Harry entered the crowded shop and tried to find Mrs. Weasley. He found her at the front with Ron and Ginny, and waited with them for Gilderoy Lockhart to come out for his book signings.
He finally emerged from behind the curtains, and he was not what Harry was expecting, and judging by the look on his face, Ron wasn't expecting that either.
Lockhart was tall and blonde, but there was something peculiar about his expression. He looked tired and he had bags under his eyes. Still, he was beaming brightly, with slightly yellowish teeth. He was wearing robes of bright turquoise, though they looked worn out. He looked nothing like the picture on the cover of his autobiography.
Harry was relieved that Lockhart wasn't a show-off like he had imagined. He was actually quite polite, and he didn't talk only about himself. When he saw Harry, he smiled and winked, and nobody else noticed he was there (and thank goodness because he didn't want all those people staring).
Though the only thing Harry paid attetion to was when Lockhart mentioned Hogwarts.
"As we all know - Lockhart said - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry keeps running out of Defence Against the Dark Arts professors. But luckily enough, Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has kindly offered me the position. So i'm happy to announce that this year, Hogwarts will be recieving the real Magical Me."
The crowd applauded and Harry looked at Ron and whispered "Well at least we know he doesn't have Voldemort on the back of his head." Ron flinched at the name but then laughed. This year can't be worse than last year, can it?