Choosing the first option meant Lockhart, the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, would resign of his own accord. He would never serve a second year, and the curse would be fulfilled.
Choosing the second meant Lockhart would "die a hero." Dead men could not serve a second year either, and the curse would be fulfilled.
This really was...
Shaking her head, Hermione walked over to the shattered snake's head and flicked her wand.
The solid ice gradually melted. Hermione picked up several fallen fangs from the floor and collected some basilisk blood.
[Magical creatures] [Basilisk (collected)] [Hatched by a toad from a magical egg laid by a seven-year-old rooster when Sirius was overhead. Resembles a giant snake. Any creature that meets its gaze directly dies instantly; those that meet it indirectly are petrified.]
Next, Hermione picked up the destroyed copy of the Diary from the floor and handed it to Luna.
The crafting requirements for this thing were simple. It needed only two ingredients.
Paper and a fragment of Voldemort's soul.
Paper was everywhere, and as for the soul fragment, Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Room of Requirement happened to contain one.
Hermione did not want to go to all this trouble either, but she had no choice. With Dumbledore's ability to sense magic, a fake Horcrux remnant probably would not fool him, and then the story would not hold together.
"All right, let's leave."
Hermione spoke to Little Voldemort.
"As for cleaning up, we'll leave that to Luna. I'm sure she'll handle it."
She turned to Luna.
Luna nodded in understanding.
How could conspiracy theories be as much fun as taking part in a conspiracy herself?
Looking at Luna's excited expression, Hermione recalled how she was supposed to have been and felt rather strange.
*Had she