"Magic Array artifacts?" Lyla was stunned for a moment before frantically waving her hands. "My Magic Array artifacts... no... they don't mean anything!"
"Do not say that, Miss Hamilton." Dumbledore smiled gently and walked fully into her office.
Under Lyla's trembling gaze, he looked at the silver Memory Headband resting on her desk with great interest. He also noted the various array blueprints she had scattered around.
"May I try it?" he suddenly asked, picking up the headband.
"I haven't ever worn one of these before."
"You mean...?" Lyla carefully sidestepped closer to Dumbledore. "You want to try it?"
"Mm-hmm." Dumbledore chuckled softly. "I presume there is no risk for an old man to use this, is there?"
'If there really was a risk, I'd practically force you to use it...' Lyla thought bitterly.
She nodded cautiously and stammered, "No... there's no risk."
"However... inside are... are Professor McGonagall's memories," Lyla pursed her lips and explained. "If you wear it... you... you will see her..."
"Ah... Minerva's memories?" Dumbledore seemed genuinely surprised. "This will certainly bring back memories for me, too."
"That was many, many years ago," he added, a nostalgic look crossing his aged face.
He slowly raised the student's Memory Headband and slipped it over his head.
"..."
Watching Dumbledore put on the headband, Lyla couldn't help but purse her lips in irritation. 'This old man actually put it on without even waiting for my permission...' Wait! 'Can he not see outside right now?'
'Is this the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Lord Grindelwald spoke of?'
Lyla quickly fumbled around inside her sleeve, preparing to pull out her wand and strike him down while he was blind.
But just as the tip of her wand cleared her sleeve, Dumbledore suddenly opened his eyes.
"Ugh!" Lyla violently shivered and stumbled several steps back, hastily hiding her hand behind her back.
'Damn it! Is this terrifying old man really that perceptive?'
Lyla looked at Dumbledore nervously, only to see him remain silent for a long moment before letting out a soft sigh.
"How nostalgic," he murmured, shaking his head. It seemed he hadn't actually noticed Lyla's treacherous little movement. "When you get old, you tend to spend a lot of time reminiscing."
"Ah... haha... hahahaha..." Lyla laughed incredibly awkwardly, smoothly sliding her wand back up her sleeve.
"Would you like to try it, Miss Hamilton?" Dumbledore offered, holding out the Memory Headband. "Have you seen Professor McGonagall's memories yet?"
"A little... just a little bit..."
Lyla had certainly looked at them, but she had only watched the first few lessons. The reason was simple: she was planning to use Mr. Lockhart's memories starting today.
Lockhart's memories were far more recent and should theoretically be much clearer. Professor McGonagall's memories were decades old, meaning many of the background details had faded.
Lyla had been forced to use her own array abilities to artificially supplement the blurry spots—like fixing broken windows in the Hogwarts background or making the classroom candles brighter.
"Is that so?" Dumbledore smiled with deep amusement. "Then you really should view the content of this specific lesson."
"This lesson?" Lyla blinked, looking at Dumbledore with profound confusion.
"Yes. It is... the eighteenth memory stored inside," Dumbledore said, nodding slightly. "Trust me, Professor Hamilton. You will thoroughly enjoy this memory."
'Is that so?'
'He's so absolutely certain that I'll like it?'
Lyla looked at Dumbledore in surprise. Seeing his supremely confident demeanor naturally made her feel rebellious.
'So ordinary yet so confident... Well, Dumbledore isn't exactly ordinary; he just happened to defeat Lord Grindelwald... But since he insists... should I take a look?'
Lyla carefully took the Memory Headband from Dumbledore's hand, shooting him a highly vigilant glare.
'Don't you dare do anything strange while I'm distracted, you old man!'
'Like rummaging through my desk or something... though there's nothing incriminating here anyway, since I already stored Mr. Riddle's diary inside my Spatial Storage Book...'
'Oh, right! And you are absolutely not allowed to pinch my Veela ears... Or... or touch my hair or anything! Otherwise, I'll definitely report you for inappropriate conduct!'
However, Lyla only dared to glare at Dumbledore; she simply didn't have the courage to directly confront the man who had defeated Gellert Grindelwald.
Click.
As Lyla placed the headband over her ears, a swirling silver mist materialized before her eyes.
"..."
"Hmm?"
This just seemed to be an ordinary Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It was quite old and blurry.
It was obvious Professor McGonagall herself didn't remember this specific event very clearly. The scenes Lyla watched seemed to have a hazy, nostalgic filter layered over them.
Fortunately, the magical theory being taught was still consistent with the modern textbook.
But that was it. Lyla had absolutely no idea what Dumbledore meant when he promised she would 'thoroughly enjoy' this.
'Is that old man playing a trick on me?'
Lyla stomped her foot in irritation. Glancing at the tightly closed door of the classroom in the memory, she swore she wouldn't let Dumbledore off the hook for wasting her time.
Just as she was about to pull the headband off and exit the memory, the silver mist before her eyes suddenly emitted a blinding glow.
And then the scenery rapidly shifted... transforming into a much more magnificent and vibrant location.
'This is... the Great Hall of Hogwarts?'
Lyla stared in utter astonishment as hundreds of students suddenly materialized around her. For a moment, she panicked and retreated several steps in fear.
But thankfully, they were just memories. After watching a few translucent students harmlessly pass right through her body, Lyla let out a long breath of relief.
'But... exactly when is this memory from? Is this the interesting thing Dumbledore was talking about?'
Lyla looked around the Great Hall, and surprisingly, she couldn't spot Professor McGonagall anywhere.
'Wait, isn't this supposed to be Professor McGonagall's memory?'
Lyla didn't know that memories could display scenes where the original owner wasn't actively present. She looked around the hall again and only spotted a tabby cat gracefully walking down the corridor.
'It couldn't just be a cat, could it?'
Lyla shook her head, telling herself not to overthink the mechanics of the Memory Array, as the tabby cat had already disappeared from view. 'So... what exactly is going on here?'
Click.
The heavy oak doors of the Great Hall suddenly burst open. A young student wearing incredibly flamboyant robes swaggered inside. His robes were heavily embroidered with extravagant golden patterns.
He had perfectly styled, wavy golden hair and... an obnoxiously triumphant smile plastered across his face.
'Wait... this must be Mr. Lockhart, right?'
Although he looked much younger, Lyla recognized the man's blinding smile at a single glance.
'Why is Mr. Lockhart here? Isn't this Professor McGonagall's memory from decades ago?'
"Hello, everyone!" Under Lyla's deeply puzzled gaze, the student version of Lockhart swished his extravagant robes and quickly leapt up onto a dining table.
"Today is a lovely, incredibly romantic day!" he announced loudly. He flicked his wand with a flourish, and a vibrant red rose appeared at its tip.
Then, under Lyla's mounting, horrified gaze, Lockhart placed the stem of the rose between his teeth.
'Mr. Lo-Lo-Lo-Lockhart!'
Lyla slapped both hands over her eyes and rapidly backed away. The scene unfolding before her was so deeply, viscerally embarrassing that she felt like she was going to faint on the spot!
Her secondhand embarrassment was simply too strong! Seeing Mr. Lockhart's... extraordinary actions in his youth was unbearable.
Even Lyla, who was already somewhat used to his dramatic modern style, was momentarily overwhelmed. She felt genuinely dizzy and stumbled backward. Fortunately, because she was inside a memory, she couldn't actually pass out.
But... Mr. Lockhart's grand performance wasn't over yet.
Speaking around the rose clenched in his teeth, he continued loudly, "Today is Valentine's Day!"
"And I believe... there won't be a shortage of people here who love me, Gilderoy Lockhart!"
His grand declaration was met with absolute, dead silence. Every single student in the Great Hall looked up at him with expressions that... were simply terrifying!
Lyla, of course, instantly recognized those looks. They were the exact same looks people gave to a "monster," a "freak," or a "madman."
'Oh my, my, my, my, my goodness!'
'Mer-Mer-Merlin... Lord Grindelwald... and absolutely anyone else listening above...' Lyla dropped to the floor, huddling into a tight ball and not daring to move an inch. This wasn't just a rather embarrassing scene; it violently reminded Lyla of the intense bullying she had suffered during the Durmstrang incident.
It was... it was simply too terrifying to watch. 'If Muller hadn't been there for me back then...'
Bang!
The high stained-glass windows of the Great Hall suddenly burst open.
Then, right before Lyla's wide, horrified blue eyes, a massive flock of owls flew inside and aggressively began dropping hundreds of letters onto Mr. Lockhart.
Every single letter was bright pink and adorned with identical, pulsing hearts.