Lockhart's aggressive buying and selling made even Hermione uneasy.
"Neville doesn't like this! How can he act like this?!"
"Let go of Neville!" Harley had already rolled up her sleeves, ready to introduce Lockhart to the iron fist of a Gryffindor champion.
But Ted was faster.
He didn't need a wand—just a flick of his fingers and a subtle gesture.
Suddenly, smoke started rising from Lockhart's rear, more than ten meters away!
"Hey! Fire! His robe is on fire!" someone in the crowd shouted.
Middle-aged witches pointed in shock at Lockhart's smoking backside, screaming like startled Muggle drivers about to crash.
"Aaaah!" Lockhart froze for a moment before the pain registered.
Then, with a high-pitched yelp, he leaped into the air, frantically slapping at his burning robes.
"Smack! Smack! Smack!" The loud slaps echoed across the street, drawing the fascinated eyes of nearby wizards.
Despite his desperate attempts, the flames on his robes grew stronger.
With no other choice, he began stripping off his clothes in a panic.
The orangutan-like Daily Prophet photographer was thrilled, snapping pictures with gleeful enthusiasm.
Finally, a nearby witch pulled out her wand to put out the fire.
Unfortunately, Lockhart's adoring fans were not the most competent spellcasters.
A barrage of spells flew—some conjured water, some ice, and one particularly misguided fan caused an explosion that sent Lockhart's clothes flying, leaving him standing in nothing but white underwear adorned with tiny pink strawberries!
"Uh… is the fire out now?" one fan hesitantly asked.
Lockhart stood frozen, stunned into silence, as the onlookers gawked.
The wizards from further away, intrigued by the commotion, started edging closer.
His devoted fans, however, quickly recovered.
"Ahh! Lockhart's choice in underwear is so refined!"
"White and pink strawberries—such a bold yet elegant combination!"
"You don't understand his dedication! He probably stays up all night interviewing banshees and vampires!"
Lockhart, unable to endure the humiliation, let out an ear-piercing scream.
"Aaaaaah!" Covering his face, he bolted away.
This, of course, only excited his more passionate admirers.
A swarm of witches and enchanted wizards lifted their robes and took off after him, creating absolute chaos.
It was a bizarre mix of a high-society gala and a bullfight.
Meanwhile, Neville finally took the opportunity to escape.
His robe was nearly ripped off in the scuffle, and with an exasperated expression, he shoved a stack of autographed Lockhart books into Ron's arms.
"No need to buy them anymore. Just use this set!"
Ron and Jerry burst into grins. "Nice one!"
Even Hermione, despite respecting her teachers, couldn't bring herself to defend Lockhart.
"He's not even a real professor! He has no teaching ethics!"
As everyone laughed about Lockhart's disaster, Fred and George Weasley suddenly went quiet, staring at Flourish and Blotts.
Then, without warning, they took off toward the bookstore.
Ted and the others turned just in time to see the source of their concern—inside the bookstore, Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy were engaged in a full-blown street brawl!
Fists flew, knuckles cracked, and bookshelves rattled. It was a no-holds-barred slugfest.
"Dad?!" Ron yelled in alarm.
Ted, with his sharp eyes, took in the scene—Mr. Weasley, red-haired and furious, exchanged punches with the pale, aristocratic Malfoy, both men too enraged to reach for their wands.
Molly Weasley, looking both horrified and determined, tried to hold the twins back.
"Stop! Stop fighting this instant!"
'You can't just kill a man without magic!'
Well, that last part was just Ted's thought.
A frazzled bookstore clerk wrung his hands. "Gentlemen! Please, I beg you—stop this at once!"
But the two "gentlemen" were too focused on knocking each other out to listen.
The twins, still restrained by their mother, cheered enthusiastically. "Get him, Dad! Punch his smug face!"
Fred chimed in, "Kick him where it really hurts!"
"Oh, shut up, both of you!" Molly gritted her teeth, pressing down on her sons to prevent them from turning this into a family tradition.
Mr. Weasley, evidently inspired by his sons' encouragement, attempted a swift kick, aiming right for Malfoy's most vulnerable spot.
Fortunately for the Malfoy bloodline, Lucius had also heard the twins' shouts.
He clamped his legs together just in time, barely dodging disaster.
The twins groaned in disappointment.
But Peggy, who was browsing the books nearby, was not one to stand idly by. She hoisted the second-hand cauldron she had bought for Ginny and hurled it at Malfoy's face.
Lucius, though fast, was not fast enough.
The cauldron struck him with a loud thunk, sending him crashing to the ground with a pained grunt.
Mr. Weasley, seeing his opportunity, prepared to follow up with a devastating move.
Unfortunately, before he could execute his finishing blow, the frantic bookstore owner finally intervened.
"Enough, gentlemen! This is a bookstore, not an arena! Stop!"
The owner of Flourish and Blotts stormed forward, his face red with fury.
The clerks had failed to intervene, but his commanding presence was enough to put an end to the brawl.
Lucius Malfoy, clearly realizing that he was outmatched in a fistfight, dusted off his robes and straightened his posture, trying to maintain an air of superiority.
He bent down, picked up the second-hand cauldron from the ground, along with the battered textbook Ginny Weasley had been given, and shoved them into the hands of the flustered girl, whose face was red with embarrassment.
"Take it, little girl. This is all your father can afford to give you," Lucius sneered, his cold eyes flickering toward Arthur Weasley. "What do you even do with those dozen Galleons a month?"
Arthur clenched his fists, ready to launch himself at Malfoy again, but Ron, standing near the doorway, beat him to it.
He surged forward, but before he could land a punch, Ted grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back.
"Calm down. This is their fight. It's not our time to interfere," Ted said, his tone firm.
He couldn't allow the plot to spiral out of control.
Ted was already thinking about the coming school year.
It was crucial that things unfolded as they should.
If the diary wasn't destroyed as expected, who knew what chaos it could bring in the future?
That Horcrux was a ticking time bomb, and if it slipped through the cracks this time, there might not be another opportunity to get rid of it.
From what Fred and George had mentioned earlier, Mr. Weasley had been heavily involved in a crackdown on dark artifacts.
His team had been targeting families with a shady history—including the Malfoys.
Rumor had it that Arthur had led a raid on Malfoy Manor, forcing Lucius to dispose of several illegal items before they were confiscated.
Despite their outward wealth and status, the Malfoys weren't as untouchable as they once were.
Lucius's father had been at Hogwarts with Voldemort, part of the earliest group of Death Eaters.
Back then, they hadn't been particularly impressive, mostly because Voldemort himself was still gathering power.
But once Voldemort's influence grew and his physical form was lost, the next generation—Lucius included—stepped up to take control, fueling the wizarding war that had plunged Britain's magical community into fear.
For nearly a decade, the very mention of Death Eaters sent shivers down people's spines.
They had terrorized the wizarding world, unchecked for years.
Then Voldemort fell, and everything changed.
These self-proclaimed elite families had a habit of hedging their bets.
Many of them would send one or two members into Voldemort's service while keeping the rest of the family detached from his cause—like Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother, who had stolen one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
It was a calculated move to show some loyalty while ensuring the entire family didn't get dragged down.
But wizarding bloodlines were thin.
There weren't enough people in these pure-blooded families to distribute the risk evenly.
Lucius was the only heir of his line, so he had no choice but to follow in his father's footsteps, tying himself to Voldemort completely.
That made escape nearly impossible when the Dark Lord was defeated.
Many wizarding families had been all but wiped out because of it.
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Word count: 1346
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