If you want to read by 20+ Chapters from here you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
[email protected]/LunaDesire1
••••••
"We found Myrtle. Turns out after she died she became a ghost, and now she haunts the 2nd floor girls bathroom. We're also pretty sure that the Basilisk has been traveling through the pipes, Hermione had a note in her pocket that talked about how the pipes had expansion charms that stopped them from getting clogged. That probably means that the Basilisk could move through them as well. That probably means that it gets into the pipes from the bathroom. Maybe Myrtle would know more, we'll need to ask her." Padma said, all in a single breath.
"That's great, come on, let's go!" Harry said, grabbing her hand and starting to pull her with him.
"Wait, we can't take on a basilisk by ourselves. We need help. Let's go grab Lockhart, if he's half the wizard the books make him out to be, he'll be useful." Padma said.
"I suppose you're right. We'll head to his office first." Harry said, as the pair made their way to his office.
As they walked in, they found him frantically packing his items into a suitcase. "Professor Lockhart?" Padma asked, causing the man to jump.
"Ah, yes. Ms. Petal, Mr. Potter. Surprise to see you here." He says, misremembering Padma's name.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, looking at the packed bag sitting on a table. The flamboyant clothing inside could belong to no one else but Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Oh, I'm just getting a head start on packing for the summer. I never wear these anyway, unsure why I brought them." The lie was easy to spot, namely because Harry could see the outfit the man wore during their last class immediately on top of the other clothes, and it was an outfit the man wore at least once every other week.
"We know what's been causing the attacks, we need your help to stop it." Padma said, cutting to the chase.
"Oh, well why don't you tell the Headmaster, I would hate to undermine his authority in his own school." Lockhart said, his face growing nervous.
"No, you're going to help us, or I'll tell the whole world you're a fraud." Padma said.
Harry was shocked. He knew that there was no way Gilderoy Lockhart could have done everything in his books, but Harry imagined that they simply may be been embellished accounts, adding a few inches to a caught fish as it were. To be a fraud? Harry listened intently.
"Whatever do you mean Ms. Petal? I am no more a fraud than I am a toad." Gilderoy said, his voice seemingly raising an octave.
"March 6th 1987, Gilderoy Lockhart holds a book signing for Gadding with Ghouls, yet during the month of March that year, you claim to be in the Alps for Year with the Yeti. February 14th, 1988, you make a public appearance for the tour for Voyages with Vampires, but are simultaneously on a date with a Bheur Hag for Holidays with Hags. What's more interesting is that around the time of each of your books supposedly being written, a noteworthy scholar of each of the creatures goes missing. So… you can help us, or I go to the press." Padma said.
Harry was shocked. He had no idea Padma was so capable of blackmail. Or that she had all of that information. How had she gotten it?
"Why.. that's preposterous, I had nothing to do with any disappearances." Lockhart said, his brow starting to find itself covered in sweat.
"Maybe not… but we could let a judge decide that. Maybe under Veritaserum?" Padma said. "I'm not the only one with this information. There are at least two others, who, should I go missing, would be MORE than willing to release it to the press, and they could do so easily."
"I… well I … I never… fine. Lead the way." Lockhart said, stopping his packing.
"I knew you would see things my way. Now come. We need to head to the second floor girls bathroom." Padma said, leading Harry and Lockhart out the door.
With the castle in the early stages of lockdown, getting to the bathroom had been rather easy. Once inside, they were greeted by a ghostly figure.
"Hey…. there can't be any boys in here. Not even cute ones like him." The ghost, likely Moaning Myrtle said. She reminded Harry of a female version of himself in a way, dressed in Ravenclaw robes and wearing circular glasses. Her hair was long and mostly straight, although it had some noticeable volume to it, causing it to puff out slightly.
"Why I thank you miss, always a pleasure to meet a fan." Lockhart said, flashing a smile and somehow creating a small sparkle and a ding sound with his teeth.
"Not you." Myrtle said. "Why have you entered my bathroom? No one comes in here."
"Your name is Myrtle Warren isn't it?" Harry asked of the specter, looking simultaneously at and through her. While Harry had been cordial at Nick's Deathday party earlier that year, he still found it difficult to speak to ghosts without looking through them.
"It was, now everyone just calls me Moaning Myrtle, it's so SAD!" As she wailed in sadness, the pipes and toilets all resonated, creating several sonorous tones that caused the sinks to turn on, as well as the toilets to spray water several feet into the air.
"You died in this bathroom didn't you?" Harry asked. It was likely a very rude question to ask a ghost, but Harry didn't have time for pleasantries, there were lives at stake.
"Yes… I was sitting in here crying after some girls made fun of me for my glasses, I heard someone enter and turned to look to tell them to go away… and then the next thing I know I was a ghost." Myrtle said, looking wistfully at the door.