The instant they heard the voice, both felt a jolt of alarm.
They hadn't heard any sound like Apparition or sensed any magical fluctuations.
When had someone appeared behind them?
Turning around simultaneously, they saw a young man who had somehow appeared by the window. He stood in the moonlight with a smile on his face, playing with a strange-looking small ball in his hands.
Seeing the young man's face, Lockhart's expression instantly changed—anger and coldness flickering back and forth. This continued for several seconds before coldness gradually won out, forcing the other soul within back down.
After losing his original body, controlling this wizard's body was becoming increasingly difficult.
The man's self-awareness was too strong. Despite his obvious weakness, he was absurdly confident—where did that confidence even come from?
Once this was over, he'd need to find a more suitable host.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Tom (controlling Lockhart's body) raised his head, looking at the young man before him.
He knew this young man. Because of him, Lockhart had wandered sleeplessly outside the castle one night, which led to obtaining Tom's diary.
Lockhart had claimed this young man won their duel purely by using some Apparition-like magic to dodge his attacks—that in a fair fight, he wouldn't have lost.
But after sensing the magical energy radiating from the young man, Tom dismissed Lockhart's excuses entirely. Ridiculous—how could Lockhart's magical reserves compare?
"Fair fight"? In a real duel, one full-power spell from this young man would send Lockhart and his Shield Charm flying!
Raw magical power trumped strategy every time.
Lockhart's ability to provide completely useless intelligence was truly remarkable.
His expression darkened as he looked at the young man and spoke softly, "Do you know who I am?"
If possible, he didn't want to fight this young man here. Even if he could win, a prolonged battle would definitely alert others in the school.
At that point, they couldn't escape even if they wanted to.
Moreover, this body was far too weak. Even with his servant's help, they might not definitely beat this young man. Besides, that small ball in his hand looked somewhat unusual.
"Who are you?" A strange smile crossed Evans's face as he stared at Lockhart's ghastly green eyes. "A soul fragment of Voldemort?"
Hearing this, Tom froze, then Lockhart's expression darkened, but Tom still managed to speak, "Since you know, why don't you leave now? Otherwise, when I regain my full power, I will definitely seek revenge on you."
"You wouldn't want to make an enemy of the world's greatest wizard, would you?"
"Ha, the world's greatest wizard? You?" Evans stared contemptuously at Lockhart's ghastly green eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just a fragment. I've even interrogated your original body—what's one more fragment like you?"
"You!" Lockhart's expression turned furious, but the book Harry had stolen still weighed on Tom's mind.
Tom didn't want to fight here—he just wanted to leave.
They'd asked Fudge to find a way to restrain Dumbledore, but Tom wasn't sure whether he'd succeeded.
After all, they'd sensed the other Horcrux so suddenly—too suddenly to prepare anything.
But why would four Horcruxes all appear at Hogwarts?
Which hidden Horcrux had been brought here? The locket? Or the ring?
Ignoring the furious Lockhart, Evans turned his attention to Sir Podmore, who was trapped to the side.
Sickly green runes surrounded the specter. Sir Podmore had been attempting to break through, but after seeing Evans appear, he crossed his arms and stood there like a spectator at a sporting match, eager to watch the young professor take on these two villains.
Clearly, the Sir could break this magic—he just needed some time.
Shaking his head, Evans casually waved his wand. An invisible ripple floated toward the Sir's position.
Evans couldn't quite understand the runes themselves—he'd never taken Ancient Runes. But he could tell the spell was designed to imprison souls, which explained why it could restrain Sir Podmore.
Ghosts and specters weren't actually pure souls, though. Ordinary soul magic couldn't affect them. He didn't know exactly how this spell worked, but it was ingenious—capable of imprisoning a specter as powerful as Sir Podmore, who'd lived nearly a thousand years.
He'd study it more carefully when he interrogated them later.
Still, although this magic could temporarily imprison the Sir, its outer defenses were weak.
One Finite Incantatem was enough to break it.
The invisible ripple passed through. The runes imprisoning Sir Podmore instantly faded and dissipated into nothing.
"Help me watch that child, Sir."
Hearing this, Sir Podmore's excitement vanished, replaced by boredom. The red light on his claws slowly dissipated. He grimaced and merged into the nearby wall.
"Then be careful—don't die."
"Of course." Evans smiled and nodded, looking behind him.
By now Umbridge had already assumed a dueling stance, while Lockhart had made it to the door, planning to leave and chase Harry and the basilisk.
Evans could see they'd coordinated their strategy—Umbridge would delay him while Lockhart retrieved their Horcruxes.
But he couldn't let them escape that easily.
With a wave of his wand, the open door instantly slammed shut, momentarily blocking Lockhart's exit.
A burst of red light shot from Evans's wand, forcing Lockhart away from the door. Umbridge drew her wand, aiming at Evans. Eerie blue flames formed at her wand tip, but Evans didn't even glance at them, focusing instead on Lockhart**, driving him back**.
"Why bother with children when I'm right here?"
Just as the blue flames were about to hit Evans, the small ball in his hand suddenly opened, transforming into a strange creature covered in blue-green scales and sharp spikes, absorbing the flames entirely.
The creature let out an excited shriek and pounced toward Lockhart.
Umbridge tried to cast a spell to stop it, but before she could raise her wand, an instant-cast spell forced her back. She threw up a Shield Charm and struggled to hold her ground.
Looking at Umbridge before him, excitement flashed in Evans's eyes.
"In France before, you escaped."
"But this time, let's see how you run?"