259 A stormy day

(Dumbledore POV)

I watched the memory that I had been given with more than a little irritation as I already had an idea of what happened. It wasn't hard to figure out to be honest if one paid attention to details. Gilderoy Lockhart was a showman with an overinflated ego that wanted nothing more than to be the center of attention. Any skill he may have had when he left Hogwarts originally was clearly gone at this point which was confusing if his merited work was to be believed. The truth however quickly became clear in this memory.-

The man had simply foregone all other magics in exchange for a single one that he clearly used often. Obliviate , a nasty spell that I wish wasn't necessary to keep the wizarding world secret that erases memories. It took me a mere moment after seeing the skill behind the spell used by the man to piece together the pieces of the puzzle and I don't like the conclusion I came to. Lockhart had likely taken other wizard and witches credit for these accomplishments while erasing their knowledge of them even having done it themselves.-

The memory was so tinted by rage after that that I had to activate my own occlumency abilities to keep it from infecting me as well. I was impressed by Nick's self control in the face of such raw violent emotions even if the rather hard kick to Lockhart's legs to knock him over showed he felt the need to hurt the man. Once I returned to reality from the memory I could only look at the paralyzed man on the stone transfigured horse with a frown. Taking out my wand I pressed it forward "EXPECTO PATROMUM!" I said and a spectral phoenix flew out of the tip before rapidly vanishing down the hallway in search of Severus.-

I dismissed the transfiguration which sank into the floor restoring the total mass of the castle. I then conjured ropes to bind Lockhart before removing Nick's petrification of the man before applying my own. Perhaps Nick hadn't realized it but his anger at the time of casting the petrification charm had corrupted it slightly to slowly cause Lockhart to suffocate. Had it been lifted any later and it may have caused actual damage to the mans brain. A few moments later Severus came around the corner at a fast walk carrying a vial of golden potion with a deep glare.-

"There's an empty classroom nearby , we can use that to administer the veritaserum." I say softly and he merely nods quiet even for him. I couldn't blame him however as this matter was very serious and could have wide reaching consequences. It wasn't as simple as Lockhart merely attacking a normal student but had several other factors that could inflate this case greatly. For example how the student he attacked was the heir to house Ravenclaw. Or the fact that he may have obliviated any number of wizards illegally.-

Azkaban was a guaranteed outcome for the man but the exact sentence depended on exactly what this truth serum would reveal. My biggest concern however was the storm raging outside the castle that I could hear howling and rumbling in constant reminder of the very short fused student that needed time to calm down. After Lockhart was strapped to a chair in the empty room I woke him up with the energizing spell "REENERVATE!" I spoke and his eye shot open immediately and he looked confused for a moment before opening his mouth , likely to spew some nonsense about being attacked.-

Severus however immediately shoved the now open vial of veritaserum into the man's mouth causing him to choke and sputter for a moment as the potion seeped down his throat. "Name?" Severus spoke sternly once the telltale glazed eyes showed up on the man. "Gilderoy Lockhart" the drugged man said in a monotone. Severus looked at me and nodded to show that the potion was working as intended. While it was normally illegal to use veritaserum on an unwilling person that law had a clause that stated that so long as it was administered by a ministry approved individual it was still admissible.-

Severus as one of the few grandmaster potioneers was automatically counted as a ministry approved person. "Did you attack Nicholas Ravenclaw with malicious intent?" I asked familiar with court approved interrogation etiquette. "Yes." the man said blandly. "Why?" I pressed. "I intended to take his accomplishments for myself since he didn't deserve them." the man spoke and Severus visibly grit his teeth and I myself also felt more than a little anger at this answer. "How did you plan to take these accomplishments?" I asked holding down my temper but both Severus and I needed to step out of the room after hearing the answer lest we act on our anger.