Chapter 248: If Possible, No One Wants to Be a Liar Forever!
Chapter 248: If Possible, No One Wants to Be a Liar Forever!
"Hisss~ Open!" Ivan rushed to the Abandoned Girls' Washroom and reopened the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Without hesitation, he jumped in.
He slid through the Smooth, Dark Tunnel and eventually fell to the ground. Ivan didn't even have time to clean the sticky dust and dirt from his clothes before he gripped his Wand and walked into the Chamber.
The sound of rushing water slowly reached his ears. A massive Serpent Statue stood on one side, with streams of water gushing out of its mouth and flowing into the Pools on either side.
In the center of the Pools, a long corridor led to a platform where a figure in deep purple robes and a golden-red cloak stood with their back to him, in front of the statue of Slytherin.
Hearing the footsteps behind him, Lockhart suddenly turned around. Seeing Ivan on the other side of the corridor, his expression turned very nervous. He waved his hands frantically and said with a forced smile, "Hals, what are you doing here?"
"Lockhart!" Ivan angrily waved his Wand.
Whoosh~
A blinding red light shot towards Lockhart, but it was deflected by the Protective Cloak, hitting the Serpent Statue and blasting a large hole in its head. Debris and dust fell from the air.
Lockhart saw the fate of the statue and swallowed hard, taking a few steps back.
Although the Spell had been blocked by the Protective Cloak, Lockhart felt no sense of security. After all, he had seen Ivan's true strength.
"There's no need to pretend anymore. Hand over the Horcrux!" Ivan, seeing the situation, was not overly concerned. He took a step closer.
Over the past few days at the school, Ivan had experimented and figured out how to use the Blood Magic Basilisk's Eye. A Protective Cloak was no obstacle.
"Horcrux? What are you talking about?" Lockhart tried to continue his defense, but when he saw Ivan raising his Wand again, he quickly changed his tune.
"If you mean a black Diary, it's no longer in my possession!"
"Did you give it to your admirers?" Ivan was not surprised and mocked him.
"They trusted you so much, and you used them to feed Tom Riddle? You really have no qualms."
The moment he saw the task completed, Ivan understood everything that had been unclear before.
After Dobby lost the Horcrux, it was picked up by Lockhart. Only Lockhart could easily gain the trust of so many young witches from different houses and grades.
"This can't be blamed on me. They volunteered to help me. Besides, they didn't die, did they? Thanks to their efforts, I'm one step closer to becoming a master of magic." Lockhart shrugged, looking quite innocent.
"So? Did Tom heal you?" Ivan was amused by Lockhart's words. He had never thought Lockhart could be so stupid.
He had assumed that after fooling so many powerful Wizards and writing so many legendary stories, Lockhart would have learned something.
But he never expected Lockhart to so easily believe the words of an evil Diary.
However, to Ivan's surprise, Lockhart nodded and said proudly, "Of course! He healed me, or I wouldn't have worked with him."
"Four-Point Split!" Lockhart waved his Wand boastfully, and a Magic Power ray struck a nearby stone pillar, creating a small hole.
"Did you see that? I just successfully cast a Spell! Of course, I know I still have a long way to go to match the skills of a master, but I believe it will be different soon."
"And not only that, I can even speak Parseltongue now", Lockhart said, his face flushed with excitement and agitation as he showed off his new abilities to Ivan.
For a man who loved to show off like Lockhart, the sudden boost in power had almost driven him mad with the urge to boast, but he had been too afraid to share it with anyone else.
"Do you really understand who you made a deal with? It's the Dark Lord! Do you think he would be so kind?" Ivan listened to Lockhart's words, feeling a chill in his heart.
In his view, Lockhart had been deeply influenced by the Horcrux, and there was a good chance that his soul had already been corrupted by Tom Riddle without him even realizing it, which allowed him to speak Parseltongue.
With this in mind, Ivan approached Lockhart step by step, his expression unchanged. The closer he got to Lockhart, the more effective the Basilisk's Eye would be.
He needed to save the Enhancement Rune, which could only be used once every six hours, and conserve enough Magic Power to deal with Tom Riddle. He didn't want to waste too much energy on Lockhart.
"But I had no choice!" Lockhart suddenly calmed down, looking at Ivan with a disappointed expression.
"Hals, I asked you twice to help me, to tell me the secret of becoming powerful quickly. I was willing to pay more Galleons, but you still refused, didn't you?"
"I've already told you, I don't have anything like that", Ivan replied, frowning.
"Don't lie to me! I saw everything you wrote to him in that diary. There is a way, isn't there? It's right here in the Chamber of Secrets!"
Lockhart interrupted Ivan excitedly, his eyes turning red, and his whole body trembling with emotion.
He stared at Ivan, his face showing both envy and jealousy as he muttered.
"Do you know, Hals? I've always envied you!"
"You have everything I've ever wanted! Whether it's strength or fame, you stand out wherever you go. You can master a complex Spell in just a few hours."
"But I'm different from you. I'm so ordinary. Without some special means, I'll never stand out! Never!" Lockhart sounded almost hysterical.
"Your Obliviate is better than anyone else's. Isn't that your talent? You've just been using it in the wrong place!" Ivan imprinted Lockhart's deranged appearance in his mind, feeling a chill run through him.
"What's the use of that?" Lockhart sneered.
"No matter how well you cast Obliviate, you can only be a regular employee in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement, casting the Spell on those foolish Muggles day after day to make them forget things they shouldn't remember!"
"I need flowers and applause, and I need everyone to pay attention to me, to worship me. That's the life I should be living!" Lockhart looked entranced, then his expression turned vicious.
"Hals! No one wants to be a fraud all their life!"
(End of Chapter)
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