Chapter 89: Lockhart
Voldemort soon realized what was inside him.
How could he not recognize it?
The Killing Curse!
You dare use my own methods against me!
"You even guard against me!" he exclaimed furiously, pointing at Tver.
Tver casually moved his finger away. "It's just a little trick. As long as you don't do anything bizarre, this crystal won't affect you."
"But should I call you Voldemort, or Tom Riddle now?"
Voldemort's expression fluctuated, his scheming fully perceived by Tver. However, he also knew that now was not the time to confront Tver.
After some thought, he said resignedly, "Call me whatever you want; I'm under your control anyway."
Did that sound a bit resentful?
Tver quirkily averted his gaze.
"I can't exactly call you Voldemort in front of everyone, can I? That would scare a whole lot of wizards. I can't directly call you Riddle either, some Death Eaters are well aware of your real name."
He pondered for a moment, "But your middle name, Marvolo, is less known. Let's tweak that, how about Marvolo? Marvolo Fawley, how does that sound?"
"Whatever."
Marvolo spread his hands indifferently, maintaining a lax attitude against Tver's controlling measures.
But Tver no longer cared to entertain his quirks, glancing at the time, it was already half past eight.
"Just stay here quietly and get used to this body, remember, don't try to escape."
He had arranged with Dumbledore, if possible, to interview Lockhart at nine tonight. Now that the Horcrux issue was resolved, he also had time to see the style of this bestselling author.
Soon, he was back at Hogwarts.
With the absence of chattering students, Hogwarts under the night sky was eerily quiet, only, another mischief-maker would not stay idle.
"Peeves, if you keep attacking the suits of armor with that sword, I'll tell the Bloody Baron about your antics!"
Filch was chasing after Peeves, but his speed was much slower compared to the spectral Peeves.
"Don't worry, let me handle this!"
A man dressed as flamboyantly as a peacock suddenly stood out.
Lockhart twirled his wand through many flourishes, but obviously, neither the people nor the ghost present paid any attention to his movements.
Seemingly accustomed to such awkwardness and disregard, he cleared his throat and raised his wand with proper form.
"Immobulus!"
After a pause, Peeves frowned at the peculiar man.
"When did you pop up? Whoever you are, to be honest, you're not even as good as that annoying Filch, hahaha—"
Peeves immediately raised the sword, much larger than its body, and threw it at Lockhart.
Lockhart was terrified, frozen in place as if hit by the spell he had just cast, mouth agape.
Peeves was shocked too; it was the first time it had seen someone not dodge a flying sword.
Although the school tolerated its mischief in the castle, it didn't mean to actually hurt anyone—Dumbledore would have ways to lock it up if it did.
But before Peeves could react, the sword stopped mid-air. A slender hand gently grabbed the hilt, while the other wiped away the mark Peeves had made.
"Professor Fawley," panted Filch, catching up, "what brings you back to school at this hour? I'm not questioning, just..."
He stumbled over his words, but Tver simply handed the sword back to him.
"I came back to interview a new professor," then turning to the recovered Lockhart, "I presume you're ready, Mr. Lockhart?"
But he had no high hopes for this interview. In fact, Lockhart's freeze was due to his spell; Tver wanted to test the skills of this "internationally renowned" wizard.
Clearly, Tver suspected he hadn't even noticed the magic he had just used.
The only consolation was that this honorary member of the Anti-Dark Arts League didn't possess any items that could identify or resist dark magic.
Lockhart suddenly laughed loudly, clapping Tver on the shoulder.
"I was just thinking about how to deal with that sword, and there you were, young man, a bit quicker on the uptake. But perhaps a more clever way could be used..."
Looking at Tver's smile, he faltered, "Oh, yeah, I was about to go to the interview, shall we? Did the headmaster send you to meet me?"
Sort of, Tver thought.
"I'll take you up there, and Peeves, don't do such harmful things again."
Before leaving, he glanced at Peeves, who was now respectfully saluting.
"At your command, professor!"
It saluted until Tver and Lockhart's figures had disappeared from its sight.
"Never thought you'd see the day," Filch scoffed.
But Peeves, with a sly twinkle, snatched the sword from Filch's arms and flew up into the air, waving it again.
"The professor said not to hurt people, didn't say anything about not damaging the armor, hahahaha—"
Tver was unaware of Peeves's continued mischief; he had enough troubles already.
"I hear you're a professor? But so young, did you just graduate? From which school? Have you heard about my exploits back when I was at school? I was quite the..."
"Yes, I graduated just a year ago, but not from Hogwarts—Durmstrang."
Tver turned, giving Lockhart a chilling smile that finally stopped him from boasting about his "great achievements."
"Cockroach Cluster."
Tver spoke the password to the headmaster's office. Dumbledore had specifically told him the password to bring Lockhart in.
"These candies are quite interesting," Lockhart quieted for a moment, then his old habits kicked in, "though I think they could be made more realistic, like that time in London when I created a bunch of fake rats, successfully clearing a whole street of trouble."
Tver deeply regretted attending this interview as he forcefully pushed open the door to the headmaster's office.
"Headmaster, I've brought Lockhart—" he looked around the empty office, puzzled, "Where is Headmaster Dumbledore?"
The answer came from a portrait on the wall, the former headmaster—Armando Dippet.
"A child released magic outside the school and got a warning from the Ministry."
"That doesn't seem like something Dumbledore would handle personally?"
It was said that each year several young wizards inadvertently break this rule, yet there had never been a case of a student being expelled for using magic outside school, especially since Dumbledore became headmaster.
"You needn't worry about that," the portrait of Dippet informed him. "Albus said you can conduct the interview with Lockhart yourself. After all, if it doesn't work out, you might just end up teaching the students by yourself next year."
"...Can I say no?"
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