Back when Lockhart was a student at Hogwarts, his grades were only above average. Yet he had always been more boastful and attention-seeking than even the top students, which was one of the reasons the professors disliked him.
After graduating, he became obsessed with fame and vanity. His magical ability didn't improve at all—in fact, it regressed. Aside from spending serious effort studying memory-related spells, his other magic had grown rusty over the years.
Magic required not only talent but also practice.
Lockhart hadn't trained properly for over a decade. His skills had dulled significantly.
But that didn't affect his overwhelming confidence in the slightest.
Inside the Leaky Cauldron, Sean held a copy of the Daily Prophet Tom had ordered. Hiding in the storage room, he lazily took a break, reading the paper while eating a cream-filled pastry.
"Missing Person Notice: John Houdini, male, from Wiltshire. Gray short hair, broad jaw, mentally impaired, Squib…"
"A broad jaw and low intelligence… pretty distinctive. Hope he's alright," Sean thought.
Then another article caught his eye.
"Best-selling author Gilderoy Lockhart will be holding a book signing on August 18th at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley."
Beneath the text was a photo of Lockhart's handsome, carefully posed face.
"Ugh, this guy is unbearably greasy," Sean muttered in disgust.
Just then, Tom's loud voice echoed from downstairs, calling Sean to work.
Sean set down the newspaper, wiped the cream from his mouth, and reluctantly went downstairs like an overworked employee.
The moment he left—
A tiny figure appeared in his room.
A house-elf.
Dobby rummaged through the cramped space, opening drawers and searching frantically for something.
Lucius had been severely punished by Voldemort. Only then did he realize how important that diary was.
Desperate to recover it, he had previously searched the Leaky Cauldron himself. Sean had lied, claiming the diary was lost. Lucius had been angry—but he hadn't realized how serious the situation was.
Five days ago, he sent Dobby to search Sean's dormitory at Hogwarts.
Apparition was restricted for human wizards within Hogwarts—but house-elves could come and go freely.
With the school empty for the holidays, Dobby secretly searched every corner of Sean's dorm room.
Fortunately, Sean had already moved the Wizard's Heart back to Merlin's chamber. Otherwise, things could have gone very wrong.
After finding nothing at Hogwarts, Dobby came to the Leaky Cauldron.
Still nothing.
He knew that returning empty-handed would mean punishment—perhaps even beatings.
"I knew something felt off since last night… turns out I had an uninvited guest."
Sean's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
He stood there silently, catching Dobby red-handed.
Apparition allowed sudden travel—but only to places one had visited before and remembered clearly.
Dobby had rarely been taken out by Lucius. Places like the Leaky Cauldron were beneath Lucius's standards. Dobby had only been to Diagon Alley once, years ago.
Using that memory, Dobby Apparated to Diagon Alley, then used an invisibility spell to sneak into the Leaky Cauldron.
But earlier, Sean had been in his room the whole time.
Only when Tom called him downstairs did Dobby seize the chance to slip in.
And now—
He had been caught.
Dobby panicked and tried to Apparate away.
But Sean was faster.
"Petrificus Totalus."
The Body-Bind Curse was nearly instant.
Apparition required about a second to activate—and could easily be interrupted.
Sean stepped forward and grabbed Dobby's thin arm tightly, glaring at him.
"Thief. Your name's Dobby, right?"
House-elves had stronger magical resistance than ordinary wizards. Even after being hit, only one of Dobby's arms stiffened.
"I'm not a thief!" Dobby said nervously. "Dobby is only here to retrieve the notebook Master gave you last summer."
Sean's expression changed.
"A notebook… that's sensitive. Lucius hasn't cared for almost a year. Why send Dobby now? Did he realize it's a Horcrux?"
He was wrong.
Lucius wanted it simply because Voldemort demanded it.
"I already told Lucius—it's lost," Sean said.
"Dobby searched your dorm and here. Dobby also thinks it is lost… but Master insists," Dobby replied.
Dobby didn't understand what the diary really was. To him, it was just a notebook—something that should be kept close.
But he had searched everywhere near Sean.
Nothing.
Sean listened, then suddenly caught a crucial detail.
"Wait… you went to my dorm?" Sean asked sharply.
He knew house-elves could bypass Hogwarts restrictions—but he hadn't expected Lucius to actually send Dobby there.
"Dobby had no choice. It was Master's order," Dobby said, looking up with wide, innocent eyes.
"Good thing Lucius doesn't know it's in the Room of Requirement… otherwise he'd have succeeded," Sean thought with lingering unease.
Lucius didn't know about the Horcrux.
But Voldemort knew the diadem was hidden there.
If Voldemort had used Dobby—
He could have retrieved it without ever entering Hogwarts.
But Voldemort despised house-elves.
He saw them as filthy, inferior creatures.
During his rise to power, house-elves had suffered terribly—endless labor, constant abuse, no rest.
Voldemort never once respected them.
Even if he knew they could enter Hogwarts freely, he would never trust one to handle a Horcrux.
To him, they were unworthy.
Better to do it himself.
On the train, Sean had assumed that with the diary gone, Dobby wouldn't bother Harry anymore.
Yet here Dobby was—
Looking for him instead.
"Why does Lucius suddenly want the notebook again?" Sean asked.
"Dobby cannot say. Dobby cannot reveal anything about the Malfoy family," Dobby replied.
That was the nature of house-elves—bound by their masters, even without spells.
"Sean! What are you doing up there? I've been calling you forever!" Tom shouted from downstairs again.
"Coming!"
Sean turned his head to respond—
And in that instant, Dobby shook free and Apparated away.
"Damn it," Sean muttered.
But Dobby didn't return to Malfoy Manor.
Instead—
He went to Privet Drive.
He wanted to see, with his own eyes, the boy who had defeated the Dark Lord—Harry Potter.
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