Chapter 91: Detention and Discovery
Chapter 91: Detention and Discovery
A few hours ago, Ron had a heart-pounding detention experience.
At eight in the evening, he nervously knocked on Professor Lockhart's door, stammering that he was there for detention.
"Is that so?" Lockhart looked rather unwell. "Oh, right, yes! You little rascal..."
He dragged Ron into his office and pushed him into a chair.
"Hmm, the punishment... let me think. How can I make you genuinely repent and weep with gratitude for the greatness of Gilderoy Lockhart?"
Ron gaped at him, wondering if Lockhart's arrogance had worsened.
"I've got it!" Lockhart exclaimed, grabbing a stack of bulging envelopes from a corner cabinet.
"Professor, what are these?" Ron swallowed hard, hoping against hope...
"These are letters from my adoring fans. I've collected some of them—my favorites! You need to copy them all." Lockhart said with enthusiasm.
Things were going in the worst possible direction.
Ron felt that the letters combined were thicker than the two hefty books Malfoy had copied.
He opened an envelope and pulled out the letter. It began: "Dear Gilderoy, I am your most adorable and loyal reader, Moriah. I fall asleep every night hugging your books because they have your most charming photos. Oh, Gilderoy, your curly hair makes my heart flutter. I can't wait to share a great adventure with you in my dreams..."
"Ugh", Ron nearly gagged.
"Are you feeling sick?" Lockhart asked.
"No—"
"Then start copying. This is your punishment for attacking a professor, no, it's a reward—letting you share in the greatness of my readers and myself."
Lockhart was unusually straightforward today. Ron had always thought he was like a peacock, at least hiding his rear when displaying his feathers.
But Ron had no choice. He had to force himself not to think about the content he was copying. After just two lines, he felt nauseous again.
So he shifted his focus to Lockhart, trying to think of anything else to keep his mind occupied.
A few feet away, Lockhart spread out a piece of parchment, dipped his quill in ink, and began writing in elaborate cursive, muttering, "Merlin, I'm so unlucky, having to apologize to that dimwit Fudge..."
Ron spent a terrifying evening, as Lockhart seemed to have let his guard down, sharing several secrets.
He complained about Dumbledore deceiving him and Professor Hepworth stealing his thunder.
He also mentioned his school days. On one Valentine's Day, he spent a fortune buying a stack of cards for himself, but it didn't make much of an impact. He had to live frugally for two months afterward...
Finally, it was midnight. Ron mustered the courage to ask if he could leave. Lockhart glanced at the clock, "It's that late already? Go on, put the letters in the cabinet and continue tomorrow."
Ron carried the stack of letters and grunted as he approached the large cabinet. He tried to open it, but the door wouldn't budge. "Professor Lockhart, the cabinet is locked!"
Lockhart mumbled a few words and waved his wand. It took three tries before the door finally popped open, almost hitting Ron's nose.
Ron opened the cabinet, which had several small drawers. He didn't know where to put the letters but was too afraid to ask. He had to pull open each drawer to find a suitable space.
When he flipped to a certain compartment, he saw a Parchment held in place by a clip. The first line of text caught his eye and made him stop.
"Record of the Visit to the Elder Wizard in Armenia (Note)."
He skimmed through a couple more lines—
"If we ignore the fact that the protagonist is an ugly, elderly Armenian Wizard, the story itself is quite captivating."
In the middle, there was a section that seemed to be a record of someone's words, "Indeed, the villagers were in a tragic state, constantly facing the threat of werewolves. The initial cause was the killing of a young wolf that had attacked their livestock. Truly a sad affair~"
Ron's heart pounded. He didn't know why, but he quietly extracted a few pages from the middle of the document—daring not to take the top page.
Lockhart's voice echoed from a distance, "What are you dawdling about?"
"J-just a moment, Professor Lockhart." Ron stuffed the extracted pages into his robes and haphazardly scattered the remaining letters into three drawers before hastily closing the cabinet.
"Professor, I'm leaving now." Ron quickly ran out of Lockhart's office.
His heart continued to race as he made his way back.
When he returned to the common room, it was nearly empty. He hid in a corner and carefully read the three pages he had taken from his robes.
After a while, he felt confused. Although the content of the story seemed familiar, it appeared to be a regular interview.
Did Lockhart also work as a journalist?
Ron returned to the dormitory and found Harry already asleep. He casually slipped the Parchment into a book and fell into bed.
In the following week, Hogwarts was peaceful and serene.
There were no attacks to worry about, and no exams to stress over. The young wizards enjoyed a dreamlike weekend.
Hermione finally removed her mask. She now only needed to wear a hat to cover her cat ears, and she looked completely normal otherwise.
"Lavender thought I had some terminal illness", Hermione said, taking deep breaths of fresh air. Her face was flushed from the cold, but she had no intention of tying a scarf around her neck.
"Who's Lavender?" Ron asked.
"She's my roommate."
Ron tried to picture her, then asked uncertainly, "Is she the one with freckles?"
"No, Ron. I thought you would remember the Gryffindor wizards in your year", Hermione said sharply.
"I do remember, but I can't match the faces. And do you know Dean Thomas?" Ron countered.
"Of course!"
"Have you ever spoken to him?"
Hermione clamped her mouth shut.
That evening, Felix guided Hermione through the upgrade plan for her beaded purse.
Felix looked at the Parchment with interest, "You plan to partition some space inside? To store things? It's a good attempt, but the difficulty will increase accordingly."
"Professor, do you think I can manage it with my current level?" Hermione asked.
"Hmm... if you want to complete it on your own, you'll need to—let me think—learn 21 practical Runic Scripts, become proficient in carving some Runic Script circuits, and study some basic Alchemy theory."
"I can provide you with a list of reference books."
Felix quickly wrote down a series of titles, and Hermione's lips twitched slightly...
(End of Chapter)
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