Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 251 Tarot Club

Upon hearing "Giddleo Lockhart's" reply, Dumbledore's face instantly darkened, his gaze gradually turning angry and gloomy. His hand gripping the Elder Wand turned white at the knuckles and trembled slightly.

“Albus!” Professor McGonagall called out.

“I’m fine, Minerva.” Dumbledore sighed, then continued, “Who else is in your organization?”

“Hehe.” Gilderoy Lohart chuckled, but did not reply.

“Answer my question, Mr. Lockhart,” Dumbledore said, “if you want to leave here alive.”

“Heh…” Gilderoy Lockhart chuckled again, “You and I both know that you are not capable of killing me.”

Dumbledore and Professor Snape's expressions changed, especially Professor Snape, whose face showed a hint of anger.

“So I want to offer you, the Order of the Phoenix, a deal,” Gilderoy Lockhart said with a smile. “Or you can think of it as a request for cooperation between us and your Order of the Phoenix.”

"Cooperation?" Dumbledore asked, a hint of sarcasm flashing across his face. "You think the Phoenix Society would cooperate with you?"

"You want to drag us into your evil plans?" Dumbledore asked.

“If it were me…” Gilderoy Lockhart said, “If it were me, I wouldn’t make such a hasty judgment before understanding the whole story.”

"You mean your organization isn't evil?" Professor McGonagall sneered. "This isn't a joke. You even exploit children, you even harm children! I don't care if Tiera is Grindelwald's artificial life form or not! In my eyes, he's just a child! No one! No one should harm or exploit a child like this!"

“Calm down, Minerva,” Dumbledore advised. “Tell me, what is your organization?”

“I know you call us the ‘Secret Party,’ and while I like that name, but…” Gilderoy Lohart paused before continuing, “I would prefer you to call us by our official names.”

"What's your name?" Dumbledore asked.

“Hmm…” Gilderoy Lockhart thought for a moment and then said:
"Tarot Club".

"The Tarot Society?" Dumbledore asked. "The Tarot deck?"

“Yes,” Gilderolohart nodded in response.

"So you have... twenty-two people?" Dumbledore asked.

“Heh…” Gilderoy Lockhart chuckled, then said, “Does having twenty-two cards mean there have to be twenty-two members?”

“You have more than that?” Dumbledore asked. “And the Lesser Arcana?”

“Heh…” Gilderoy Lockhart chuckled, not answering, but turning to Professor McGonagall:

“We never forced Tiera to do anything. He was our holy son, our king. To be honest, we deeply regret his loss, but it was unavoidable and a necessary sacrifice.”

“Heh, a necessary sacrifice,” Dumbledore said sarcastically. “Sounds like something Gellert would say.”

“Mr. Dumbledore, do you know what card Tyrell is in our group?” Gilderoy Lockhart asked with a smile. “Each of us has a card that represents our identity in the Tarot Society. I am the ‘Lovers’ card. I am a parasite. My magic… or rather, the magic I received from the Tarot Society is flesh magic… which is why I have never revealed my magic before. Once people find out…”

“Excuse my bluntness,” Dumbledore interrupted, “then tell me, what card does Tyella represent?”

“He is the ‘Hanged Man’,” Gilderoy Lockhart said, then smiled. “You all know what that means, right?” “Self-sacrifice, dedication…” Dumbledore said, squinting, “The sacrifice…”

"Is this your reason for hurting him?" Dumbledore asked. "Is this your reason for using a child as your tool?"

“We have never used him, we have never hurt him,” Gilderoy Lockhart said. “His pain, everything about him, everything that happened to him, was a choice of fate, a hardship he had to endure on his path to becoming king. Those… are his crown of thorns!”

“That’s quite a high-sounding reason,” Professor McGonagall said.

“It’s fate,” Gilderoy Lockhart said, then looked at Dumbledore. “I know you want to adopt him, I know you want to adopt Tyella.”

Dumbledore's body suddenly stiffened.

“Please, please adopt him,” Gilderoy Lockhart said. “Wherever he is, he remains our holy son, he remains our king.”

"Gidrolohart" suddenly transformed into a worm-like aggregate composed of countless flames.

"No!" Dumbledore cried, raising his Elder Wand and pointing it at the water sphere, then waving his other hand at the others—

An invisible force surged toward the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, knocking them down to the ground.

Just as they lay down, a storm of fire swept past them almost touching the top of their heads.

Only Dumbledore stood there. The Elder Wand extended forward, and an invisible giant shield appeared in front of Dumbledore, briefly blocking the flames, but still—

The giant shield was being burned and devoured by the flames little by little. The entire space seemed to be in an extremely high temperature. Dumbledore's face was red, and wisps of water vapor rose from his body.

However, this situation did not last long. The flames quickly subsided and gathered in the center of the cave, taking the shape of "Gidrolohart".

Gilderoy Lockhart waved his hand, beckoning Mad Walker and the Inheritor to his side, then smiled at Dumbledore—

“You see, Mr. Dumbledore,” Gilderoy Lockhart said, “you can’t kill me, you can’t even trap me.”

"You are powerless against me—"

"Avada Kedavra—" A green light shot out from the tip of Snape's staff as he rose from the ground, striking Tyella with lightning speed.

Gilderoy Lockhart's smile suddenly froze, and he slumped backward a short distance—

"Aha!" Gilderoy Lockhart straightened up again, and a thick, green worm crawled out of his body, fell to the ground, but was then pulled back by tentacles that emerged from beneath his sleeves—

“I’ve already said it.” Gilderoy Lockhart smiled and turned to Snape. “I’ve already said it. You have no way to kill me, and you have no way to tie me up. I am no longer the Gilderoy Lockhart I used to be.”

Dumbledore also looked at Snape.

“There’s no harm in trying,” Snape said with a shrug.

“Now, Mr. Dumbledore,” Gilderoy Lockhart turned back to Dumbledore, “cooperate? Or let the Order of the Phoenix’s first operation after its reunion fail.”

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(End of this chapter)