Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 235, Section 234: Ron the Righteous
Lockhart was never a gifted person.

Lockhart had never been a likable child since he was a student at Hogwarts, and he himself knew that others didn't like him, but—so what?

Even he himself knew that his actions would not be well-liked since he was a student. For example, he sent hundreds of owls to deliver love letters to him on Valentine's Day, used magic to carve his signature in twenty-foot-long letters on the Quidditch pitch, and even created a giant, glowing projection to imitate the Dark Mark. He persuaded Dumbledore to start the school newspaper and then put his name and photo at the top of the paper...

Unlike most Ravenclaw students who usually keep a low profile and observe from the sidelines, Lockhart always made a high-profile display of himself, a habit that became even more pronounced after he graduated.

Lockhart knew that the reason for his success was his thick skin. Yes, many students found him annoying and said things that were all lies, but—didn't some people believe him?

Lockhart discovered this principle during his student days: as long as he kept emphasizing and promoting it, even if the number of people was very small, there would still be some who believed him, admired him, and trusted him.

This secret became even more refined after he graduated and entered the wizarding world. The voices of praise outweighed the voices of criticism, and Lockhart also carefully maintained his image, skillfully using Galleons and Memory Charms to persuade others. In the end, he finally realized his dream of his youth and became a famous figure in the wizarding world.

But even Lockhart, in the quiet of the night, had regrets in his heart—because he knew that he was ultimately just pretending to be strong, not truly strong.

To maintain this image, he often had to use the money he earned from writing books to befriend wealthy and powerful figures, leaving him with very little in the end.

What if you really become very powerful?
If I really had the power of Dumbledore—or the power of Mysterio, who was second only to Dumbledore—would I still need to pretend like this?

No longer needing to painstakingly feign a powerful image, one can now express oneself more freely and flamboyantly—a man even more mysterious than the mysterious man himself—the Dark Lord?!
Just thinking about the Dark Lord's power, how wonderful it would be if I could become another Dark Lord...

Unfortunately, Lockhart in the past did not have that kind of talent.

Up to this day.

Until today—he will get what he wants.

"Hah—Ptooey!!"

He spat another mouthful of saliva on the ground. Ron was tightly bound to a thick totem with ropes, and all he could do now was attack with his mouth.

And the results are outstanding.

"My God! What are you doing?!"

After busying himself with other parts of the magic circle for a while, Lockhart turned around and saw Ron spitting frantically at the pattern near his feet. He couldn't help but clutch his head and scream in pain.

"I painstakingly drew this magic circle! You have no idea how much effort it takes to draw something so intricate!"

Ron's saliva did indeed stain the bloodstains there; the patterns formed by the uncongealed blood connected with the symbols nearby, making the green light there much dimmer.

Most importantly, it's disgusting, a bunch of saliva piled up together... ugh.

This made Lockhart, a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder, shudder just by looking at it.

"Ha! You deserve it!" Ron spat again, a defiant smile spreading across his face. "Just you wait, Harry and Dumbledore will kill you! You bastard, I'll avenge Hercules!!"

Hercules is Ron's earth elemental companion.

As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes. Ron was captured after a struggle. Lockhart approached him under the pretext of seeking help from a shaman apprentice to deal with some troublesome elemental spirits in his office, but as soon as he entered the office, he launched a sneak attack on Ron.

With his intentions intact, Ron should have been captured without any warning, given his combat experience. However, Lockhart overlooked the earth elementals that always followed each shaman apprentice—to ordinary wizards, these small earth elementals were nothing more than pets.

But it was precisely this little earth elemental, whom Ron considered a partner, who stepped up at a crucial moment, giving Ron a critical opportunity to counterattack... and was then blasted to pieces by Lockhart's spell, while Ron didn't last long before being knocked unconscious on the ground.

He had even taken out his meticulously carved totem, but unfortunately, this totem had now become a tool Lockhart used to bind him.

When Ron opened his eyes again, Lockhart was about to bleed him with a knife.

It hurt, it really hurt, but what hurt even more than the physical pain was the heartache—Ron never imagined that he would experience the pain of losing a pet twice within a year.

Blemish, ugh! I won't go into the Peter Pettigrew story, but just thinking about how I actually shared a bed with a middle-aged, balding, greasy, and obese old man for so many years, and even kissed him on the lips—ugh!!!

Fortunately, Peter has already been imprisoned in Azkaban!

Having just emerged from the pain of losing his pet and being betrayed, Ron now lost another companion, a feeling that made him want to devour Lockhart with his teeth.

Start eating from your feet!

"Extremely painful!!!"

Enraged by Ron's words, Lockhart raised his wand without hesitation. A red light flashed, and Ron immediately screamed in pain.

Even for adults, a malicious Cruciatus Curse is enough to drive someone mad, let alone Ron, who is still a child who has not yet reached adulthood and has not experienced much hardship.

Even tears and snot couldn't flow. This pain, which seemed to be occurring in every part of his body at the same time, made Ron open his mouth wide and let out a silent scream. If his body hadn't been bound by ropes, he probably would have been struggling on the ground by now.

The legendary Unforgivable Curse was being openly displayed before their very eyes, and by a Hogwarts professor himself—a horrifying fact that caused the other bound students, especially the girls, to scream. "Enough! Enough!!!"

Lavender Brown, also a second-year Gryffindor student, screamed desperately.

"Let him go! Professor Lockhart! Please—stop it—he's dying!!"

For Lavender, everything that happened today felt like a nightmare.

She was a devoted admirer of Lockhart. Over the past few months, even though most students at the school said Lockhart was an incompetent bum, Lavender always believed that Professor Lockhart was truly talented and that he was just a little nervous about his first time as a professor and didn't know what to do.

Therefore, when Lockhart came to her door asking for her help, Lavender agreed without the slightest hesitation—but what awaited her was a rope and blood being drawn from her.

The fact that her most admired figure was an exceptionally evil dark wizard did nothing to cheer Lavender up. Before she could recover from the disillusionment, the tormenting scene of the Crucifixion completely destroyed her sanity.

Ron's pained state was so intense that even the bound students felt pain just looking at him. But in any case, Lavender's screams had some effect, at least making Lockhart, who was indulging in this torturous pleasure, realize that now was not the time to kill Ron, so he stopped casting the Cruciatus Curse.

"...Hah...Pah!"

Covered in sweat, looking as if he had just been pulled from the water, Ron weakly raised his head, his throat bobbing as he spat out a mouthful of saliva, just like at the beginning, in a defiant gesture towards Lockhart.

"That's it?" Ron panted, looking at Lockhart with disdain. "Go ahead and kill me! Harry will avenge me!"

"He'll turn you into mincemeat with his warhammer, electrocute you into charred remains with lightning, and finally cook you in lava—the kind even Luwei wouldn't eat!!"

The overwhelming pain left Ron with no time to think; he could only speak instinctively, forgetting even that Lockhart had no idea who Lou Williams was.

But Lockhart clearly understood Ron's meaning and his contempt—Bang!
Completely enraged, Lockhart rushed up to Ron and punched him!
"How dare you despise me?!" Lockhart's face flushed red, unable to comprehend why this was happening. "How dare you despise someone far stronger than you?! Someone so powerful?!"

They've already become my prisoners, unable to even resist under my powerful magic, so what right do they have to look at me like that? What right do they have to mock me and intimidate me?!

"Ptooey!!" This time, only blood and foam came out of Ron's mouth. Lockhart's punch had swollen his right cheek, but Ron seemed not to feel it at all. He still raised his head and looked defiantly into Lockhart's eyes. "Go on! Ha! Your fists are as weak as a slug compared to Snape's words!!"

boom! !

Lockhart has gone mad.

Ron's words hit Lockhart squarely in the heart. Right now, Lockhart couldn't stand hearing anyone say that he was inferior to others, let alone comparing himself to Snape.

"Who is Snape?! What makes him think he can compare to me?! Is he as popular as me?! No!!"

"I've defeated him! Right in front of everyone! Right there in the dueling club! I sent him flying! He's my defeated foe!!!"

Lockhart's frantic shouts echoed throughout the underground classroom as he furiously punched Ron, causing Lavender and another girl to scream once more.

"Please! Stop! No!!"

For these young children, the thought of watching a peer being beaten to death right before their eyes is terrifying and unbearable.

"He's dying!!!"

Lavender's scream seemed to finally bring Lockhart back to his senses. He stopped, panting, and looked at his handiwork—Ron's face was covered in blood, and his nose seemed to have been broken, now leaning crookedly to one side.

“Ha! You’re stalling for time.” Lockhart’s mood shifted so rapidly it was almost like that of a mental patient. One second he was furious and manic, ready to kill, and the next he was like an elegant and calm Ravenclaw. He said, “I know, you must be stalling for time, that’s why you’re saying all this nonsense, that’s obviously a lie—right?”

Lockhart suddenly turned to look at the students on the other side, who were nodding at the fastest pace they had ever taken, as if afraid of being tortured if they were even a little slow.

“See? Everyone thinks so.” Lockhart took two steps back, took a deep breath, and shrugged. “I’ve always known that.”

He even picked up his wand and cast two healing charms on Ron.

“You’re really smart, kid. I have to say you’re really smart—if I weren’t Lockhart, you would probably have achieved it by now,” Lockhart praised insincerely. “I can’t let you die here, well, at least not before my great ritual is complete—I can’t go and capture another shaman apprentice—a perfect ascension can’t be without the most important embellishment.”

"I don't want to be like those ordinary people who never see the elements, so child, your shamanic talent is essential—cheer up! Keep your spirits up! Live a little longer!"

Lockhart patted Ron's swollen cheek, urging him on.

Ron was almost unconscious—but after hearing Lockhart's words, he opened his eyes, which were swollen and narrowed to slits.

"Wha, what do you mean?"

The missing front tooth made Ron's voice lisp, but Lockhart still heard his question clearly—or rather, he had been waiting for such an opportunity.

If I don't tell anyone, then no one will know about my greatness and genius, right?
If I don't tell anyone, won't all my hard work over the years be for nothing?
“Good question!” Lockhart snapped his fingers, seemingly returning to his usual cheerful and elegant professorial demeanor. “Actually, I wasn’t planning on asking you. I think that kid named Luna is much more talented than you. Even Neville, who’s always with you, well, although his wizarding talent is lacking, his shamanic talent is better than yours.”

(End of this chapter)