69novels Chapter 105 Lockhart: Ignorance is bliss
Chapter 105 Lockhart: Ignorance is bliss
Chapter 106 Lockhart: Ignorance is bliss
Harry had arrested Lockhart for trespassing in the Chamber of Secrets, intending to make him pay for his deception. Lockhart was extremely unwilling, so how could he dare to openly defy Harry?
He stammered and couldn't utter a complete sentence before being grabbed by the collar and dragged out of the Slytherin common room.
As he stepped out of the room, Dumbledore suddenly stepped forward and said, "Harry, I'm sorry, I can't help you with this."
Harry immediately stopped, released Lockhart, and returned the greeting with his hands clasped, saying, "Professor, what are you saying? I knew long ago that you were not the kind of coward who only cared about protecting the children of the school."
"But you are also my student." Dumbledore shook his head. "Be careful, Harry. He has absorbed the magic of dozens of people and is much stronger than last year."
"I'll ask a friend to help."
Harry thanked them again, and then left with Lucius and Lockhart.
The three of them had gone far away, while Scrimgeour stood there alone, his face filled with surprise and uncertainty, his eyes darting back and forth between Dumbledore and Snape's faces.
"You're really so comfortable entrusting this to an underage wizard?"
"I advise you not to underestimate Potter, Rufus." Snape glanced at him sideways. "He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and even you might not be able to escape unscathed."
Scrimgeour shook his head. "I can see that Mr. Potter is a wizard far more mature than his peers, but he is still just a child."
"Since you know Potter is mature, you should also know that his words are highly credible. I advise you not to go into the secret room on your own, lest you end up like these fools on the ground."
Upon hearing this, Fudge nodded vigorously, fearing that all of the Ministry of Magic's core Aurors would perish in the Chamber of Secrets.
"That's right, Scrimgeour. Some special dark magic items require specific people to handle them, you know that."
Scrimgeour ignored his words, took an empty envelope from his pocket, and said, "All available Aurors, come to Hogwarts immediately."
Having said that, he threw the message into the furnace wall.
A flash of light, and the envelope vanished without a trace.
The flower blooms at two ends, each telling its own story.
As Harry and his two companions arrived at the women's restroom, the door under the counter was already wide open, and a dark, eerie atmosphere emanated from it.
Harry and Lucius immediately began packing; one took off his robes and ingested an aging potion and a clairvoyant potion, while the other fastened his ancestral life-saving amulet around his neck.
Seeing the two men standing ready, Lockhart sensed something was wrong and his legs trembled as he almost ran away.
"Harry, I don't think I can be of much help in catching the Basilisk; in fact, I might just be a hindrance..."
Harry shook his head and said, "Professor, you don't know this, but we're going down into the cave today to kill that basilisk."
"Oh—didn't they find the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets?" Lockhart breathed a sigh of relief, quickly wiping his sweat. "Harry, you really scared me..."
"So what are we going to do in the secret room?"
"It is precisely to kill that scoundrel Voldemort!"
"Wait! Harry, I'm really not suited to go—"
No sooner said than done, Harry raised his right leg, like a vajra pestle, and with one thud, kicked the fellow into the hole.
After a moment, they heard a loud "howl" from below, and Harry and Lucius jumped down as well.
Once you reach the bottom of the cave, you must proceed to the secret chamber.
However, Lockhart was terrified by the name of Voldemort and his leg tendons were broken by the sight of the skeletons scattered on the ground. He struggled on the ground for a while but could not get up.
Harry snorted coldly, "If Professor continues to act like this, don't blame me for carrying you out, so you can be my human shield."
Upon hearing this, Lockhart felt as if he had been chased by a ghost, his soul nearly leaving his body. Though he struggled to move, his legs felt as if they were filled with molten copper; he thrashed about for a long time but could not budge an inch, while cold sweat poured down his forehead like a torrent.
Seeing Harry reach out with his fingers spread wide, his disheveled hair making him look like a vengeful ghost, he quickly waved his hand and called out, "Wait a minute!"
"I'll handle it myself."
He shakily took the wand, pressed it to his forehead, waited a moment, then moved it to his chin.
Lucius was anxious and determined to get to the secret chamber to save his son; how could he possibly waste his time here?
He couldn't contain himself and said, "What exactly do you want? If you want to commit suicide, you can always ask me to help you."
"No, no, no, I... I just wanted to cast a spell that could be broken by a counter-spell."
Lockhart licked his lips, closed his eyes, and murmured, "Forget everything."
A flash of light appeared at the tip of the staff, and when he opened his eyes again, the panic he had felt earlier was gone.
"Good evening, Harry, and Mr. Malfoy." Lockhart stood up, dusted off his robes, and said eagerly, "Let's hurry up and get going, or we'll waste time."
Lucius stared in disbelief, taking a long time to recover. "You...do you know what we're going to do?"
Lockhart blinked. "Weren't we supposed to explore the basement?"
Harry clicked his tongue in amazement. Salazar was right after all. Although this guy only knew the Oblivion Charm, his methods were truly extraordinary.
He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said, "Professor, please."
Lockhart led the way, Harry provided support in the middle, and Lucius brought up the rear. The three men walked slowly to the serpentine stone gate, only to find that the gate had already been breached, leaving a gap a foot wide.
Lockhart stepped forward and pulled open the door, while Harry and Lucius dodged to either side.
As soon as the stone door opened, Lucius craned his neck to peek inside, only to see Draco sprawled out like a pile of mud, his face deathly pale, like a paper doll pulled out of a paper house, utterly lifeless.
Seeing his beloved son in such a state, Lucius was so enraged that his eyes bled and his teeth nearly shattered. His heart felt as if it were being boiled in oil and ripped out by a steel knife; he no longer cared about the Black King or the White King.
With a roar, like a mad tiger released from its cage, it pounced straight at the enemy.
"Draco!"
"Wake up!"
Lucius shook him for a while and chanted several awakening spells before Draco slowly opened his eyes.
"Dad... Dad?"
When Lucius saw him wake up, his nose suddenly stung and his eyes immediately turned red.
But then he suddenly tilted his head back, forcing back the two hot tears in his eyes, his teeth clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.
"Can't you understand me?! Why did you even open it?!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I just wanted to talk to Tom at first."
Thinking of the Dark Lord, Lucius hurriedly asked, "Where is the Dark Lord now? Is he still with you?"
"He's gone. He said he was leaving Hogwarts to find a more powerful body."
"Is he really... really gone?"
Draco suddenly let out a wicked laugh. "Of course it's fake."
Before Lucius could utter another word, Draco had already grabbed his neck and clamped it shut like a steel clamp.
Two gurgling sounds were heard from Lucius's throat, and all his magical power was sucked away like a flood. In an instant, he became limp as mud and collapsed to the ground, clearly exhaling more than he was inhaling.
Lockhart peered around for a moment, his mind filled with surprise and doubt. When did the relationship between the father and son become so bad?
Is it possible that Mrs. Malfoy is pregnant and he wants to fight for the inheritance?
(End of this chapter)