The Night Before
Upon hearing a sound behind him, Lockhart jumped like a startled bird, whirling around to find Kai Adler standing silently in the shadows, watching him with calm detachment.
Lockhart's mind raced. A strained smile appeared on his face.
"Ah—Student Adler, isn't it? What brings you here at this hour?"
Kai offered a pleasant, unreadable smile and held up a slim, battered notebook.
"I found this lying around. Following the proper etiquette, I stayed to see if anyone might come looking for it."
Lockhart's heart gave a jolt. Of all the people to stumble upon the notebook… it had to be him. But surely a student wouldn't understand what it really was.
Still forcing the smile, he said, "How very conscientious of you."
Then, thinking fast, he added, "Why don't you hand it over to me, and I'll make sure it gets back to its rightful owner?"
He reached out swiftly, but Kai took a light step back, smoothly avoiding his grasp.
A flicker of amusement passed through Kai's eyes. So Lockhart won't admit it's his. Smart—but not smart enough.
"Oh? So this doesn't belong to Professor Lockhart?" Kai mused aloud. "In that case, I'll deliver it to the Headmaster. He's likely to have better luck identifying its owner."
He turned as if to leave.
"Wait!"
The shout rang sharply in the air.
Kai turned, unsurprised, to find Lockhart pointing his wand at him, the tip trembling with nervous magic.
"Student Adler," Lockhart said, his forehead beaded with sweat, "let's not do anything foolish. Just hand over the notebook."
Kai arched a brow. A faint, elegant curve of amusement touched his lips.
"Interesting. You seem rather concerned about this little book. Could it be yours, after all?"
He made a move as if to open the notebook.
"Don't move!" Lockhart's voice cracked, high-pitched with panic.
Kai obediently stilled, though the mockery in his gaze didn't fade.
"So you do admit it's yours?" he asked quietly.
Lockhart's jaw clenched. "What if it is? Professors are allowed to keep notebooks, aren't they?"
"True," Kai conceded. "But not when the notebook is connected to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets."
The words struck home. Lockhart nearly dropped his wand.
So the boy knows.
"Enough talk!" Lockhart snapped, his voice taut with fear. "Hand it over—now. Or I won't be responsible for what happens."
His wand tip glowed faintly, a spell trembling on the edge.
Kai let a trace of disdain flicker in his expression, then slowly raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. His wand was nowhere in sight.
Lockhart's eyes focused on the notebook in Kai's right hand.
In a flash, Kai hurled the notebook at him.
Instinctively, Lockhart lunged to catch it—and didn't see Kai's left hand flick upward.
Crack!
Lockhart's wand flew from his grip, clattering uselessly to the floor.
By the time he looked up again, Kai stood calmly before him—his own wand in hand, the other holding his wand.
When did he—?
Lockhart's thoughts stuttered. He didn't even draw his wand… then how—?
Kai, of course, didn't care to explain that he didn't need a wand to perform basic spellwork. He simply raised the broken wand in his hand—and snapped it cleanly in two.
A flash of magical sparks danced between the halves. In their glow, Lockhart saw the boy's face lit with cold serenity—beautiful, composed, and in that moment, utterly terrifying.
"Professor Lockhart," Kai said softly, "you seem rather attached to this notebook. You even gave up your wand for it."
And of course he had. That book held the keys to everything—his last chance at power, and the damning record of what he had already done.
Now it was all gone.
Lockhart slumped to the damp floor, robes soaking up the moisture as he stared blankly at the tiles.
"No wand. No options. I suggest you surrender," Kai said mildly.
Lockhart said nothing. But his eyes lingered on the notebook in his hands. Something desperate sparked in them again.
He looked up, voice trembling.
"Student Adler… I was misled. The book—it's cursed. It influenced me. I never meant—this wasn't my intention…"
Tears welled in his eyes. He looked truly pitiful.
Kai's wand lowered slightly.
That was all Lockhart needed.
In a flash, he scrambled behind the central row of sinks, disappearing from view.
Kai exhaled slowly and dropped the broken wand he no longer needed. Unhurried, he approached the sinks.
"Professor Lockhart, honestly," he said, voice echoing slightly in the empty restroom, "what do you think you'll accomplish by running?"
Then he heard it: the soft, chilling hiss of Parseltongue.
Click.
A grinding sound came from the floor beneath the sinks.
Kai watched with quiet interest as the central basin structure began to rise, revealing a circular shaft beneath.
So—this was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
He caught a glimpse of Lockhart as he scrambled and rolled into the dark opening, vanishing from sight.
Kai didn't rush. He simply observed the mechanical structure as it fully opened. Ancient magic pulsed faintly from the stones.
Slytherin's secret chamber… beneath the girls' lavatory. Really, what a place to hide a monster. Did Salazar have no better ideas?
Still, the genius of the concealment couldn't be denied. Even Dumbledore had overlooked it.
Filch had mentioned seeing Lockhart near this restroom multiple times, and today he'd "accidentally" dropped the diary here.
Clearly, Lockhart had been watching this spot for days.
And given the plumbing structure beneath the castle, it made sense—the Basilisk could travel through the pipes undetected.
Kai's earlier words hadn't just been threats—they had been a calculated prod, meant to force Lockhart's hand.
And now he had run—into the only place he believed could protect him.
Kai stood at the edge of the pit and looked down into the shadows.
There was no hesitation.
Calmly, he leapt in after him.