Although Lewis had already embarrassed Snape thoroughly during class, his retaliation didn't end there.
After class, he immediately returned to the Ravenclaw common room and mobilized the students to write love letters to Snape. For every qualifying letter successfully sent, Lewis offered one Sickle.
He was going to solve this with money.
When Fred and George Weasley heard about it, they eagerly joined as investors. Thanks to their recent profits from selling Lewis's protective charms, they were more than willing to fund the operation.
And so, for the first time in his life, the Potions professor experienced what could only be described as a coordinated "spam assault."
It wasn't just the dwarfs anymore.
That entire night, there were at least two owls hovering over his head at all times, attempting to airdrop love letters.
Snape was ultimately forced to barricade himself inside his office.
In a way, Lockhart had succeeded—he had indeed boosted Hogwarts' morale.
Just not in the way he intended.
In the morning, students had still used the dwarfs to deliver their messages properly. But by afternoon, Valentine's cards had devolved into tools for pranks and attacks.
The students were having the time of their lives.
Unfortunately, the joy of Valentine's Day vanished overnight.
The next day was Saturday, and it was supposed to be match day—Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.
As eleven o'clock approached, both teams entered the pitch to thunderous cheers. The players mounted their brooms and took to the air, circling the goalposts to warm up, while Madam Hooch released the balls.
Then, suddenly, Professor McGonagall hurried across the field, clutching a large purple megaphone.
Lewis's heart sank.
"The match is canceled."
McGonagall's amplified voice echoed across the crowded stands. A wave of boos and protests erupted. Ravenclaw players slumped in disappointment.
Oliver Wood marched forward, trying to argue, but McGonagall ignored him and continued.
"All students are to return immediately to their common rooms. Your Heads of House will explain further. Please leave at once!"
The Ravenclaws returned to their tower. Roger sat down heavily, grumbling about the canceled match.
Flitwick soon announced the emergency regulations.
"From now on, all classes must be attended under teacher escort. All Quidditch practices and matches are suspended. No evening activities will be held."
"All students must return to their common rooms before seven in the evening. No one is allowed to leave after that. Bathrooms may not be used without teacher supervision."
Then, in a grave voice, he added, "Unfortunately… this time, the victim is from Ravenclaw. Marietta Edgecombe has been petrified."
Behind him, Cho Chang stumbled into the common room, sobbing—she had just come back from visiting her friend.
Lewis immediately stepped forward. "What happened?"
"Marietta was attacked outside Lockhart's office," Cho said through tears. "She told me this morning that she hadn't had the chance to give Lockhart her Valentine's card yesterday, so she wanted to deliver it today… She's always been his most loyal fan… and now… she's become Gilderoy Lockhart's scapegoat!"
As Cho explained, Lewis pieced together the situation.
Marietta had been lucky in one regard—under Cho's strong recommendation, she had bought one of Lewis's protective charms. It likely activated in time, alerting her to danger, which was why she, like Justin, had been clutching it when petrified.
She had survived because she didn't turn around. Instead, she saw the attacker through the reflection on the metal handle of Lockhart's office door.
But what did it matter?
Attack after attack continued to occur at Hogwarts, and the culprit remained at large.
More and more students were beginning to realize that the school might actually shut down.
That evening at dinner, Hermione quietly pulled Lewis aside. She told him that she had learned about the incident fifty years ago from Moaning Myrtle and had uncovered some clues—according to Myrtle, the case might be connected to Hagrid.
She planned to go into the Forbidden Forest with Harry to question him.
"Too bad Ron's been really sleepy these past few days," Hermione added regretfully. "He can't come with us."
Of course he's sleepy, Lewis thought. If he's the one controlling the basilisk and roaming the castle all day, how could he not be exhausted?
You can't exactly expect him to investigate himself.
Of course, that was just Lewis's speculation. He still lacked direct evidence.
But it didn't matter.
He decided to go into the Forbidden Forest himself that night and question the unicorns and centaurs.
A basilisk, being such a massive creature, had to eat. Since no students had gone missing—only petrified—the only place it could be feeding was the Forbidden Forest.
Originally, Lewis hadn't intended to get involved.
The basilisk was powerful, but it wasn't part of his Animagus plans, and he didn't urgently need its materials. There was little incentive to hunt it.
But now, seeing Hermione working so hard to uncover the truth, and hearing Cho's sobs in the common room…
Even though he had no personal connection to Marietta, Cho had been chasing after him for half the semester.
She might have been a bit of a simp—but she was still his simp.
Seeing things end like this… it didn't sit right with him.
More importantly, Lewis had begun to suspect that the one being controlled by the diary was no longer Ginny—but Ron.
The butterfly effect had already altered events. Things might not unfold as they had originally.
To prevent any unexpected developments, Lewis finally decided to act.
After dinner, he cast Greater Invisibility and headed straight for the Forbidden Forest.
As he reached its edge, he immediately felt something was wrong.
The forest felt far more dangerous than before.
The hills deep within were swallowed by darkness. Though the moon hung high in the sky, the dense canopy blocked its light completely, leaving the forest in suffocating gloom.
Unlike regular invisibility, Greater Invisibility allowed him to cast simple spells while hidden.
Lewis conjured a Dancing Light to illuminate his path.
But when he saw the forest clearly, he couldn't help but inhale sharply.
It was spring—but the forest looked like late autumn.
The ground was littered with blackened, withered branches and leaves. Dead animals lay scattered everywhere.
There were also grotesque clumps of flesh—remains of partially digested prey.
The deeper he went, the more terrifying it became.
There was no sound. Only deathly silence.
Even Lewis, who knew the forest well, felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the twisted, claw-like trees.
"It's only been two weeks… how did it get this bad?"
His sense of urgency grew.
Fortunately, the decay was limited to the outer and middle layers. The deeper regions remained intact.
The unicorn sanctuary was still as peaceful and beautiful as ever.
Sensing Lewis's presence, Lare bounded toward him happily as soon as he reached the lakeside.
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