In addition to the five Horcruxes already obtained, Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak had also been transformed into a piece of exclusive equipment.
Armor: Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak [Hallow]
Required Level: 7+7 Noble Bloodline+7 Charm Enhancement+7 Attack Reflection Effect (3-piece set bonus)+7 Apparition Effect (5-piece set bonus)+7 Patronus Charm Effect (7-piece set bonus)+77% Extra Gold Loot from Monsters+77% Better Chance of Acquiring Magical Equipment
Additional Bonuses:– Gained Loyalty Charm– Gained True Love's Protection Charm
With this, Regulus Black was only missing Voldemort's pet Nagini and Harry Potter himself among the Horcruxes.As for the Deathly Hallows, only the Elder Wand in Dumbledore's possession remained.From Hogwarts, the only missing item was the Sword of Gryffindor.
To collect both Horcruxes and Hallows simultaneously—very few could ever manage such a feat. Even if obtained, they wouldn't necessarily be able to utilize them.
Regulus Black was extremely proud of his "squirrel-like" behavior, hoarding treasures.
Each piece of equipment provided +7 to Noble Bloodline and +7 to Charm Enhancement.With six pieces currently in hand, that was a total of +42 to both attributes, which was now visibly apparent on Regulus Black himself.
Originally, he was just another black-clad figure like Snape, but now he radiated a brilliance that rivaled even Gilderoy Lockhart.
This was especially noticeable during breakfast each morning, where all the girls were completely split between Regulus Black and Gilderoy Lockhart.
The elegant black figure versus the dazzling golden smile—these two extremes left the girls agonizing over whom to choose!
Hermione, Cho Chang, and most of the Ravenclaw girls preferred the more reserved Regulus Black. After all, Gilderoy Lockhart's flamboyant image and behavior didn't align with Ravenclaw's usual values and habits.
Slytherin's view was quite similar, so very few supported Gilderoy Lockhart.
Lockhart, however, was very popular among Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.
"Ron! Is that your family's owl?"
Seamus the explosion maniac looked up and immediately recognized the owl flying in—it was Errol, from the Weasley family.
The owl wobbled as it flew toward Ron and then crashed headfirst into a basket of crisps.
Ron awkwardly took the letter from Errol's beak. After completing its mission, the owl tumbled onto the table, scattering crisps everywhere before flapping away unsteadily.
"Look! Ron's got a Howler!"
Seamus didn't even know why he was so excited. Even though he was the one who caused the most magical accidents in class, seeing Ron about to get yelled at filled him with glee—this was definitely a case of "better you than me."
Ron hesitated, debating whether to open the letter on the spot, but Neville reminded him of the consequences if he didn't.
The moment Ron broke the seal, a massive roar echoed through the hall.
"RON WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU TAKE THAT CAR WITHOUT PERMISSION! YOUR BEHAVIOR IS SHAMEFUL! YOUR FATHER IS NOW UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE MINISTRY—AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT…! IF YOU MAKE ONE MORE MISTAKE, WE'LL PULL YOU OUT OF SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY!"
The red parchment transformed into a huge mouth, shouting every single word at full volume.Ron could even feel his mother's spit spraying from the letter onto his face.
"Oh! Dearest Ginny, congratulations on getting into Hufflepuff! Your father and I are so proud of you!"
The Howler then shifted its tone, aiming sweet words toward Ginny's seat in the Hufflepuff section.
Ginny, newly sorted into Hufflepuff, ended up in the spotlight thanks to this.
Finally, the Howler turned back toward Ron, blew a loud raspberry, and then tore itself into shreds.
A public apology—delivered by Howler.
Regulus Black lounged comfortably at the staff table, leisurely admiring Ron's expression. It seemed that this troublemaker was only truly afraid of his mother.
"It appears that's the last bit of wisdom left in the Weasley family," Snape remarked disdainfully as he continued slicing the steak on his plate. In his opinion, a Slytherin would have handled this situation far better.
If a Slytherin were ever forced to apologize, they would do so subtly, preserving their dignity while still satisfying the other party.
Apologizing by publicly scolding their own child, like the Weasleys had done to appease Dumbledore, was far too crude in his eyes.
"I," Gilderoy Lockhart said, pointing at his own photograph while winking and smiling, "Gilderoy Lockhart, recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award... though I don't like to brag about that. I didn't drive out the Wailing Banshee of Wanlong just with my smile!"
As he entered the room, he flashed a dazzling grin at the girls. His long wizard's robes swayed slightly, almost like a creature performing a courtship dance.
Lockhart was clearly very pleased with the situation."I see you've all bought my entire collected works — excellent! I think we'll start today with a little quiz. Don't be afraid… it's just to see how much you've read and understood…"
After distributing the papers, he returned to the podium and said,"You have thirty minutes… Begin!"
In truth, the quiz didn't have many questions, and compared to subjects like Charms or Potions, the questions were extremely simple.
First Question: What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?Second Question: What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?Third Question: What do you believe is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement so far?...
Final Question: When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday? And what would be his ideal birthday gift?
However, even if one had read his entire series of adventure autobiographies, remembering these so-called important details — most of which were mentioned only once — was a nearly impossible task.But for a true fan, this was no problem at all.
The adventures themselves were secondary; the main focus was what Gilderoy Lockhart said, did, and liked during them. Only a real fan could dig through the books and find those answers.
Half an hour later, Lockhart began collecting the quizzes.
"The answer to the first question is lilac. Wow... so many of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac! My Year with the Yeti must have been very entertaining, wasn't it?"Lockhart winked at the students.
Of course! Half the class was cheating — the students at the back even had their books wide open on the desks, frantically searching for answers!
"It seems you all read Weekend with a Werewolf very carefully too... In Chapter Twelve, I mentioned that my ideal birthday gift would be for magical and non-magical folk to live in harmony. I'm so proud of you."Lockhart pretended to wipe away a tear.
It had to be said — for a pure-blood wizard, Gilderoy Lockhart's dream was incredibly... anti-wizard society!
"You're all absolutely wonderful!" Lockhart even wiped a real tear from the corner of his eye. "You're the best students, and the best fans."
The Slytherin and Gryffindor students present were all internally rolling their eyes.
Come on! You only checked the first and last answers — what about the questions in the middle? We struggled to find those answers, and you're not even going to review them? Don't tell me you can't even remember what you wrote in your own books!
After speaking about just the first and last answers, Lockhart rolled up all the quizzes and raised them high, announcing,"Look at all these perfect scores! I'm awarding fifty points to Gryffindor!"
At first, when students saw him checking the quizzes, they broke out in cold sweat. But now, it was worse — their scalps were itching, and many ducked their heads to scratch furiously. They were definitely going to have to wash thoroughly back at the dormitory tonight.
It had to be said, this was the easiest fifty points Gryffindor had ever earned.Meanwhile, the Slytherin students — who had also copied and achieved full marks — received no praise, nor even a glance from Gilderoy Lockhart.
Was this bonus awarded because of Harry Potter? Or was Gilderoy Lockhart just trying to curry favor with Dumbledore?
After a round of exchanged glances, the Slytherin students all directed their disdainful gazes toward Harry Potter, leaving him utterly confused, having no idea what he had done this time to offend Slytherin again.
"Now... be on your guard!" Lockhart said in a mysteriously serious tone."My job is to teach you how to defend yourselves against the most evil things known to the wizarding world! Here in this classroom, you'll face the most terrifying of creatures — but remember, as long as I'm here, you will come to no harm. I only ask you to stay calm. Please, no screaming — it only provokes them!"
Lockhart theatrically lifted the cloth covering a nearby cage — just like a magician revealing a trick.
"Freshly caught Cornish Pixies!"
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