Having escaped famine, I was accepted into Hogwarts.

Chapter 123 A Minor Accident

Chapter 123 A Little Accident

The force was just right; it caused unconsciousness without harming the brain.

Just like Lockhart, who was sleeping soundly on the dueling platform, the professors and students below the platform were all equally bewildered.

The young wizards were all starting to get confused. Had Lockhart and Quirrell held back during last year's teaching session, or had Kane and Dumbledore made some kind of shady deal?

What exactly is that writhing, twisting shadow under their feet? They want to learn too!

Moreover, the methods of attacking Lockhart at close range with a dagger and wand and knocking Lockhart unconscious with a book are things that a wizard's mind could come up with.

Are you a wizard or not?

The professors' thoughts were not as complicated as the young wizards'. Since most of them knew that Kane and Lockhart had traveled together for a period of time during the holidays, they wondered if Lockhart had set up such a big stage and completely lost face because of some strange deal, just to cooperate with Kane to make him appear in front of others.

That shouldn't be the case. Kane doesn't have any extraordinary background; he's just an orphan. It can't be that Kane is really more powerful than a seventh-level wizard, can it?

Don't make your professor laugh.

Unlike the various brainstorming sessions off the dueling ring, Kane was busy with his craft.

After wrapping the unconscious Lockhart in a cocoon of shadow, he beckoned to Dumbledore: "Professor Dumbledore, Lockhart seems a bit strange."

At this point, Dumbledore still didn't sense anything strange. He simply smiled, stood up, and walked over, intending to take Lowhart to the infirmary for a good night's sleep.

"Lockhart has indeed become very strong, but Kane, we cannot assume that a person is static. We should congratulate Lockhart on his progress, not criticize him," Dumbledore said gently.

"Um, thank you for the lesson, but what I meant was that Lockhart seemed like a different person just now, from his expressions, the details, the demeanor—all these strange things... You should come and take a look."

As Kane spoke, he jumped off the dueling platform with Lockhart, and the other professors gathered around, clearly wanting to know what strange changes had occurred in Lockhart.

After he opened the Shadow Cocoon that was wrapped around Lockhart, a parchment page floated up and wobbled. Just as Dumbledore was about to reach for it, the page suddenly changed its angle and flew towards the stairwell in the blink of an eye.

Just as it was about to escape the auditorium and become free, a shadowy claw suddenly grabbed it and pulled it back firmly.

Ginny, who was just watching from the sidelines in the auditorium, felt as if the sky had fallen when she saw the page of the book struggling to stay afloat.

Tom was dismembered!

That was her first thought, then her second: Tom should still be in Lockhart's office, so it might not be too late to go find him!

No... I can't go myself. Tom was confiscated from me by Lockhart. If I can't find Tom, Dumbledore will definitely ask Lockhart and find out about me from him.

I need to find someone else to help me.

Wait, will this work? Will it fool the clever Dumbledore?

We have to give it a try, just in case!

With that thought in mind, Ginny tried her best to make herself inconspicuous and jogged toward the Ravenclaw table. Fortunately, the Great Hall was in a mess right now, and no one would pay attention to her!

Meanwhile...

"Hmm, I can tell. He probably wants to go back to Lockhart's office." Dumbledore reached out and took the parchment, almost instantly understanding why Lockhart was behaving this way.

Clearly, he had obtained a magical artifact with its own thoughts, which looked like a book. With that in mind, he set off to Lockhart's office to see what kind of trickery was going on there.

Then, suddenly feeling that leaving Lockhart alone here wasn't a good idea, Professor Sprout made Lockhart float up: "I'll take him to the infirmary, don't worry."

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"Thank you for your hard work." Dumbledore nodded and led Kane, Snape, and Professor McGonagall to Lockhart's office. The latter two were Dumbledore's right-hand men, so it was only right that they went to the office with him.

Kane, on the other hand, went to check on Lockhart as a friend, since he was worried about the idea of ​​a friend he could chat with and even pay the bill being switched with someone else.

Soon, the group rushed to Lockhart's office and thoroughly checked everything from his desk and bookshelves to under his bed, but found nothing unusual.

Dumbledore even used the Patronus Charm to detect dark magic, scanning the entire office in a way that suggested the Patronus might feel uneasy around a dark magical object, but he found not a single trace of dark magic.

"Hmm, isn't that strange? Could it be that the page of dark magic isn't a book, but a piece of paper?" Dumbledore muttered, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the parchment page he held in his hand.

"I need to check the records in the school's owlhouse to see if Lockhart has been in contact with anyone," Professor McGonagall said, turning to leave. Kane then awkwardly raised his hand. "Well, Lockhart gets hundreds of fan letters every month, and he replies to every single one. Isn't that like looking for a needle in a haystack?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed. I think we should wait until Lockhart wakes up before making any further plans. Until then, allow me to examine this strange page... hmm... it's quite unsettling."

As he spoke, he picked up the parchment, his brow furrowed tightly behind his sunglasses.

Soon the crowd dispersed, and Dumbledore, instead of returning to the headmaster's office, began studying the mischievous piece of paper in Lockhart's office. Kane and Snape went home, while Professor McGonagall, though knowing it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, still felt it necessary to go to the owlhouse to look for clues.

What if?

Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor Tower, Kane had just entered the Gryffindor common room when he was hit in the head at close range by two magical fireworks, leaving him with no cover. He wasn't using his Shadow Armor right now.

Fortunately, the magic fireworks were all light effects and had no physical form, so I wasn't hurt.

The moment the fireworks went off, almost the entire Gryffindor Tower erupted in cheers. Perhaps it was because Kane had defeated Lockhart, whom even the older Slytherins hadn't been able to defeat, or perhaps it was for some other reason—maybe they just needed an excuse to have a party.

Except for Hermione, who was staring at the fireplace in deep thought, almost everyone else had an uncontrollable smile on their face.

Even Ginny, who had been in a bad mood, was happy.

Halfway through the party, Dumbledore's origami crane flew into Kane's hands.

Lockhart woke up in the infirmary, completely unharmed and with all the magic he had learned still intact. He showed no resentment about Kane defeating him, displaying a completely normal attitude.

I don't know what happened, but a small accident occurred.