Lockhart's Discovery
"Tell Hermione to ask Hagrid to show her the thestral herd. And don't let anyone tell you that you can't sit at the Gryffindor table!" he said sternly. "You are only required to sit at your House table for the official Feasts." He smiled, "You could even invite them to the Ravenclaw table when you feel comfortable with that."
There was a POP and Miksy was back. "Miksy told small professor. He be here soon he say."
"Thank you, Miksy. You may go now. I hope you have a pleasant night." The House-elf stared at him a moment. A huge tear appeared at the corner of her eye. "Youse thanks Miksy?"
He smiled at the House-elf. "Of course I do, you deserve nothing less and considerably more. Now off with you!" and he made a gently shooing motion. The elf POPed away. Luna looked at him speculatively for a time before returning to her usual dreamy state.
Moments later, the diminutive professor came hurrying down the corridor, still shrugging on his robes. "Professor Lockhart, what seems to be the problem?"
"Ah," Harry/Gilderoy turned to the Half-Goblin, "How good of you to come so quickly," He smiled and tilted his head just so to make his hair sway as if touched by a light breeze.
"I was wandering the halls this evening. You see I was pondering how I should write about my experiences here at Hogwarts this year. I realize that the book wouldn't be as exciting as my others would, but for the nostalgia, it might be fun for my fans. I could explore some of the old stories about the Castle, such as what happened to Ravenclaw's Diadem, Hufflepuff's Cup, Slytherin's Locket, and Gryffindor's Sword. Perhaps even find the missing items themselves! Wouldn't that be smashing? And then there's the Chamber of Secrets! Maybe I could call it 'Hunting in Hogwarts'? Hmmm?" He shook his head, tossing his hair artfully.
"So, I was wandering the halls trying to decide where I could get the best background for my cover picture. Have to be careful of where we shoot," he said confidingly. "I don't want the Castle colours to clash with my robes! It mustn't be too dark, or it shan't bring out the colours in my robes and the highlights in my hair. I can't pose in front of any of the House Doors, of course, because some might view that as a slight on the other Houses. The Great Hall is too busy and the colours definitely would pull attention from my robes. The moving staircases might be fun, but the movements might distract people from me. I'm just not sure." He sighed dramatically, projecting the image someone frustrated at their lack of progress.
The Charms professor's eye's narrowed dangerously, "I hope you didn't call me out here just to tell me that," he said flatly, fingering his wand.
"What?" said the D.A.D.A. Professor, feigning surprise, "Oh, of course not. I needed to call your attention to your little lost Ravenclaw here." He stepped aside to reveal Luna, now peering dreamily at her Head of House.
Flummoxed, the little professor just stared.
"Yes, as I said, I was wandering the halls and found her doing so as well." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, it is after curfew, so I decided the thing to do would be to escort the young Witch back to her dorm. Imagine my surprise when your raven refused to ask its riddle, even when asked politely! Now, how is Miss Lovegood, a demure and proper young Witch, supposed to return to her dorm when there is no riddle for her to answer? She can see auras quite well, but she can't walk through closed doors."
Professor gave a sharp look at Gilderoy and then looked searchingly at Luna. Then he turned to the raven and started casting a detection spell.
"It looks suspiciously like someone has cast a confundus spell on the bird," Gilderoy added helpfully.
"Now," he said, "I'm not one to tell another how to run their House, but surely pranks such as this, leaving the poor girl wandering the cold stone corridors all night, are in bad taste." He paused. "Especially when the dear girl has," here his tone dropped flat, "no shoes."
Flitwick took a startled look at the girl's bare feet.
"Yes," Gilderoy continued, "hiding one's shoes is a Firstie prank, but casting a confundus is clearly well above this girl's class's skill level."
His voice was no longer light and airy, "Now it begins to look like upper-year students bullying a lower-year," he said low and sternly. He stared down at the Ravenclaw Head of House. "And aren't Prefects supposed to check that all pre-OWL students are in the dorm and in bed at Lights Out? Especially the Firsties? Someone has obviously failed in their duty." And Flitwick could tell that Gilderoy was clearly thinking that it was one short professor who was at fault and not the Prefects.
Professor Flitwick was looking decidedly upset.
"When I first entered Hogwarts I was told the House was my family, that we looked out and helped one another," Gilderoy continued. "Well, I had my share of 'family' disagreements, but I never maliciously stole things, nor locked anyone out of the Dorm in their bare feet. Nor did anyone do that to me, even when I was at my most obnoxious."
He pulled out his wand. "Let's make a test, shall we? Is it a prank or bullying? I sincerely hope it is merely a lone prank carried a bit too far." He took a deep breath and forcefully said. "Accio Luna Lovegood's things taken without her permission and are outside her House!"
The Charms professor took a step back. He had felt that spell!
The three stood in silence and the time passed. After almost a half-a-minute with nothing happening, Lockhart turned to the other two, smiling, and said, "Well. I must admit I am relieved . . . ."
At that moment, a book sedately came flying down the corridor. His face fell, "Ah, maybe not, then."
After a minute, there was a small pile of homework parchments, books, a blouse, and three pairs of shoes — each shoe of a pair came from a different direction. It was a bit more than a dozen items, total, but it was enough to prove his point. Luna was looking at him with a blank expression. Flitwick was furious.
"Well," Gilderoy said quietly, "I will see you at breakfast then." He turned and started back towards his quarters, muttering, "Stalking With Students? Persuading With Professors? Helping At Hogwarts? Bashing a Basilisk?"
"Restraining a Rat," called the little witch, suddenly.
Gilderoy spun, stunned, and stared at the little Ravenclaw. Flitwick was staring, puzzled at both of them.
The flamboyant Wizard abruptly grinned happily, "An excellent suggestion, Miss Lovegood. I shall keep it in mind." He turned back and walked off, whistling a light tune. He would do everything he could to make sure that Luna had the opportunities she so deserved this time around.
The next morning, students were surprised to see that Ravenclaw House had lost two hundred points, and that the Ravenclaw table seemed especially quiet. Almost no one noticed that Luna Lovegood sat between Hermione and Harry.
Hermione looked puzzled and was mouthing the words nargle and platypus. Harry and Neville looked completely befuddled. Ron was upset that someone not a Gryffindor dared sit with his best-friend, Harry. Even if he was mad at Harry at the moment for being a spoiled rich prat.
....
Gilderoy paced back and forth on the seventh floor, opposite a tapestry of some daft Wizard trying to teach trolls ballet — one of the few tapestries that didn't move. He had had a wild thought the night before and was trying it today.
He knew that Come-and-Go Room held Ravenclaw's Diadem and the only thing holding him back was that he needed Basilisk poison to destroy the Horcrux. And his current finances were insufficient to acquire what he needed.
But last night, as he was mushing on that, he had thought, 'why not ask the Come-and-Go Room if there was a safer way, a better way to get rid of the Horcruxes?'
Hence, today, he was pacing in front of that room's hidden entrance, thinking, I need a way to destroy a horcrux without destroying the object containing it. One his third pass a door appeared — a stone door with a metal handle.
With more than a little trepidation, he grabbed the handle and pulled. Nothing happened. He frowned thinking, and then grinned. He pushed the door, and it slowly and smoothly opened. The foot-thick door was bevelled so that the short corridor inside was bigger than the door by several inches, and a step down, much like a bank vault door mounted backwards.
The door's slow movement was because of its great weight and not that the hinges needed oiling. Four yards away was another door. The second foot-thick door was just as massive, also opened away, and similarly bevelled to be bigger inside the chamber into which it opened.
The chamber was a large stone room of perhaps four yards on a side. Engraved into the floor was a runic circle. He bent and examined it. The circle was actually a set of tiny runes repeated around the entire circle, twenty rows total. Other runes covered the rest of the floor, and the door, walls, and ceiling, such that a half-a-dozen runes occupied every square inch.
A scroll was lying on the floor just outside the circle. He picked it up and read, Wait one hour. Place the horcrux in the circle. Place your wand tip to the circle and say, Exorcizamus immundus spiritus. Immediately exit and close the inner door. Wait five minutes before re-opening the inner door.
"I dub thee, the Horcrux Room!" said Gilderoy gleefully after reading the parchment. He dropped it into his pocket and carefully closed both doors as he exited. The door vanished once he was back out in the corridor.
Now all he had to do was grab the diadem.
He grinned broadly. Gilderoy was beside himself with glee. It was going to be great fun to announce that he had discovered the long lost Diadem of Ravenclaw — in Hogwarts! He could almost picture Professor Flitwick's face as he presented the Ravenclaw's lost Diadem to him, saying it was in the Castle for the last fifty years. His books were going to see a huge jump in sales when that news hit the public. He would have to time it very carefully.
Yes, wait until after Ginny opens The Chamber of Secrets, then he can claim he found the diadem while searching for the chamber. Oh, this was shaping up to be the best book of them all! And the best part, it was ALL HIS DOING!
He wondered what Dumbledore would say when he told him the diadem had been cursed with extremely evil magic that he, Gilderoy, had managed to vanquish using his in-depth knowledge of runes and a protection circle.
And then tell the Headmaster that he is very concerned because he can feel the same taint of evil magic emanating from Mr. Potter's scar, as well as another somewhere in the castle.
.....
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