Lockhart's first-year lesson ended, and the children filed out in a flock.
"Ginny, please stay," the professor called after one of his students. "I'd like to talk to you."
The pale girl approached the teacher's desk without raising her eyes.
"Yes, sir. What do you want to ask me?"
"Tell me, Ginny, have you made a new friend? I saw you rushing down the corridor talking to someone invisible.
"N-no, sir!" stammered the first-year student, frightened. "What makes you think that?"
"Now, now, my dear, in my travels I have met many unusual creatures, so there is no point in denying the obvious," the professor continued with his usual smile. "Just let me talk to him," Lockhart whispered insinuatingly.
At that moment, the girl's face froze, and she took out a diary with a golden inscription at the bottom of the page, clutched it in her hands, and said in a completely different, harsh and hissing voice:
"What do you want, professor?" In addition to the diary, a magic wand instantly appeared in the girl's hands, and she pointed it at Lockhart.
"I would like to know your purpose at this school, my friend," Gilderoy replied, still smiling, although his eyes were watching the girl seriously and warily. His wand, invisible in the sleeve of his robe, was also pointed at his interlocutor.
"I want to restore my body," the ghost hissed after a short pause. "Apparently, the core of my soul was destroyed in battle, and now I must rebuild myself."And I just want to make more money," Lockhart smiled broadly. "I've already secured a position at the school for this year and managed to sell all my books as textbooks," he chuckled cheerfully. "Dumbledore filled the gap in the staff for this year, and he doesn't care how DADA is taught. I want to get the most out of the position of DADA professor, and maybe even a plot for a future book," he grinned predatorily, looking at the girl.
"I think we can be useful to each other. I'll help you with your revival, and then you'll make me a little richer.
"If you help me get back on my feet," hissed the girl, "I'll give you the Daily Prophet and all the other publishing houses in England when I come to power, unless I'm Lord Voldemort.
At this name, Lockhart shuddered, but realising the prospects of cooperation, he grinned predatorily:
"It's a deal, my lord, especially since I have something interesting in store. While travelling in the East, I managed to borrow a very curious artefact from the local wizards called 'Gorgon's Hair'. It's basically just a wig that you can put on your head. But at the thought of a command, its hair takes on the appearance of snakes, and anyone who looks into its eyes is turned to stone. In this state, the enchanted creature can be kept forever. I think the Eastern emirs were very pleased with this toy. Just imagine, you're walking through the palace, and around you are statues of your enemies, alive but powerless to change their fate," Lockhart laughed. "What a subtle revenge, my lord.
"I don't have enough girls for the resurrection," hissed Voldemort's spirit. "We'll have to lure a few more students into the secret room. In the meantime, let's make everyone think there's a basilisk on the loose at the school. That will confuse Dumbledore and the others.
***
The atmosphere at Hogwarts was becoming increasingly tense, and the professors were gloomy and angry. After the momentous Slytherin-Gryffindor match, the teachers found a first-year student petrified in the evening. The unfortunate boy, who was always jumping in front of Potter with his camera, was now lying in the infirmary.
Severus shook his head wearily as he looked at the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey.
"Poppy," he said hoarsely, "I can brew this damn potion, but definitely not using the mandrakes you bought in Diagon Alley. Maybe they're stale, maybe because they were grown for sale, but the potion didn't work. It looks like it should, but there's no effect.
Pomfrey looked helplessly at the other professors who had gathered in the hospital wing around the bed of the injured Crumble.
"Severus, what should we do?"
Pomona Sprout cleared her throat and addressed the medic in complete silence:
"Don't worry, Poppy, we can grow mandrakes in our greenhouses, we'll just have to wait. I think the tubers will be ripe by summer.
"Why don't we transfer the boy to Mungo's?" Flewitt replied sarcastically.
"We can't let this get out, Filius," Dumbledore said nervously, stroking his beard. "If it does, the school will probably be shut down.
"Would it be better if children started dying?" McGonagall snapped.
"Come now, Minerva," Dumbledore smiled sadly into his beard, "no one has died yet. And if we, my dear colleagues, begin to actively search for the criminal, no one will die.
***
Before the Christmas holidays, Lockhart suggested starting a duelling club to dispel some of the fear and tension that had been hanging over the school.
"Mr Malfoy!" Lockhart stopped the boy who was about to leave the classroom. "Go on, boys, your friend will catch up with you," the teacher waved to Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing hesitantly in the doorway. "You are a very promising student, Mr. Malfoy," smiled Lockhart. "You come from a highly respected family, and you yourself have a remarkable talent for my subject. I would like you to participate in the duelling tournament, and I am even willing to share an interesting spell with you. While travelling in India, I heard local wizards summoning snakes. Even there, not every wizard possesses this dark gift, Parseltongue. So the local wizards invented a spell that allows them to summon snakes and even use them in battle!"
Draco's eyes lit up as he imagined himself winning the duelling tournament among his classmates. But the main thing was the opportunity to humiliate the hated Potter. And using a snake to do it was so Slytherin. The boy even sighed at the sweetness of such a victory.
"Repeat after me," Lockhart pointed his wand at the door and shouted with a sharp wave: "Serpentortia!"
A large black snake instantly flew out of his wand and hissed viciously.
"Viperous Pettigrew," the teacher said immediately, and the snake disappeared. "Remember that, Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco thanked the professor profusely and promised to come to the tournament and bring all his classmates.
Half the school came to see the opening of the duelling club, but Cassius decided he had no business there. He had no intention of showing his true strength. As the student who knew Lockhart's books best, he managed to get the teacher's permission to visit the forbidden section.
Now, despite the constant grumbling of the librarian, Madam Pince, Black was once again sitting in the small hall, eagerly devouring books about truly interesting magic. Advanced transfiguration, protection against curses, and permanent spells were very fascinating, and thanks to Occlumency, he could simply turn the pages.
Black spent the rest of the night studying and refining what he had read. There were also many historical books in the restricted section, but Cassius was interested in other things, so he just glanced greedily at the bookshelves.
Potter distinguished himself again at the opening of the duelling club. When the teachers paired him with Malfoy, he immediately used the spell he had learned with malicious glee. But what was the surprise and horror of everyone present when Potter hissed something to the snake, pointing to Hufflepuff student Justin Finch-Fletchley. The snake turned and moved in the indicated direction, but Professor Snape, who had arrived in time, removed it with "Viper's Fangs" before it could bite the student.
Potter later claimed that he had simply asked the snake to leave, but even the Gryffindor students shunned him as if he were a leper. Things got even worse when the unfortunate Hufflepuff was found petrified. Now no one doubted that Potter was the heir of Slytherin.
***
Albus paced nervously around his office. The diary business had not gone as he had planned. Not only had he been unable to figure out who had fallen under the influence of the Horcrux, but the petrified children were throwing him off his game. The petrified children were completely throwing him off track. It would have been fine if it had only been the mudbloods; after all, no one cared about them, but the latest victim was Penelope Crystal, a half-blood from Flitwick's department. If nothing was done, the school would definitely be closed, and his reputation would be ruined. He even had to cast a spell on Hogwarts to remove any mention of what was happening from letters, so the children couldn't tell their parents what was going on this year.
Pouring nuts into the phoenix's bowl, Dumbledore continued to ponder:
"So, we have a student who, by some unknown means, is turning other children to stone. Well, Voldemort's spirit is incapable of such a thing, incapable! That means he has an accomplice. Harry admitted that he sometimes hears a hissing voice promising all sorts of horrors. Now it turns out that Potter is a Parselmouth. Could he be hearing a snake? After all, the historical scrolls of the founders say that Slytherin, like Hades, was involved in breeding basilisk snakes. What if Salazar's basilisk was somewhere under the school and Riddle somehow managed to awaken it? And
Tom was also a Parselmouth, so maybe they conspired together."
Dumbledore even shuddered at the thought. It was simply terrifying to imagine that somewhere behind the walls there was a thousand-year-old creature crawling around, ready to tear anyone apart. After all, he wouldn't last a minute in his chair if it turned out that the headmaster had missed something like that. The school must be evacuated, the Aurors summoned.
The great and enlightened man took his favourite lemon sorbet from the table and took a slice: "Why should I rush? After all, no one has died yet. And the basilisk had plenty of time to kill someone. But it didn't, did it? So we can wait a little longer, sooner or later Riddle will reveal himself. But it's dangerous to stay at the school now. We need to get me temporarily suspended from my position. Well, that's easy enough, we'll instruct my supporters on the board of trustees not to interfere with Malfoy, and he'll do the rest himself."
Some time later, the Minister of Magic himself arrived at Hogwarts and arrested Hagrid on suspicion of assault. Despite Dumbledore's pleas, the half-giant was taken to Azkaban. Lucius Malfoy entered the gamekeeper's hut, where Dumbledore and Minister Fudge were now sitting in disarray, and looked around with a disdainful air.
Without hiding his malicious smile, he unfolded a scroll and said solemnly:
"Albus Dumbledore! The Board of Governors has decided that it is time for you to step down as headmaster. Here is the order for your temporary suspension, signed by all twelve members.
"Dismiss Dumbledore? Are you joking?" Fudge turned pale. "But then we'll have to find someone quickly who can handle this crisis!"
"I think we will," Lucius grinned triumphantly.
"Don't worry, Cornelius, everything will work out. — Dumbledore smiled, looking condescendingly at the minister. — Of course, since the Board of Trustees demands my resignation, I am obliged to comply. But remember, Mr Malfoy," Dumbledore said heavily, his angry gaze promising nothing good for Lucius. "I will not leave the school for good while there are those here who believe in light and goodness.
For a second, everyone felt the heavy pressure of the great wizard's aura, but then it vanished instantly.
***
Gilderoy Lockhart was packing his things. The operation to resurrect the Dark Lord was entering its final stages. Voldemort's spirit dragged the girl to the place where the ritual was to be performed, and Gilderoy personally helped him write the final warning on the wall: "Her skeleton will remain in the Chamber of Secrets forever."
At a chaotic meeting in the staff room, everyone pounced on Lockhart, demanding that he find and punish the monster. Looking frightened and confused, he reluctantly agreed, inwardly mocking his foolish colleagues.
Packing his things into a bag, which he would return for after the ritual, Gilderoy wondered if he had taken everything: "The contract with the school is terminated, everything is in Gringotts' safes. If Hogwarts dismisses the children right now, as old Mrs McGonagall plans, I won't have to come back here. All that's left is to go to the ritual site and grab a couple of students I find on the way."
He smiled crookedly, and at that moment there was a persistent knock at the door. "Who's there?" Lockhart wondered. Opening the door, he stared in amazement at Weasley and Potter, who, red-faced from running, burst into the office.
"Professor, we need your help urgently," Potter blurted out.
"I'm sorry, boys, but I'm leaving," said Lockhart with a sad smile.
"What about my sister?" Ron cried. "You have to save her, you're a hero!"
"Boy!" Lockhart looked at him with displeasure. "Your sister's rescue is the job of the Aurors, whom none of the professors have called yet, not even your beloved McGonagall. I am a teacher, a famous writer, but I am not a dark wizard."
"But your exploits are described in books!" Ron protested.
"And because of that, I'm supposed to walk into the mouth of a monster for free?" Gilderoy said with feigned indignation. "Do you have any Galleons, Mr. Weasley, to pay for my services? A renowned fighter against the dark forces!"
"Expelliarmus!" Potter fired a spell at Lockhart's back, knocking his wand out of his hand and sending him crashing to the floor.
"Merlin! I thought he'd never dare," Gilderoy chuckled to himself, groaning dramatically and leaning against the wall.
Ron deftly caught the writer's fallen wand, but not knowing where to put it, simply threw it out the window.
"Eight Galleons, Mr. Weasley," Lockhart said disapprovingly, following the wand's flight with his eyes.
"You're coming with us," Harry blurted out. "I know where the Chamber of Secrets is."
"All right," Lockhart sighed heavily and ostentatiously, "lead the way..."
The three of them quickly made their way to the bathroom on the second floor and noticed a gaping hole in the floor where one of the sinks should have been.
"This way," Harry swallowed. "Jump, Mr. Lockhart.
Gilderoy shook his head silently and slid down into the darkness. Falling out of the pipe, he immediately bent down and pulled a spare wand from the holster on his leg.
As soon as the Gryffindors had slipped out of the pipe one by one, Lockhart disarmed them both and then put them to sleep. Crunching on the bones that littered the floor, he calmly levitated the unconscious teenagers into the secret room.
"Hello, Your Darkest Excellency," Gilderoy said with a cheerful grin, flashing a white-toothed smile. "I have two more ritual victims for you here.
He casually dropped the unconscious teenagers on the floor near the ritual circle. In the centre lay a pale Ginny Weasley, showing no signs of life, while Voldemort's spirit looked more and more like a living wizard, only still semi-transparent.
"Hmm," Lockhart said in surprise. "You look very young, sir. I remember you from the newspapers as being much older, but here you could pass for a seventh-year student.
Voldemort smiled smugly:
"Yes, my resurrection has restored not only my strength, but also my youth. You don't know how much better it is to be young," he laughed joyfully. "We don't need the redhead yet, he has the same shade of power as the first victim, we'll add him at the end," Voldemort said thoughtfully. "And we can gut the second one right now."
Voldemort non-verbally dragged the body to the ritual circle and, pointing his wand at the teenager's stomach, said in a matter-of-fact voice:
"Sek.
The beam of the spell almost touched the clothes when a fierce red mist burst from the body, throwing Voldemort and Lockhart aside and slamming them into the wall with all their might.
Potter coughed and opened his eyes. He looked around in confusion, clearly not understanding what had happened. Riddle's semi-transparent features were distorted by animal rage, and he pointed his wand at Potter and roared viciously:
"Crucio!"
Harry began to thrash around on the floor, inflicting wounds on himself and writhing in unbearable pain.
"Crucio!" Voldemort continued to rage.
Lockhart also began to recover from the blow to the wall, but when he felt the blood on the back of his head, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.
***
Cassius lay leaning against the side of a giant snake, chewing on a blade of grass and staring at the sky. Suddenly, his support stirred, and the alarmed voice of the enormous reptile rang in his head:
"Speaker, something bad is happening at Hogwarts, in my dungeon. I sense that the students are in danger of death. We must hurry.Surprised, Cassius did not hesitate. He immediately grabbed his broomstick and rushed after the quickly slithering basilisk. Reaching the secret passage from the forbidden forest, the snake hissed:
"Open up!" And with that, it darted into the hole that had appeared.
Cassius followed close behind. After a few turns, they reached the basilisk's lair, and Cassius flew up to the holes that were the eyes of a huge statue located in the central room of the "secret chamber." A ritual circle was drawn in the hall, near which stood a translucent guy torturing a teenager lying on the floor. Cassius also noticed DADA, the teacher, lying near the wall, and two red-haired teenagers. Looking more closely at the glowing lines of the ritual circle, Cassius realised its purpose.
"So, it's a ritual of resurrection from the filactery," thought Black. "Who's this nimble fellow? Well, it's time for us to join the party, or he'll finish Potter off."
Voldemort had just stopped the torture spell when a phoenix appeared in a flash of flame in the hall, clutching the old sorting hat in its talons. The hat fell onto Potter's head and tried to transform into the Gryffindor helmet, but due to its long absence from use, it could only flicker and immediately turn back into a piece of old, patched cloth.
The phoenix landed on the teenager's shoulder and chirped menacingly.
"A-ha-ha," Voldemort laughed. "I see Dumbledore loves you very much, boy, since he sent you such defenders to help you. Ha, I haven't seen anything funnier in fifty years," tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. "All right," Voldemort's face hardened again, and he turned to the statue where Cassius and the basilisk were.
"Speak to me, Slytherin, the greatest of the Hogwarts four!" Voldemort hissed in Parseltongue.
The statue's jaw fell with a loud clang, and the snake immediately slithered out of the passageway, warily eyeing the phoenix. The phoenix let out a hollow cry and spread its wings threateningly, clinging to Potter's shoulder with its talons. Cassius, also under a dis-aluminating spell, flew out of the statue on his broomstick and hovered under the ceiling.
Voldemort curled his lips and, pointing his wand at Potter, hissed in Parseltongue, "Kill him."
Pushing Harry, who was clutching the column, out of the way, the phoenix took flight and lunged at the basilisk with a vicious caw. Cassius didn't wait and quietly knocked the bird out. Dumbledore's phoenix crashed to the floor, missing the giant snake's snout by a couple of metres.
At that moment, Lockhart, forgotten by everyone, stirred near the wall, but immediately froze when he saw the basilisk's reflection in the water that had spread everywhere. The hat activated its spatial pocket with its last ounce of strength, and the sword's pommel flew towards Potter's head.
Harry, without opening his eyes, raised his hand to scratch his sore head and stumbled upon the silver hilt. Quietly pulling the sword out of the hat that had fulfilled its duty, he hid, hoping for some kind of miracle, and suddenly heard a familiar, mocking voice that made him unable to resist and peek out from behind the column.
Not far away, sitting on a broomstick, was a familiar senior from his faculty, smiling at Voldemort.
"Who are you, a ghost?" Cassius grinned, snatching Ginny and Harry's wands from the Dark Lord's translucent hands with a flick of his wrist.
"I am Lord Voldemort," hissed the semi-transparent wizard through clenched teeth. "What do you want from me, boy? Submit to me, and together we can achieve the heights of magic.
Ginny turned even paler, and Riddle tried as quickly as possible to regain his physical form, realising that the new character might be against him. Especially since the basilisk had reacted suspiciously to his orders. Harry watched the conversation in horror, clutching his sword tightly in his sweaty hand. The snake lay sideways to him, and the boy did not have to fear its deadly gaze.
"You have nothing to pay with," Cassius shrugged. "You are nothing but a shadow trying to cling to life thanks to a traitor to your blood. Oh, how low Voldemort has fallen.
"Kill him," Riddle hissed, pointing at Cassius.
Snape lazily opened one eye and glanced at the dark lord:
"He can talk too. And he's alive, unlike you. He brings me cows and walks with me in the forest. I choose him.
Cassius snorted and also looked at the snake:
"Then bite this book, Nyko Vakubwa," Black said mockingly, pointing his finger at the diary, which was now completely white. "Just don't hurt the mudblood," and he knocked the book closer to the basilisk with telekinesis.
Voldemort shouted loudly, "Stop!" but it was too late. The snake lunged at the diary with lightning speed and clamped its fangs neatly onto it. Ink poured out of the dying Horcrux, streams flowing from the basilisk's mouth and flooding the floor. Voldemort writhed and twisted, struggling and screaming, becoming more and more transparent. Black spots began to appear on his translucent body, and finally he disappeared, letting out a particularly piercing scream.
"Are you okay?" Cassius asked.Harry stared gratefully at the senior, even opening his mouth to reply, but immediately closed it because Cassius was not addressing him, but the basilisk.
"That ink running out of your mouth looked disgusting, ugh," Black shrugged.
"It's fine," hissed the basilisk, "it's just smoke. What are you going to do with the children and that creature?" The basilisk glared maliciously at the phoenix, which was still lying motionless. "Can I crush it?"
"He'll just come back to life, don't do it," Cassius shook his head. "The bird will be useful for getting the children out of here. We just need to wipe everyone's memory a little. I don't want Dumbledore sticking his nose into my business. Please remove the petrification from this peacock," Cassius nodded towards Lockhart. "His memory should be checked too. Strange, he's a complete coward, why did he go and play the hero with the Gryffindors?"
Harry watched in horror as Black levitated Ginny, then Ron and Lockhart, onto the dry ground, carefully erasing the glowing circle of the ritual with magic.
Turning to the column behind which the exhausted Potter was hiding, Cassius said loudly:
"Come here, Harry, it's over.
"No," Potter shouted angrily, "you're going to erase my memory!"
"Do you want to wake up from constant nightmares?" Cassius asked in surprise. "Do you want to remember how this monster tortured you? Come on, I won't erase anything that's important to you. Just the last few hours, when all these nightmares happened." Your friends are alive, you'll just wake up in half an hour in the hospital wing," Cassius continued to persuade the teenager, speaking calmly and monotonously, swaying from side to side with his wand in time with his words.
"Okay," Potter replied just as monotonously, and Black breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "African shaman techniques really do work wonders on an unprepared mind."
Of course, he didn't need to turn Potter into a zombie, but it was necessary to put him into a semi-trance. Otherwise, the boy's maternal protection might think that someone was trying to harm him. And looking at that burgundy aura constantly shooting out protuberances, he didn't even want to try what would happen if Potter decided to resist to the last.
"With that kind of protection, he could even put a basilisk to rest," Black thought with some alarm.
Pulling the phoenix and then the old hat closer with telekinesis, Cassius raised his wand and said:
"Legilimens.
After figuring out who knew what, Black thought for a moment and then corrected the memories of all those present. He altered the bird's memories so that it seemed as if it had helped Harry defeat the basilisk, which, as it turned out, the headmaster already knew about. He implanted in Potter's mind a scene of a battle with a huge snake and how the boy defeated it.
He really wanted to leave the petty blood traitors from the Weasley family here. He really wanted to get rid of the members of that vile family, who were responsible for the curse on the Malfoys, but Cassius, not without reason, feared that the snake would protect the Hogwarts students, especially since they belonged to the sacred twenty-eight. "All right, live for now," Cassius shook his head thoughtfully.
He erased Ronald's memory up to the moment they fell out of the pipe, tweaking it slightly so that the redhead would think it was all the fault of his wand, which he had broken with his backside when he fell to the floor after Lockhart's spell. Now the redhead thought that the professor had attacked them, disarmed them, and then used Ron's broken wand. The wand exploded from the spell, but nevertheless performed two magical actions at once: first, it erased Lockhart's memory, and then it collapsed the ceiling in the corridor leading to the secret room. According to Cassius, it sounded like nonsense, but observing the redhead's level of development with Legilimency, the boy decided that such fantasies were just Weasley's style and would go down well.
His red-haired sister didn't even have to correct anything; her memory was in complete chaos, and the last thing she remembered was her friend Tom asking her to go for a walk around Hogwarts. A potentially powerful witch was now little more than a Squib. Looking at the mangled magical source, Cassius realised that the girl would never become a powerful witch. The most she would be capable of was doing housework and flying on a broomstick. Her ceiling in magic would be some kind of bat curse and a couple of school spells.
Gilderoy Lockhart's memory came as an unpleasant surprise to Cassius. It turned out that this wizard had helped Voldemort for money, succumbing to sweet promises. He was interested in nothing but gold and glory, and he obtained the plots for his books by erasing the memories of careless wizards.
Lockhart planned to sacrifice teenagers to revive Voldemort, unaware or unable to remember that the oaths of non-harming given by every new Hogwarts teacher had already begun their terrible work in his brain, simply severing all neural connections in the wizard's mind. In a very short time, he would have lost his memory anyway, and eventually turned into an ordinary idiot, the kind Muggles keep in straitjackets.
Therefore, Cassius wiped out everything that had happened since he entered the toilet on the second floor, just in case.
The hat took a little work, as the stubborn pot resisted in every way possible, but Cassius finally got it, discovering in the hat's consciousness that it had been given the imperative to store the sword of Gryffindor, a magical piece of iron that still reeked of blood and magic.
Cassius didn't even bother to pick it up, fearing some kind of surprise. Using telekinesis, he shoved the sword back into the hat's pocket, pulled it over Potter's head, and then woke the phoenix.
Startled by the sudden awakening, the magical bird, seeing the teenagers lying on the ground, hobbled over to them, shifting from foot to foot, and all three students immediately disappeared into the spatial vortex.
Cassius said goodbye to the snake, promising, as usual, to bring him something tasty, such as a cow, when everything calmed down.
Levitating Lockhart, he carried him to the pipe of the women's toilet on the second floor and closed the passage to the secret room, bringing down the ceiling behind him. Leaving Lockhart below, Cassius flew out of the tunnel on his broomstick and, seeing no one, entered the corridor, first cleaning himself with his wand.
***
Dumbledore, whom his supporters had already reinstated, sat in his office listening to the excited Harry's stories, the truth of which he had previously learned from the memory of the phoenix and the hat.
"And then I stabbed him right in the soft palate with my sword," the boy continued, choking, "and he let out a long sigh and died, almost impaling me on his fangs. But I managed to pull my hand out of his mouth and jump back.
The bespectacled boy's eyes sparkled with excitement as he waved his arms.
"How's Ron, Ginny? Did they break the spell on Hermione too?" Potter suddenly remembered his friends.
"Yes, my boy, they're all right. You can go to the hospital wing and see them now," Dumbledore smiled wearily.
Harry immediately jumped up and, saying a hasty goodbye, rushed forward, leaving the headmaster breathing a sigh of relief.
Jumping out of the corridor with gargoyles leading to the headmaster's tower, Potter suddenly bumped his nose into the stomach of a wizard walking calmly towards him and, taken by surprise, sat down on his backside.
"Why are you throwing yourself at people, Mr. Potter?" Lucius Malfoy said mockingly.
Harry noticed with horror the corpse of a house-elf clutched in Malfoy's hand. Blood no longer dripped from the frail body, and the creature's blue tongue hung out of its mouth, dangling unattractively down to its chin.
"What is that?" Potter whispered in fear, recognising the disfigured face of the eared house-elf, Dobby. Of course, the house-elf had done many things that made Harry want to tear his head off, but the boy always felt sorry for the eared little creature in his dirty shirt.
"Why did you kill him?" the teenager shouted, ready to rush at Malfoy with his fists. "He's Dobby, the house-elf you've been tormenting all this time! He told me what a cruel and heartless master you are."
"No, young man," Lord Malfoy snapped angrily. "He's a mad house-elf who nearly killed my son, and I threw him out six years ago, hoping he'd die quickly without magic. And now I see him at Hogwarts, connected to the school's power source!"
"I didn't know that this house-elf was responsible for attacking your son, Lucius," said the cold voice of the great light wizard behind Harry. "Otherwise, I would never have listened to the elder who pleaded so for his kin.
Malfoy gritted his teeth in anger, realizing that there was no way to prove anything.
"Take your carrion, Dumbledore," he threw the house-elf's body past Harry, at the headmaster's feet. "The Malfoy family has no quarrel with the Hogwarts administration.
Leaning on his cane, the fair-haired wizard turned his back and also walked away with an air of importance. Harry stared after him in fear and disbelief, then looked at the headmaster in confusion.
"Sir..." he stammered.
"Come with me, Harry," Dumbledore sighed heavily, immediately waving his wand and incinerating the remains of the house-elf. "I have much to tell you, my boy.
If anyone had been near the headmaster's tower at that moment, they would have heard "Obliviate" spoken in a sad, old voice.
***
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