After the two spells, "Two sounds, one forgets all," Harry and Ron's faces became bewildered.
After a short while, the two gradually snapped out of their daze.
Lohart was already standing in front of them, dressed in a water-green robe, and spoke with a confident tone, "Children, let's head to Hogwarts now!"
Ron's expression became lively, "Alright, Professor Lohart! Your idea worked; otherwise, we would have been stuck at the train station. If we missed the opening ceremony, I really wouldn't know what to do."
Harry felt something was off, a kind of awkwardness that he couldn't put into words, and could only follow Lohart's footsteps in a daze.
When they arrived at the two oak doors of the castle, Harry noticed that Filch was standing outside the castle, holding his cat, Mrs. Norris, in his arms. Mrs. Norris stared at them with her big red eyes.
"Take a good look at this castle. This might be your last night here," Filch said as he looked at Harry and Ron, showing a malicious smile. At the same time, he gave a slight bow to Lohart.
"Hah! Nothing serious!" Lohart flashed his white teeth, walked forward, and seemed to want to settle the matter directly.
"Sir, Professor Snape said he hopes to take these two children to his office. If you are with them, could you please accompany them?" Lohart's words didn't have much effect, as Filch replied very respectfully, but his attitude was extremely firm.
"Alright, maybe Professor Snape is impatient to get my autograph. I do have quite a few older fans," Lohart shrugged, "Honestly, I should have taken a bath before meeting him. It would damage my image to go like this."
Harry and Ron felt desperate. They didn't think Snape was a fan chaser.
Filch led them through the entrance hall, down the stone stairs, gradually moving away from the scent of food in the Great Hall, and finally arrived at Snape's office.
When they entered, Snape was reading "The Daily Prophet."
"You've been seen by at least seven Muggles!" Seeing the few people coming in, he abruptly threw the newspaper on the desk.
"Perhaps one of you needs to explain why you didn't take the school bus. And you, Gilderoy Lockhart! Since you were with them, why didn't you stop them?" Snape's icy voice carried a trembling anger, making Harry and Ron shiver.
Snape pointed his wand at the door, and it slammed shut.
"Do you know how serious this is? This could expose our world, not to mention that you've also damaged—"
"Wow! Front-page headline!" Lockhart grabbed the newspaper, happily reading it, "Ha, unfortunately, the photo isn't very clear. It didn't capture my heroic driving..."
"Shut up!" Snape suddenly raised his head.
"Yes!" Lockhart gave Snape a brilliant smile. "Under my guidance, the three of us had a magical adventure! I drove the car, soaring into the clouds, crossing over half of Britain..."
"Shut your mouth!" He suddenly stood up from his chair, walked around the desk to Lockhart, and said, "I can guarantee that I'm willing to use all my savings to turn you into a Slytherin student—you can let me deal with you as I please. That way, tonight, you can find a suitable bunk in Azkaban!"
Swoosh!
Snape conjured a rope and tied Lockhart securely.
"Severus, I understand your enthusiasm for celebrity, but I hope you remain rational..." Lockhart's mouth was sealed by Snape, and Snape added a Petrification Charm, just in case.
"Stay here honestly," Snape looked at Harry and Ron, "I'll be back soon. Maybe more than one person will be kicked out of the castle tonight."
Snape left the office.
Harry didn't feel hungry. He was engulfed in great unease. He knew Snape should be going to find Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall, although fair and just, was strict, and their chances didn't look good. He could only hope that Professor Dumbledore would be lenient—rumor had it he always gave people a second chance. Harry would rather spend a semester in detention than be expelled.
Snape disappeared for half an hour. This half-hour was extremely agonizing for the two. It was like being at the airport, with two hours left until the plane took off, and you still hadn't received your green code.
When Snape reappeared, he was accompanied by Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, as well as a wizard from the Ministry of Magic. McGonagall clenched her lips tightly, looking unusually angry. She even sarcastically rebuked Dumbledore.
She remembered very well that Lockhart was a detestable attention-seeker. He used to boast during school, making a lot of big claims, including but not limited to: creating the Philosopher's Stone before graduation, leading the English Quidditch team to win the World Cup, and becoming the youngest Minister of Magic in Britain.
He once carved his name with 20-foot letters on the Quidditch pitch and even projected his portrait into the sky—like the Dark Mark. On Valentine's Day, he sent himself 800 greeting cards, and the influx of owls forced the cancellation of breakfast.
She was already puzzled by Dumbledore's decision, and now she felt it was even more absurd.
Dumbledore glanced at Lockhart, relieved him of the Silencing Charm, and said, "So, is it true that you drove them to Hogwarts?"
"Well, you could say that..." Lockhart looked somewhat guilty but still answered boldly.
Dumbledore confirmed the details with Harry and Ron. Lockhart was indeed very skilled at the Forgetfulness Charm, and their testimonies matched perfectly, making it all sound reasonable.
So, Dumbledore stood up straight, looked at the Ministry of Magic official who had been watching the show, and said, "It seems that this is the situation. Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart, you are implicated in a serious violation of the International Wizarding Secrecy Act. You need to accompany me for a trip..."
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