A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

"This is so exciting! I never dreamed there would be a plot like this." Fred and George whispered to each other as they took a detour and hid in the bushes, peering through the gaps to observe what was happening.

Dumbledore held Fudge's hand: "Don't worry, Fudge, you'll be alright."

"You guarantee it? Dumbledore?" Half of his face turned completely black.

"I assure you, Fudge."

Fudge's expression calmed down, and he fell asleep.

Dumbledore withdrew his gleaming fingers and turned to Kingsley: "We need to get him to the university hospital."

"But Minister Fouché said..."

"The basilisk's venom needs to be dealt with as soon as possible," Dumbledore said.

The man named Kingsley quickly gave in, "I'll do whatever you say."

Dumbledore turned to Flitwick and McGonagall and said, "Felius, Minerva, you stay here, maintain order, and get rid of the Basilisk." The two professors nodded.

Hagrid volunteered to pick up Fudge, and together with Dumbledore and Kingsley, they strode toward the university hospital.

Lucius escaped amidst the chaos and found his son, Draco Malfoy.

"What is the truth behind the locked room mystery?" Lucius asked him.

"It was Potter and his gang who did it! Dad, Potter is a Parseltongue, that's why he discovered the Chamber of Secrets!" Draco said, looking annoyed.

"Parsley!" Lucius was genuinely surprised; he had thought that the diary he had given to the Weasleys' youngest daughter had been discovered.

"Have you found out who opened the secret room?" Lucius asked vaguely.

"No, not yet," Draco stammered, glancing fearfully at his father. He didn't mention that he had been briefly controlled by dark magic objects.

"Is that so?" Lucius didn't notice the subtle movement; his expression became inscrutable.

……

Rita Skeeter wanted to follow and film the Minister of Magic's miserable state, but after glancing at Lockhart on the scene, she quickly determined her true target.

Rivals are enemies, we have to get rid of him!

"Snap!"

"Snap!"

"Snap!"

"Snap!"

Lockhart, bewildered, covered his face and cried out, "Hey, stop! Stop it now!"

However, Rita Skeeter was even more enthusiastic about shooting; her creative desires were now bursting. Unfortunately, due to some concerns, she did not bring her automatic quill and parchment.

She stole a glance at Felix, who silently watched everything.

This put Rita Skeeter at ease; it seemed 'this person' didn't care about others. Next time she had the chance to come to Hogwarts, she would definitely be well-prepared.

"Good heavens, Professor McGonagall must be furious," Hermione said, hiding behind a huge pillar. Harry and Ron looked at their Transfiguration professor, whose face was contorted in rage.

The situation had escalated to the point where Lockhart rushed over and tried to snatch the camera from Skeeter, but it seemed that Lockhart was no match for her in terms of physical strength alone. Skeeter's two-inch-long fingernails left more than a dozen scratches on his face.

"My handsome face!" Lockhart was furious.

Professor McGonagall had to step in and separate the two, her lips trembling with anger. "Professor Lockhart, please leave here immediately! As for you..." She looked at Rita Skeeter with disgust.

"Oh, don't worry about me, Professor McGonagall," Rita Skeeter said shamelessly. "I'm just wandering around. It's been so many years since I've been back to school. I really miss it."

"Suit yourself." McGonagall couldn't worry about her for the time being. She and Professor Flitwick worked together to drag the basilisk away.

Felix glanced around; Lockhart looked like an enraged bull, and he didn't want to get involved. He turned and walked towards the school hospital.

After a while, Lockhart calmed down completely. He suddenly realized that he was facing an unprecedented crisis. He straightened his messy hair and said to Rita Skeeter, "Skeeter, we need to talk, one-on-one."

The woman gave him a haughty look, then handed her biggest prize—the magic camera—to her two assistants. "Keep an eye on it, and stay away from it."

With the two assistants gone, Lockhart and Skeeter were now the only two people in the open space.

Secretly, the twins and the trio each held their breath, each on their own side.

Rita Skeeter glanced at Lockhart dismissively, grinning triumphantly. "What do you want to talk to me about? I don't think it's necessary—"

"A renowned bestselling author!"

Lockhart's handsome face contorted, but he glanced around and said in a low voice, "We don't need to get to this point. I can give you Galleons as compensation, as long as you don't mention this matter."

Rita Skeeter glanced at him.

"Two thousand Galleons!" Lockhart said painfully.

no respond.

"four thousand!"

"Ten thousand Galleons! You greedy woman!"

Rita Skeeter gave a stiff smile, but she still didn't budge. She leaned closer and said, "Lockhart, you can go back and think about it first. Figure out one thing: how much is the reputation of a great writer really worth?"

"—And," she said, fiddling with her nails, "we should first think about how to clear our names of attacking the Minister of Magic."

"That was just an accident!" Lockhart glared at her through gritted teeth, but the woman had already left satisfied.

He gripped his wand, wanting to do something several times, but ultimately gave up. He slumped back to his office.

The bustling courtyard has returned to its tranquility.

The twins exchanged a glance and quietly slipped away. Behind a pillar, Harry, Harry, and their two companions stared at each other in bewilderment.

"Slutty money dealing!" Hermione exclaimed indignantly.

Ron shrugged. "That's normal. My father got wind of it beforehand when he went to investigate Malfoy Manor. What do you think is the reason?"

Harry watched Lockhart leave and couldn't help but ask, "Do you think Lockhart will end up in jail?"

Ron replied without hesitation, "It's hard to say, but if I were Fudge, I mean, as Minister for Magic, I couldn't afford to lose face like that."

"Don't you think it's quite a coincidence?"

"What?"

"Everything that happened today was an accident, wasn't it? You know, the basilisk has already been dealt with. He could have lived a whole year without any trouble, then written a book like 'My Year at Hogwarts' and made a fortune of Galleons."

"You mean, the curse of the mysterious man?" Ron realized.

Hermione blinked, then said with great interest, "That's quite an interesting idea, Harry. Maybe the curse is just amplifying the probability of all sorts of accidents. We can look into that."

Ron grimaced. "Hermione, don't you think you've been too busy lately? Let me count for you: classes, homework, weekend rune lessons, grading tests, learning special transfiguration, and now you're even researching curses..."

Hermione snorted and retorted, "Don't you think it's very fulfilling to solve puzzles?"

……

On the other side, Rita Skeeter, who was leisurely enjoying the scenery, suddenly turned back the way she came after passing through the courtyard.

Her eyes searched frantically, but Lockhart was too fast; she had already lost sight of him. But she soon saw a glimmer of hope—

"Hey, you three! Little wizards, stop right there."