It's All Because Tom, That Bad Boy, Tricked Me

"No, you've been a liar before, see?" corrected Ivan.

Lockhart shook his head in disbelief. "How? You must be mistaken!"

"You're a liar!" Ivan pointed his Elder Wand at the distant tiles, and there was a red flash and an explosion.

"Well, you're right, I'm a liar!" Lockhart looked at the crater in the ground and swallowed hard.

Ivan could not be bothered with him any longer and put the damaged diary and diadem away.

Ivan then used the Transfiguration Charm to create a majestic giant eagle with a wingspan of several meters.

"Squeak squeak squeak~" At this moment, Fawkes the phoenix ran out on its short legs. Its body was bald and without feathers, making it look like a small turkey that was about to be cooked…

Fox ran up to Ivan and tugged at his pants, telling him not to forget about him, but then he looked up and saw the young wizard looking at him strangely.

…

On the giant eagle, Ivan flew up and out of the entrance.

Lockhart, who was below, was not treated so well. He was grabbed by the giant eagle's talons and held in mid-air, crying out in fear of falling.

"Go back!" Ivan said, jumping off the eagle's back and staring back.

The eagle gave a human-like nod, then ducked back into the Chamber of Secrets and waited for the Transfiguration Charm to wear off before it turned back into a rock.

Ivan did not linger in the girls' bathroom, but took Lockhart with him to the Headmaster's office.

On the way, Lockhart bombarded Ivan with questions, and Ivan was so annoyed that he warned him that if he said another word, he would be rendered speechless!

In front of the Headmaster's office, the door to the passageway opened directly.

Yvonne ran Occlumency, trying to think of an explanation as she went in.

After passing through the semi-circular staircase, Ivan saw Dumbledore sitting behind his desk in his dark blue robes.

"Ivan, I'm so glad you're all right!" Hermione's frown disappeared when she saw Ivan, and she threw herself at him with joy.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Yvonne asked, confused at being knocked over.

Dumbledore's voice rang out.

"It was Miss Granger who came to inform me that you were in danger, and so I sent Fox to find you."

Hermione, who was clinging to Ivan, realised that there was someone else in the Headmaster's office, and her pale cheeks reddened as she released Ivan.

"Thank you so much, Hermione…" Yvonne said gratefully. She would not have made it back without Hermione's notice.

The little witch shook her head, indicating that it was her duty.

In the corridor, she had seen Ivan's panicked face as he chased after Lockhart, and she guessed that something was wrong.

In addition, the attack may have had something to do with the You-Know-Who, and Hermione was worried about Ivan's safety, so she immediately informed Dumbledore in the Great Hall.

Dumbledore soon determined the approximate range of their disappearance, based on reports from the portraits in the castle…

Hermione chattered on, telling Yvonne what had happened, then suddenly stopped, her eyes widening as a familiar figure appeared through the door.

"Professor Lockhart?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Professor? Are you talking about me?" Lockhart, who was looking curiously at the portrait in the Headmaster's office, paused and pointed at himself strangely.

Lockhart seemed to have thought of something, as he rushed forward and asked, "You must know who I am, don't you? Tell me!"

"Ivan, what's wrong with Professor Lockhart?" Hermione asked, hiding behind Ivan.

Dumbledore gave Lockhart a thoughtful look, then turned his blue eyes back to Ivan and slowly steepled his fingers.

"Hales, I think… you need to give us a good explanation."

"Of course, Professor! But it may be a bit long!" Ivan nodded.

Yvonne had thought of an excuse during her visit to the Headmaster's office.

He started with the diary that old Malfoy had sold him, and everything he said was true, except for a few things about the system…

After all, the system and time travel were secrets he had to keep and would never reveal.

At the same time, Ivan made several attempts to mention his mother, Alicia, while keeping an eye on Dumbledore's face.

The centenarian listened quietly, his expression neutral, although he was visibly moved when Ivan mentioned the Slytherin Laboratory.

Yvonne could not understand their relationship, even though she was furious when Isia mentioned Dumbledore.

Unable to figure it out, Ivan gave up on the idea of probing, and after relaying the whole story of how he obtained the Horcrux, he spoke again.

"Over the course of several months, Tom Riddle taught me a great deal about magic. He also told me about the Slytherin Chamber, and I considered him my best friend…"

In due course, Ivan's face took on a desolate expression, indicating that he had always been a good student of school rules, and that he had been fooled by the treacherous old Malfoy and the wicked Tom Riddle.

"You need not be upset, Hulse!" Dumbledore continues gently.

"Many Dark Wizards excel at disguise and deception, and Lord Voldemort was among the best of them, even as a student.

"And you managed to spot him, didn't you, Ivan?" Hermione added reassuringly.

"Yes, even though he disguised it very well, I noticed something was wrong, so I wanted to give you the diary to authenticate… but it was stolen."

Yvonne told him about Dobby's theft of the Horcrux, about Lockhart's misdeeds when he found the Horcrux, and how he deduced from the various clues that Lockhart was the attacker…

"What happened to Professor Lockhart? Did you do something to him?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I saw through his disguise, and he tried to cast a Memory Charm on me, but it bounced off my protective ring…" Ivan, of course, would not claim that he had erased Lockhart's memory. Instead, he tried to change Lockhart's story.

Is that right? Lockhart looked stunned, but he couldn't argue because he couldn't remember anything…