Mr. Lamp?!
Upon seeing that name, Lockhart felt his blood run cold.
He slammed the letter down, then rushed to the window, cautiously peeking out.
Outside the beautiful manor, only tree shadows and birds were active; there was no sign of being watched.
Lockhart grew even more anxious; an invisible opponent was far more terrifying than a visible one.
Under the owl's speechless gaze, he slammed the window shut, then yanked the curtains closed.
Leaning against the wall, he was panting, still shaken.
How did "Mr. Lamp" find him?
Some fans knew his address, and owls had the ability to find people automatically.
But he hadn't told anyone yet about becoming the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor!
He had originally intended it to be a surprise, planning to casually step forward when Hogwarts announced the textbooks for the next semester and say:
"Yes, that's right. Hogwarts personally invited me, saying I was the best candidate."
But now, this mysterious "Mr. Lamp" had exposed this secret with a single sentence!
How did the other party know?
Could even the heavily guarded Hogwarts be easily infiltrated?
Lockhart suddenly felt as if an invisible pair of eyes was watching him at all times.
"Damn it! Why me? Ethan Vincent was there too, and he's also from Hogwarts—"
Lockhart bit his fingernails, trembling.
"I must ask the Aurors for help!"
"Emphasize that the other party is an incredibly powerful, dangerous entity with ties to multiple Dark Arts forces—no, he'll know I wrote to the Aurors! They'll definitely come to silence me—"
Recalling the horrific scene in the Knockturn Alley tavern when he woke up, Lockhart wished he could cast Obliviate on himself.
The owl silently watched him go mad, its golden eyes seemingly mocking, "Foolish human."
After a long while,
Lockhart slowly calmed down and made a decision:
"I'll submit to him."
Lockhart chose to surrender immediately.
"A wise man submits to circumstances."
"Anyway, with Dumbledore there, if they ask, I'll just say I was coerced. I have plenty of money and fame to escape investigation anyway."
"Hogwarts won't suspend classes or close down just because of an outside 'Mr. Lamp'."
At the same time,
at Malfoy Manor.
"Pfft!"
Lucius spat out a mouthful of tea, spraying it onto the Daily Prophet in front of him.
Today had been busy.
That redheaded Weasley had started another inspection of illegal items recently.
It forced him to pack away his hidden belongings.
Then he came back and saw the newspaper—the sky had fallen.
The completely destroyed Leaky Cauldron, the wizard gathering suspected of summoning a demon—
This was clearly where he had lost his diary!
Ethan's terrifying display seemed to have cleared Lucius's mind.
Compared to cherishing Lord Voldemort's item like a treasure and framing others right under Dumbledore's nose,
it was better to "accidentally" lose it.
If anyone was to blame, it was the dirty-handed wizards in Knockturn Alley who stole his things.
A small diary wasn't anything precious.
Lucius had thought so initially.
Until, not a single word or photo in the report mentioned that diary.
Lucius then felt that things seemed a little off.
"Someone from the Ministry of Magic told me that the one who went with that useless wizard was none other than Ethan Vincent—" Lucius leaned back on the sofa, muttering as he massaged his throbbing temple.
"The mysterious 'Mr. Lamp' who suddenly appeared, and the vanished diary?!"
Lucius suddenly sat up with a jolt!
He said in disbelief:
"Ethan, 'Mr. Lamp'… could they actually be the same person?!"
"Why would he do this? It must be more than just for an easily spreadable title."
"Ethan is actually sent by a large organization—no, he might be the leader of this large organization!"
"He came to Hogwarts for some unspeakable secret mission…
To be able to disguise himself as an ordinary young wizard and enroll, right under Dumbledore's nose.
What kind of existence is Ethan Vincent, after all—
Should I transfer Draco to Durmstrang as soon as possible?
With that crazy old Dumbledore, Hogwarts is bound to fall apart sooner or later.
"I'm afraid my losing the diary was also orchestrated by Ethan."
"If all his actions were for that diary, could it actually be something very important?"
Lucius woke up to find himself potentially Lord Voldemort's biggest traitor.
Even if Draco suddenly turned into a troll, it wouldn't have terrified and confused him more than this moment.
He originally thought he had invested in a new star in the magical world, but he never expected it to be another Dark Lord!!
Lucius really wanted to find someone to check his family's luck.
"—The only comfort is that we showed a friendly attitude."
Lucius thought, then called out loudly:
"Dobby!"
"Yes, yes, Master!"
A house-elf with big eyes appeared with a pop.
Lucius: "Go call Draco for me. I have something for him to do."
He wondered if eight thousand Galleons would be enough.
The only fortunate thing was that their family was rich enough.
Lucius groaned: "This semester will definitely be very dangerous—. Maybe I should just break Draco's leg so he can't go to school—"
His wife, Narcissa, appeared silently like a phantom:
"What did you say you were going to do to my son, Lucius Malfoy?"
!
Lucius, in danger!
What he didn't notice was the terrified expression on the house-elf Dobby's face.
Then, as if having made some decision, he disappeared with a pop.
July 31st.
[To Ethan,]
[ * A messy greeting ]
[ Do you know what's going on with Harry? Why hasn't he replied to any letters? ]
[ Your anxious friend, Ron ]
[ Dear Ethan, ]
[ * Some polite and slightly Shakespearean greetings ]
[ If it's convenient for you, could you please help us check on Harry? ]
[ He hasn't replied to a single letter yet, and I suspect his Dursley family is treating him badly. ]
[ Your loyal and worried friend, Hermione ]
Ethan looked at the letters in his hand, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
Had Harry's letters been intercepted by Dobby again?
But he had already gotten the diary, and the Malfoy family had even given him a thank-you fee of eight thousand Galleons.
There was no danger in the second year anymore.
Why was Dobby still preventing Harry Potter from attending school?
Ethan was very puzzled.
To prevent the Dark Arts aura of the diary from infecting others,
Ethan directly threw it into his sealed card: "Universe in the Wardrobe."
It worked very well; when he took it out again, little Tom even respectfully addressed him as "Lord Vincent."
"Is something wrong?"
Luna walked over, carrying a cup of Godric's Hollow tea, her steps as light as if she were treading on clouds.
She sat next to Ethan on the sofa, curiously leaning over to look at the letters in his hand.
From her light golden long hair, Ethan smelled a scent mixed with grass and earth, along with an elegant floral fragrance.
It was countless times better than Lockhart's sickly sweet perfume.
Ethan curved his eyes and waved the letters in his hand:
"It seems our Savior is in trouble. As his kind and warm-hearted friend, we must go help him."
"As the first member of the club, it's time for a formal home visit."
"What should I bring… I've got it."
Ethan suddenly remembered the business card the old goblin had given him earlier.
It was said to be a business card that could release immense monetary pressure.
Automatically demoting the other party to a lower caste.
To deal with sycophants like the Dursley family,
one must use "magic" to defeat "magic"!
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze