A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

“Take your time, I’m listening,” Felix said.

"Here's what happened: Ron was put in solitary confinement in Lockhart's office as punishment for copying fan letters. He discovered a secret document and secretly brought back three pages. Based on the contents of these three pages, we deduced that Lockhart's book might not be based on his own experiences, but rather on other people's stories."

"We have decided to secretly gather evidence and investigate the truth."

Felix listened calmly.

"—Over the next week, Ron took advantage of his confinement to extract parts of the documents."

Felix was astonished by their audacity. "So he wasn't discovered by Lockhart?" Could Professor Lockhart be an idiot?

“Lockhart hasn’t been doing well lately. His memory is terrible, and he’s talking incoherently. Also, after we get a few pages of information that day, he quickly copies them down and returns the original manuscript the next day…”

"These three pages of the original manuscript are what we consider to be the most important; they are evidence that Lockhart stole the story!"

Felix didn't know whether to applaud their meticulous arrangements or criticize them. They hadn't listened at all to his words of reassurance to focus on their studies.

He pulled out three pages of the original manuscript and immediately recognized that the text on them was written with a professional shorthand quill pen.

These shorthand quills are very distinctive; they generally record text according to the owner's ideas, and they also distort and modify dialogue, adding exaggerated descriptions of expressions and actions.

Felix had witnessed how powerful this thing was at Rita Skeeter's house.

He began to read it carefully—

The crooked-mouthed wizard: My head hurts a little, it feels like a spoon is digging into my brain, what's wrong with me?

(Exceptional) Adventurer: That's perfectly normal. Here, have some juice; it'll do you good.

The crooked-mouthed wizard painfully drank the juice laced with an unknown potion.

(The extraordinary) adventurer: Let's continue the story of the werewolves. You've talked a lot about them at the bar these past few days, haven't you forgotten? I bought you quite a few drinks. But I'd like to know more details… By the way, may I see your memories later? After all, you can't cook without ingredients; readers need an immersive story.

Crooked-Mouth Wizard: I don't know, something's wrong, there's a problem...

(Exceptional) Adventurer: How could that be? Look at me, I can help you.

The adventurer raised his wand.

Felix read the three pages of parchment with a solemn expression; the situation was more serious than he had imagined.

He pieced together the general logic: Lockhart found the target in the tavern, spent a few days getting information out of him, or rather, befriending the unfortunate guy, and then either ambushed him or drugged him—in short, he took control of the target.

Lockhart then obtained the whole story using memory magic or something similar to truth serum.

“What do you want me to do?” Felix asked calmly.

“Of course, it’s to expose his true colors,” Hermione said without hesitation.

“Shorthand notes written with a quill pen generally don’t count as evidence, but,” Felix smiled, “once we know what he did, things are much easier to resolve.”

"I will tell Headmaster Dumbledore that he is capable of handling this properly. If all else fails, I can also resort to some less appropriate methods."

Hermione hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

"Is there anything else?" Felix asked.

"Professor, it's Ron who's in trouble. We need your help."

Chapter 98 Processing

Felix became serious: "What happened?"

He even suspected that Ron might have been discovered by Lockhart and taken away in one fell swoop.

Lockhart was, after all, an adult wizard, and being an adult wizard meant that he had received seven years of complete magical education—even if his performance was ridiculously weak.

However, it cannot be ruled out that he may have a very deep understanding of a particular branch of magic.

Hermione's words put him at ease: "Ron is fine now and hasn't been discovered. But Lockhart acted strangely during Friday night's detention."

"weird?"

“That’s right, Lockhart suddenly jumped up and started yelling at Rita Skeeter that night. Ron said he’d never seen her like that before; her expression was terrifying,” Hermione carefully recounted Ron’s description.

In fact, Ron was almost having a fit of madness.

Lockhart vented for over ten minutes, warned Ron not to tell anyone about what happened today, and then kicked him out.

“Hmm…” Felix pondered, from Lockhart’s recent strange behavior, to his encounter with the flustered Rita Skeeter, and the hatred Lockhart showed towards Skeeter last night…

On the second day after the Christmas holidays, Minister Fudge visited the Basilisk and bumped into a flustered Rita Skeeter who was walking up from the castle’s basement, in the direction that was Lockhart’s office was located.

He seemed to have figured something out.

And clearly, she did something to Lockhart.

It's possible that the two had a falling out and then resorted to violence.

Lockhart has been experiencing memory problems lately, is irritable, and speaks incoherently...

So, is it a side effect of the Oblivion Curse?

Lockhart was cursed with the Oblivion Curse?

This explains why, almost a week later, Rita Skeeter didn't mention the events of that day at all in the newspapers, and even let Lockhart, her arch-enemy, off the hook.

He had only hinted that she shouldn't stir up trouble or distort the facts, but that didn't stop her from causing trouble for Lockhart.

This is not like that woman at all.

"So Weasley was put in solitary confinement tonight?" Felix seized on the key point.

Judging from Lockhart's behavior, he has clearly regained his memory. If Ron goes too far as to offer himself up, it's hard to guarantee that nothing won't happen.

“No, he said he had a stomachache and asked Professor McGonagall for leave,” Hermione said.

Felix nodded; this approach was quite clever.

Whether Lockhart discovers Ron's theft of information or believes Ron has seen too many secrets, he may take extreme actions.

“I understand what you mean. I will talk to Professor McGonagall and ask her to let me take charge of Weasley’s confinement.”

“Professor, is this alright?” Hermione asked.

“Of course, the confinement doesn’t have any strict rules about how it should be enforced, as long as I can come up with a good reason, such as that I urgently need some young wizards to test my new teaching aids.” Felix blinked.

“Some minor wizards?” Hermione questioned the word “some.”

“Yes, we can’t make it too obvious, after all, the investigation will take time. I plan to bring all the young wizards who have been recently confined here.”

Felix looked helpless.

"Professor, the teaching aids you're talking about wouldn't be...?" The little witch stared at him wide-eyed.

“Oh, it’s the one you saw during the Christmas holidays. But if you didn’t tell me, and I didn’t tell you, who would know it was already finished?” Felix smiled gently.

Hermione suddenly felt that Professor Hyp's smile was very cunning.

After she left, Felix fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he wrote his speculation on a piece of parchment, then waved his wand to summon his guardian spirit—a swift.

"Dumbledore, I think you need to take a look at this."

A small, silver swift, carrying a rolled-up piece of parchment in its beak, flapped its wings and flew out the window.

Felix casually tapped his fingers on the table, "tap tap, tap tap." Just a few minutes later, a phoenix with golden and red feathers suddenly appeared in his room.

It held a small note in its paw, which read—

"Please hand the data to Fox, and leave the rest to me."

After seeing Fox off, Felix watched curiously as it disappeared.

The phoenix truly lived up to its reputation as a 5A-level magical creature; its many amazing talents made him very eager to study it.

The next morning, Felix found Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall was very supportive when he mentioned that his research on his new teaching aids was at a critical juncture and that he needed the help of some students.

"Do you need me to arrange for a Gryffindor student to help?"

“No, let me handle all the young wizards currently in confinement. It will allow them to participate in the process and learn something,” Felix suggested.

Professor McGonagall agreed with almost no effort.

She handed Felix a list. "This is the latest list of students in solitary confinement. They're all here."

On the way, Felix ran into Percy Weasley in a flowerbed, and he happened to remember Percy.

“Professor Hyp?” Percy looked at Felix somewhat guiltily; a girl was with him beside him.

“Mr. Weasley, Miss Crevat. What are you doing?”

This place is really remote; few people come here normally.

“Um, Professor, Penelope and I… Crivat and I were on patrol, exercising the powers of a prefect,” Percy stammered.

"Can you do me a favor?" Felix looked at the young couple without revealing anything.

“Of course!” Percy replied.

Felix took out the student list. "Help me notify the prefects of the names on this paper and have them change their detention tonight and thereafter to my office."

Percy nodded, and the two of them quickly left like thieves.

Gryffindor Common Room.

Yesterday, Ron stayed in his dorm pretending to be sick. To make the effect more realistic, he resolutely acted as the twins' guinea pig and ate the enhanced version of 'ice rat,' which turned his face ashen.

It felt like I had been buried in the snow and ice for hours.

He actually got sick and spent the night in the hospital. He just got back from the school clinic.

Ron was completely covered up, and he sat at a table with Harry and Hermione.

Ron asked in a low voice, "Hermione, did Professor Hyp really agree?"

Hermione said helplessly, "You've asked seven times already. Answer one last time: Yes!"

Ron said, "I really don't understand what happened to Lockhart that night."

Just as the group was discussing, Percy walked in.

He approached the trio and relayed Professor Hyp's message to Ron.