Emergence

Upon hearing Madam Pince's reply, Sean frowned.

Was my assumption wrong?

Or perhaps that person has a way to conceal their presence, such as Invisibility Cloak or Disillusionment Charm. In the small space of the library, although Madam Pince is quite imposing, she doesn't actually have a deep understanding of magic.

However, based on my judgment, that infiltrator shouldn't be very strong. Invisibility Cloak aren't common items, and I've already seized one from him...

Thinking of this, Sean asked again, "Madam, I'd like to know, are there any other places to hide in the library?"

The Hogwarts library is actually open 24/7; at least Sean never saw the doors closed. It's just that no one will greet you in the middle of the night.

However, Filch would take Mrs. Norris on a nightly tour of the entire castle, and the first thing Madam Pince did every day when she got to work was to check the entire library.

The key point is that if the infiltrator didn't have the means to become invisible, he/she wouldn't have been able to slip out right under Madam Pince's nose after casting Imperius Curse on a student—this librarian had cast many spells at the door, almost all of which could be considered her life's work.

Madam Pince frowned and said, "There's no room left. Although the Hogwarts Library is very large, all the passageways are interconnected, and the bookshelves are on the ceiling. There's nowhere to hide in the library—and I have to patrol every half hour. The day Miss Isabel Petty came to borrow books happened to be the day I was cleaning, and no one else came all morning. I'm sure of that."

As she spoke, she suddenly added, "Speaking of which, the only place where people can hide is the Rest Room."

"Rest Room?"

Sean looked in the direction Madam Pince was pointing and saw a wooden door in the corner of the library wall, which was locked at the moment.

"I'm not used to staying in the Staff Room. I prefer to be with these books that smell of ink, so the principal has granted me a Common Room in the library."

Sean nodded, then asked, "Excuse my boldness, madam, but perhaps that Common Room could hide someone?"

Madam Pince, as if she had been greatly insulted, kicked at Sean, the feather duster twitching twice in mid-air. "Impossible! Only I occasionally use that Common Room, and only I know the password to enter—that door borrows the magic of the Hogwarts Library, and only a password can open it."

With that, the stern and short-tempered woman put her hands on her hips and said rudely, "Mr. Wallop, do you think I'm a mole, or that I'm also under the influence of the Imperius Curse?"

Sean politely stepped back, offering a slightly apologetic smile, and said, "Of course not, Madam, I didn't mean that. It's just that the situation inside the castle has been rather tense lately, and I'd like to receive more comprehensive and accurate information. Please allow me to apologize for my rudeness—"

Madam Pince's angry expression softened considerably. "I understand, but I hope you can watch your words."

"Of course, please allow me to express my apologies again," Sean said, patting his chest in a gesture of respect. "Then I shall take my leave, madam."

As Sean stepped out of the library, his slightly apologetic face instantly returned to its original state, even showing a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"Another form of Imperius Curse... that's most likely it..."

Sean walked to a deserted stone wall and gently knocked on it. The stone wall rippled like the surface of water.

This is a communication method that only he and Stephanie can use, and only the two of them can directly receive it—both of them have partial access to the Room of Requirement.

Stephanie arrived even faster than Sean had expected, and a wooden door quickly appeared on the stone wall. Sean pushed the door open and went inside.

"What's wrong?" The girl with long silver hair looked at him quietly.

"I need your help with something..."

Sean briefly described the events involving the Lurkers; it wasn't something that needed to be kept secret.

Stephanie pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "I understand... But why do you think the remaining infiltrator is Professor Lockhart? Is it just because Madam Pince is infatuated with him? Perhaps Madam Pince might do something foolish because of this infatuation, but if she's lying to you, you should be able to tell—you just said that Madam Pince doesn't seem to be lying?"

Sean smiled mysteriously and pointed to his head, "A man's intuition."

Yes, Lockhart, and it wasn't just intuition.

Lockhart's image as a good-for-nothing professor is deeply ingrained in people's minds. Everyone thinks he's all talk and no action and his actual abilities are questionable. But perhaps only Sean at Hogwarts knows this.

Lockhart may not be good at anything, but his mastery of Memory Charm is profound—otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to steal other people's work and turn it into a bestseller.

Coincidentally, the Memory Charm played a crucial role in the recent events; otherwise, Parvati and Lavender wouldn't have been able to secretly carry out their operation for two weeks.

Furthermore, Madam Pince certainly didn't seem to be lying, Dave's sense of smell failed to detect anything amiss, which only proved that Lockhart might have been planning this for a long time.

It's Madam Pince to be so unguarded around her idols. Lockhart could easily find opportunities to alter their memories, and over time, Dave couldn't detect anything amiss.

Lockhart could easily find out Madam Pince's password in the library Common Room, and then use a spell to change it, so Madam Pince would naturally think that she hadn't revealed it.

Of course, these are all speculations. Even if the probability is higher than 99%, it still needs evidence. Sean can be responsible for finding the evidence, but he also needs to prevent Lockhart from taking any action after receiving the information.

Lockhart, a master of Memory Charm, wouldn't be without a memory switch set up. Therefore, given Sean's question just now, Lockhart probably already knows that he is suspected or even discovered.

Sean needs someone to inform the professors to take more stringent precautions, and he also needs someone to monitor Lockhart. Stephanie is the quickest person he can contact and the most suitable candidate for surveillance.

Of course, he couldn't explain everything to Stephanie, but to Sean's surprise, Stephanie, who was usually very calm and rational, didn't question Sean's "male intuition."

She nodded seriously. "I understand. Contact me if you need anything. I'll be there right away."

The Silver-haired Girl left immediately without any hesitation.

"He's actually a pretty good partner when it comes to collaboration," Sean muttered, shrugging.

He did not leave the stone wall, but walked in another direction.

Sean can enter Madam Pince's Common Room without a password.

Pushing open the wooden door, Sean, wand in hand, first surveyed the room to make sure there was no warning magic in the small Common Room before looking around.

This private Common Room belonging to Madam Pince was neither spacious nor luxurious; it resembled an ordinary study. However, there were few signs of daily life here, suggesting that Madam Pince did not use it frequently.

Sean casually wandered around and it seemed that only Madam Pince had ever been here, but everything, from chairs and wine glasses to other daily necessities, was only available for one person.

"Naja, go." Sean flicked the sleeve of his robe, and Naja, who had shrunk to the size of a Occamy, crawled onto the ground and then quickly swam into every tiny crevice in the room.

The Occamy, Magical Creatures that can shrink its body at will, is fantastic for reconnaissance. Coincidentally, Sean can also communicate precisely with Naja, ensuring he doesn't miss any information that might be vaguely conveyed.

It's wonderful to have a Occamy that understands your heart.

Soon, Naja swam back, expanded her body slightly, gently wrapped her arms around Sean's upper body, and whispered a soft hiss in his ear.

"So that's where it is... Well done, Naja."

Sean smiled and patted the Occamy's head before walking to the wooden table.

He moved the table aside and pointed Sean wand directly at the ground below. A red light flashed, and a crack appeared in the stone bricks.

Sean also saw what was inside: a small space containing a box with a large stack of letters, and several empty bottles used to store memories.

Sean picked up a letter, and sure enough, the handwriting was Lockhart's usual ornate script.

To my dearest mother:

"Your son has been having some troubles lately. The situation outside is tense, Hogwarts is under lockdown, and owls are no longer allowed to deliver mail, which is causing me some distress."

"I can't reply to my admirers, nor can I send my thoughts back to you, but I still have to write this letter and send it to you together later—of course, your son, as an internationally renowned great wizard, is secretly working to solve a recent major problem, but please forgive me for not being able to tell you the details."

"I almost forgot, I'll try to contact the officials at the Ministry of Magic and ask them to open an owl channel for me for private communication. I do have some connections with the new minister."

To my dearest mother:

"I'm doing very well at school. The students still adore me, and the professors respect me greatly— Mr. Dumbledore even toasted me at the last dinner party."

"Oh, the kids have been a bit rebellious lately, and they're not very polite to the professors—of course, that doesn't include me."

"Because of the increased academic workload, the school has recruited a new batch of teaching assistants. In fact, I don't really need them, but... haha, your son's courses are so popular, so many students ask me questions after class. Besides, we have to give young people some opportunities, don't we?"

To my dearest mother:

"I think I'm in big trouble... I don't even know how to explain it to you, oh my god..."

Sean glanced through the letters; almost all of them were from Lockhart, intended for his mother, but they were filled with boasting and self-centeredness. He couldn't tell if it was to show off to his mother or something else entirely.

By the last letter, Lockhart's handwriting had become noticeably messy, and he appeared extremely uneasy.

Dawson probably approached him around that time... Sean thought to himself.

"Huh?" Sean realized he had forgotten a note, but the handwriting on it wasn't Lockhart's.

"Contact spell:..."

"Apparition Location:..."

"Note: Your primary task is to conceal your identity unless you receive special communication."

This is the contact information that the forces behind the scenes gave Lockhart...

Sean narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then put the note away.

It's time to confront Lockhart...

The sun was gradually setting, and the mountains were slowly enveloped in shadow.

At the foot of an unnamed mountain, a somber, classical manor stands quietly in the jungle.

The last rays of the setting sun bathed the manor in a warm, golden glow, but the sunlight showed no sign of penetrating inside.

Footsteps echoed in the basement corridor of the manor, and two writhing shadows were cast by the eerie green torches. Strangely, there was only one sound of footsteps in the corridor.

The wizard guarding a dungeon saw the newcomer, bowed silently in greeting, and then opened the cell door at the gesture of the floating black shadow in front of him.

The floating figure in black robes turned around, his voice hoarse and somber. "I don't even know how to describe him... His loyalty to you is beyond question, and his fanaticism is also astonishing, but..."

The man in black laughed mockingly, "Mr. Riddle, his fanaticism is being used on that kid who's impersonating you."

The person behind raised his head, revealing a round face and a pair of rat-like eyes. He was holding a swaddled baby, inside which was a strange creature that resembled an infant.

It had no hair, and its body seemed to be covered in scales. Its skin was dark red, like tender, wounded flesh. Its arms and legs were thin and soft, and its face—no living child had such a face—was a flat snake face with a pair of Winky red eyes.

A hoarse voice, tinged with coldness, rang out. "Let me tell you something: don't call me Riddle. I now have only one name— Voldemort."

"Oh, I'm so sorry—" there was no apology in the black-robed man's voice, "Mr. Voldemort, your most loyal servant, can you bring his mind back to normal?"

Voldemort snorted coldly. Surprisingly, he did not show any obvious anger at the black-robed man's rudeness, acting like a weak person who was dependent on others and had to swallow his anger.

"He will understand..." Voldemort said coldly.

He was carried into the dungeon.

At the end of the dungeon, a young man was bound to a wooden chair. He was emaciated, but his eyes shone with a frightening light as he kicked at the newcomer in an almost distorted way.

He licked his lips rapidly like a snake, letting out a hysterical laugh, "Ha—ha—, you fools, here we go again? Never dream that I will betray my master!"

The man in black robes snorted coldly.

"Your master has arrived, Barty Jr. Crouch Jr."