Lockhart's Ruthlessness

Hogwarts Castle, third floor.

At the entrance to what was originally the girls' restroom, the stone wall seemed to move, and Sean pushed the door open and stepped out.

He glanced inside casually; it used to be the girls' washroom where Moaning Myrtle had been, but Dumbledore had sealed it off after the Basilisk incident in their second year, and it hadn't been opened to the public since.

Below, in the Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, lies a quarter of the power over Hogwarts Castle, but Sean dares not go down, for Gormlaith Gaunt has said that Salazar Slytherin is returning.

Sean suspected that this was also related to the Returners, and he wasn't prepared to go down and cause trouble before he was sure.

Shortly after he stood still, Stephanie emerged from the stone wall.

The petite, Silver-haired Girl had a calm gaze and was even holding a book in her arms.

Without any unnecessary words or preamble, Stephanie began, "After informing the professors, I started monitoring Professor Lockhart here. He definitely has a problem."

"Hmm? He sensed something?" Sean asked.

"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "He was very different from usual. He seemed very anxious and uneasy, and he was already packing his bags when I arrived."

"Sure enough, he also left a memory switch that can notify himself..." Sean said thoughtfully, "But he's not sure if he'll be discovered, and Hogwarts has very strict entry and exit rules now; he doesn't have the ability to escape..."

To everyone's surprise, Stephanie shook her head.

"Not necessarily. I initially thought the same as you, but gradually I felt something was off."

Sean, "Oh?" and then asked, "How so?"

"Professor Lockhart was packing his things too slowly. You could say he was hesitant and hadn't decided whether to run away or not, but in all that time, he only packed a few magnificent robes and casually stuffed a few letters from his admirers into his pocket. Most importantly, he kept looking at the door and the window. Although his movements were small, he was definitely looking."

"Look?" Sean, somewhat puzzled.

Stephanie nodded. "He's watching to see if there are any surveillance cameras—as soon as someone walks by in the corridor, Professor Lockhart immediately speeds up his packing and looks anxious."

Sean raised an eyebrow, and a slight smile slowly curved his lips.

"He's faking it; he's trying to stall for time..."

"Yes, Professor Lockhart should have realized that his identity has been exposed, but he is pretending—his pretense cannot work, anyone would know that, so there is only one possibility: he is stalling for time, stalling for time for someone else to accomplish something, such as sending away that Prophecy memory that you and the professors have been unable to find."

Sean smiled and said, "I never expected Mr. Lockhart to have such Satori. I really didn't expect that..."

Stephanie's expression remained calm. "But you foresaw it all."

"It's just a habit to be fully prepared..." Sean shrugged. "Judging by the timeline, Professor McGonagall and the others should have resolved it by now, right?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than footsteps came from the stairs next to him.

Professor McGonagall led several people up with serious expressions, each holding a wand.

They saw Sean and Stephanie. Professor McGonagall jogged over and asked, "Sean, you've arrived?"

"We're here. I went to find some evidence—Professor, your office has been raided again?" Sean said with a smile.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "When you had Miss Ollivander inform me, I took my men over, and sure enough, another student under control was searching for something in my office."

"It seems that what they lost is indeed very important." Sean smirked. "However, it's time to ask our Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor to step down."

Professor McGonagall's face grew even more somber at the mention of this.

She already disliked Lockhart, a good-for-nothing who only talked big but couldn't teach his students anything. Now, he had become a mole, posing a safety threat to all the students.

"Let's go."

Professor McGonagall took the lead and, without any greeting, used a spell to open the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.

The wooden door slammed against the wall with a loud thud, revealing the scene inside the room to everyone.

Countless framed photos of Lockhart hung on the wall, illuminated exceptionally brightly by numerous candles. However, the man who smiled elegantly and confidently in the photos appeared extremely flustered in reality.

Lockhart stood in the middle of the office, several large suitcases open, and he was anxiously stuffing various things into them.

"Oh, oh." Lockhart saw Professor McGonagall and the others burst in. He slowed down his movements and deliberately tucked a robe behind his back.

"What brings you here? As you can see, I have to tidy up my room every now and then, since I get so many gifts from admirers—" Lockhart maintained his stiff smile, speaking at an absurdly fast pace, "Professor McGonagall? You've brought so many people with you, are you trying to invite me to give a large lecture on Defense Against the Dark Arts? Oh—of course I'd love to, but please give me a little time, I need to tidy up a bit..."

"Stupefy!" A beam of red light shot out, striking Lockhart directly in the face as he tried to stall for time.

Professor McGonagall kept a straight face, not wanting to listen to Lockhart's nonsense at all.

Lockhart flew backward and crashed heavily against the wall, shattering the picture frames as they fell. Amidst the chaos, Lockhart displayed their smiles, which had won the Most Charming Award from The Witch Weekly.

It must hurt a lot... Sean and Stephanie exchanged a glance.

He stepped forward and cast several more spells on Lockhart, who had already fallen unconscious.

Now that he's connected with the Returners, Sean won't let his guard down even if it's Lockhart.

Professor McGonagall showed no displeasure at Sean's various Binding Charm and Hypnosis Charm; in fact, she relaxed her brow slightly.

"Careful handling, Mr. Wallop, ten points for Ravenclaw."

Lockhart was tied up, and the others quickly began searching his office.

However, even after turning the entire ceiling upside down, they still couldn't find anything useful.

"That memory has been sent away," Sean said, glancing at Lockhart before turning to Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall's expression was not good. She sighed and said, "Let's wait for news from Filius. Hopefully, he's the last one who's been hiding."

Sean with his chin toward Lockhart: "Let's pry his mouth open first."

Professor McGonagall nodded, and soon Snape arrived at the scene.

After the old bat entered, he first glanced at Sean, Sean and instinctively moved a few steps away from Stephanie before the old bat looked away.

"That old bat is so annoying..." Sean thought to himself, keeping his expression hidden.

Snape performed a few actions, and Lockhart, who had been drowsy, opened his eyes.

"Ugh, ugh..." He groaned in pain, shook his head violently before regaining some consciousness, and then immediately turned pale.

"Merlin's beard... What are you going to do to me? Good heavens, how can you lay a hand on your own colleague? I know my talent is always so dazzling that it easily overshadows yours—but you can't blame me for that!"

Lockhart shouted in panic, but his words only made Snape's eyes grow even darker.

"Don't even think about stalling for time, Mr. Lockhart," Sean said calmly.

Lockhart's expression stiffened, and he forced a smile, "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Wallop —and you have to call me Professor, don't you? Professor Dumbledore hasn't fired me yet..."

"Do you feel like you haven't received many points from me? That's a small matter; you're already excellent. Of course, I don't mind sharing my success stories with you at all..."

Lockhart was talking nonsense, trying to stall for time.

Sean shook his head. "Lockhart, I'm quite curious about what price they offered, or how they threatened you to make someone as timid as you do these things regardless of your own safety."

Lockhart paused, a clear look of pain appearing in his eyes, then forced a smile and said, "I... I don't know what you're talking about... Oh, right! I have a third-level badge of the Order of Merlin! You can't do this to me!"

He screamed like a madman, "Let me see Dumbledore! Let me see the Minister for Magic! You can't do this to me!"

Sean frowned. The pain in the other person's eyes didn't seem fake... Could it be that he's so ruthless to himself?

No one else had time to listen to his nonsense. Snape grabbed Lockhart's chin and forced the Veritaserum down his throat.

Lockhart's chest trembled, and his eyes became listless and lost.

Sean asked directly, "Who do you work for?"

Lockhart shuddered, and that look of pain returned.

"I... I don't know... I don't know..."

Sean's face showed no pity. "Are you in cahoots with Max Dawson?"

The pain of not knowing remains.

Sure enough, she's really ruthless to herself...

Sean looked at the professors. "He's gone too far with himself. If I'm not mistaken, Lockhart has altered most of his memories of these events. Because of the inconsistencies, he's in so much pain."

Professor McGonagall frowned and asked, "What is your current mission?"

Lockhart finally calmed down. He took a deep breath, his voice trembling, and replied in a dry, emotionless tone, "When I am discovered, delay you so that the Sickle a chance to be sent out. Also, do everything in your power to retrieve what you have captured, and if necessary, expose yourself to send the items back."

That Black Rhombus Crystal is actually that important?

A slight look of surprise appeared in Sean's eyes.

Professor McGonagall then asked, "Who is your contact person? How are you going to send it out?"

"I don't have any contacts. I just need someone to send everything out." A little drool dripped from Lockhart's mouth. "I've used the Imperius Curse to control Madam Puddifoot; she'll be in charge of sending the things out."

"How should we deliver it?" Professor McGonagall pressed.

Lockhart looked pained again. "I... I don't know."

Sean pulled out a piece of paper and waved it in front of him. "You've altered all your previous memories? You only left some things to remind yourself?"

Lockhart nodded blankly. "Yes, that's how I can guarantee my... my loyalty."

"Tch, loyalty..." Sean chuckled sarcastically. "But your loyalty is probably not going to be delivered. Madam Puddifoot should be under control by now."

Lockhart's eyes showed obvious shock, and even Professor McGonagall looked at Sean with a sigh.

"Sean, how did you know?"

Sean shrugged. "Nick told me that he encountered Professor Trelawney while he was following Max Dawson. At the time, I was mainly focused on Dawson. But when I discovered Lockhart was suspicious, I remembered what Nick had said: 'It's a good thing Mr. Dawson didn't go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Lockhart came out from there. If he had, he would have had to put up with that guy's boasting...' Thinking about it, I realized that Madam Puddifoot was probably also being controlled. That's why I had Stephanie inform you to prioritize dealing with Madam Puddifoot. I even suspect that Madam Rosmerta is just a decoy, and the one who sent out the Prophecy memories was probably Madam Puddifoot."

After saying that, Sean glanced at Lockhart, whose eyes had completely lost their sparkle.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside, and Professor Flitwick ran over.

The Charms Class professor's voice was sharp and agitated. "It's Madam Puddifoot! She's been controlled too! Luckily, you notified us in time. When I arrived with my men, she was just about to leave Hogsmeade!"

"How is it?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"We didn't let her get away!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed, then looked somewhat annoyed. "But she was under the influence of the Imperius Curse, so we couldn't use too much force. Although we finally caught her, Madam Puddifoot had clearly received instructions to destroy the things!"

As he spoke, Professor Flitwick took out a broken bottle, inside which were only a few strands of silver.

All possible scenarios have been considered thoroughly...

Sean frowned and then relaxed, saying, "At least we didn't let them get that Prophecy memory. Although we don't know what Prophecy they were supposed to get, an incomplete Prophecy might not be useful to them."

"It's a silver lining," Professor McGonagall sighed, then looked at Sean. "Lockhart, do you have any more questions?"

Sean shook his head. "Professors, you can ask."

He was also quite knowledgeable about Memory Charm and knew that he probably wouldn't get any information out of Lockhart. Lockhart might not be good at other things, but he was definitely a master at manipulating memories. He just didn't know what this good-for-nothing was up to.

Fortunately, nothing too serious happened. It's just that the feeling of Hogwarts being infiltrated is really unpleasant...