Chapter 566 - Who’s a first year? (2/2)

”With such a winning persona and given your natural charm, I would think that you'd be an extraordinary novelist,” Rowan persuasively suggested. ”That would be so much better than becoming the next Dumbledore as he's the headmaster of a school out in the middle of Scotland. But a writer will be surrounded by adoring fans and all sorts of people. Being invited to wonderous places and able to meet people of the highest level.”

”I hadn't thought of that!” Lockhart's blue eyes visibly began to glow.

”Mm, yes, I think Hufflepuff would be the best house for someone as talented as you,” Rowan firmly stated. The Sorting Hat had been a hat still with him between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Like hell, he would be in the same house as her.

”Oh, yes, you'll need to make plenty of friends and have the right sort of connections,” Rowan persuasively said. ”I'm sure that in Hufflepuff, you'll make lots of friends.”

”Friends?” Lockhart slowly said as if the idea had never occurred to him. He had always been a loner as a child as his mum told him he was genius. He had never had a friend before.

Seeing that Lockhart had taken the bait, Rowan reached into her pocket and pulled out one of her favorite books she kept on hand to read. Holding the book out to him, she said, ”It's one of my favorites. I think not only will you enjoy it, but it'll give you some good ideas.”

Lockhart carefully takes the thin book with the muggle book cover and reads out loud, ”The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.”

Glancing up at Rowan, Lockhart says, ”There's a witch in this muggle book?”

”Yes, but she's a most interesting sort of witch,” Rowan said. ”You'll just have to read the entire book to find out.”

Lockhart carefully puts the book into his robe pocket, before Rowan knocks once and opens the compartment door. Inside the two first years, Glenda and Lorcan just blankly stare at her.

Offering them a faint smile, Rowan says, ”I hope you don't mind adding one more companion to your compartment. But all the rest of the compartments are full and he's a first year like the two of you.”

Rowan floats Lockhart's trunk into the compartment as Lockhart blinks and stares at the two of them. Before he has a chance to boast, Glenda says, ”I'm Glenda Chittock, a first year.”

”And I'm Lorcan D'Eath,” Lorcan introduced himself.

Taking a deep breath, Lockhart flashes them a confident grin and says, ”Gilderoy Lockhart at your service.”

Glenda merely arches her eyebrow as Lorcan wary smiles at Lockhart as if to say, ”Well, hopefully you're okay, mate.”

Taking out some candy from her pocket Rowan hands it out to the three of them as all their faces instantly brighten up. Pausing only to pull out a pack of unopened Exploding Snap cards, she leaves hands it over to them. If luck would have it, Lockhart would bond with the two of them and become less of a future pain in the rear. But more importantly finally end up in the right house he should have been sorted into all along, Hufflepuff. That or at least the two kids, would pop his grandiose bubble of his being a magical genius.