Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

Chapter 197 Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor... Heh!

"Probably not?" Harry stroked his chin. "I think Snape will win..."

Ron looked at Harry incredulously, as if he were seeing him for the first time. "You've changed! You're so different!"

“I’m just inferring from the facts…” Harry quickly explained, “After class, Vizette usually asks the professors questions… Think about it… who gets asked questions the least?”

Ron realized, "Oh...it's Lockhart!"

"Alright! Alright! We should go to the library!" Hermione said, raising her voice. "Now that we got the reading list from Ravenclaw, we should study hard!"

“Look! Another piece of evidence!” Harry exclaimed excitedly. “This is the reading list written by Vizzard, which proves one thing—it’s better to find books to read on your own than to take Lockhart’s class!”

"So let's hurry up and get going!" Hermione glanced at the open door in the distance. "Otherwise, if Snape runs out and deducts points from our score, that won't be good!"

“That’s right!” Ron and Harry said in unison, and Hermione quickly ran towards the moving staircase to the side.

Just then, Snape appeared at the doorway, glancing at the empty corridor with a smirk.

Lockhart stood beside him, letting out a silent roar, several curlers falling off his head.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

Unable to make a sound, he could only repeatedly pound the wall with his palms as a form of protest.

Snape raised his wand, pointed it directly at Lockhart's nose, and shouted, "Now! I'll ask you a question, and you'll answer it!"

“Hey! This is my office! You have no right to…” Lockhart was finally able to speak, but could only look at the wand in Snape’s hand and raise his hands in fear.

His voice trembled slightly, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "Professor Snape... let's talk this out. Ask me anything you need to know... I'll tell you everything I know..."

Snape hissed in a low, cold voice, "Tell me! Has Pansy Parkinson contacted you?"

Under Snape's cold, dark eyes, he felt as if he had been seen through, and could only answer in a trembling voice, "When did you contact me? I really don't know..."

Snape pressed on, "Has no one come looking for you?"

“I really don’t know anything!” Lockhart shook his head repeatedly. “I’ve been replying to letters all day…you know…I’m a famous author…I have so many readers’ letters to reply to…”

Snape narrowed his eyes slightly, pushed Lockhart aside, raised his wand high, and shouted, "Show traces!"

"I really don't know!" Lockhart exclaimed, burying his head low and hunching his shoulders, as if trying to shrink into a ball to avoid Snape's cold gaze and wand.

A golden vortex appeared, scattering countless golden powders that lingered in mid-air for a long time without falling.

……

Seemingly noticing that Snape hadn't moved for a long time, Lockhart clenched his fists, his fingertips turning white from the force, and only after mustering a lot of courage did he glance out the door.

After confirming that no one was outside, he swallowed hard and forced out a voice, "You see... I was telling the truth... I really wasn't lying..."

Snape ignored the groveling Lockhart, raised his wand again, and the powder in the air changed from gold to black, slowly falling a few strands onto the desk.

As Snape picked up a perfume bottle from the table, the black powder dissipated.

"This...this is...this is the Potion of Obsession..." Lockhart stammered, cold sweat pouring down his face. "I didn't...I didn't use much...I only used...a tiny bit!"

Snape didn't speak, still holding the perfume bottle, his lips pressed tightly together.

Lockhart continued to argue, "This thing is... very expensive! I never give it to the average reader! Those loyal readers... already like... like my books..."

Snape lowered his eyelids, looking at Lockhart as if he were a pile of garbage. "If you dare to use this thing... on a student..."

“Of course not!” Lockhart assured him repeatedly. “Absolutely not! Absolutely not! I swear!”

“Gilderoy Lockhart, you just wait! I can detect this thing!” Snape’s tone was even colder. “Don’t let me find out!”

"Otherwise, I'll cut you apart bit by bit... pull out your bones one by one... then heal you... then pull out your bones again..."

"Of course I won't!" Lockhart shrank back even further. "I promise!"

Snape didn't say anything more, took out the map again, and prepared to head to the next place.

Just then, as if sensing something, he quickly turned to the side, raised his wand, and unleashed a beam of red light.

boom!

“O…” Lockhart was still holding his wand, his mouth just opened, when he was struck by the red light.

His eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness. His body felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and he instantly lost his balance and flew backward, drawing an arc in the air before crashing heavily into the wall with a loud bang.

"Sir Merlin's Order, Third Class... Honorary Member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts... Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts... Heh!" Snape chuckled coldly, then strode away.

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“Nothing was found.” Snape returned to the headmaster’s office and casually tossed the map onto the table.

"Is that so?" Dumbledore looked up and scrutinized Snape, noticing a mocking smile playing on Snape's lips. "Has something good happened?"

“Heh…” Snape sat down opposite Dumbledore. “You might need to send Gilderoy Lockhart a blanket… he should still be lying on the floor right now.”

"He actually dared to clash with you..." Dumbledore was somewhat surprised. "I thought he wouldn't dare to make a move... What did you do to him?"

"Just a Stunning Spell, and a silent one at that, and he's already passed out... Ser Merlin's Order, Third Class... Heh!" Snape said casually, the sneer never fading from his lips.

"He fainted...that's a bit awkward." Dumbledore murmured. "I just approved his request to hold a gathering..."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "What request? Lockhart wants to teach everyone how to use a curling iron?"

“The Dueling Club…” Dumbledore said with a strange expression, “because of the previous attacks, he felt that everyone should learn to protect themselves.”

"You should learn to protect yourself?" Snape raised an eyebrow. "If it's just about protecting your hairstyle, those curling irons would be very useful!"

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Perhaps? I just sent the consent form back. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong along the way."

“Perhaps…” Snape said ominously, “he’ll be thinking of packing his bags and getting out!”

Chapter 198 Re-entering the Mirror World

Watching Dumbledore break apart an ice cream cone, Snape narrowed his eyes and questioned, "You feel at ease just because you haven't found any trace of dark magic?"

Dumbledore handed half an ice cream to Snape, saying, "Without the Basilisk's help, it won't be so easy for the 'Heir' to harm Hogwarts in the same way as before."

Snape crossed his arms and shrank back, refusing to take the popsicle Dumbledore offered. "What if he joins forces with the pure-blood families to create another disturbance?"

Dumbledore placed half an ice cream bar on a plate. "Then you'll kick me out of Hogwarts, make a pure-blood headmaster, and then implement pure-blood reforms?"

“If the ‘heir’ is really willing to do that, I would be very happy to accept it all… After all, I also want to know which pure-blood families are not so well-behaved.”

Snape's lips curled into a mocking smile, his eyes flashing with a cold light. "Cornelly Fudge's growing wariness of you is indeed for a reason."

Dumbledore shrugged, chewing on an ice cream, and said somewhat vaguely, "I just think... getting rid of some destabilizing factors will make Hogwarts better, that's all."

"But The Daily Prophet won't be reporting on these things right now... Have you been reading The Quibbler? That magazine is getting more and more interesting, I've subscribed to it all year round."

Snape stood up. "Since you've made up your mind, I have nothing more to say."

"Oh, right!" Dumbledore added as he saw Snape turn away, "Regarding Lockhart's application for the dueling club, it mentioned that he needed an assistant, and I put your name on it."

"Do as you please!" Snape glanced back at Dumbledore. "Hopefully he won't flee Hogwarts tonight!"

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Vizette cast Ancient Magic: Self-Shaping (Devil's Web), which wrapped around the basilisk like a bracelet of grass and wood.

A person and a snake traveled through the pipes and arrived at the room where the Mirror of Eris was kept.

“Salazar…Slytherin…Mirror…” The basilisk seemed very excited, pacing back and forth in front of the Mirror of Eris.

"Close your eyes and follow my Devil's Web," Vizet said in Parsley. "We're going to see Headmaster Slytherin."

The basilisk closed its eyes and urged, "Okay...faster...faster..."

When Vizette cast her Eye of Magic, the Mirror of Eris should have changed and emitted a dazzling silver-blue light, just like last time.

The situation is different now, though; the Mirror of Eris still shows no reaction.

“Since Headmaster Slytherin mentioned Command Seals…” Vizette looked at the Mirror of Erised, pondering how to enter the world within the mirror, “Perhaps I need to use Command Seals as a ‘key’?”

With the help of the Guardian Meditation Technique, the serpentine "?" in his mind became extremely clear, clear enough to be projected into the Mirror of Eris.

The original three unique images disappeared, and the mirror image reflected in Vizette's mind, showing the python-shaped "?" spell pattern.

“n (nauthiz)!” Vizette whispered the incantation, and the Mirror of Eris finally reacted, bursting forth with a strong silver-blue light that engulfed him and the basilisk.

When Vizette came to her senses, he was already in the mirror world.

Unlike the eerie experience of entering this place for the first time, the center of the Mirror World now features a statue of Salazar Slytherin.

As Slytherin's skin regained its color, the snake statue snaked down to the ground, transforming into a long staircase.

“Much faster than I expected.” Slytherin slowly stood up, hissing in a Parseltongue voice, “Long time no see…”

The basilisk replied, "Salazar...Slytherin...Salazar...Slytherin..."

Despite the still cold and malicious tone, Vizette could detect a different feeling in it.

The cold and vicious tone, like the basilisk's sharp fangs and glaring eyes, is its innate instinct.

Its unwavering devotion and loyalty to Slytherin is what makes it unique, something it has gradually accumulated over time.

“You’ve changed a lot…” Slytherin remarked, gently stroking the basilisk’s scales. “You’ve had a tough time these past few days…”

The basilisk coiled around Slytherin, its voice becoming somewhat slurred, "It won't... get stuck..."

Slytherin nodded and gently patted the basilisk's head. "Of course... you can have a good sleep."