Chapter 231: Taught by Professor Lockhart
Ron suddenly felt less sad. He looked at Harry, who was so visibly suppressing his anger, and opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
The young wizards around them were all stunned. Some were shocked by the cruelty of the word 'war,' while others were moved by the words 'Order of the Phoenix,' 'Death Eaters,' and the 'Dark Lord.' Some sympathized with Harry's righteous indignation, while others, like the Weasley brothers, were filled with a mix of dread and relief.
Hermione stood to the side, feeling a bit worried. She didn't want to go against her conscience and stop Harry from avenging his parents, but she was also afraid that he would be sent to Azkaban for murder. After all, a justifiable reason was not the same as a pardon.
In the corner of the cave, Grindelwald was also surprised to find that the young man, Snape, had managed to break free of his Full Body-Bind Curse without a wand. The old wizard didn't take this as a sign that he was getting old and weak; he was very aware that his magical strength had not diminished one bit from being imprisoned.
"Give me back my wand!" Snape's voice held a note of pleading.
Grindelwald was silent for a moment, then sighed and held out the wand in his hand. "Fine. You've earned my respect."
He could use Peter Pettigrew, but he didn't absolutely have to; if he died, he died. His attitude wasn't all that firm.
Snape took back his wand nervously, gave the old man a deep look, and finally said thank you before preparing to lift his own Disillusionment Charm.
But before he could cast the spell, Harry spoke from within the crowd.
"If that's what you did..." Harry's voice trembled slightly, but his gaze was firm. "Then Sirius..."
"Yes, I did it... Sirius blamed himself... He had to pay the price for his own arrogance... He was always like that... ha ha... Arrogantly insisting on taking on James and Lily's secret... I didn't want it at all, but he had to tell me... He ruined me, and he ruined James too..."
"He caught me... He knew it was me, the one without the guts to keep a secret, who leaked it... But he was still the same... Arrogant... He thought he should bear the responsibility for James and Lily's deaths... So he went to prison without a word of protest... Even when Dumbledore wanted to question him... he wouldn't say a thing... still that arrogant attitude..."
"Enough!"
Harry cut him off coldly. "Professor Lockhart said we shouldn't blame people for their personality flaws or use stereotypes to assume they are bad. My parents and Sirius must have believed that too, which is why they were willing to trust you!"
"Willing to trust that a coward like you would become brave for the people who cared about you!"
"Sirius didn't betray my parents, didn't betray me, and didn't betray you! Only you—you betrayed everyone who cared about you!"
"All I see is you constantly blaming others. You don't believe you did anything wrong, and that's the most disgusting thing!"
"From the moment you betrayed them, you should have known that no one in this world would ever care about you again, because you got them all killed!"
Pettigrew fell silent. His mind was in a daze, his expression vacant under the influence of the various potions, spells, and the Soul Bonfire at his feet. Only a sad tear flowed from his small eyes.
Did he know he was wrong? Of course he did. He had always known he was wrong. He also understood that from now on, no one would ever care about a rat-like person like him. But he asked himself, if he had to go through it all again, would he still betray them? The answer seemed obvious: yes, he would betray them.
So he would feel sad and in pain, but if he wanted to live well, if he wanted to outlive Dumbledore, Snape, and all the others, to return to human society after they were all dead, he had to tell himself—it was everyone else's fault that he had made a mistake!
In the corner. Grindelwald looked at Harry with a touch of surprise. He was amazed. "So this is the Boy Who Lived? He seems quite impressive!"
The people living in the mushroom house sometimes talked about the children in the Dueling Club. He once asked Gilderoy which child he had the most hope for.
Gilderoy's answer was Harry Potter. It was because of Gilderoy's teaching, and also because Harry's magical path was truly suited for Gilderoy's instruction.
Gilderoy had said immodestly that it was Harry's luck to have met him, that a child with such a wonderful heart had met a teacher who specialized in the power of the mind. Gilderoy would say that many people don't have the courage to answer the call to adventure, but Harry was a child who would gladly go forward without even needing an invitation.
He had nothing but praise for him.
Grindelwald had now seen it for himself.
"He wants to save Sirius Black, the member of the Order of the Phoenix who escaped from Azkaban?" The old wizard saw Harry's goal at a glance. He looked at Snape beside him and was amused again.
"Severus, what are you going to do now?"
"You want to avenge Lily Potter, but Lily Potter's son intends to keep Peter alive and clear the name of Sirius, a man you hate?"
Snape's face darkened, and he said nothing. He simply closed his eyes in pain, but he did not take another step forward.
The events in the cave were not over. This world had never been mandated to revolve around Harry Potter. At least in the eyes of the children in the Dueling Club, taught by Professor Lockhart, each one of them was the protagonist of their own story.
So after Harry was done with his questions, the others took over Peter Pettigrew. Everyone had information they wanted to know—some were curious about how Voldemort operated, some were curious about how Peter had managed to hide in the talented Weasley family for over a decade, and others were curious about the war itself... The young wizards wanted to know so many things.
And so Grindelwald and Snape truly witnessed what could be called 'young wizard cruelty.' Several students even brought out paper and quills and began to record the interrogation, documenting every single word. A few of the older ones had the wild idea of compiling and publishing this information to earn some Galleons to fund the Dueling Club. They could even invest in Percy's 'Quidditch and Dueling Club' that he planned to start after he graduated next year, or in the Weasley twins' prank inventions.
The impact Lockhart had on these students was truly more than just about magical studies.
By the time Professor McGonagall and the others arrived after receiving Snape's message, the students had already compiled hundreds of pages of content, filled with all sorts of shocking information.
"Merlin's beard!" Professor McGonagall and the others were stunned when they saw Peter Pettigrew, barely alive and being sustained by healing spells. His legs were burned to charcoal, his body was bruised and purple from all the bizarre potions, and his eyes were completely vacant.
"Is this how Professor Lockhart taught you?" Professor McGonagall was furious.
The young wizards stood obediently to the side. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged a peculiar look, wanting to say, "Yes, that's exactly what Professor Lockhart taught us."
....................
I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to those who support me on this journey. Your contribution make a real difference!
As a patron, you unlock:
Exclusive Access: Get advanced +90 chapters ahead of everyone else.
👉 Join now: P-a-treon/Chaos_God
(Just remove the- hyphen to access normally)
Thank You so much For your Support and for Reading!