately sent Arthur out to search while she took the children shopping.
No one expected that Flourish and Blotts would be hosting a signing event for Gilderoy Lockhart's new book, Magical Me. Coincidentally, all the textbooks for this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class were Lockhart's autobiographies.
As an object of desire for women of all ages, Gilderoy Lockhart made every male wizard feel inferior. There were barely any adult men visible in the bookstore.
In contrast to Harry's neat appearance, the Weasley family looked quite disheveled—"covered in soot" wouldn't be an exaggeration. But this was common in the wizarding world; using the cheapest Floo powder often came with this result.
As Hagrid, Hermione, and Harry Potter walked into Flourish and Blotts, Gilderoy Lockhart—who was inside preparing for the signing—spotted Harry at once and immediately signaled the Daily Prophet reporter to bring Harry over for a photo.
"Smile bigger, Harry Potter! Our picture's going on the front page."
Gilderoy Lockhart gave the experienced reminder.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is! Harry Potter has come to Flourish and Blotts today to purchase my autobiography! And speaking of which, this very book just hit number one on the Daily Prophet Bestsellers List for the 27th week in a row. Harry would never have expected, nor believed, that he'd be receiving a complete set of my works—for free!"
Lockhart motioned to his assistant to bring over the full set of autobiographies, which he then handed to Harry. All of this was, of course, a marketing ploy. With Harry Potter present, the publicity value far exceeded that of a simple book sale.
"And now, ladies… let the book signing begin."
After the photos and the gift, Harry Potter—no longer of use—was casually pushed aside by Lockhart, who sat down to begin the autograph session. Don't underestimate a book signing—without practice, most wouldn't last long doing it.
Molly asked the children to leave their books to be signed and told them to wait with Harry at the front of the store.
"I bet you enjoyed that, didn't you, Potter? Famous Harry Potter makes the front page just by walking into a bookstore."
Draco had been watching everything from the upper floor and, jealous of Harry's fame, came downstairs to intercept him.
"Stay away from him. Stop bothering him."
This was something Ginny would have said—yet it came from Ron instead. Ginny no longer seemed to like Harry Potter as much as she once did, mostly due to the tension over house placement.
"Well, if it isn't Harry Potter's loyal knight—Ron! What now? Defending him to prove your devotion?"
Draco turned his head and spat sarcastically in Ron's face.
"Now now, Draco, be polite."
A silver, snake-headed cane appeared on the young heir's shoulder. Lucius Malfoy had arrived—dressed in a pristine black outfit, exuding aristocratic authority that weighed heavily on the Weasley children, leaving them speechless.
"Harry Potter, I'm Lucius Malfoy. At last, we meet."
Lucius used a handshake to pull Harry closer, gently lifting his bangs with the snake-headed cane to reveal the lightning-shaped scar on the right side of his forehead, and remarked mockingly:
"Your scar is quite the legend, you know. A gift from a certain wizard."
"Voldemort killed my parents. He's nothing more than a murderer—there's nothing impressive about him."
Harry replied stubbornly. He despised the man who treated his scar as if it were some badge of honor bestowed by Voldemort.
"You dare speak his name… Either you're very brave, or very foolish."
Being retorted like that by Harry Potter left Lucius slightly irritated, but he still had to maintain noble etiquette.
"Not daring to speak his name only deepens your fear."
Hermione couldn't stand Lucius's remarks and interjected directly.
"You must be Miss Granger! That makes sense. Draco has mentioned you, and your parents too—they're Muggles, aren't they?"
Lucius Malfoy's disdain was clear as day. A young witch from a Muggle family—what right did she have to challenge a wizard from a noble lineage like his? Hermione was rendered speechless.
"Let me see—red hair, a dazed expression, and worn-out secondhand books—you must be the Weasleys."
Lucius Malfoy picked up the books from the wooden bucket Ginny was carrying, flipped through them for show, then launched a targeted insult that ended up being a public humiliation. The Weasley children couldn't get a word out under the pressure.
"Kids, it's getting a bit crowded in here. Let's step outside."
After searching around Diagon Alley for Harry, Arthur Weasley had finally been guided back to Flourish and Blotts by the "Point Me" charm. Just as he entered, he heard Lucius Malfoy's words. Thinking of the nine surprise inspections he had conducted at Malfoy Manor the night before, Arthur felt this was no place for the children to get caught up in adult matters.
"Well, if it isn't Arthur Weasley! The Ministry must've been quite busy last night with all those surprise inspections. Hopefully they paid you some overtime. Judging by your current state, probably not. If the Ministry can't even afford decent wages, then why bother tarnishing the reputation of wizards?"
After being harassed nine times in one night and barely getting any sleep, Lucius Malfoy had been holding in his fury. The jab at the Weasley children earlier had only been a warm-up. Now that Arthur was here in person, Lucius felt his blood boiling.
"Malfoy! I think we have very different opinions on what it means to tarnish the reputation of wizards."
Arthur Weasley wasn't afraid of Lucius Malfoy. If he were, he wouldn't have been convinced by Regulus Black to conduct nine consecutive inspections of Malfoy Manor in one night.
"Associating with Muggles... your family truly has fallen to the lowest depths."
Lucius Malfoy, trying to keep his emotions in check, tossed Ginny's old books—along with another one—into her bucket.
He could feel his heartbeat quicken. Finally, he had gotten rid of that troublesome diary. And to the Weasleys, no less. Now he just had to sit back and enjoy the show.
Arthur Weasley, you'll pay for what you've done, Lucius thought smugly, keeping a visibly angry yet restrained expression on his face.
"See you at work."
Both Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic. "See you at work" wasn't just a farewell—it was a challenge, a promise to continue their rivalry professionally.
At that moment, Regulus Black walked into Flourish and Blotts. Having just finished dealing with those two degenerate wizards, he arrived just in time to see Lucius Malfoy turning to leave.
The two brushed past each other. Regulus headed straight for Ginny, reached into her bucket, and pulled out a black notebook.
"Isn't this what I've been looking for? Tom Riddle's diary! Thank you, Arthur, for helping me find it."
With a word of thanks to Arthur, Regulus placed Tom Riddle's diary into his system space. Once it was inside, no one would be able to take it.
Lucius Malfoy, already at the door, froze in place. His face twisted into a horrified expression like he had just eaten something foul. He turned his head stiffly to look at Regulus Black, but couldn't utter a single word.
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