Chapter 61: Torturing Lockhart
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Hermione and Ron quickly connected the dots with what Harry had shared with them that night. "So, what should we do?"
Ron scratched his head anxiously. "Maybe it was that half-mad house elf who attacked Professor Ethan's office. I've been telling you he's not normal!"
Hermione paced up and down the empty hallway, deep in thought, pinching her chin in contemplation.
After a prolonged silence, Hermione reluctantly raised the most challenging question, "Should we consult Professor Ethan about these matters?"
"That's a good idea." Ron seized the opportunity to mock Hermione.
"Hey, Professor Ethan, have you lost any dark magic items lately? We came to inform you that it might have been Harry's house elf that stole them."
Ron's jest infuriated Hermione. She angrily bit her lip, baring some of her prominent front teeth.
"Ron Weasley, what good are you?" Hermione retorted quickly.
"In my opinion, we shouldn't interfere in this matter at all," Ron blurted out. "Let the professors handle this themselves. Do you think you're smarter than Professor Ethan?" Having learned his lesson, Ron had come to appreciate the importance of not acting recklessly.
Harry sat restlessly on a chair in the corridor. The frustration of being powerless gnawed at him. Hermione sat beside Harry, offering a comforting pat on the shoulder.
In Ethan's office, Ethan calmly organized the disarray, while Flitwick anxiously hopped around him. He couldn't fathom why this had happened. Ethan, still composed, reassured Flitwick multiple times before calming him down.
The attacker must have been foolish since they left their traces unchecked. Ethan activated his witcher senses and easily identified countless traces of the intruders in his office.
After leisurely restoring order and performing a few cleanups and repairs, Ethan's office returned to its original state. Declining Flitwick's offer to assist him, Ethan began searching along the invaders' traces.
It didn't take long for Ethan to locate the culprit—right in front of Lockhart's office. To Ethan's surprise, he hadn't interacted much with Lockhart, making him wonder why Lockhart would target his office.
Without hesitation, Ethan knocked on Lockhart's office door. Immediately, there was a jingle and clatter as items fell to the ground. Lockhart's voice, nervous and dry, questioned, "Who's knocking on the door?"
"Professor Lockhart, it's me, Ethan," Ethan responded calmly. After a tense silence, Lockhart's voice emerged, "Professor Ethan, what a coincidence. I might not be able to invite you in right now; I'm busy."
"Lockhart, don't play dumb. Let me in" Ethan, losing patience with Lockhart, pounded on the door.
Another jingle and clatter resounded from the office, accompanied by Lockhart's frantic plea, "Ethan, you're not welcome here!"
Ethan didn't bother with pleasantries. Stepping back, he delivered a powerful kick to the door of Lockhart's office, sending it flying open.
"Stupefy"
A light blue spell shot out from Lockhart's office the moment the door opened, but Ethan deftly dodged it. Lockhart was too weak.
"Expelliarmus"
Ethan cast a spell randomly, hitting Lockhart's hand. Lockhart's wand flew into the air and landed in Ethan's hand.
Disgusted, Ethan wiped Lockhart's wand with the corner of his robe and pocketed it. There was no intention of returning it, Lockhart could compensate for some of the damages with it. Ethan approached Lockhart, grinning and holding his wand.
"You took something you shouldn't have, Lockhart. Return it to me quickly, and I promise to make you suffer less." Ethan taunted, slowly advancing, pushing Lockhart into a corner. To an uninformed observer, Ethan might have seemed like the villain.
"Ethan, I warn you, don't come here! I've written to the Ministry of Magic to report your evil deeds!" Lockhart, with a pale face, issued a stern warning.
"Is this what you're talking about?" Ethan pulled out a letter from his pocket and threw it in front of Lockhart. "You killed a Hogwarts owl, naturally, the loss will be yours to compensate." Lockhart's expression betrayed a hint of panic.
"Help! Murder!" Lockhart attempted to cry out, but Ethan used a Silencing Charm to seal his throat, rendering him unable to call for help.
Ethan waved his wand, gently closing the door of Lockhart's office. "Lockhart, give me what you took. For the sake of my colleagues, I won't make you suffer too much," Ethan coaxed with a bitter smile.
Lockhart emitted an angry whimper. Ethan couldn't understand his words due to the Silencing Charm, but Ethan warned him that if he shouted, he would face a Cruciatus Curse. Ethan then used the Counter-Spell to release Lockhart's silenced tongue.
"Ethan, I've seen through your evil plan. Just take it easy. I won't yield. I, Lockhart, cannot be part of this evil!" Lockhart put on an air of defiance.
Ethan sighed and then delivered a punch to Lockhart's nose, knocking him off balance. Lockhart leaned on the table behind him, tipping it over.
Lockhart screamed like a pig, "You dare to hit me! You dare to hit me! Ethan, I swear I will... I have influential fans at the Ministry of Magic..."
Ethan had interrupted Lockhart's nose, causing blood to gush out. Lockhart could only staunch the bleeding by pressing his nose, rendering his voice slightly unclear.
"Oh my God, Lockhart, I didn't realize you're still a tough guy!" Ethan had assumed that a little threat or lesson would prompt Lockhart to hand over Voldemort's diary, but he hadn't expected Lockhart to be more resilient than anticipated.
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