"It looks like one of us has taken a rather nasty tumble?"
Dumbledore came in through the doorway with his usual twinkling smile. His figure blocked the bright corridor light, and the Room of Requirement returned to its torch-lit gloom.
"Oh, indeed! I never should've come here—Harry the Famous, and Green, the one the entire wizarding world's been hunting for, hiding right here in Hogwarts! I thought this would be a golden opportunity to raise my profile…"
Lockhart—under Veritaserum—rattled on and on.
He clawed at his mouth in terror, but that treacherous thing kept babbling anyway.
"Oh, Gilderoy," Dumbledore said, his long silver beard trembling slightly, "so your lying mouth can't lie anymore?"
"I want to lie!" Lockhart wailed. "My crazed admirers did something dreadful, or perhaps some students who've learned a few Dark spells—Hogwarts wouldn't allow that… I have so many perfectly good excuses, and now I can't—mmph—"
He looked as though he might tear his own mouth off.
"You've shown your true colors, Gilderoy," Dumbledore said calmly. "Save your clever lines for the Ministry. Or perhaps… the Dementors?"
He treated Lockhart like something trivial. With a flick of his fingers, Lockhart was bound tight as a parcel.
Dumbledore lifted his gaze, and Hagrid appeared as if summoned by it.
Hagrid winked at Sean first, then hoisted Lockhart up.
"Professor Dumbledore, I'll hand him straight over to the Aurors outside the castle," Hagrid rumbled.
And with that he marched off, Lockhart dangling like a scrawny chicken in his grip.
"The Ministry has issued a new ruling for Hagrid," Dumbledore said with a bright smile. He looked genuinely pleased. "Not an easy thing to achieve."
"Hagrid's conviction was overturned?!" Hermione gasped.
Overturning an old case was the kind of thankless work that never seemed to happen—magical world or not.
"Yes, Miss Granger. And soon you'll be hearing an even better piece of news."
He paused, eyes shining.
"But for now, I'll allow myself a little suspense."
"Always the same," Hermione muttered under her breath to Sean. "Grown-ups always think keeping us in the dark is 'for our own good.'"
"Mm." Justin, who'd clearly been thinking hard, immediately agreed.
Sean, unexpectedly, said nothing.
"Alright then," Dumbledore said, pretending not to notice their little exchange. He strode to the door and swung it open.
"Now—you should all be in bed. And perhaps you ought to drink a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I've always found it does wonders for my own mood."
He lowered his head and blinked at them kindly.
"As for me, I'll be writing to Azkaban—our Professor Lockhart ought to go where he belongs. And I'll draft a recruitment notice for the Daily Prophet…"
He looked thoughtful.
"We seem to be in need of yet another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. My, that position burns through people quickly, doesn't it?"
The students nodded so hard their heads nearly rattled.
This was exactly what they'd wanted.
"Professor Dumbledore," Justin asked, still chewing on something Dumbledore had let slip, "may I ask what a 'Dementor' is?"
"Dementors," Dumbledore said, pausing, "may be the most evil and terrifying creatures in the wizarding world."
And with that, he turned and left.
Hermione hadn't even processed Justin's question before Dumbledore's answer hit her like a curse. She pressed her lips together and edged closer to Sean.
"Sean… do you know what Dementors are?" Justin asked, startled by that response.
"Azkaban's guards," Sean said, succinct and grim. "Dark creatures that feed on a wizard's happiness.
They may be the only known beings capable of making a wizard unable to use magic.
They can't be killed physically—only driven off temporarily…"
"Can't be killed…" Hermione whispered.
Even though the Room was sealed, she suddenly felt as if a cold wind were scraping at her skin.
"So how do you drive them off?" Justin asked carefully.
"The Patronus Charm is the best defense," Sean replied. "And sometimes chocolate is used as first aid after a Dementor attack."
"Chocolate?!" Justin blurted. He trusted Sean—but it still sounded bizarre.
"Eating chocolate," Sean explained, "or drinking a large mug of hot chocolate, helps restore a wizard's mood."
"You really are…" Hermione began, then turned to Justin, realization dawning.
"That line—Dumbledore said it too. Have you noticed? Sean keeps getting more and more like one person."
"Dumbledore," she finished quietly. "Even more so now."
Justin nodded, still a little dazed, and together they left the Room of Requirement.
Far away, a glow flared in the Forbidden Forest—then vanished again.
As if a dragon had been causing trouble in there, only to be dragged off by its handler.
Sean stared toward the trees for a moment—then disappeared on the spot.
Hermione and Justin didn't even get the chance to say goodbye.
"More and more like him…" Hermione muttered, frowning at the corridor. "The way he just… appears and vanishes…"
…
By the time Sean reached the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid was standing outside his hut, locked in a wide-eyed stare-down with the Pukwudgie butler.
"This is my hut," Hagrid growled. He'd clearly only just finished delivering Lockhart to the Aurors.
It wasn't hard to imagine tomorrow's papers exploding with the story.
Hermione and Justin, meanwhile, had already rushed off to contact Luna and Rita—Sean had given them a way to reach them before the plan began.
Soon Hogwarts students—soon the entire wizarding world—would know Lockhart was a fraud.
But Sean didn't care about that.
Neither did Will.
"Until the honorable Lord Green arrives, no one is allowed inside," Will declared, bow raised, looking ready to fire at the slightest provocation.
And Pukwudgie archery was famously deadly. William—the Pukwudgie Will idolized—had once shot down a Slytherin descendant and saved Isolt Sayre herself.
"But I'm the owner here!" Hagrid protested, furious.
"And I'm the steward!" Will snapped back, refusing to budge.
"Sean didn't tell you…" Hagrid's tone softened into a helpless grumble. He was curious about the magical creature—but right now he mostly just wanted to get back inside.
~~~
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