Hogwarts Diary: Snape Goes Crazy

Chapter 179: Chapter 178 — Lockhart Wants to Escape

# Chapter 178 — Lockhart Wants to Escape

”What should we do?”

Harry looked at Vesey.

Vesey thought for a moment before speaking. ”Brother, I think I should go alone from here...”

”Don’t say anything foolish! We already agreed that the three of us would go together!”

Harry looked at her resolutely.

Vesey still shook her head.

”Seriously, there’s no point in you coming. I’m probably the only one who can kill the basilisk.

”You saw how powerful I was when I used my full strength. Hermione was there that day, so I couldn’t unleash my power completely without risking hurting her as well.

”I want to go alone and deal with it myself...”

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Points +101]

Harry shook his head in disagreement.

”You might be able to deal with the snake on your own, but what about the true Heir of Slytherin?”

”I don’t think he’s particularly powerful. If he were, he wouldn’t have been hiding in the shadows all this time, and he wouldn’t have simply sent the basilisk out to attack me.”

Vesey spoke seriously.

Harry and Ron continued shaking their heads.

”Even if he’s weak, he could still sneak up on you when you’re alone. And it’s the Chamber of Secrets! Who knows what dangers might be waiting down there?

”Take us with you. We can help you deal with everything!”

Vesey gave them a wry smile.

”If I take you two along, why not bring the professors as well?”

Ron was pale, but he forced himself to smile.

”The professors won’t let you go. They’d never allow a student to take part in something like this. If you refuse to take us with you, we’ll report your plan to them!”

Vesey stared at them for a while before finally nodding helplessly.

”Fine. But if we’re going together, we need to agree on three things first. If I say we’re in danger, you must run away immediately...”

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

After settling that matter, they discussed what time to meet that evening and where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was located. Then they quickly went their separate ways.

After all, the professors were probably looking for them already. If they discovered what the three of them intended to do, they would never allow them to enter the Chamber.

That night, Harry and Ron put on the Invisibility Cloak and went to the Slytherin common room to find Vesey.

She was already waiting for them. The moment she saw them arrive, she hurried over and slipped beneath the cloak with them.

There weren’t many professors patrolling the corridors that night. Perhaps they assumed all the students were safely in their dormitories.

Of course, it was also possible that Professor McGonagall had deliberately given them an opportunity to rescue Ginny.

After all, the diary had predicted that Vesey would save Ginny.

Perhaps if they simply allowed events to unfold naturally, everything would work out as it was supposed to.

Professor McGonagall might have wanted to catch the three of them and send them home with the other students, but there was no way to stop Vesey once she had made up her mind.

And when she looked at them with those green eyes, who could bring themselves to refuse her?

Not even Snape could do it.

”Hey, who’s that?”

As they entered the entrance hall, they suddenly heard a furtive voice.

”Could it be the Heir of Slytherin? Is he planning another attack tonight?”

Hidden in the darkness, Ron clenched his fists angrily.

”I really want to strangle that bastard!”

”Leave him to me,” Vesey said.

She recognized the person immediately.

It was Lockhart, sneaking around like a thief.

He was wearing a black robe with the hood pulled over his head and carrying a suitcase. Clearly, he intended to flee the school during the night rather than remain there until the students were sent home the following day.

”Petrificus Totalus!”

”Langlock!”

Vesey whispered the spells.

Lockhart was immediately immobilized, and his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, preventing him from speaking properly.

”Who... Lockhart?”

Harry approached and pulled back the hood, intending to see who they had caught.

The moment he saw the blond hair, however, he recognized the man.

It was none other than their own Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart.

”Brother, I’ve just put a professor under a spell...”

Vesey stepped beside Lockhart, putting on a worried expression.

Harry and Ron looked troubled.

”Undo the spells first!” Harry said. ”Then we can ask him what he’s doing here!”

Vesey quickly lifted the spells.

Before they could question Lockhart, he immediately began berating them.

”What are you three doing here? Get back to your dormitories at once! Just wait until I decide how to deal with you...”

Before he could finish, Harry and Ron each gave him a hard slap on the back of the head.

”Cut the nonsense! What are you doing out here? Are you trying to run away with your suitcase?

”If we call the professors right now, the worst we’ll get is a few house points deducted. But you? The famous Gilderoy Lockhart caught trying to escape Hogwarts! Imagine what that would do to your reputation!”

Lockhart’s expression darkened.

”I’m not running away! I’ve received an urgent notice. Yes, that’s it! Now get out of my way!”

Harry sneered.

”An urgent notice? You’re threatening to deduct our points now? Fine, tell us who sent it, when you received it, and where the owl came from.”

”...”

Lockhart continued making things up, but Harry and Ron weren’t buying any of it.

”Then I’ll just have to—”

Lockhart reached into his pocket.

Vesey reacted immediately.

”Expelliarmus!”

The wand hidden in Lockhart’s pocket flew straight into her hand.

”Brother, Ron, he was going to cast a spell on you!”

Harry and Ron were so exasperated that they almost laughed.

”Perfect!” Ron said. ”Let’s take this idiot into the Chamber of Secrets with us. He’s a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and he’s written so many books. Surely he’ll know how to deal with a basilisk!”

He shoved Lockhart forward.

Lockhart turned deathly pale.

”Please... Don’t take me there! I can’t go! I can’t do anything!”

”But you’ve written so many books, and I’ve read them all,” Vesey said, pretending to be incredulous. ”Even if you aren’t particularly capable, surely you must know a great deal!”

Lockhart laughed bitterly.

”You foolish girl! Books can be deceiving. Those stories were all taken from other people. I simply asked them about their experiences and published their stories under my own name.

”After all, if a witch is old, ugly, and has a loose tongue, why would anyone want to read about her adventures driving away ghouls?”

Vesey tightened her grip on her wand, feigning anger.

”So you stole other people’s experiences? What did you do to them? Did you kill them?”

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

Vesey was momentarily surprised.

Four notifications?

Who else was nearby?

Dumbledore? Snape?

Or were both of them there?

Now she understood why the professors had seemed to let her leave so easily. They might actually be following her and watching over her!

Seeing her angry expression, Lockhart hurriedly shook his head.

”No! I didn’t kill anyone! I only used a Memory Charm to make them forget their experiences. I didn’t do anything else...”

”You didn’t do anything?”

Vesey raised her wand and struck Lockhart across the mouth with it.

She had wanted to do that for a long time.

”You made them forget their own achievements and stole their glory for yourself, yet you still claim you did nothing? You don’t deserve to be a professor!

”Just wait! When we return from the Chamber of Secrets, I’ll report you to Headmaster Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic!”

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]