The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 248 A Bunch of Stupid Thieves
The sea outside the school was turbulent. Lockhart was like a small sampan in the sea. He didn't know when he would be overturned by the huge waves and drowned in the vast ocean of the people.

The world has suffered from Lockhart for a long time, and now not only has no one come to his aid, but instead, everyone has added insult to injury, wishing to smash Lockhart to death in the well so that he would never be able to recover.

Whether it was those who had started criticizing Lockhart before or some people who were just watching the show, they all jumped out and began to accuse Lockhart, demanding that the Ministry of Magic investigate the matter and give justice to the wizarding world.

Some radical elements expressed their strong dissatisfaction in newspapers about the Ministry of Magic's delay in taking action. They called on everyone to petition the Ministry of Magic or to march to Diagon Alley.

If that doesn't work, they don't mind taking a stroll to places like Big Ben or Westminster Abbey.

Lockhart had never imagined that he would end up in such a situation. The letters he received every day were all offensive in nature.

Some people stuffed dead mice in packages, while others put the juice of the babo tuber in envelopes, all in the hope of hurting Lockhart.

These "enthusiasms" made Lockhart very embarrassed. He couldn't even do his favorite part of reading fan letters. He could no longer comfort himself or give himself suggestions through fans.

Faced with the overwhelming doubts, Lockhart still remained stubborn. He couldn't admit it. Once he admitted what he had done, he would be finished, and only disgrace and ruin awaited him.

Getting other wizards' experiences and then erasing their memories, either of these points, was enough for him to stay in Azkaban for a long time. Lockhart could not let go of fame and wealth, and he did not want to go to Azkaban, so he would never admit these things.

As we all know, humans usually have poor memory and they quickly forget certain things.

Lockhart placed his hopes here, thinking that as long as he could continue to produce an "excellent" work, people would forget the "slander" against him. He would still be the best-selling author in the wizarding world and the recipient of the Order of Merlin, third class.

As for the content of the new book, Lockhart already had a plan. He wanted to write about the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts, and at the same time, he could clear his name. However, Lockhart knew nothing about the Chamber of Secrets, so he couldn't even start writing. He needed someone who knew the Chamber of Secrets inside out.

On the other side, Ada, who was closest to one of the secret rooms, was happily eating melon. This time, she could eat the melon with peace of mind, without having to worry about it eating her again.

If she hadn't known that she didn't sleepwalk, Ada would have thought that she had published these articles and reports anonymously. However, she didn't know as much as Rita Skeeter, who seemed to have seen it with her own eyes.

Ada didn't know that Lockhart had set his sights on the Chamber of Secrets. If she knew, she would probably happily go and talk to Lockhart. If Lockhart wanted to explore the Chamber of Secrets, she wouldn't mind giving him a hand.

She was so considerate and helpful. Ada had always felt bad for not being able to get rid of Lockhart on the meaningful day of March 3.

While things were turbulent outside the school, it was unusually calm inside the school, which was completely different from the Hogwarts a few months ago. However, beneath the seemingly calm surface, there were invisible undercurrents surging.

In early April, Fred and George had just celebrated their fifteenth birthdays, and they were one step closer to becoming adults. Just when they were still happy about this, something big and small happened in the Gryffindor common room.

The Gryffindor common room was robbed again, but unlike before, someone lost something this time. The diary that Harry Potter found was lost, the diary that Tom Riddle had written when he was a student.

After the Quidditch training that day, Harry dragged his tired body back to the common room. As soon as he came back, he found that his dormitory had been turned upside down, and Harry had not lost anything except the diary.

Hogwarts is really full of stupid thieves. They broke into the house just to steal a blank diary. Even a person with a stupid brain would realize the importance of this diary.

What's more, Harry is not stupid, he already knows how to use the diary, and he has discussed it with Tom Riddle. The loss of the diary immediately aroused his vigilance, and a bad premonition came to his mind.

For some reason, Harry couldn't sleep that night because he felt that another attack might happen.

The weather in April made Hogwarts much warmer, and the trees were sprouting branches and showing new vitality. But Harry had no intention of appreciating the spring flowers in front of him. He, Ron and Hermione hurried out of the castle, walked across the grass slope and headed towards the Black Lake. After a sleepless night, Harry's eyes were full of bloodshot. If Snape saw such eyes, he might be so distressed!

As soon as Harry and the other two arrived near the Black Lake, they saw a beige Labrador rushing towards them. Harry was right, Ada and the twins were indeed here.

Garlon ran over to Harry and the other two, wagging its tail happily. When Harry and Hermione reached out to touch it, it licked their palms with its tongue.

But Ron was treated coldly. Garlon walked around Ron until he was sure that the boy did not smell like a rat before allowing the boy to touch him.

By the Black Lake, Fred and George were imitating Oliver Wood who was angry and swearing, and their imitation was so lifelike that Ada, who was sitting on a boulder, couldn't stop laughing.

The Black Lake was still quiet at this time, and Ada naturally noticed the approach of Harry and the other two. She smiled and greeted them, saying, "Good morning, what brings you three here?"

Normally, Harry, Ron and Hermione seldom come here, or rather, they don't come here so early, so Ada asked this question.

Straight to the point, without further ado, Harry said, "Did you know that the Gryffindor boys' dormitory was robbed yesterday?"

"Of course!" said Fred. "I was there at the time. Did you find you had lost anything?"

"Yes," said Harry seriously, "I lost a diary."

This puzzled the twins. Losing a diary shouldn't be a big deal, so why did Harry look so serious? George asked, "What diary? Is it important? Could it be that one of your fans wants to know about your private life?"

Harry sighed helplessly. The twins always liked to "tease" him and would joke that he was "anxious to have tea with the fanged servant in the Chamber of Secrets."

Harry continued, "The diary is not mine, but I picked it up by accident. This diary belongs to Tom Riddle. Do you know this name?"

Hearing the name, Ada and the twins fell silent at the same time. The joking expressions on their faces disappeared, replaced by solemnity. Harry knew that he had asked the right person.

"You've heard of this name, right?" Harry asked anxiously. He was eager to know Tom Riddle's identity so that he could figure out what other purpose this diary had besides broadcasting.

Hermione also said: "I also looked up this name, but found nothing. I only know that he is the president of the student union and won the special contribution award."

"Tom Riddle, you should be very familiar with him, Harry." Ida jumped down from the stone and said in a deep voice, "Or you should be very familiar with his other name. He is the one who left you with the scar."

Harry was struck by lightning, his mind went blank, it turned out that the person he trusted so much before actually had a blood feud with him. Harry blurted out: "Voldemort!"

Hearing this name, Ron and Hermione shuddered together. Fred and George's faces also turned ugly, but the two brothers had been in contact with Ada for a long time and were no longer scared by this name.

"When did you get Tom Riddle's diary?" Ada asked, "He is the heir of Slytherin. He was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago!"

Harry was completely dumbfounded, this reversal was too sudden, and the amount of information became so huge that his brain was a little stunned.

Thanks to the book friend DingX for the reward. Please forgive my lack of knowledge, I really don't recognize the character in the middle of the name.

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(End of this chapter)