When Dumbledore finished, there was an uproar in the hall.
Lockhart's fans simply refused to believe it, and many of the young witches began to cry.
However, the young girls who had just woken up gave strong testimony about the attack, and it was hard to argue with them…
The Aurors of the Ministry of Magic then arrived to bring Lockhart to the Ministry for investigation.
Lockhart, who had lost his memory and had no idea who they were, resisted violently.
"What do you think you're doing? Let me go… I'm a Master of Magic! Or I'm going to cast a spell!"
"Stupefy!" "Imprison!" "Tongue Lock!"
Hearing that Lockhart was about to cast a spell on them, the Aurors acted as if they were facing a great enemy and threw several spells at them.
Not long after, Lockhart was dragged away by the Aurors…
Ivan sat at the Gryffindor table and watched the proceedings, mourning Lockhart for a while.
The Ministry of Magic must have found out something, or it would have been the staff of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries who picked Lockhart up.
"I knew something was wrong with Lockhart. He couldn't have done anything other than tell stories. It must have been the influence of that Dark object that made him so powerful."
Ron talked about it, giving his opinion as a afterthought, causing the young wizards around him to nod in agreement, though some of them expressed doubt.
After all, during the Duelling lesson, "Lorhart" had specifically warned them about the dangers of Dark Magic items, and they did not expect to fall for it…
Hearing the discussion, Hermione shot Ivan a reproachful look; she and Luna were the only ones who knew that Lockhart was actually Ivan using Polyjuice Potion.
Ivan shrugged, pretending not to notice Hermione's glance. He had earned nearly ten thousand dollars from Lockhart, so he had to do as she asked.
Besides, he was trying to use Lockhart's identity to find his attacker, but it was too dark and he almost got himself killed…
As the discussion continued, Dumbledore cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention, then continued.
"I have a few more announcements to make!"
"The first is that Mr. Harls, with his considerable ingenuity, discovered Lockhart's condition and defeated him, thus preventing the attack from worsening.
I hereby add 100 points to Mr. Hales! In recognition of his achievements!"
Dumbledore's eyes went to Ivan, and he led the applause.
There was a round of applause from the tables of the four academies.
The previous attacks frightened the entire population of Hogwarts, especially Muggle-borns, who feared they would be targeted next.
Now that Ivan had dealt with the attack, they were naturally relieved.
Several of the professors seated at the table looked at Ivan strangely.
If they remembered correctly, this was the second Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Ivan had knocked off.
Waiting for the applause to die down, Dumbledore adopted a serious expression and addressed the group of young wizards.
"Also, I should warn you that I do not advocate such a risky action on the part of Hales!"
"In fact, if you find a similar problem, you should seek help from the professors at school or report it to me directly!"
Dumbledore suddenly turned to Hermione and announced loudly, "So here's an extra reward for Miss Granger! She promptly informed me of Mr. Harls's adventures, and I shall give her an extra fifty points!"
There was another round of applause, and the scoring pool in the Great Hall changed as Dumbledore spoke.
The points pool representing Gryffindor rose significantly, overtaking Ravenclaw House, which had previously been in first place.
Hermione was delighted, having thought that Gryffindor had no hope of winning the House Cup this year.
Ivan never worried about it, and when the points were deducted, he had a feeling that Dumbledore would try to get them back.
In contrast, the Ravenclaw House table was filled with wails.
They thought it would finally be their turn to win the House Cup this year, but Gryffindor beat them.
Ivan, however, solved the attack, and the points added made sense.
This left the Ravenclaw Muggles with little choice but to hope that by the end of term they would be able to pull the score back together.
Just as they were thinking this, however, Dumbledore spoke again.
"The second matter is also related to Mr. Hales! Perhaps you have read in the newspapers that Hales developed a new potion last summer — the Wolf's Bane!"
"This potion allows werewolves to come to their senses at the full moon, greatly reducing the likelihood of ordinary wizards being attacked by werewolves, and improving the survival of werewolves.
By the Order of Merlin's evaluation, it has been decided that Harls will be allowed to join the Order of Merlin, and will be awarded the Order of Merlin (Second Class) at Hogwarts Hall tomorrow morning!"
"No one has ever been so honoured at such an age before, so I will add another hundred points to Mr. Harls's tally!" Dumbledore's booming voice echoed through the hall.
There was a brief silence. The news was so shocking that even the lesser Ravenclaw wizards stopped thinking about the House Cup.
The Order of Merlin was the highest honour in the wizarding world, and countless wizards longed to receive it!
The Order of Merlin's selection was very strict, and usually only awarded to those who had made outstanding contributions to the Ministry of Magic!
Lockhart, for example, spent more than ten years plagiarising the life experiences of a dozen powerful wizards, popularising the wizarding world with his books, and disguising himself as a fighter against the Dark Arts.
It is easy to see how difficult it is to receive the Order of Merlin…
All of the wizards turned to look at Ivan with envy and awe.
It was hard to imagine a second-class Order of Merlin sitting next to them every day in class.
It was some time before the Great Hall erupted in thunderous applause.
Many of the young lions at the Gryffindor table shouted Ivan's name, and George and Fred came over for autographs and pictures.
They felt that if they saved up more autographs now, they would definitely be able to make a killing when Ivan became more famous in the future!