"Harry and the others have been discovered?"
Seeing the situation on the map, Dudley tensed.
But soon, he realized something was wrong.
Harry's trio were very close together, obviously huddled under the Invisibility Cloak, whilst Snape and Lockhart were slightly further apart, seemingly discussing something. However, their positions just happened to block Harry and the others' path.
Dudley took out the Mirror of Erised and displayed the situation there through the corridor's mirror surface.
In the mirror, Dudley saw Lockhart talking to Snape about something, with no sign of Harry's trio, confirming Dudley's guess.
"Wait here for me," Dudley said, then headed outside.
"Mr. Borgin, why did you come here?" Cole looked at Borgin.
"For profit. The basilisk's corpse is quite valuable, isn't it?" Borgin showed his yellow teeth and said with a smile.
"Is that so?" Cole narrowed his eyes.
He knew Borgin wasn't a simple person. Would he really come help Dudley hunt a basilisk out of kindness?
"You'd better not have any other thoughts, or you'll die miserably," Cole said.
Borgin wasn't angry and laughed. "You too!"
On the other side, Dudley quietly approached the corridor where the group was located.
"The school hasn't had any attack incidents for a long time now. This is all my doing—it must be the Defense Against the Dark Arts I taught them taking effect," Lockhart's voice came, filled with inexplicable confidence.
"Is that so? But I think, since Professor Lockhart is so capable, why not directly find that basilisk? Wouldn't that solve everything once and for all? You could even write a bestselling novel about it," Snape said slowly.
"Ahem... I have that idea too. It's just that the basilisk is already afraid of me and hasn't dared come out until now. If it appeared before me, believe me, I have a hundred ways to subdue it!" Lockhart continued.
Snape let out a cold laugh, his eyes practically rolling to the ceiling.
"All right, all right. I'm going to patrol now. Good night, Professor Snape."
Lockhart said nothing more and walked toward the end of the corridor.
Dudley saw on the Marauder's Map that Lockhart was leaving, fortunately not in his direction.
After Lockhart left, Professor Snape didn't hurry to leave but stood in place, squinting and looking around.
Under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry's trio didn't even dare breathe loudly.
Just now when the three of them were going to the second floor, they happened to encounter Professor Snape. Because they were squeezed too close together and somewhat nervous, they'd made some sounds.
This immediately made Snape sense something was wrong.
Fortunately, Lockhart appeared at that moment and pulled Snape aside to boast for a bit. Otherwise, Harry's trio would've been discovered long ago.
But even though they'd delayed some time, Harry's trio still didn't dare move significantly, which meant they were still very close to Snape.
"What's there..." Snape extended his right hand and grabbed at the empty space ahead, but caught nothing.
He'd just heard something, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Perhaps it was invisibility magic or something else...
Snape drew his wand.
"Aparecium."
No change in the surroundings.
"Homenum Revelio."
Still no change.
Snape frowned. "Not ordinary invisibility magic. Could it be an Invisibility Cloak..."
At that thought, Snape's expression shifted as he waved his wand again. "Ventus..."
"Stupefy!"
Almost at the same moment, four beams of light appeared simultaneously, hitting Snape.
Bang!
Snape's body was thrown high into the air, then fell heavily to the ground.
"My God!" Harry cried out as he threw off the Invisibility Cloak.
All three wore shocked expressions on their faces.
On the other side, Dudley's mouth twitched.
Just now, all four of them had simultaneously cast the Stunning Spell aimed at Snape.
"I thought you wouldn't do that," Ron was the first to speak.
"I thought so too," Harry said.
"Quick, check on Professor Snape's condition," Hermione's face was pale. This was her first time casting a spell to attack a professor.
Dudley walked over from the other side.
"Looks like Professor Snape needs some serious rest this time," Dudley said.
They'd all cast nonverbal spells, giving Snape no time to react.
Harry's trio had been backed into a corner with no other choice.
Their Invisibility Cloak blocked most detection spells, but it couldn't stop Snape from using wind to blow the cloak off.
Seeing Snape about to catch them, the three didn't discuss it—they all reacted on instinct.
"Should be fine. He'll just sleep a bit longer," Dudley said after checking Snape's condition.
Four Stunning Spells hitting Snape simultaneously—even a professor's constitution couldn't withstand that.
"What do we do now?" Hermione asked nervously.
Dudley looked around and found a broom closet. "Let's move him to the broom closet first."
With that, he raised his hand, and Snape's body flew up, floating toward the broom closet.
"What happened? I just thought I heard..." Just then, Lockhart's voice suddenly came from the other end of the corridor.
He'd heard the sound of Snape being knocked away.
Harry's trio immediately went pale. If Lockhart turned around and saw them with the unconscious Professor Snape, they were done for!
"Prohibition!"
Dudley's eyes darkened. His right hand pushed out horizontally, and an invisible wall appeared at the corridor's turn.
Bang!
Lockhart ran straight into it.
"Oh!" Lockhart cried out, even getting a nosebleed from the impact.
"Stupefy!"
Immediately after, Dudley released a spell that hit Lockhart precisely before he could react.
"All right, problem solved!" Dudley withdrew his right hand, removing the invisible wall.
Harry's trio swallowed hard.
They'd just knocked down a professor. No, Dudley had casually knocked down a professor.
"Though it's a bit cramped, you'll both have to make do sleeping in the broom closet for now," Dudley waved his hand again. Lockhart's body also flew up and was stuffed into the narrow broom closet together with Snape.
"If Snape wakes up to find himself sleeping pressed against Lockhart for a day, I wonder if he'll go crazy," Ron said.
"I think Professor Lockhart will be the one to go crazy," Hermione said with a frown.
"Let's go quickly."
After letting the two professors sleep peacefully, Dudley led Harry's trio straight to the second-floor bathroom.