Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 158 Opportunity
“You’re shameless, Mr. Lockhart,” Dumbledore said with an angry laugh. “To attack a child.”

“I…I didn’t want to…but…but…but…I had no choice…” Tiera seemed to have completely broken down, crying as she spoke haltingly, “If…if I didn’t do this…my…my reputation, my…reputation of so many years, would be completely ruined…”

“That’s not your reputation, Mr. Lockhart!” Dumbledore’s eyes suddenly sharpened like an eagle’s. “That’s the reputation of countless wizards you’ve harmed! The stories they risked their lives to write have been stolen by you, you shameless scoundrel, and forcibly attributed to yourself!”

"I didn't mean to... Waaah..." Tiera cried, her voice trembling with emotion. "I didn't... What can I do? I... What, I don't know any magic... Waaah... What can I do... Waaah..."

"Alright, Lockhart, face your mistakes like a man!" Dumbledore slammed his teacup down on the desk, making a dull thud like a hammer hitting the ground. "Now that you've opened the floodgates, don't hold back. Tell me, how did you attack Tyella?"

“I… I knocked Tierra unconscious with a brick, and then I found the crown on him,” Tierra said. “I recognized it immediately; it was the Ravenclaw crown. I was ecstatic; I thought all of Tierra’s wisdom came from this, so without thinking, I immediately put the crown on my head, and then—”

"Then a voice suddenly appeared in my mind." Thiers stretched out his hands and painfully scratched at Gilderoy Lockhart's curly blond hair, as if he wanted to tear his scalp off. "That voice was deeply rooted in my brain like a bone-deep infection. I shook it and shook it, but I couldn't shake it off no matter what I did..."

“Then it told me its name was Ravenclaw, and that it was a memory of Ravenclaw from a thousand years ago—it said it could give me true power.” Tierra ran her fingers through her hair for a moment before continuing, “At first, just as I longed for, it gave me power, gave me confidence, and gave me the ability to manipulate dark magic like a puppet. I thought it was my friend—”

“Until it gave me a ritual, saying it was a ritual that could grant me power forever. But I recognized it, I recognized the ritual, or rather, I recognized the structure of the ritual. Voldemort didn’t know that although I had little talent in other magic, I was quite knowledgeable in ritual magic. So I saw it at a glance. His so-called altar of the presiding priest was actually a sacrificial altar. It wanted to use me as a sacrifice! It actually wanted to use me as a sacrifice—” Tiera said.

"And then?" Dumbledore asked coldly. "And what does this have to do with our young wizards at Hogwarts? Why were they petrified?"

"On the very night I learned about the ritual, I found Tiera again and learned everything from him—"

"How did you find out?" Dumbledore interrupted rudely.

“I, I…” Tyella looked pained, “I used Legilimency on him…”

“Giddy Lohart! You’re a complete scoundrel with no moral compass!” Dumbledore roared, suddenly standing up and pacing back and forth behind his desk. Then, he braced himself on the desk with both hands, looking down at Gilderoy Lohart—

"You think I didn't notice Tyrell's strange behavior? You think I didn't know he stole the Philosopher's Stone? Do you really think I'm senile?" Only then did Tyrell realize how great Dumbledore truly was—

When Dumbledore was with his students, he always had a kind and approachable smile, which made Tyrell almost forget that Dumbledore was a powerful wizard who was 1.8 meters tall and had once shouted "For Greater Good" with Grindelwald.

“We absolutely forbid the use of Legilimency on underage wizards—” Dumbledore said. “This is our moral bottom line! You can’t even imagine the impact Legilimency would have on a young wizard’s soul and psychic…and mental world! Especially on such a young child, Tyella is only twelve! If Tyella weren’t a strong child, his mental world could very well have been completely messed up by your amateurish Legilimency—”

“Do you know that just for this reason I could send you to Azkaban!” Dumbledore threatened.

Azkaban? Is there really such a good thing?
Tierra was suddenly overjoyed. Was her master's experimental subject being given away for free?

However, Tierra still feigned a terrified expression.

"But do you know why I didn't expose you? Do you know why I agreed to write your application for the Order of Merlin, Second Class?" Dumbledore sat back down in his chair, staring at Gilderoy Lockhart with a stern expression.

"Because...because I stopped Voldemort?" Tierra asked cautiously.

“Yes, Mr. Lockhart,” Dumbledore said. “I think you must have tampered with Voldemort’s ritual, right?”

“Yes, Voldemort wanted to use me as a sacrifice to summon demons, imprison them using his magic, and then fuse the demons with the Philosopher's Stone to create a completely new body for himself—” Tierra said. “But I saw through this ritual, and we switched places. He became the sacrifice, and I became the officiant, exchanging the Philosopher's Stone for my current power.” “And what about those attacks?” Dumbledore asked again.

“I learned from Tyrael that Voldemort was a descendant of Slytherin, that he could open the Chamber of Secrets and control the basilisk inside—the day after I confirmed everything with Tyrael, she was petrified, followed by the other Muggle-born young wizards—” Tyrael said.

"Be thankful this petrification is temporary, Mr. Lockhart," Dumbledore said coldly. "Otherwise, if even one of the young wizards had been in mortal danger, you would be in a cell in Azkaban right now."

After the story was finished, Tierra, who played Gilderoy Lockhart, did not dare to refute it and just sat obediently in the chair like a child who had done something wrong.

“Fortunately, although you are greedy, foolish, and stupid, things are not beyond redemption.” After a brief and intense silence, Dumbledore spoke, “So I am willing to give you a chance.”

“What…what opportunity?” Tiera asked, as if grasping at a last straw.

"Now you know Voldemort's secret, the Horcruxes, right?" Dumbledore said.

“Yes, yes, I learned about Horcruxes, this dark magic, from an old friend of mine…” Tiera said.

“Very good, very good.” Dumbledore stood up again, walked to the window, and turned his back to Tyella.

“Then, Gilderoy Lockhart, tell me,” Dumbledore said, “do you think Voldemort will let you go after you sacrificed a Horcrux and learned his greatest secret.”

"No! Impossible! Voldemort... Voldemort is dead! I pushed him to the altar with my own hands!" Tierra said, her face pale.

"You don't really think Voldemort only has one Horcrux, do you?" Dumbledore turned around, a cold smile on his face, and looked on with satisfaction as Gilderoy Lockhart's face paled even more.

“Now, Gilderoy Lockhart,” Dumbledore said, “I offer you a deal.”

"What deal?" Tierra asked nervously.

“I can help you maintain your lie, and even help you apply for the Order of Merlin, Second Class,” Dumbledore said.

“Then, what do I need to do?” Tierra asked.

“While you may be dull-witted in magic, your mind is sharp enough. Now, through Voldemort’s ritual, your last weakness has been overcome. Look at the spectacular Dispersion Charm you used outside the castle this morning! Excellent.” Dumbledore began by praising Gilderoy Lockhart out of the blue, leaving Tyrell somewhat confused. “Now, listen carefully, this is what I want you to do—”

"I will give you all the information, data, and intelligence I have on Voldemort. I want you to use your sharp mind to investigate and dig out every dark secret of Voldemort, and then tell me—"

"How many Horcruxes does Voldemort have, what are they, and where are they located?"

Gilderoy Lohart's face paled even further—

Then Tiera suddenly felt something was wrong.

Wait a minute, does this mean I've become an investigator?
Thank you Purple Priest for the February vote.
Thank you Daobi for your January vote.
Thank you to Silly Panda for the January vote.
Thank you, Fragrant Grass, for your January vote!
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(End of this chapter)