Chapter 18 One Secret Too Many
It was mid-January, three weeks after the story broke about the Basilisk, and things had quieted down at both the school and elsewhere. He was amazed that no one had noticed the Ministry announcement about the Lordships. Or, perhaps, the smart ones were merely waiting to see why the announcements were so low-key. Usually, Houses made a big deal, with lots of pomp and circumstance, when investing a new Lord as Head of House.
It was time, Lockhart decided, to stir the cauldron once more.
As he had known would happen, Hermione's fur was slowly disappearing. She had taken his advice and acquired high-heel shoes to explain her sudden increase in height, but hadn't yet realized she no longer needed them. The constant cat-walking on her toes had transitioned to wearing the high-heels out of habit — Harry was not the only one to notice the way her robes swayed as she walked, and how her hands hit her hips. And the fact that she now had a beautiful smile of perfect teeth. Unfortunately, Mr. Weasley was not one of those to be so observant. He persisted in arguing with and insulting her. His relationship with Harry was almost as tumultuous. Already, they were drifting apart and Harry was finding it difficult to keep his friendship on an even keel.
Gilderoy's talk with Mr. Weasley at the Ministry had apparently made its way to the twins because they suddenly took to sitting with Ron between them, carefully monitoring, and correcting, his eating habits. When questioned during a detention taken from Snape, Harry told Gilderoy that the twins had sworn an oath to their younger brother to cease using him as a test subject for their pranks. Otherwise, the poor berk would have been terrified to eat anything in such close proximity to them. The twins pulling their brother aside at meals also put a barrier between the two erstwhile friends. It had also given the red-headed boy something to complain about to Harry that didn't involve Hermione.
The Weasley parents had also given Percy a dressing down it appeared. He was much less officious during his rounds as a Prefect. And he seemed to be writing home much more frequently, making it a point that Ginny included a message every time his owl headed that way.
Hermione's assistantship to Snape had stunned the school, and she had spent the entire afternoon and evening that first day after the other students returned from holidays correcting homework assignments the Firsties had all turned in to Professor Snape. Not knowing exactly what to expect, she had read them all first, then sorted them into piles separated by how much the homework actually said compared to what Professor Snape had told her he expected — he had written a sample "perfect" assignment for her reference. Only then did she start grading them, rereading them again. Continuing that would cut quite heavily into her time with Harry, so Gilderoy had pulled her aside the next afternoon as she and Harry headed to supper.
"Ah, Miss Granger! A moment of your time!"
The Witch had looked up at him, Harry stopping at her side. Gilderoy had been pleased to see they were holding hands. The school knew that Harry and Hermione were an item, as they went everywhere holding hands. Ginny, of course, was not pleased at this development. She had even made a few snarky comments about which broom-closet they preferred. She didn't seem to make the connection that the Witch she was criticizing was grading her potions' assignments. Or maybe she thought Hermione was too 'professional' to let such comments affect her grading. Lockhart doubted it. The Weasley girl was at the age where she had not yet connected that her current actions had consequences she would have to deal with later. It also made it difficult for Hermione to believe Gilderoy that she would make a good addition to their potential marriage.
"Yes, Professor Lockhart?" The Witch had been carrying a much larger load of parchments than normal — the homework assignments.
Lockhart had bestowed on her a generous display of his beautiful smile, striking a pose in his resplendent mauve robes.
"Because you are new to grading homework assignments, I thought I would give you a few pointers." In his future life, he had sheltered with a Muggle teacher for a couple of weeks. Somehow, the subject of grading papers came up — Harry hadn't understood how one got through them without losing one's mind. The woman had explained it quite simply, and so now, Harry/Gilderoy passed it on to Hermione. Or was that back, considering this was the past?
"First, take a parchment and write the name of the assignment at the top. Then make a list of the important details mentioned in lecture or in the textbook that are required in the assignment. Not mentioning those details shows that the student either doesn't understand the assignment or doesn't understand the subject. Failing to mention those details is a failed assignment. How many are left out indicates just how much of a failure it is," he said.
"Draw a line, then list the details you expect the paper to mention to show that the student actually read the textbook, listened in class, or researched as instructed. Draw another line and list the details that only the most diligent student will discover.
"Count how many details you have in the important list, and divide them into seventy. That becomes your passing grade, or 'Acceptable', if they get them all in the paper. Count the details in the second list and divide them into the remaining thirty points. Each detail you see in the paper you add that amount to the total score.
"The third list are extra-credit details that can fill in for missed details in the second list, or to give a bit of extra-credit."
"So, if you have four details that must be mentioned, they each are worth eighteen points – seventy-two total. If you have six details in the second list, each is worth five points, for a total of one-hundred-two for a diligent student. So, someone who gets the four main details and two of the secondary details gets a score of eighty-two, or an 'Exceeds Expectations'. Extra-credit details are worth the same as the secondary, so if a student included two of those as well, the score would go from eighty-two to ninety-two— an 'Outstanding.' Any score over one-hundred-two is an Outstanding Plus.
"See? Easy! Then, on a second parchment, you just make a grid chart of the students down the page and one column for each detail across the top, and then scan each assignment looking for those details. Check the boxes, and when you're done just add up the scores for a grade!"
"That will cut your reading time dramatically because you only need to read an assignment once. It also makes it much fairer. And if someone writes short or long homework, you take off points based on how much they missed the required length — part of homework is learning to write to the length specified! If the student can't write to the length assigned it means they are not following directions and need to be penalized!"
Both had stared at him wide-eyed.
Gilderoy nodded happily, "Yes, that's all there is to it. It's so simple you might even get Harry to help you occasionally — just don't let anyone see him doing that! Plus, once you have the assignment detail sheet, you never have to do it again and that saves you time as well for next year."
He had grinned happily; once more Gilderoy had bestowed important life-changing information to his students. "There now, that's sorted. Off with you, don't want to miss supper." He had made a shooing motion with his other hand.
And the two had taken his advice. It had helped that Hermione was a speed-reader. And far more organized than Snape ever would be. Now it took her less than an hour to grade a classes' homework instead of the two to three hours that Professor Snape usually used. With her penchant for scheduling, that meant she still had plenty of time to devote to helping Harry. Which she did.
Everyone had quickly settled into their new routines.
Harry spent almost all his time with Hermione. His goal this past month had been to prevent anyone from actually touching her hands or arms. While the glamour hid her appearance, someone touching her arm or hand would feel the fur and know something was wrong. Others interpreted it as him being an over-protective boyfriend. The girls thought it was "cute" while the boys his age thought it rather creepy. Some of the more intelligent older students noted their girlfriends' reaction and began mimicking him to a degree.
Gilderoy noticed that Hermione did a lot of touching of her own — running her fingers through his hair when he sat beside her on a couch or touching his arm with her hand to attract his attention or just when talking. They tended to bump together frequently when standing or walking, even when they weren't holding hands, a rare event.
Based on some of Harry's expressions, Gilderoy could see the little Wizard was amazed that anyone, especially a girl, would want close contact with him. And the smile he had whenever she reached over to take his hand gave Harry/Gilderoy a stab of jealousy.
Mr. Ron Weasley, it seemed, was a bit jealous of the attention the two bestowed on each other, and considered it an affront that Harry might want to spend time with someone other than himself. And he was very offended when Hermione refused to let him copy her assignments anymore. That Harry often allowed him to copy his work didn't seem to help, especially when he noticed that Harry was doing much better than he was on those assignments. In fact, of the group of five, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ron, Ron was always at the bottom of the assignment scores for their classes. And always did the worst in the practicals, as well, his new wand only making a small difference because the lazy git just didn't practice anything.
So it was that on the third Monday of the month, at breakfast, that Rita Skeeter once more sat with her photographer Bozo at the head of the Gryffindor table. The Headmaster was once more giving Gilderoy an unhappy glare. The students were once more staring at the flamboyant Professor, excitedly wondering what new surprise he was about to unveil. The other Professors watched with expressions ranging from undisguised glee, Professor Flitwick, to happy anticipation, the Witches at the Headmaster's Table, to boredom, Professor Snape.
"Professor McGonagall, if you would please?" Harry/Gilderoy invited the puzzled Professor to step to the front of the Headmaster's Table. He pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from his robes and dropped to one knee. He presented the sword to her with the blade resting on one hand and the hilt in his other. He said, "Professor McGonagall, it is with great pleasure that I, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award, and Hogwarts' beloved Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor return to your House, Gryffindor House, the lost Sword of Gryffindor! Not seen for many centuries and believed lost forever, only a true hero of Gryffindor may call the blade to his or her side in time of danger. While I am not a member of Gryffindor House, the Sword came to my hands while I fought the Basilisk for the safety of Hogwarts' students just a few weeks ago. I hereby return it to your hands so that it may join Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Entry Way Display Case for all to see."
To say the staff was stunned was an understatement.
"By the way, some Basilisk poison splashed on the blade, so be very careful. Being a Goblin blade, it has absorbed the poison. Even the slightest cut will be fatal," he explained as the staff, and especially the Headmaster, inspected the treasure. "As you all may remember from the articles in The Daily Prophet, I killed the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets with a sword. This is that sword!"
The sultry look the older Witch gave him as she left the Headmaster's Table with the Sword in hand to place it in the Entry Way Display case promised him a reprise of their frolic from their date night. Gilderoy was doing a little happy dance in his head while Harry was not sure what to think. Professor Sinistra was giving him a welcoming look, as well.
The Headmaster, for some reason, did not appear as happy about the Sword's return to Hogwarts as one might suppose. Harry wondered how long it would take the old fart to realize that the Sorting Hat was missing, he still had it in his robe-pocket. The Hat seemed to enjoy being out and about in the castle. It was in no hurry to return to the shelf it usually resided on in the Headmaster's Office with only Fawkes and portraits for company. He sometimes wore the Hat during his night-time patrols and activities for the conversation and relief that he had someone to confide in about his projects. They both appreciated the situation, and the Hat occasionally bemoaned having to return to its shelf for the summer.
The Witches had not yet noticed the Hat hanging on his wooden-elf in the bedroom. The Hat never complained about his having company over, no matter how late. The Hat, Harry decided, was the perfect discrete roommate.
Rita had another two days of headlines, and told Harry/Gilderoy she was now the highest paid reporter on the staff. And his reputation took another climb. Soon, as many people would know his name as did Harry Potter's.
(⊙_◎)
Valentine's Day, Sunday, was a hoot, as far as Harry/Gilderoy was concerned. It had taken only a slight encouragement on Gilderoy's part to get the Harry Potter Fan Club to send Valentine's Day cards enmass rather than a single card with all their names telling Harry that he could depend on their support.
The dwarfs brought him just as much amusement, and he made sure that the little Wizard received several 'singing' cards in the Great Hall at dinner and supper to maximize his mortification. Hermione was almost as embarrassed. The dwarves were grumpy, but he rewarded them well with generous bonuses for not going on a rampage and slaughtering the clueless students.
He did, however, sneak a private tea-and-scones picnic for the two children in the Come-and-Go Room in the middle of the afternoon. That took a bit of effort on his part, but coordinating with Dobby the two were able to set up a special and romantic tea room with a hidden entrance on the First Floor and keep the C&G Room's seventh floor location a secret for just a bit longer. From their smiles, he presumed the couple enjoyed their private 'together' time quite a lot.
Gilderoy found it interesting that Harry's little group had grown. And rearranged itself. Luna had switched to sitting by Neville at the meals. Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones had taken to sitting and studying with Harry and Hermione. The two girls alternated with each other on who actually sat beside him. At meals, the twins had kept Ron isolated from Harry as they concentrated on teaching the disgusting pig table manners. Recently, they had started letting him eat most of his meals away from them as a test, with the warning that if he fell back into his bad habit of eating like a starving dog, they would dragoon him into more proper eating etiquette lessons.
Ron was upset at having lost his prime seat beside Harry to a couple of girls who steadfastly refused his subtle requests that they move the bloody hell over. Instead, he found himself seated beside Hermione. Based his listening charms, Gilderoy knew the boy again blamed Harry for not treating his best mate better.
Hermione seemed to be taking the new arrangements on Harry's other side rather calmly. He did notice, though, that she sometimes allowed a quick expression of uneasiness when one of the other girls put her hand on Harry's arm or brushed up against him while they were eating, studying, or walking.
Was it possible Susan's aunt had ferreted out that Harry was indeed now Lord Potter, with at least two other House Lordships? Hopefully, she hadn't discovered that he had five total and Gilderoy was going to take two off his hands.
He would have to take Hermione aside on Monday and give her advice on how to handle the situation. To tell her that the best way to deal with the other girls was to become best friends with them, rather than to treat them as rivals to be out-witted or out-maneuvered. The only way a successful group marriage could work was if they were all good friends and not constantly trying to gain an advantage over each other.
The previous week, Gilderoy had spent a bit of time with Harry one evening during a detention explaining to him about Witches and their expectations regarding boyfriends and dating. He told him that flowers were always a good way to show one's appreciation for a Witch, and that there was even a 'language of flowers' that assigned a meaning to them when they were given. Things such as single full-bloom Red Rose meant I love you or I still love you, whereas a Yellow Rose meant joy and friendship. You could even use Monkshood to say Beware; A deadly foe is near. Hopefully he would never need that last!
Jewellery, such as bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, were also always a good idea, especially considering one could embed powerful protective spells and enchantments into them.
Based on Hermione's reactions on Valentine's Day, and the new bracelet with book and broomstick charms that she wore, Gilderoy felt it had been a very productive detention. At supper, the other two girls noticed and immediately started admiring the new bracelet, complimenting Hermione profusely in the process. It didn't take a Seer to see that the three girls would have a conversation regarding Harry in the near future.
(◎_◎)
"Ah, Madam Bones! So good of you to give me a few moments of your time!"
The Head of the D.M.L.E. nodded at the Wizard as he entered her office. She had mixed feeling about this meeting. So far this year, every time the Wizard's name came up, something major happened in the Wizarding world. He had had an interesting career before his placement as the D.A.D.A. professor at Hogwarts, but he was now quite the gadfly.
One the one hand, previously he had appeared very ineffectual, regardless of what his books said. Yet since November, he had set the Wizarding World on its head, with something new every few weeks. First, there was the claim of attempted murder on Harry Potter, and the revelations about the boy's First Year that no one had suspected. Then, somehow, he was involved in the fiasco with Lucius Malfoy — and had sent a tip regarding a hidden room in the Wizard's home that had yielded a veritable bonanza of Dark Artefacts. That alone guaranteed she would see him when he asked. What other titbits might he know?
That he next recovered the lost Ravenclaw Diadem, slew a Basilisk in Hogwarts, and thoroughly humiliated the Headmaster in the process merely enhanced her curiosity! Then he announced he had recovered the lost Sword of Gryffindor.
And, seemingly by accident, over the last few months he had managed to discredit Dumbledore and force him to give up several politically important positions. And Dumbledore, while still a powerful figure in Wizarding politics, wasn't the unassailable figure he had been. Their discoveries during his disposition at the Ministry following the furore over the Basilisk had damaged his credibility severely — he was clearly no true figure of Light. And now many in the Ministry and Wizengamot knew this, even if the public didn't yet. He had managed to keep his position as Headmaster only with difficulty. Bones was sure that blackmail of some sort was involved.
For an ineffectual Wizard, Lockhart was either incredibly lucky or incredibly underhanded and sneaky. And if the reports she had received from Gringotts were correct, he was the richest Wizard in the world.
Hence her immediate agreement to this meeting when he had owled her yesterday. With that kind of record, she couldn't say no. Besides, he was very rich. And single. And rich. Did she mention single?
"I understand how difficult it is to work an unexpected visit into your schedule, Madam Bones. Between my classes at Hogwarts and working on my new book, I barely seem to have time to eat. And the new book, Burrowing with a Basilisk, is shaping up nicely, too. I expect it to be one of my biggest sellers, outperforming my last book, Magical Me, by a large margin, as impossible as that may seem," Gilderoy said enthusiastically. "The chapter on my duel with the giant serpent is the most exciting thing I've ever written, I'll have you know. Of course, all the mundane investigating and searching I had to do beforehand isn't nearly as thrilling . . . ."
"Mr. Lockhart," interrupted Madam Bones, not pleased with his meanderings about his book and beginning to understand why he was still single, "What did you want to tell me?"
"Oh, yes." Lockhart smiled, not perturbed at being interrupted. "Well, I have come across some information that seems to indicate that one of your ministry personnel was involved in Lucius Malfoy's death, poor man." He shook his head in sadness at the senseless loss of life.
She nodded, acknowledging his statement and encouraging him to continue.
"Well, I was dining with Mr. Weasley last November here at the Ministry. I had some concerns about his sons and I was giving him advice on how best to remedy the situation. His twin sons, Fred and George, both Fourth Year students, are quite a handful, I must say. They are creating problems for his youngest son, Ron, a Second Year. Percy, who is a Prefect and a Sixth Year, is becoming a right prat, more interested in following rules and authority than thinking for himself." He shook his head sadly at that assessment.
"Percy is a bit of a problem, but with close attention by his father over the next two years I think we can get him back on track to being a decent Wizard instead of a self-important self-aggrandizing twit." He smiled broadly, wondering if she would notice his self-description prior to this year.
"Ron is going to require quite a lot of attention. He has feeling of inadequacy because of how exceptionally successful all his brothers are at school, and is immensely jealous of his friends. The twins are contributing to that with their constant teasing and pranking . . . ."
Madam Bones cleared her throat loudly, interrupting the Wizard. She was beginning to understand why so many Wizards had little regard for him.
"What? Oh, yes." Gilderoy smiled at her, not at all embarrassed at rambling.
"Well, we had finished our discussion and were passing a few harmless remarks back and forth at desert. I noticed that Mr. Macnair, seated at the next table, seemed rather agitated when I asked about a rumour that Mr. Malfoy was talking with your Aurors — that he was meeting with you on a regular basis about possible Death Eater activities after the War."
Madam Bones shifted in her chair. "Mr. Malfoy was doing nothing of the sort."
"I understand that, now. It was just a rumour. I wonder how it started? Perhaps an enemy of the Wizard started it hoping to cause Mr. Malfoy problems with his former associates?" He paused, arching his eyebrows inquisitively. "In any event, Mr. Wealsey denied hearing the rumour, so I dismissed it."
She stared at him unblinkingly.
"Well, what brings me here is that I was planning to ask Mr. Weasley to another luncheon meeting to discuss the changes in his sons since the last time we talked. Reviewing my notes on our previous conversation, I remembered that Mr. Macnair had overheard us. And that not too many days later Mr. Malfoy was murdered. An odd coincidence, wouldn't you say? Then I remembered that both Mr. Macnair and Mr. Malfoy claimed they had been imperiused into being Death Eaters.
"However, we both know from your prisoner interrogations at Azkaban that you can only receive the Dark Mark if you give your complete and uncoerced assent. Of course, I know you can't arrest any released Death Eaters based on old evidence because of the double-jeopardy laws, but what if one of them were to commit a new crime? Then you could interrogate them properly, correct?
"Well, I'm not one to tell someone how to run her department, but maybe you could place a truth detecting spell on the chair here, and then ask Mr. Macnair in to see if he had heard that rumour or knew anything about Mr. Malfoy's death. If the spell indicates he is lying when he denies having any knowledge of Mr. Malfoy's demise, well, then you have a reason to apply veritaserum." Gilderoy reached into his pocket and put a small vial on her desk. "There's a memory of the end of the conversation in question and Mr. Macnair's reaction."
The Head of the D.M.L.E. nodded slowly, still expressionlessly.
"Well, that's all I wanted to say. I hope it gives you some assistance in solving Mr. Malfoy's murder." He stood, gave her a beaming smile, and said, "Again, thank you for taking the time to hear my concerns. I'll not take any more of your precious time." He headed for the door as she stood at her desk. "Oh," he said, "No need to get up, I'll see myself out." He put his hand on the doorknob. "Oh, by the way, did you know that Mrs. Yolanda Travers is a marked Death Eater? And no one ever investigated or interrogated her? She's just been quietly hiding."
He beamed at her as he opened the door and walked out, closing the door carefully.
A few days later he read in The Daily Prophet that Mr. Macnair had been arrested for being involved in Mr. Malfoy's death and would be placed on trial the following month. Almost as an aside, it mentioned he had identified three other Wizards as being active Death Eaters, all now in custody and undergoing interrogation.
(◎_⊙)
It was the ides of March and Gilderoy, under a disillusionment spell, snuck over to the edge of the Hogwarts Wall closest to Hogsmeade. Harry and Hermione were having a picnic there instead of eating their noonday meal in the Great Hall, as was everyone else. All the Witches in Gryffindor had been jealous of the "romantic" luncheon Harry had planned. Harry and Hermione were celebrating the Witch's return to fully human status, except for a slight vertical angling in her pupils and the ability to purr. Actually, she had returned to fully human status at the end of January, but Gilderoy had only recently suggested that they two celebrate the event.
Lockhart had the suspicion that Harry missed Hermione's extra chest 'accessories' but wasn't about to mention that!
It was also the farthest point from the Castle and just barely inside the protective enchantments. The House elves had been more than happy to assist. Only Harry and Hermione knew that Gilderoy had set everything up, but he had waited until they finished eating before joining them.
"Good afternoon, Professor Lockhart," the two chorused as he appeared walking towards them. Once he had their full attention, Rita Skeeter appeared. She had flown over the wall as an animagus, and simply changed back. To the two students, it appeared as if she, too, had been hiding under a disillusionment spell. Gilderoy knew the protective enchantments had been set to ignore animagi, so her presence was undetected. The Headmaster didn't want the constant reminders that Peter was in the Castle.
"Good afternoon, Rita," Gilderoy said as he set up Notice-Me-Not and silencing spells around them. The rune stones that Dobby had placed earlier kept the air temperature well within a comfortable summery range while leaving the snow untouched. A large rug was atop the snow, with a table and chairs placed for their comfort. Roses were in a vase.
"I'm soo glad you could come, Rita," he continued. "I thought you might like to hear a bit more about Harry's First Year. How he smuggled a Dragon out of Hogwarts, battled an evil monster in the Forbidden Forest, discovered that the Headmaster had hidden the Philosopher's Stone in the school, and that there was an evil Wizard after it."
Once more Harry and Hermione talked themselves almost hoarse, and Gilderoy left her with a few memory vials of Norbert, the monster in the Forbidden Forest, and their adventure under the trap door guarded by Fluffy.
This series of articles, coming only a couple of months after the Basilisk and demonstrating that the dangers at school were not just this year, would farther devastate Dumbledore's public standing. And the best part was that the Headmaster would have no idea how Rita got the stories! As far as he knew, Harry and Hermione had never left the grounds. Rita had never come to Hogwarts. And Gilderoy had no visible connection to the articles, except for copious comments about how he was mentoring both Harry and Hermione this year and keeping the school safe from dangers that the Headmaster never noticed, or worse, simply ignored.
(⊙_◎)
Gilderoy strode confidently into Gringotts, nodding to the Goblin guards at the door. As in the previous times, he was quickly ushered to his account manager. Ragnurk's office had undergone a bit of a transition. First was an antechamber with several doors, each with the crest of one of his Houses — Lockhart, Black, Potter, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. Plaques on the wall represented the Houses Gaunt and Peverell. His escort led him directly to the Lockhart door, the most ornate, and Ragnurk.
He smiled broadly at the Goblin, as he crossed the expansive room to the plush chair awaiting him, "Ah, my friend, I trust our gold continues to flow into our vaults." As he sat, a Goblin brought in a tea service and a platter of scones.
The Goblin glared at him, "More today than yesterday."
"Excellent," exclaimed the admitted fop. "I have discovered that Gringotts might have a problem with one of its accounts."
The Goblin sat up straight and stared at him.
"You are familiar with Soul Anchors, horcruxes?"
The Goblin scowled, "Vile things, yes."
"One of your vaults, I fear, is the repository for such an item. And one capable of pouring out the soul contained into anyone one foolish enough to touch it."
The Goblin sat back. "Our vaults are sacrosanct, nothing can be removed without the permission of the vault key owner."
"And such items do not violate any of your rules?"
"Unless the item violates the integrity of Gringotts' security, no."
"Don't your people periodically inspect the vaults? And might not such an inspection accidentally result in the Soul Anchor taking over a Goblin? Wouldn't that threaten the security of Gringotts?"
Ragnurk grinned viciously, "Any Goblin stupid enough to fall to such an item deserves the fate he gets. And if he attempts to break the security of Gringotts, or steal from the vault, we have measures in place to deal with such subterfuge. If he simply leaves, we could care less what he unleashes upon the Wizards."
Harry sat and thought. While Gilderoy would like to retrieve the Hufflepuff Cup, if the only other alternative was its destruction, Harry could settle for that.
"The item," he finally said, interrupting the Goblin who had gone back to work on whatever it was he had been doing previously, "is in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Then you need her vault key, or her presence, to enter the vault and retrieve the item," the Goblin said without looking up.
"I am Lord Black and Bellatrix is a daughter of House Black, can I use that to gain access?
"No. You gave up that right when she became a Lestrange."
"What if I don't want the item, I just want the Soul Anchor destroyed insitu? The Cup can remain in the vault."
Ragnurk looked up a moment, frowning. "No. You still need the vault owner's permission to decrease the value of their vault be destroying anything of value in it."
After a few minutes thinking, Harry stood. "Well, then, I apologize for wasting your time, Ragnurk. I take my leave."
The Goblin ignored him as he left.
(⊙_⊙)
April Fool's Day[L1] once again featured Lockhart presenting a trophy to the school. This time Rita sat at the head of the Slytherin Table, to the intense dismay of the older students, and Professor Snape. The Headmaster's eyes were not twinkling very much this morning, either, for some reason. In fact, he looked quite putout to those who knew him.
Just after the Owl's parliament, when the most students possible were in the Great Hall, Gilderoy once more stood. "I have an announcement to make," he stated majestically, projecting his voice across the Hall. He walked to the front of the Headmaster's Table. "Professor Snape, if you please," he waved an invitation to the surly Wizard to join him. For a moment, Harry/Gilderoy could see the desire to tell him off flicker across the Potion Professor's face, but finally, he stood. The Witches at the Headmaster's Table, and most all in the student population were all eagerly awaiting what new discovery their favourite Professor was about to unveil.
With his usual sneer in place, the greasy-haired dungeon-bat stalked around the table to stand in front of Lockhart.
Gilderoy, resplendent in his lavender robe set, conjured a velvet pillow and placed a small bag on it, then presented the pillow to Snape.
"Once again, I, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award, your beloved Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, and slayer of Basilisks, have recovered a priceless treasure long thought to be lost to Hogwarts and Wizardkind.
"It is with great joy and pride that I present to you, Professor Snape, Head of the Slytherin House here at Hogwarts, this long lost Founder's Artefact," he paused dramatically and posed with teeth gleaming brightly as he loudly proclaimed, "Lord Salazar Slytherin's Locket!" He vanished the bag leaving the gleaming Locket out for all to see. "It can now join its fellows, Ravenclaw's Diadem and Gryffindor's Sword, in the Founders' Display Case in the Entry Way."
While the rest of the school enthusiastically applauded, Gilderoy was careful to note that Professor Snape merely held up the pillow with the locket and kept his face carefully blank. And the Headmaster had a decidedly sour expression as Gilderoy Lockhart once more publically upstaged him.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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