"Harry Potter- Ravenclaw"Chapter 1: Lockhart Attacked?
"Why's the door open?"
"Could it be—Lockhart's been attacked?!"
"Keep your voice down! And stop sounding so excited!"
"Ron! Hermione! Look! It really is Lockhart!"
"I knew it! I just knew it—he's actually been attacked!"
"…Ron?"
"Ahem… right… this is serious… not exactly something to be happy about…"
"Hermione! Ron! Look—did his eyelid just twitch?"
In a haze, Lockhart could hear the voices of three students…
He could make out their words, but it was as if the sounds slipped right through his mind—he couldn't grasp what they were saying.
As Lockhart's awareness gradually returned, so did the pain—sharp and unrelenting.
His head throbbed as if he'd been walloped with a club, and his body ached all over, every muscle screaming, as if he'd been trampled by a giant.
Confusion flooded Lockhart's mind.
Why am I like this?
Who attacked me?
Wait! He remembered—he'd been about to cast a Memory Charm on Snape, hoping to erase the man's memory… but Snape had countered first…
"Hermione, what do we do now? Should we take him to the hospital wing?"
He recognized Harry's voice and forced his eyes open with immense effort.
Bathed in the last rays of sunset, he managed to make out the three students standing before him.
Of the trio, Harry was the most familiar.
As for the other two…
The brown-haired girl—she must be Hermione. If he remembered correctly, she was a fan of his; she'd even come to him for an autograph on Travels with Ghouls.
Hermione saw Lockhart open his eyes and waved her hand in front of his face. "Professor Lockhart? Professor Lockhart?"
He tried to push himself up, but pain lanced through his arms as if needles were driven straight through his bones. Even the smallest movement made him gasp.
Hermione leaned in, concerned. "Professor Lockhart, are you all right?"
"Ron, give me a hand!" Harry stepped forward and grasped one of Lockhart's arms.
Ron nodded and helped Harry haul Lockhart upright.
…
"Hiss… hiss…" Lockhart's face twisted in agony, veins standing out on his forehead, which was already slick with cold sweat.
They managed to settle him into a chair. He forced a weak, lopsided smile. "I'm fine… just got attacked by a monster, that's all—a rather large one, in fact!"
"My wand—where's my wand?" He patted his pockets, but found nothing. "I managed to wound the creature in the Chamber… there should be blood on it…"
"So you stabbed… the monster with your wand?" Ron looked skeptical. "Wouldn't it snap? How'd that leave blood?"
"Pfft—" Harry couldn't help but snort with laughter.
He glanced around, spotted the wand on the floor, and picked it up. "Professor Lockhart—this must be your wand."
"Oh, thank you!" Lockhart took it and gave it a tentative wave, then looked at the three of them. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
Hermione jumped in at once. "We were just in the library studying. We only just got back."
"The library! Now that's a wonderful place!" Lockhart began scrutinizing their faces. "So much to learn there! It's not boring, is it?"
Harry and Ron exchanged looks. Harry nodded, albeit a bit stiffly. "Yeah… it's good… really good…"
"We learned loads!" Hermione nodded so quickly she looked like a pecking chick. "That's how you did it too, right? Learned all those spells for your adventures?"
Lockhart regarded Harry and Ron thoughtfully. "So you two find the library a bit dull…"
He turned to Hermione. "But you think it's fascinating… Dull for some, interesting for others. I see…"
…
Wyzett's hunch had been spot on—using emotion as a trigger for the Memory Charm was Lockhart's signature technique.
He'd always been confident that, at least when it came to Memory Charms, not even Dumbledore could match him.
Cast this way, the Memory Charm not only erased memories cleanly, but left no trace, making them nearly impossible to restore—even with a counter-charm.
Unless… the wizard reversing it also knew how to use emotion as a breakthrough.
Even so, Lockhart wasn't worried. The memories stripped away by the charm were still stored—safely tucked away in his own mind.
…
The trio exchanged glances, not quite sure what Lockhart was going on about.
"Professor Lockhart, do you still feel unwell?" Hermione asked, frowning. "Should we take you to the hospital wing?"
"No need." Lockhart waved his wand again. "O—"
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Professor Lockhart?" Professor McGonagall appeared at the door. "May I come in?"
"Oh…" Lockhart's hand froze around his wand. "Professor McGonagall… what brings you here? Please—please, come in!"
Professor McGonagall stepped into the office, her gaze sweeping over the chaos. "Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley—what are you all doing here?"
"Professor McGonagall, we just found Professor Lockhart unconscious!" Hermione blurted. "He seems to have been attacked by a monster!"
"Yes!" Harry and Ron nodded fervently. "And before that, we were in the library, reading."
Professor McGonagall nodded, a look of satisfaction flickering in her eyes. "Very good. It's getting late—off to dinner with you, now!"
…
Once outside Lockhart's office, Ron was still in disbelief. "Did you see Professor McGonagall just now? She was just like my gran!"
"How do I put it?" He scratched his head. "It was… kind, I guess. Yeah! Kind! Have you ever seen her like that?"
"Er…" Harry shook his head. "Don't think I have…"
"See? I told you—studying hard always pays off!" Hermione lifted her chin, triumphant. "She was so pleased because you said we'd been in the library!"
"It wasn't all that boring, actually…" Harry scratched his head. "At least I figured out how to pronounce the Reviving Charm. If Lockhart hadn't woken up, I was about to try it on him!"
Hermione turned to Ron.
Ron quickly said, "I read that book From Needle to Blade. Let me show you…"
He pulled Scabbers from his pocket and pressed his wand to the struggling rat. "Vera Verto!"
Scabbers shivered violently—most of his body transformed into a shiny silver goblet, but his tail was still twitching madly, looking utterly terrified.
Ron scratched his head. "That's weird! It worked on a bug in the library… Must be a fluke…"
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but finally just sighed. "Honestly, that's pretty impressive! Transfiguring a rat isn't easy—keep at it!"
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