As we reached the corridor and witnessed the words written on the door, it was enough for many of the students to suck in a cold breath of air and instead of the usual chatter that accompanied such a large number of students in one place. The corridor had descended into an eerie silence. The teachers themselves had a look of worry on their faces.
The teachers had long noticed the students that had been following them from the great hall. The reason that they had not stopped them was because they were in a hurry and did not think that such an event would be awaiting them at the scene of crime.
The first thing that the teachers did was to move towards the cat that was hung by the side of the door. Just from the stiffness with which it was hanging most people would have assumed the cat to be dead. The professors however had been living in this crazy magical world for a long time and had witnessed many bizarre things.
Professor McGonigal and professor Snape just had a look of seriousness, but if one observed closely, they would be able to easily notice that neither one of them were overly concerned after witnessing the situation of the cat.
Professor Sprout, on the other hand quickly reached towards the cat and began inspecting. Professor Flitwick had quickly jumped into action and was clearly heard calling the various house representatives to control the situation with the large number of students overly crowding the scene.
Each teacher seemed to be oddly comfortable witnessing such a situation and quickly divided up their duties as if it was something they had agreed upon previously. This just went to show how messed up the daily life of a witch/wizard is.
There however was one particular teacher who had rather seen this as an opportunity to embrace the large audience and create a spectacle worthy of a front-page news article.
Professor Gilderoy Lockhart.
While the various professors were focused in diverting the student's attention away from the said hanging cat, he shouted loudly and brought back all the missing attention back on himself and the cat.
Gilderoy " If I may Headmaster."
Dumble's " Yes, professor Lockhart, is there something you wish to add?"
Gilderoy " You see, I have actually seen this particular curse in one of my rather dark and glorious adventures. It's a pity that I was not present here, I happen to know just the counter-curse that could have saved the poor cat's life. "
Hearing him say this, caused various different emotions and reactions flying into the corridor.
The young witches were absolutely smitten by the vast knowledge of their favourite professor. They were now talking in hushed tones about the confidence Lockhart had on his amazing strength for him to be so confident in dealing with a spell that killed the cat within the castle and in the presence of such strong witches and wizards.
The boys however had a completely opposite reaction. They already did not see him under a favourable light owing to his already prestigious reputation among the girls. The constant comparison that they endured by someone they liked had only led to deepen their dislike for the man. Now, seeing that he is showing such bravery and causing the girls to gush even more had them snickering about him once again.
Me and Hermione were already aware of his standards as a wizard and had not taken his boast into consideration. I already knew the outcome and hence was even more uninterested with the current scenario. Hermione on the other hand had her focus on the more reliable professors. I was sure that she already had about ten possible theories regarding the scene and was observing the professors for further clues.
Luna was in an entirely another world.
Professor Snape and professor McGonigal rolled their eyes at almost the exact same time. The other professors too had shaken their heads on the opinion presented by a poster boy.
Snape " Oh! how fortunate that we have someone who is already acquainted with this vicious curse. It will be a lot more time saved now that we know the curse and it would surely be easier to catch the culprit before he does any more harm. Thank you so much, professor Lockhart. The school will surely reward you well and the students will definitely learn to appreciate the opportunity to study under such a talented wizard."
The sarcasm dripping out of Snape's mouth was so heavy that it could totally fill up the entire corridor. The only ones oblivious seem to be the professor in question and his loyal audience of young witches.
It was clearly visible on Lockhart's face how pleased he was with himself after receiving such high praise from a fellow faculty member after not being taken seriously since he had arrived in Hogwarts. The fact that the one praising him would be Snape was like icing on the cake for him.
Gilderoy " No need to praise me so, professor Snape. It is my duty to be a role model to the young minds of the next generation and as far as Hogwarts is concerned, I am sure to be the first shield to protect it and those that reside within from any evil that wishes to step foot in the place."
He had an absolutely mighty and overbearing tone as he delivered yet another mesmerizing and selfless speech for his audience. He was now completely in the role and that was what was going to make his fall more spectacular.
Snape " The only issue that I have...."
The short pause taken by Snape was enough to bring back all the attention of the performer and his audience to his words.
Lockhart was waiting in anticipation of more praise and his audience in anticipation of yet another proof that the person they idolize is as great as they believe, if not more.
Snape " ....is that the curse that you think has killed the cat has spectacularly failed to do its intended harm."
His words had caused another round of murmurs to begin in the corridor.
Gilderoy " What do you mean professor Snape?"
Snape " I am merely stating the fact that the feline in consideration is very much alive."
Gilderoy " Nonsense. I understand that you are not as well versed in the dealings of dark art and therefore cannot sense the darkness surrounding the creature, but let me assure you that the cat is in fact very much dead. "
Gilderoy knew that he could not back away at this moment and therefore decided to push his theory all the way through. With his conviction in lying, he was confident in making everyone believe that he was the one in the right. Just when he thought that Snape has finally admitted his loss and therefore has stopped commenting further, Professor Sprout interfered.