"It looks like someone among us has taken quite a tumble?"
Dumbledore walked in from the door with a beaming smile. He blocked the bright light from the corridor, plunging the Room of Requirement back into the dimness lit only by torches.
"Isn't that the truth! I should never have come here. The famous Harry Potter, and Green, whom the entire wizarding world is looking for, hiding at Hogwarts... I thought this would be a great opportunity to boost my fame..."
Lockhart, under the influence of Veritaserum, babbled on incessantly.
He frantically tried to clamp his hand over his mouth, but the wretched thing mumbled on, determined to make noise.
"Oh, Gilderoy, your lying mouth can't tell falsehoods now?"
Dumbledore said, his long, silvery-white beard trembling slightly.
"I want to lie. Malicious, crazed fans committing terrible acts; or young wizards who have learned several Dark Arts spells, which isn't allowed at Hogwarts... I have so many reasons, but now I can't... Mmph mmph..."
Lockhart looked as if he wanted to tear his own mouth off.
"Your true colors are revealed, Gilderoy. Save your cunning words for the Ministry of Magic, or perhaps the Dementors?"
Dumbledore waved his fingers as if dealing with something insignificant, and Lockhart was bound tightly.
He raised his head, and Hagrid appeared in his line of sight.
Hagrid first winked at Sean, then hoisted Lockhart up.
"Professor Dumbledore, I'll hand him over to the Aurors outside Hogwarts Castle right now," Hagrid said in his booming voice.
He then grabbed Lockhart and turned to leave, looking as if he were carrying a baby chick.
"The Ministry of Magic has overturned Hagrid's sentence. Not an easy feat."
Dumbledore smiled at them, seemingly in a very good mood.
"Hagrid's sentence was overturned?!" Hermione exclaimed.
Overturning a decades-old case seemed like a thankless task no matter how you looked at it.
Hermione knew that whether in the non-magical world or the wizarding world, this was practically a fairy tale.
"Yes, Miss Granger. You will receive another piece of good news very soon. But for now, please allow me to keep you in suspense," Dumbledore said.
"It's always like this... Grown-ups always think keeping us in the dark is for our own good," Hermione whispered to Sean.
"Mm."
Justin seemed to have been pondering something just now, but upon hearing Hermione's words, he immediately agreed.
Sean, however, was surprisingly silent.
"Well then," Dumbledore noticed their small movements but pretended to be oblivious. He strode to the door and opened it. "Now, you may go to bed and rest. Perhaps you should also have a large mug of steaming hot chocolate. I've always found that excellent for improving one's mood."
He said, looking down and winking at them kindly.
"As for me, I shall write a letter to Azkaban—our Professor Lockhart should go where he belongs.
I also need to draft a recruitment advertisement to be placed in the Daily Prophet," he said thoughtfully. "We need a new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts again. Heavens, teachers for this subject get used up so quickly, don't they?"
The young wizards nodded vigorously.
This was exactly what they wanted to see.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, may I ask what a Dementor is?" Justin was still thinking about what Dumbledore had inadvertently revealed earlier.
"Dementors," Dumbledore paused. "Perhaps the most evil and terrifying creatures in the magical world."
He then turned and left.
Before Hermione could react to Justin's question, she was stunned by Dumbledore's words.
She pressed her lips together tightly and moved a little closer to Sean.
"Sean, do you know what a Dementor is?"
Justin clearly hadn't expected that answer either and was somewhat stunned.
"Guards of Azkaban, Dark creatures that feed on human happiness.
Dementors may be the only known creatures that can render a wizard unable to use magic.
They cannot be killed physically, only temporarily driven away..." Sean explained simply but profoundly.
"Cannot be killed..."
Even though the Room of Requirement was completely sealed, Hermione felt as if a cold wind were blowing against her.
"How do we drive them away?" Justin asked cautiously.
"The Patronus Charm is the primary countermeasure. Sometimes, eating chocolate is also a first-aid method used after a Dementor attack," Sean said.
"Chocolate?!"
Justin instinctively trusted Sean, but he still found it surprising.
"Eating some chocolate, or drinking a large mug of steaming hot chocolate, is excellent for improving a wizard's mood," Sean explained.
"You really are..."
Hermione seemed to recall something. She said to Justin, "Headmaster Dumbledore just said that exact sentence... Did you notice? Sean has always been very much like someone... Headmaster Dumbledore. Now he's even more like him."
Justin nodded in bewilderment. They soon walked out of the Room of Requirement together.
In the distance, a flash of fire appeared in the Forbidden Forest, then vanished.
It was as if a dragon were causing trouble inside and was finally caught by its keeper.
Sean gazed at that spot from afar, then vanished from where he stood.
Hermione and Justin didn't even have time to say goodbye.
"More and more alike..." Hermione frowned, examining the corridor. "Coming and going without a trace..."
...
When Sean arrived at the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid and Pukwudgie the butler were staring each other down.
"This is my hut, sir," Hagrid said gruffly. He looked as if he had just finished escorting Lockhart.
It wasn't hard to imagine that after Lockhart was taken away, tomorrow's news would be everywhere.
Hermione and Justin had already rushed to contact Luna and Rita—they had asked Sean for the contact information before the plan started.
Hogwarts students and wizards across the magical world would know that Lockhart was a fraud.
But Sean didn't care about that.
Neither did Will.
"Until the esteemed Lord Green arrives, no one is allowed to enter."
Will held his bow and arrow, looking ready to shoot at the slightest disagreement.
And Pukwudgies were exceptionally skilled archers. William, the Pukwudgie Will admired most, had once shot and killed a descendant of Slytherin to save Isolt Sayre.
"But I'm the owner here!" Hagrid fumed.
"And I'm the butler here!" Will refused to yield an inch.
"Didn't Sean tell you..." Hagrid softened a bit. He was curious about the magical creature in front of him, but right now, he wanted to return to his hut more.