Looking at the dwarfs walking into the Great Hall from outside, Sean sighed. He knew Lockhart's antics weren't over yet. Each of these dwarfs had golden wings stuck to their backs and carried golden harps. Under Lockhart's orders, these dwarfs kept delivering Valentine's cards to everyone and loudly reciting the contents of the cards, hoping to make everyone at Hogwarts die of embarrassment simultaneously.
After finishing his meal, Sean got up to leave the Great Hall.
But just then, the dwarfs had already begun reciting Valentine's cards, and as someone who had received quite a few cards, Sean naturally became a primary target for these dwarfs. Seeing Sean about to leave the Great Hall, three dwarfs immediately pounced toward him.
Without any hesitation, Sean directly drew his wand and swept it toward the three dwarfs. Instantly, the pink flowers on the walls began to change, transforming into pink ribbons that bound the three dwarfs and fixed them to the wall. Despite the dwarfs' continuous shouting, Sean had no intention of releasing them and simply turned and left.
Seeing his hired dwarfs bound up, Lockhart immediately walked over with an embarrassed smile, drawing his wand to try to free the three dwarfs. However, he really had no sense of his own abilities—as he waved his wand, the ribbons binding the three dwarfs tightened even more, immediately causing the three dwarfs to scream in pain, instantly destroying the Valentine's Day atmosphere in the Great Hall.
This scene immediately caused the corners of Snape's mouth to curve into a barely perceptible smile, while Professor McGonagall finished today's breakfast with a smile on her face.
Following Sean's example, many Hogwarts students began to deal with the dwarfs that approached them. Before the morning was over, all twelve dwarfs were injured, threw away the wings and harps they wore, and went on strike, leaving Hogwarts directly. This completely trampled Lockhart's dignity into the ground.
However, the dwarfs' strike didn't seem to affect Lockhart at all. He still walked around with a smile, showing himself off like a peacock, until he returned to his office. His smile immediately disappeared, his expression became gloomy, and he casually picked up the teacup on his desk and smashed it viciously on the ground.
"Sean Bulstrode! Sean Bulstrode! That bastard, that damned bastard!"
Lockhart wasn't made of clay—how could he really have no temper? Sean had targeted him multiple times, and Lockhart wasn't stupid—how could he not see it? If he were really stupid, he couldn't have practiced the Memory Charm to such a profound level. He had just been pretending to be stupid to maintain his persona.
After all, no one wanted to hold a ridiculous fool accountable for anything.
Treating a fool as a joke was what best suited normal people's psychology, wasn't it?
Taking a deep breath, Lockhart calmed down, waved his wand, and used three spells before successfully cleaning up the teacup fragments on the ground. Then he sat down, picked up the cards and letters on his desk, and began reading them. This was his favorite activity, making him feel like he was truly the hero in his books.
The contents of the letters and cards were mostly similar, until he came to one that looked quite ordinary. When Lockhart saw its contents, his expression changed slightly, and then his face showed a hint of wild joy.
This letter was written by one of Lockhart's admirers. She said she had always admired Lockhart and deeply believed in his abilities. She also mentioned many details from his previous books—details that Lockhart was very proud of but hadn't had time to boast about to students. This immediately made Lockhart happy, feeling that this girl must be his true admirer and worshipper, definitely not a fake like that bastard Sean Bulstrode!
Reading further, the letter's content suddenly changed.
The letter said she had accidentally discovered a mysterious place inside Hogwarts, a place unknown to professors and students. She said she had found the Basilisk there, along with the place that controlled the Basilisk. She didn't know what to do and was very scared, so she could only tell this secret to the great Professor Lockhart, whom she most admired and trusted.
After reading the letter, Lockhart suddenly realized his new book could be confirmed.
It would be called... Dueling with the Hogwarts Basilisk!
Lockhart thought this was an excellent title that would surely make his recently declining popularity soar again.
Looking once more at the location of the mysterious place mentioned in the letter, Lockhart was about to rush over, but suddenly realized there were too many people around at this time. With so many eyes watching, he needed to wait until evening when there were fewer people and then use patrolling as an excuse to find that place. That way it would be done without anyone knowing.
Night fell.
Lockhart couldn't wait to begin patrolling, with such dedication that even Filch suspected he might be under the Imperius Curse.
After patrolling three rounds and seeing no one around, Lockhart finally couldn't contain himself. He came to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor, looking at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by trolls in front of the Room of Requirement. Following the information in the letter, Lockhart concentrated and silently repeated in his mind, "I want a room that hides secrets," then walked back and forth three times.
When the tapestry transformed into a door, Lockhart trembled with excitement, feeling his new book was already beckoning to him.
He pushed the door open and entered. Inside was a completely enclosed, somewhat dark room. Just as Lockhart successfully cast Lumos in one try, illuminating the dark room, he discovered there was no Basilisk in this room at all, nor any method to control the Basilisk. There was only the person Lockhart resented most at Hogwarts.
"Good evening, Professor Lockhart."
Looking at the person standing opposite him, Lockhart frowned slightly but still maintained his signature smile, showing sixteen white teeth, saying with confusion, "That letter—was it written by you, Sean?"
"Indeed, I wrote it. It was very difficult to write, not just imitating a girl's handwriting, but fabricating all that admiration and love for you was what gave me the biggest headache. After all, I have absolutely no feelings of admiration or love for a fraud who deceives the world and steals fame."
"I, I don't know what you're talking about. It's already very late now. I suggest you return to your common room to rest quickly, or if Filch catches you, you'll probably lose points and get detention. As for me, given that you've always performed well in my class, I won't deduct points. I'm very busy, so I'll leave first."
Lockhart sensed something was wrong and turned to leave.
But just then, a wisp of black smoke suddenly wrapped around Lockhart's waist, dragging him directly into the depths of the Room of Requirement. He fell to the ground, lying there in a disheveled state with terror written all over his face.