Harry Potter didn't know what book Professor Lockhart had written, nor that there was a 100,000 Galleon bounty on his head.
The bookstore was right there, but he clearly didn't have a chance to go in and buy a book.
But he soon found out.
Stepping onto the Hogwarts Express once more, before he even boarded, he heard many adult witches and wizards dropping off their children, gathered in small groups, whispering about something. Feigning a casual stroll past them, he often caught Professor Lockhart's name.
Many adults who noticed him passing would immediately fall silent, as if afraid of others knowing what they were discussing.
This situation continued onto the train.
Unlike the usual boisterous start-of-term scene, hushed discussions filled the air, and everyone's expressions seemed so peculiar. Sometimes, an accidental slip of the tongue would cause gasps from their group.
"What in Merlin's beard is going on?!" He was incredibly curious. When he finally found Hermione and Ron, he eagerly demanded.
"Don't speak!" Hermione vigilantly scanned their surroundings, leading the two of them to an empty compartment. She closed the compartment door, peered cautiously outside again, and then turned back to them, her face serious. "Professor Lockhart wrote a book!"
"I know he wrote a book, but what is it?!!!" Harry's voice involuntarily rose, prompting Hermione to anxiously turn her head back towards the compartment door. After she glared at him, he quickly lowered his voice and asked again.
Hermione quickly walked over, pulled open her cloak, and quietly pulled out a not-too-thick book from within, placing it in front of Harry.
She clearly cherished this book immensely, having carefully made a cover for it and even镶嵌ing copper edges on the corners, not wanting any of the pages to bend.
Harry opened the cover and gasped sharply.
—Lord Voldemort: A Pure-Blood Supremacist with a Muggle Father?
He certainly had enough curiosity about the Dark Lord Voldemort, but at that moment, he had no desire to open the book and read it. Instead, he looked at Hermione with a grave expression. "Is Professor alright?"
"I don't know!" Hermione frowned and shook her head. "Luna quietly sent this to me. I live in the Muggle world; I have no access to information from the wizarding world!"
So Harry began to tell them about his summer adventures, mentioning what happened after he finally revealed himself from under the Invisibility Cloak, was located by Professor Dumbledore and the others, and they Apparated there.
He spoke with an astonished tone, "Professor McGonagall and the others were so surprised. They had always thought the Dark Lord's minions were all locked up in Azkaban, but they never expected so many loyal followers and supporters to still be out there. They all said that if it weren't for Professor Lockhart's book, they would have no idea that the Dark Lord's influence was still so terrifying."
"He's already dead—though we know he's not—but many people think he is, and the Ministry of Magic keeps insisting on that view. Yet, there are still so many loyal people."
Harry's expression grew particularly angry as he spoke of this.
He didn't understand why so many people would willingly follow a mass-murdering Dark Lord and be villains.
Harry's information was clearly useful, but it didn't answer Hermione's question.
So, both of them turned to Ron; he always knew a lot of news from the wizarding world.
Then they realized that Ron seemed somewhat distracted at the moment.
Seeing their gaze, Ron sighed, placing the tightly clutched newspaper on the table and gesturing for them to look at the picture in the center.
Above the picture was a huge headline—DEATH EATER ESCAPES!!!
Hermione quickly snatched the newspaper, scanning it rapidly. Seeing Harry's look, Ron explained concisely, "The Aurors haven't caught the escaped prisoner yet. This is supposedly the most dangerous Death Eater, and the only time he was sighted was when he was seen buying a book..." (he gestured towards the book Hermione had brought).
"Many people believe he escaped Azkaban precisely because of Professor Lockhart's book, wanting to get revenge on Professor Lockhart for writing something that cast the Dark Lord in a bad light."
Harry's expression became serious. "We should find a way to help Professor Lockhart!"
"I think so too!" Ron looked down at his wand. He would never forget how Professor Lockhart, outside Ollivanders' shop, had encouraged him with such a gentle voice, saying that a champion couldn't do without a proper wand. No one knew how much that sentence affected him, nor how excited he was at that moment.
"I..." He tried his best to keep his voice from trembling with excitement, wanting to sound mature and calmly discuss with his friends how they could help their professor.
However, before he could finish, Hermione slammed the newspaper down on the table, looking at them intensely, her expression stern. "I disagree!"
"Hermione!" Harry looked at her in disbelief.
"But you're his loyal fan!" Ron felt like Hermione was a complete stranger.
Hermione rolled her eyes, pointing at the photo on the newspaper's front page. "Don't you two realize? If this Death Eater can't find Professor Lockhart, who do you think he'll go after?"
Harry looked somewhat bewildered.
Ron, however, gasped, looking at Harry. "Mate, Hermione's right. You're in danger!"
"I even suspect he's on this train right now!" Hermione vigilantly looked around. "After the adult wizards leave the younger students and before we reach Hogwarts, this is the best time to strike!"
She quickly picked up the book and shoved it into her satchel, pulling out her wand. "Although many people believe this train is safe—and it's true no one has dared to attack it in over a hundred years of operation—but lads, this is war!"
Ron felt Hermione was overreacting a bit. While he agreed that the Death Eater might attack Harry, on the Hogwarts Express?
If Hermione could think of it, couldn't the school professors?
But when Hermione made up her mind, they always found it impossible to argue with her.
"I'm going to gather the Dueling Club members, call everyone to discuss how to help Professor Lockhart, and then find the Head Boy to rally the prefects of all years to sweep this train!"
Professor Lockhart's teaching this past year had changed Harry, changed Ron, and even more so, changed Hermione.
Her expression was so serious. "Lads, let's move!"
Harry habitually drew his wand. His summer adventures had made him increasingly reliant on his wand, knowing how to best use his abilities.
Ron, though, looked rather peculiar. "I agree to find other Dueling Club members, but forget the Head Boy; he's absolutely useless."
Hermione paused. "Who?"
Ron rolled his eyes. "Percy!"
"Your brother's the Head Boy this year?" Harry asked in astonishment. All of Ron's brothers were so accomplished!
"Yeah, and he's been insufferable about it. He spent the whole summer listening to everyone discuss it (though it was really the twins constantly teasing him), but I think he..."
Before Ron could finish, Hermione had already pushed open the door and looked back at him. "Then let's go find Percy!"
She wasn't willing to wait for an attack to happen before reacting. She wanted to address the danger before it occurred.
She never forgot the incident of Crabbe's parents' death; it was the first time she truly faced the cruelty and terror of the wizarding world.
Death, in the magical world with its powerful magic, truly wasn't far off at all.
Sometimes, when she walked through Muggle streets during the holidays, she even had a terrifying feeling that if she pulled out her wand, she could easily kill an entire street full of people.
The danger of magic was truly not a game.
Soon, the members of the Dueling Club gathered. Rather oddly, Neville seemed to be speaking with Draco, Goyle, and Crabbe, his eyes red.
But when the three walked past, everyone fell silent. At such a critical moment, it wasn't the time for inquiries.
Then they found Percy.
Contrary to Ron's guess, Percy's expression was incredibly serious. "Professor Lockhart is on the train. I just visited him in his compartment."
"What?" Everyone gasped in unison.
"He'll be teaching the Care of Magical Creatures elective this year," Percy said, urging everyone to start sweeping the compartments. At the same time, he went to find the prefects and some older students, looking even more invested than Hermione.
Soon, they caught a dwarfish adult wizard hiding among the younger students.
While everyone else was nervously discussing Professor Lockhart's book, this fellow had hidden in a corner of the crowd and hadn't been noticed at all.
The adult wizard was clearly surprised to have been discovered. He pulled out his wand, intending to fight, but was easily subdued by a volley of spells from the younger students, who had undergone extensive magical adventure training.
"I need to write to Professor McGonagall; this is clearly not normal!" Percy looked at the subdued wizard's fierce glare, his expression exceptionally grave. He called out to his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, "You go and inform Professor Lockhart about this situation."
Clearly, he had just visited Professor Lockhart with his girlfriend.
However, before anyone could say anything, a horrifying silence rapidly spread through the compartment.
Unlike the fear induced by the three-handed golden-haired dark creature, this terrifying presence seemed to rapidly drain all joy and vitality from those it affected. An older student standing near the compartment door suddenly shivered violently, and his entire body began to tremble.
Darkness swept through, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Silver mist swirled, and a silver, translucent mouse scampered out, quickly circling around everyone in the air of the compartment.
Magical power surged, dispelling the gloom.
Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief, all looking at Ron, who had cast the spell.
Ron looked a bit embarrassed by their gazes and grinned. "Professor Lockhart said, when you encounter a problem like this, no matter what's happening, just summon your Patronus first!"
Yes, he was always the first in the crowd to draw his wand and cast a spell—a true Gryffindor champion!
So Percy proudly looked at the older students around him, shouting with pride, "Look, this is my brother, Ron! Ron Weasley!"
But his pride quickly faded.
As the terrifying dark power grew denser, Ron's summoned Patronus seemed to dim, becoming ineffective in an instant.
"Expecto Patronum!"
"Expecto Patronum!" "Expecto Patronum!" "Expecto Patronum!"
Everyone quickly drew their wands and cast the spell in unison.
The other older students who had come to help looked at them in disbelief. "How do all of you know the Patronus Charm?!!!"
This scene was clearly too outrageous. One of the oldest and most difficult spells in legend, one that most people couldn't even get to form, yet here were fully formed Patronuses, one after another, an unbelievable sight!
And there were even younger students who were about to enter their second year, who knew it?
Did magic not follow basic common sense anymore?
Could this thing be mass-produced?