Harry Potter had always known that the students at Hogwarts were clashing fiercely this year. The Petrificus Totalus spell was being cast as if it required no magic at all, with students using their full magical power during duels. As a result, the hospital wing was now overflowing, and Madam Pomfrey had already expanded it multiple times using the Undetectable Extension Charm.
The reason behind using maximum magical power and specifically Petrificus Totalus as an offensive spell had puzzled Harry at first. He'd asked Hermione, and the answer she gave was both unexpected and completely reasonable—it was because Harry had spoken Parseltongue. Speaking Parseltongue meant the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and the opening of the Chamber meant the monster inside had appeared.
Although it was unclear why everyone chose to use Petrificus Totalus, it seemed to be related to the monster in the Chamber, since that was rumored to be the creature's ability. As for using their strongest magic, it was because weaker spells were too easily countered by the professors. If the spells were dispelled too quickly, the caster could be identified—and no one wanted to be punished for such things.
Thus, using their strongest magic in combination with Petrificus Totalus had become a shared understanding among the students. After all, they could just blame the monster in the Chamber. Why not?
But now Ron had actually been taken into the Chamber—what was going on? Wasn't it supposed to be fake? Wasn't the monster in the Chamber just a rumor? In the blink of an eye, Ron had vanished, and Harry felt like he couldn't tell reality from fiction anymore.
"Sorry! I overslept. I didn't miss anything important, did I?"
Gilderoy Lockhart arrived, beaming and full of energy. In contrast to the others' anxiety, he looked completely at ease.
"A student has been taken by the monster in the Chamber, Lockhart! Your moment to shine has finally come. Didn't you say just last night that you've always known where the entrance to the Chamber is?"
Snape stepped forward and directly pushed Lockhart into the spotlight, pinning the responsibility on him.
"Well then! Lockhart, we'll leave it to you to deal with the monster. After all, we've never actually seen you show off your skills,"
Professor McGonagall chimed in, adding fuel to the fire, clearly determined to hold Lockhart accountable.
"No problem. I'll just return to my office to prepare a few things."
Lockhart gave a confident smile, then turned and left without hesitation.
"Lockhart might truly be useless, but since he's preparing to enter the Chamber, the least I can do is tell him everything I know. Professor! There's something I want to tell you."
Muttering to himself, Harry jogged all the way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. Just as he opened the door, intending to talk to Lockhart, he saw him packing up like he was moving out.
"You're leaving?"
Harry was stunned—he couldn't believe a professor like Gilderoy Lockhart would actually behave this way.
"Uh, yes! I have an urgent matter to attend to. I absolutely must go."
Lockhart replied with great seriousness, as if now was the perfect time to run.
"What about Ron Weasley? He's my best friend!"
Just the thought that Ron had taken a wrong turn and immediately been taken by the monster in the Chamber filled Harry with guilt—as if it were somehow his fault.
"Uh... about that unfortunate matter, no one is more upset than I am."
Lockhart continued packing his suitcase, and his words of sorrow were clearly just a formality.
"You're our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor! You can't just leave like this!"
Harry tried to use Lockhart's position to hold him accountable. But with Lockhart's Oscar-worthy acting, there was no way he'd be persuaded. He had already agreed with Regulus Black to pretend to be leaving—so that Harry would push him into entering the Chamber.
"I must say, when I accepted this job, it did not include going on adventures into secret Chambers."
Well, that was the honest truth. Even Dumbledore probably hadn't anticipated a Chamber of Secrets incident.
"You're planning to run away? But your books describe you as a great hero!"
First Harry tried using his role as a professor, and now he was appealing to Lockhart as a famous author and adventurer. But that still wasn't enough to trap Gilderoy Lockhart. Young man, you'll have to resort to force.
"That was all... a misunderstanding!"
Gilderoy Lockhart flatly denied everything—it was all just a misunderstanding."Go on, point your wand at me, Harry!"
"But you wrote those books! Come on!"
Lockhart was at a loss for words in the face of Harry Potter's naivety. It seemed he had no choice but to explain it in more detail.
"Can't you use a bit of common sense? If people didn't believe the experiences I described in my books, how would they have sold so well?"
Lockhart revealed a little marketing secret—though within the industry, it was actually common knowledge.
"You fraud! You just took credit for other wizards' heroic deeds. You must know at least a few spells!"
Oh… finally getting angry, are we? Excellent. That means it's time to push harder. It would help Harry get more serious.
"That's right! Since you asked, my Memory Charm is actually quite powerful. Otherwise, wouldn't those wizards have come to argue with me? That would've destroyed the credibility of my books."
Hahaha. As a high-ranking officer in the Ministry's Intelligence Department, Lockhart didn't even need to elaborate on what kind of people those memory-wiped wizards were. Call it "recycling," if you like—the Intelligence Department had always been underfunded, after all.
"In fact, I'm going to make you lose your memory too."
Seeing Harry's face burning with rage, Lockhart knew the time had come for the final blow. He leisurely started searching for his wand. Huh? Where was it? Ah—here it is. Found it at last.
"Don't even think about it."
As Lockhart turned around, he saw Harry had already drawn his wand and was pointing it straight at him. But the boy clearly didn't understand: when two wizards point wands at each other, it doesn't mean anything unless one actually casts a spell first. That's the only rule that matters in a magical standoff.
Yet Harry obviously had no idea about that. The kid even waved his wand to signal Lockhart to put his down—utterly laughable. Lockhart genuinely felt like blasting the brat right then and there. But on second thought, that would deviate from the "script." And if he did that, Regulus Black might actually kill him. So Lockhart wisely chose to back down.
So Harry Potter, wand still pointed at Gilderoy Lockhart, marched him through the empty, silent halls of Hogwarts.
"Severus! Just as expected. What do you think of the final act?"
Dumbledore stood quietly at a corner, watching as Harry Potter led Lockhart into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He looked slightly surprised—after all, everything had gone exactly as Regulus Black predicted, right down to the script.
"I've heard my assistant here plans to direct a film in the Muggle world. He must be decent at writing scripts. We're all just actors following his directions, frozen-faced as we deliver our lines."
What Snape really meant was: this whole charade about a monster in the Chamber was beyond awkward—his secondhand embarrassment was reaching critical levels.
Professor McGonagall stood nearby, wearing an equally uncomfortable expression. If she'd had to face Harry Potter directly, she might not have been able to get the lines out at all. Even when Harry suddenly appeared, all she had to do was say the final cue and then turn away. That alone was already too awkward. This was nothing like teaching class.
Still, Harry Potter had thrown himself into the act—he'd even gone as far as kidnapping a professor.
"Well, let's all go wait in the hospital wing for the outcome. Regulus said that no matter what, Harry Potter would end up there in the end. Just a few more hours and the Mandrakes will be ready to use. Severus, I'll have to ask you for help with the potion-making. There are too many children in the hospital wing. It's about time this Chamber of Secrets drama came to a close."
Dumbledore, calm and composed as ever, turned and left with the rest of the professors.
Regulus Black had agreed to Dumbledore's request and had orchestrated everything—he'd even subdued Gilderoy Lockhart by force to make him cooperate. In truth, it hadn't been difficult at all. All Lockhart had to do was use his gift for acting.
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