Julian took the seat across from Flitwick without hesitation and spoke. "So I take it the professors are all aware that the man is a complete fool then?" he asked curiously. The small professor let out a scoff. "Of course we know how utterly unqualified he is for the post. Most of us were the ones who taught him! The trouble is that we are powerless in this matter because that blasted curse guarantees no one can hold the position for more than a year. As a result, the number of people willing to take the job is painfully small," he said with clear irritation.
"If the curse were removed and a genuinely suitable candidate was found, could Lockhart be dismissed for incompetence and for endangering students?" Julian asked, a devious idea beginning to form in his mind. Flitwick did not dismiss the question, since he had long since realized that Julian operated on an entirely different wavelength from normal wizards after seeing the boy's enchanting methods the year before. "In theory, the fool would have to do something truly dangerous involving his students, but yes, I could see Albus doing exactly that if the situation allowed it," Flitwick answered honestly. Julian's grin turned positively Cheshire at that, and Flitwick immediately knew the mad boy had come up with something.
"Do not leave me in suspense, lad. What exactly is rattling around inside that head of yours right now?" Flitwick asked eagerly. "It just so happens that when I visited Gringotts to sort out my family accounts, I learned a rather interesting secret about the founders. They may have been willing to give up all legal ownership of the castle, but they left backdoors that allowed their descendants to hold more authority over Hogwarts than any ordinary student through something called a blood imprint. The curse on the school came from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, correct?" Julian asked, and Flitwick nodded, already liking where this was heading.
"As it turns out, one of that man's claims was that he descended from Salazar Slytherin, which, if true, would have put him in the perfect position to place a curse in such a way that only the descendant of another founder could remove it. I just so happen to fit that requirement rather neatly," Julian finished, and Flitwick's grin spread from ear to ear. "Marvelous. Absolutely brilliant! So when do you intend to free us from this irritating curse, and how can I help?" he asked with open enthusiasm.
"My original plan was to wait until Lockhart had already been replaced before working together with the Headmaster to isolate and remove the curse. I have to admit that I cannot tell where it is exactly, since it was already embedded in the wards when I first arrived. Dumbledore, however, likely saw the alterations made to the wards in person and is therefore in the best position to identify the curse once it is isolated," Julian said, sounding clearly uncomfortable that he even had to involve Dumbledore in this at all. "I understand your dislike of Albus, but I assure you he meant well," Flitwick said, trying to soften some of the hostility Julian still held toward his longtime colleague.
Julian met the shorter man's eyes with a stern look. "I am fully aware of his intentions. That is the only reason I have mostly left him alone beyond the payback that was necessary for what he did," he said seriously, and Flitwick believed him. The boy had already proven that if pushed, he was entirely willing to strike back in ways that were both brutally efficient and deeply humiliating. For all that mean streak, though, he was usually easy enough to approach and spent much of his time joking around.
"But enough of that. Let us talk about a replacement for the idiot who is likely still being torn apart by the Cornish pixies he released in class earlier," Julian said with a smirk as he imagined the sort of miserable treatment Lockhart must still be enduring. Flitwick blinked in disbelief, as though he could hardly believe what he had just heard. "Would you mind explaining exactly what you mean by that?" he asked, and Julian was more than happy to recount the events of his previous class, right down to the way he had left Lockhart behind.
Flitwick shuddered as he imagined the increasingly twisted and awful things the pixies might have done to the man after being left with him, all because he had chosen to antagonize Julian. As a master of charms and dueling, Flitwick understood better than almost anyone that including Lockhart inside the shield Julian had cast would have taken no more than the slightest effort, but Julian had simply not been interested in bothering. "I suppose I can agree to your detention plan until Lockhart is replaced, but this has to be brought to Albus before we continue discussing it," Flitwick said with a sigh as he rose to his feet to go rescue Lockhart.