"Butt?"
William called out again. The house-elf, who was usually on standby almost twenty-four hours a day, inexplicably refused to appear today.
"It's almost lunchtime, Professor William, the kitchen is busy."
Seeing William's awkwardness, Lockhart proactively diffused the situation.
"Right, I forgot about the time," William chuckled, letting the matter go—although the house-elf named Butt had always served him, he was ultimately school property, and William wasn't a tyrant to demand tea when the house-elf was busy.
"Oh, Professor Lockhart, that diadem isn't with me either. It seems to have some incredible magic attached to it, Dumbledore is currently researching it."
To prevent the previous awkward attack from being brought up again, William proactively changed the topic, directly turning to the diadem, which Professor Lockhart should care about most—William could tell that thankfully Dumbledore was handling this thing; otherwise, even if it had no problems, he wouldn't be able to handle it if it were in his hands.
'It's both practical and historical. I estimate that if it hadn't fallen into the school's hands, the wizarding world would have fought tooth and nail for it.'
"In Dumbledore's hands?"
William's news caused Lockhart to show obvious disappointment—this was not unexpected by William.
Shamelessly wheedling something out of a colleague to look at was a completely different level of difficulty than taking it from the Headmaster, especially when the Headmaster was the famous Dumbledore.
What happened next was not unexpected by William. Lockhart chatted for a few sentences and then made an excuse to leave. Clearly, the temptation of the diadem had completely overshadowed the effect of William's stunning spell on him.
"Oh, right," William suddenly called out to Lockhart, who was about to leave, "Professor Lockhart, are you wearing perfume?"
"Of course, it's my own blend. I also researched a whole set of hair care products, Professor William. Are you interested in this too? Heavens, if I didn't have urgent business, I would definitely have a good talk with you!"
Lockhart, who had reached the door, gave a big smile, looking like he wanted to continue the conversation, but due to the excuse he had just made, the conversation couldn't proceed.
"Alright then, Professor Lockhart, next time for sure!"
William enthusiastically bid farewell.
—
'Who cares about that hair care product!'
William sat back in his chair, pondering the recent attack. 'No problem, it was just that damned perfume.'
He sniffed hard again at the lingering scent of perfume in the air, trying to identify its components—but it was difficult.
'It's completely different from the way Ginny controlled Mr. Filch, and using perfume also fits Professor Lockhart's habits,' William thought about Professor Lockhart's past behavior and found nothing surprising about Professor Lockhart using perfume.
'After Professor Sinistra developed the new hair growth potion, Professor Lockhart seemed to have talked to her about developing hair care products. Researching perfume is also very normal; it's just adding some agreeable potion ingredients, which also seems quite normal.'
William himself remembered several recipes for harmonious perfumes—when he was a Potions Master, he had received such miscellaneous tasks before.
'Those roosters made me so suspicious,' William shook his head, preparing to go eat.
—
"It's not with him, it's with Dumbledore?"
Lockhart walked along, pondering, and then couldn't help but be startled by his own bold plan.
'How could I have such a crazy plan?'
He began to blame himself, but immediately regretted it—'I've done this many times before, haven't I?'
'I must have been scared by the scene just now, which is why I'm feeling this apprehension.'
He recalled the scene from earlier, trying to encourage himself.
'A perfect plan, a plan with no loopholes. I've succeeded so many times, and this time will be no exception!'
'I need to stay away from that William. That guy is a lunatic; I almost thought I was exposed!'
Although he had already walked out of William's office, Lockhart still couldn't help but wipe away non-existent cold sweat—when he had just woken up from the stunning spell, he thought his career was over.
'That lunatic, attacking a colleague without any reason!'
'Dumbledore shouldn't know, right?'
Lockhart pondered the flaws he might have revealed, striving for absolute foolproofness.
'Even without that diadem, you are the best adventurer; you have already acquired Harry Potter!'
'I still really want that diadem, Ravenclaw's diadem, I've been thinking about it since my student days—'
Lockhart sighed, thinking about his perfect plan.
To use sweet talk to gain Professor William's trust, then, once he brought out the diadem, to cast a Memory Charm to wipe his memory clean, then forge the memories of the house-elf named Butt and William, and finally create the illusion that a greedy house-elf attacked the professor to steal Ravenclaw's diadem and fled with the treasure.
And he, Lockhart, would naturally be the first professor to discover Professor William unconscious, and would save Professor William's life after he was gravely injured by the house-elf's attack.
This way, he, Lockhart, would gain the respect of all the teachers and students, Professor William's gratitude, and a genuine secret treasure.
'Why would Professor Flitwick lie?'
'That diadem should have been mine all along—just like the previous honors, didn't my perfect Memory Charm take everything?'
'My specially made trust-gaining perfume, carefully prepared magic, well-planned scheme, how could it all be ruined by that lunatic!'
—
"You have gained the recognition (dislike) of a magical creature, and received a treasure chest x1."
William, who was tidying up the last manuscript in his office, casually opened the treasure chest, then covered his forehead.
'Professor Lockhart is so petty. He says he doesn't care, but I only stunned you once, do you have to be like this?'
However, William said this without much confidence—if it were him, being ambushed and knocked out by a colleague without any decent reason, he would certainly feel more than just dislike.
'But I definitely won't be ambushed by ordinary people, bah bah—why am I jinxing myself!'
[Valentine's Day Card for Himself, Lockhart (R): Ah, these school children are so ignorant. Lockhart will definitely be a great person after graduation, so Lockhart decided to send himself eight hundred Valentine's Day cards!
Skill: Spread Rumors; Tear this card to spread a rumor about yourself, then propagate it. The success of the rumor depends on its exaggeration, and the failure rate is related to the exaggeration—to gain others' attention, it all depends on how hard you try.]
[Sorting Hat's Dilemma, Lockhart (SR): Ravenclaw or Slytherin, that is the question.
Skill: Choice; Tear this card. For the next month, your learning progress in a specified field will slightly accelerate, while learning progress in other areas will weaken.]
[Meal Ticket]
Undoubtedly, a meal ticket.
However, William still had a question.
'There were no boxes before, could it be that the level of dislike wasn't high enough here, unlike Azkaban where hitting people causes enough dislike?'
He looked at his wand and fell into thought…
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