Chapter 225: Arrest
Chapter 225: Arrest
A burst of laughter erupted from some students, causing Michael to shake his head in disbelief.
"Professor Lockhart is the bravest person I've ever seen... I wonder if he'll even be able to breathe tomorrow morning."
"The professors won't be that petty. Everyone knows he was just joking," Padma said.
"Really?" Michael raised an eyebrow. "I have a feeling Professor Snape might have a different opinion."
Several students turned around simultaneously, only to see the Potions professor's face as dark as the bottom of a pot, glaring murderously at every student who looked his way.
Poor Professor Flitwick covered his face with his hands and almost crawled under the table.
"Professor Flitwick is so unlucky!" Michael sympathized sincerely.
Vold nodded silently and glanced at Lockhart.
"Professor Lockhart should be grateful that Hogwarts is under Dumbledore's management."
Vold said, "If it were the past, he might have already received more than two Duel invitations."
Michael laughed, "Professor Flitwick was the Duel Champion when he was young."
But soon, his laughter faded.
Throughout the morning, gnomes were delivering Valentine's cards everywhere, sometimes even singing love songs while playing the harp, their wrinkled faces and hoarse voices creating a massive social embarrassment.
Michael, who usually got along with everyone, finally faced the consequences—
By noon, he had received eleven Valentine's cards. On one occasion, while Professor McGonagall was about to start her class, a gnome sang and danced a tap dance, forcefully stuffing a pink card into his chest.
Michael's face turned bright red, and he dared not look at the professor.
As for Padma, she stood with her arms crossed, coldly observing him.
Vold, however, had no such worries. The Ignoring Charm worked just as effectively on the gnomes. When he couldn't avoid them, he used a Confusion Charm, causing a gnome to serenade a tree for ten minutes.
The morning passed in chaos, with students uninterested in class and professors irritated by the gnomes who kept interrupting their lessons.
Only Professor Lockhart was triumphant, boasting in class about receiving fifty-seven cards.
At lunch, he set up an even grander scene, with blooming roses spreading from the Great Hall to the corridors.
Lockhart loudly proclaimed that he had received over a hundred cards, subtly mocking those who hadn't received any, and deliberately glanced at Professor Snape.
He pretended to be surprised as a group of gnomes loudly sang poems written by his fans.
The professors looked on with annoyance, except for his pink dolphin, which happily swayed on the table in front of Lockhart.
"Why not celebrate, children?" Lockhart raised his glass after taking a sip and declared loudly, "It's the day of love!"
"Bang!"
The doors of the Great Hall were suddenly pushed open, and several tall shadows fell upon the floor covered in petals.
Lockhart, about to take a drink, looked over in surprise. He saw that the men were dressed like Dark Wizards, cloaked in black with their faces hidden.
The vast hall fell silent, and the students looked at these strangers in alarm, instinctively seeking refuge from the professors.
On the staff table, Professor McGonagall, who had remained expressionless throughout Lockhart's speech, stood up and approached them, asking, "Who are you, and what brings you here?"
She wasn't overly anxious because the castle's alarms and defenses hadn't been activated, proving that these individuals weren't intruders but had been granted permission by the headmaster.
"Sorry to interrupt your lunch, Professor McGonagall," the leader said, removing his hood to reveal a lion-like face with tawny hair like a mane and sharp, yellow eyes.
Professor McGonagall's tense expression relaxed slightly, and a barely noticeable smile appeared on her lips. "Scrimgour?"
"It's me, Professor McGonagall," Scrimgour said, bowing slightly. "I seem to have interrupted a romantic gathering... But to arrest a notorious criminal, I had to do this. I hope you can understand."
Professor McGonagall furrowed her brows and said, "There are only teachers and students here. Where is the criminal you speak of?"
"Of course, there is."
Scrimgour's gaze shifted to Lockhart behind him, and in the latter's tense stare, he said coldly, "Gilderoy Lockhart, we have solid evidence that you have illegally used powerful Forgetfulness Charms on multiple individuals to steal their fame, causing them hardship and even making them forget their own names. You are under arrest. Come with us!"
"Merlin—"
Hermione gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief.
The students stared in shock, almost doubting their own ears, and then they all turned to look at the dazzlingly pink professor.
Lockhart's face turned pale, and even the reflection from his pink clothes couldn't hide his panic. He looked around helplessly at the crowd, and his voice was weak as he argued, "No... You can't do this... You have no authority to arrest me. I am a third-class recipient of the Order of Merlin!"
"Actually, I do!"
Scrimgour limped forward, and Lockhart stumbled back, bumping into a chair and almost falling.
The lion-like Auror towered over him, expressionless, and said, "The arrest warrant has been issued. If you have any arguments, save them for the Wizard's Council's trial."
Lockhart grabbed his wand, seemingly wanting to resist. But upon seeing the muscular male witch, whose muscles couldn't be concealed by his wizard's robe, and his right hand firmly holding the wand, as well as the Aurors in black cloaks behind him...
Lockhart struggled for a moment before finally releasing his wand in defeat, allowing Scrimgour to take it from him. At the same time, a rope flew out and bound Lockhart's hands.
"This... this is slander! Persecution!" Lockhart shouted as the Aurors pushed him out. "I will sue you! I am innocent!"
Students and professors watched silently as the Aurors escorted Lockhart out. Apart from a few devoted fans who still refused to believe, most people weren't surprised.
Over the past half-year, Lockhart's incompetence had been fully exposed. In fact, there had been doubts about his legendary stories, but everyone thought he was an excellent novelist, never imagining that even those stories weren't his own creations.
Apart from Professor McGonagall whispering a few more words to Scrimgour, the Aurors came and left in a hurry, their actions unhindered.
With Lockhart taken away, the Valentine's Day atmosphere seemed to have vanished. The teachers and students sat in the pink hall, feeling that this day was particularly bizarre.
Only the gnomes seemed unaffected, still singing their raspy, unpleasant songs.
After a while, a buzzing discussion filled the hall.
Michael was happy for a moment, but then he turned to Vold, looking conflicted. "Professor Quirrell at least taught for a whole year. Now that Professor Lockhart has been arrested, there's still more than half a semester left... What about our Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"
Vold once again deeply felt that they were Ravenclaws.
At this moment, only the Ravenclaws, and Hermione from Gryffindor, were concerned about this issue.
(End of Chapter)
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