After Snape left, only Argus and Lockhart remained in the classroom.
Lockhart stared intently at Argus.
"This is what you sold me for tens of thousands of Galleons? It can't even handle an Auror!"
"Do you even know who you chose?"
Argus, instead of letting Lockhart lead him by the nose, asked a question.
"Regardless of which family he belongs to, he's still an Auror!"
"I could kill him even if I threw 50,000 Galleons at him!"
Lockhart was furious and wouldn't listen to Argus.
Standing on the stage, he talked incessantly!
But Argus's words instantly extinguished his anger.
"He is the newly appointed Head of the Auror Department!"
"Director Auror?"
Lockhart was dumbfounded.
He had spent ages picking and choosing, and ended up selecting the hardest one!
What incredible luck!
This is outrageous!
Argus looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Do you think you can defeat an Auror headmaster with just two magical items? Or even the headmaster of Hogwarts?"
"Does such a magical item really exist, and you actually ended up in your hands?"
"That too… that too…" Lockhart stammered, unable to speak.
Seeing that he had nothing to say, Argus resorted to deception again.
"You've seen the effects of the magical items I sold you."
"Even a Hogwarts professor like Snape can fall victim to this if he's not careful."
"You think it's not worth it to be able to fight Director Auror to a standstill?"
It was clearly a one-sided and complete defeat; at most, it just bought them a little time.
But according to Argus, it was as if the two were evenly matched.
But Lockhart just fell for that!
He couldn't help but nod.
"Think back to the first time you humiliated Professor Snape, and the shocked and admiring looks from the young wizards in the audience."
Do you still think you got ripped off by spending those Galleons?
"But... but..."
Lockhart felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Think about it, this is just the most basic product, yet it still managed to make Professor Snape suffer in class."
"When this magical item is used to invent a spell with top-tier power someday, you can use the same trick to trick Headmaster Dumbledore in front of reporters or in public!"
"That's the greatest and strongest white wizard of this century!"
"If you can defeat him, who will dare say you're unworthy of the title!"
To keep this patron in line, Argus used all his persuasive skills.
After all, that was 100,000 Galleons!
Even with the numerous ways the acolytes had developed to make money, it would still take them two or three months to earn that much.
Now that he could get it just by talking, he certainly didn't want to let it go.
Sure enough, Lockhart seemed to be imagining the scene of being worshipped by countless people after he defeated Dumbledore.
His eyes were shining brightly.
"That's right!"
"If I could actually defeat Dumbledore like I did today in the future, it would definitely cause a sensation throughout the entire wizarding world!"
"At that time, let's see who still dares to think that what I wrote in my book is all bragging!"
"When that day comes, I will settle accounts with every single one of those who looked down on me!"
Lockhart became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he were about to punch Dumbledore and kick Voldemort at any moment.
As he spoke, he took out the wand and cloak that Argus had given him, wanting to carefully explore their uses and tactics.
Just as he was about to cast the spell, a puff of white smoke suddenly rose from the wand.
No matter how much magic he channeled into it, the wand did not react.
"What... what's going on?"
Argus had tried the wand countless times before selling it to Lockhart.
In order to sell the wand, he even looked at the researchers' notes.
After a quick glance, he found the problem.
"The core of the alchemical creation has been damaged and needs to be repaired."
Wand core
"Then hurry up and fix it!"
Lockhart grew anxious and hurriedly urged Argus.
Argus smiled and placed the wand back in Lockhart's hand.
"Professor Lockhart, it seems our deal doesn't include repairs."
"If you want it repaired, you'll need to pay extra."
Lockhart was immediately enraged upon hearing this.
"You liar! You're deceiving your customers!"
"I just bought it less than a day ago!"
"Tchanged, showing no anger at Lockhart's words. "I saw it just now, when you were fighting that Auror Director, you were recklessly channeling magic into it."
"Without any regard for whether the wand can withstand it."
"Are you going to pin this avoidable situation on me?"
Lockhart looked somewhat embarrassed.
He had indeed been a bit caught up in the moment, only thinking about winning the duel in front of him, and hadn't noticed the change in the wand at all.
Looking back now, it seemed that the wand had indeed made a few strange noises at that time.
He just hadn't paid attention at the time.
"I... I was just in a hurry, wasn't I?"
"Just tell me directly, how many Galleons will it take to fix this!"
Having experienced the power firsthand, Lockhart never wanted to return to the old life where he had to rely on his words for everything.
He'd had enough of being questioned and despised by countless people!
Upon hearing Lockhart's boastful words, Argus once again expressed his admiration.
That's what a tycoon was like!
If it could be solved with Galleons, there was no need to waste words!
How wonderful it would be if he had that ability!
Argus finally understood how the Weasley twins felt when they met him.
The difference was that although he earned more Galleons than Lockhart, most of them were used for the acolytes.
Ultimately, only a few things could be squandered at will.
Argus thought for a moment, but didn't dare to speak directly.
He extended five fingers again!
"Another fifty thousand?" Lockhart jumped off the stage.
"Your after-sales maintenance fees are too expensive! If I have to call you for repairs every time I get an injection, the cost will be too high!"
Argus didn't want to let this big fish get away either.
After thinking about it, he decided to give him a little treat.
"One-time payment, lifetime warranty.
"Is this alright now?"
"That's too expensive!" Lockhart muttered, looking distressed.
"Since you think it's not suitable, then forget it," Argus said deliberately.
"Anyway, the acolytes will research and develop newer and more powerful products in the future."
"At worst, we can just sell it to someone else."
"To be able to ambush Headmaster Dumbledore in broad daylight, the fame one would have is simply..."
"No way!" Lockhart exclaimed anxiously.
These magical items must not be sold to others!
"Professor Lockhart, isn't that a bit unreasonable? You just think it's too expensive and don't want to fix it."
"If you think it's expensive, there are other people who are willing to buy it."
"Who said I think it's expensive!" Lockhart squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.
"I just didn't have that many Galleons on me!"
"Don't worry, once you've fixed it, I'll pay you the remaining balance along with the Galleons used for this repair!"
"Okay!" Argus smiled with triumph."
"Then let's meet a week from now, cash on delivery!