Chapter 225: Arrest
Some students burst into laughter, and Michael couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Professor Lockhart is truly the bravest person I've ever met... I wonder if he'll still be breathing tomorrow morning."
"The professors aren't that petty. Everyone knows he's just joking," Padma said.
"Is that so?" Michael raised an eyebrow. "I have a feeling Professor Snape might see things differently."
A few of them instinctively turned their heads, only to see the Potions professor's face as black as a pot, staring with murderous intent at every student who looked his way.
Poor Professor Flitwick covered his face with both hands, practically trying to hide under the table.
"Professor Flitwick is really unlucky!" Michael sympathized from the bottom of his heart.
Wade nodded silently, then glanced at Lockhart.
"Professor Lockhart should be very grateful that Hogwarts is currently under Dumbledore's management."
Wade said, "Back in the day, he probably would have received at least two duel challenges by now."
Michael chuckled. "Professor Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young."
But soon, his laughter died.
All morning, the dwarves were busy delivering greeting cards, sometimes singing love songs while playing instruments. Coupled with their wrinkled faces and weathered voices, it was a major public embarrassment.
Michael, who usually played both sides, was finally getting his comeuppance—
That morning, he received a total of eleven Valentine's Day cards. Once, while Professor McGonagall was about to start class, a little dwarf sang and tap-danced, forcefully shoving a pink card into his arms.
Michael's face turned beet red, and he didn't dare look at the professor.
As for Padma, she was standing there, arms crossed, watching him coldly.
Wade, however, didn't have such troubles. The Notice-Me-Not Charm worked equally well on the dwarves, and when he couldn't avoid them, he even used a Confundus Charm to make a dwarf sing a love song to a tree for ten minutes.
The whole morning passed in a chaotic mess. The students weren't focused on classes, and the professors were constantly annoyed by the dwarves who kept bursting into their classrooms.
Only Professor Lockhart was smug, boasting in class about receiving fifty-seven cards.
At lunchtime, the display he arranged was even grander, with overflowing roses extending from the Great Hall all the way into the corridor.
Lockhart loudly declared that he had received over a hundred cards, subtly mocking those who hadn't received any, and very deliberately glanced at Professor Snape.
He even feigned surprise as he listened to a group of dwarves loudly sing poems written by his fans.
The professors all looked at him with annoyance, only his pink dolphin was very happy, wobbling on the table in front of Lockhart.
"Why not celebrate, children?" Lockhart, having had a bit to drink, raised his cup and declared loudly, "It's a festival of love!"
*BANG!*
The door to the Great Hall suddenly burst open, and several tall shadows fell across the petal-strewn floor.
Lockhart, who was about to drink, looked over in surprise. He saw that the people were dressed like Dark Wizards, cloaked in black, their faces concealed.
The vast Great Hall instantly fell silent. Students looked at these strangers in alarm, instinctively seeking refuge with the professors.
At the staff table, Professor McGonagall, who had remained expressionless throughout Lockhart's speech, stood up and walked towards the group, asking, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
She wasn't overly nervous, because the castle's alarms and defenses hadn't been activated, which proved these people weren't intruders but had gained the headmaster's permission.
"Excuse me for interrupting your lunch, Professor McGonagall."
The man leading the group pulled back his hood, revealing a lion-like face with long, mane-like coppery hair and sharp, keen yellow eyes.
He strode forward, and students in his path hastily moved aside.
Professor McGonagall's tense expression immediately relaxed a little. A subtle smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. "Scrimgeour?"
"It's me, Professor McGonagall." Scrimgeour bowed slightly. "I seem to have interrupted a romantic gathering... but I had to do this to arrest a heinous criminal. I hope you'll understand."
"A criminal?" Professor McGonagall frowned. "There are only teachers and students here. Where would you find a criminal?"
"Of course there is."
Scrimgeour's gaze shifted to Lockhart behind him, and under Lockhart's nervous stare, he said coldly:
"Gilderoy Lockhart, we have conclusive evidence that you illegally used powerful Obliviation Charms on multiple individuals to steal their fame, causing them to suffer difficulties in life, and even forget their own names—you are under arrest. Come with us!"
"Merlin—"
Hermione gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief.
The students' mouths hung open in shock, almost certain they had misheard. Then, they all looked at the dazzlingly pink professor.
Lockhart's face was pale at this moment, the reflection from his pink clothes unable to conceal his panic. He looked around helplessly, weakly defending himself:
"No... you can't do this... you have no right to arrest me! I—I'm a Third-Class Order of Merlin recipient!"
"Actually—I do!"
Scrimgeour limped over. Lockhart stumbled back two steps, hitting a chair and almost falling.
The lion-like Auror looked down at him, saying expressionlessly, "The arrest warrant has been issued. Any excuses you have, save them for your trial before the Wizengamot!"
Lockhart grabbed his Wand, seemingly intending to resist. But seeing the strong Wizard, seeing the muscles his wizard's robes couldn't conceal, and the right hand that constantly gripped his Wand, as well as the other black-cloaked Aurors behind him...
Lockhart struggled for a moment, but finally, frustrated, let go of his Wand, allowing Scrimgeour to take it. At the same time, a rope flew out and bound Lockhart's hands.
"Th-this is slander! This is persecution!"
As the Aurors escorted him out, Lockhart continued to shout, "I'll sue you all! I'm innocent!"
Students and professors silently watched Lockhart being led away by the Aurors. Apart from a few admirers who still refused to believe it, most people weren't surprised.
Over the past half-year, Lockhart's incompetence had become glaringly obvious. In fact, some had already doubted his legendary stories, but everyone had thought he was simply an excellent novelist, never imagining that even those stories weren't his own creations.
Aside from Professor McGonagall exchanging a few quiet words with Scrimgeour, the Aurors came and went quickly, their actions completely unimpeded.
With Lockhart arrested, the Valentine's Day atmosphere seemed to vanish. Teachers and students sat in the pink Great Hall, feeling only that the day had been extraordinarily bizarre.
Only the dwarves seemed unaffected, still singing their hoarse, unpleasant songs.
After a long while, a buzzing hum of discussion finally began in the Great Hall.
Michael was happy for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and turned to Wade, saying with a troubled expression:
"Professor Quirrell at least taught for a whole year. Now Professor Lockhart's been arrested, and there's still more than half the term left… What are we going to do about our Defense Against the Dark Arts classes?"
Wade once again deeply felt that they were Ravenclaws.
At this moment, only Ravenclaw students would be worrying about this… Oh, and Hermione from Gryffindor.
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