The Will of Gil (Gilderoy Lockhart SI)

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Chapter 93- Threats, Taunts and Spiders.

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"I don't suppose either of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them…" I hear Minerva say, and I look up briefly to see the object and then look back down at the petrified form of Penelope. Then my head springs back up, and my pupils shrink as I see what is in Minerva's hand.

A small black leather-bound diary.

Harry and Ron shook their heads, both staring at Hermione, not paying any attention to it, and rightly so because they have no idea what it is, but I do. Acting quickly, I approached Professor McGonagall and tentatively reached out for the book, cautious of it yet also confused as Minerva was holding it with no problem. Something is off here, and I mean that it is on account of nothing bad happening yet. "Can I see that, Professor McGonagall? Perhaps there is something to be found." Minerva hands it over with no fuss, though now everybody is staring at me in the hopes I'll find something.

Taking the black diary into my hands, I hold it gently and first examine it from every angle, looking at every inch of it with trepidation, hopeful there is nothing about to go wrong. On the front of the book, near the bottom, are letters, just three capital ones. "TMJ..." I read aloud, knowing what they stand for. Tom Marvolo Riddle. "Yes, I saw that as well. Any idea what it stands for, Gilderoy?" Minerva asks, and I look up and shake my head in the negative, lying to her. I can't explain how I know it, and at this point, I am too deep in my shadow war to blurt it out for both selfish and unselfish reasons.

Using my wand, I start to cast spells on the book, multiple different diagnostic spells hitting the thing but revealing nothing at all, showing that this was just an ordinary non-magical book. I mean, I know Horcurxs are hard to identify, but if you know what you are looking for, then it isn't, and at the very least, there should be some magical traces on it, but this is just an ordinary book. Deciding to delve deeper, I opened the book and started to flip through it, spotting page after black page with nothing on it. The book is completely empty, which actually fits. I have one more idea to test it, but I don't want to do it in front of everybody else.

"It seems to be just an ordinary book, which must have belonged to one of the two girls." I finally say, tucking the book into my robe. Nobody seems to care that I have taken it for myself. "It doesn't belong to Hermione. I've never seen her with it." Ron speaks up, Harry affirming that with a nod of his head, to which Minerva sighs. "It must belong to Miss Clearwater, then." McGonagall spares a glance for the girl, looking at her with sadness before shaking her head and returning to the stern, no-nonsense witch we all know and love.

"I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower," said Professor McGonagall heavily, speaking to the two children. "I need to address the students in any case." She says, referring to the rest of the Gryffindors who should be back in their common room after she told all the students to go back to them at the Quidditch pitch. However, having learned what I have learned, I fear that this is not the best course of action. If Riddle is back attacking the children, then I can no longer trust he won't kill any of them. I need to try and prevent that.

"Professor, if I might have a word?" I say, grabbing Minerva by the elbow and gently shuffling her to the side where we can have a word in private. After we are there, she shrugs my grip off and glares at me. "What is it, Gilderoy? I don't have time to mess about." Wow, well, that hurts. Clearly, she doesn't put much measure in my abilities outside of sexual matters.

Nevertheless, I have something to do. "I am just wondering if taking the students to their houses is the best thing to do at the moment, not with whoever or whatever is attacking people roaming through Hogwarts. I have to wonder if the common rooms are actually safe." I begin, and Minerva actually listens.

"Then what do you suggest?" She asks, and I have an answer ready. "Perhaps the best course of action would be to have all of the students gathered together in the great hall to spend the night there, with all the teachers present where we can keep an eye on them and make sure they are safe while some of us search through Hogwarts for the culprit." If they could do this in the third year for Sirius Black, then they can do it this year when students are dropping like flies. Suppose I can get all the students in the hall. In that case, Riddle can't possess anyone, and maybe I can get him to make a critical mistake that will let me strike a severe blow against him.

Minerva ponders for a moment in silence before moving away to a corner of the room, waving her wand and letting an ethereal white glowing tabby cat leap out of her wand and run off through the wall for unknown destinations. A few minutes later, a similarly wispy white glowing animal returns, a phoenix, which comes through the wall and stops before McGonagall, relaying something to her, after which she returns over to us.

"Okay, all students will be returning to the Great Hall and spending the night there. Dumbledore will address the entire school there and explain the entire situation. Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, come along. We need to return to the common room and collect the others before heading to the Great Hall." Minerva explains before leading Harry and Ron away, both of which look behind them at Hermione with worry, though Harry is still shooting suspicious glances my way. With them gone, it is just Madam Pomfrey and me, but she seems busy with her work, and the other two people are petrified, so I take my leave as well. I have something to check.

Leaving the infirmary, I head in the opposite direction of the Great Hall, heading for a location that is both secure and private where nobody can find me or disturb me, allowing me to try something in peace. I don't head to my own room or office since I'm not willing to risk this diary being a trap or something. Neither do I head to the Room of Requirement, not willing to disrupt the hard-working elves who are still sorting through the room for me. No, instead, I headed for another location I had discovered earlier in the year, one that was actually very close to my classroom. Stopping in front of the magical clock, I tap my wand on it, and it opens up, revealing a passage that leads to a dusty old room full of white tarps covering old furniture. I believe it is called The Undercroft.

The room is ultimately useless but it is private and secure, which is why I have brought the diary here. Pulling out the diary, I continued to test it but couldn't find anything on it. Then, opening it again, I tried something I didn't do in front of the others. Something I am sure they didn't try because why would they. Resting the book down on a nearby desk, I pull out a quill and some ink and begin to write in the book. Reveal your secrets. That is what I write. I am not letting on that I actually know Riddle is a book, but I am also looking for a response. Nothing happens for a moment, but then the ink I wrote down begins to flow and move around the page, transforming and coalescing into something else.

When the ink has realigned, I am now looking at an image of a skull, with a snake pouring out of its mouth and wrapping around the skull and itself... I know what this is; it is the image made by the Morsmorde spell and the image the death eaters have on them, the dark mark. This is Voldemort's sigil, which confuses me as young Riddle shouldn't have known about it at this point in time unless he conceived of the image in his youth. No, that doesn't make sense; whoever he has possessed must have had the information and informed him of it.

Continuing to write on the book, the same thing continues to happen. The ink transforms into the dark mark, again and again, nothing changing. It seems this book's only purpose is to do that, which doesn't- this is not the actual diary. It is a replica that Riddle has made, but why did he make it and leave it next to Hermione and Penelope? And then, watching as the dark mark forms on the page again, the hollow eyes of the skull boring into my eyes, I realise what this is. It's a taunt. It's a threat. This is a message for me... Penelope was attacked because of her association with me, and Hermione was just collateral.

It makes sense now. Hermione was unfortunate to get petrified by just being near Penelope. Penelope was also unfortunate to have such a fate befall her, but she was the target. There was one thing that didn't match up but that I didn't click on earlier in the infirmary, something that only I would be able to pick up on. Neither of the girls had a mirror or something to look at the Basilisk gaze through, which would have allowed them to be petrified. Neither Hermione nor Penelope had any such item, which confirmed for me that this was a deliberate act. Riddle must have done something to cover the Basilisk's eyes so that its gaze was petrifying and not death-inducing. He also left this book next to them as a message for me.

I must have finally become too much of a nuisance for him and touched his bottom line, at which point he retaliated. He wanted to strike back, but he couldn't attack an actual teacher as the ramifications would be too large, and Hogwarts would be shut immediately, especially with someone of my status. Hogwarts would get a lot of complaints and get shut down, which would keep Tom from his goal, and whatever it is, it needs everybody to remain at the school, which is why he went for someone close to me, to try and dissuade me from continuing to attack him. But I had only recently started an intimate relationship with Penelope; it hadn't even been a week...

He has his eye on me, watching me, at the very least during the day. I have the invisibility cloak at night, so he can't find me then. But he has a method of watching me, and I have been none the wiser. He knows about what I have been up to, and he most likely knows about all of my connections in Hogwarts. He wouldn't go after a teacher, which has been who my relations have been with except for one, that being Gemma Farley. I will have to deal with that later, but for now, I need to do my teacher duties and figure out my game plan afterwards.

Throwing the book onto the floor, I point my wand at it. "Incendio." And I burn it into nothingness, not letting up on the spell until nothing is left.

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"All students will be spending the night in the Great Hall tonight whilst the Faculty work to secure the castle," Dumbledore speaks at his podium, already having informed everybody of what has happened. "Going forward, all students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities." Dumbledore outlines, and to my surprise, everyone is silent; nobody is complaining about Quidditch.

The students all packed together inside the Great Hall and listened in silence. Having said all that he needed to, Dumbledore moved backwards and motioned for Minerva to address the students, seeing that she needed to. She began in a somewhat choked voice, "I need hardly state that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward." With that, she also retreated, and the students began to chat among themselves.

The teachers, including myself, gather up together and begin to discuss what to do next. Dumbledore takes charge and directs the professors on what to do. I am also there and am just nodding along without giving any input; it is a shame that this great hall lockdown will only be for tonight. Knowing my opponent would be free to move by tomorrow, I focused on the students and looked for any suspiciousness. Maybe the student who has the most time with the book will be showing signs of withdrawal or something.

"That's two Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff, "said the Gryffindor and Quidditch commentator Lee Jordan, counting on his fingers. "Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin—why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" he whisper roared to nods and silent cheers from his fellow Gryffindors.

I spot Percy Weasley sitting just behind Lee, but for once, he doesn't seem keen to make his views heard. Instead he was looking pale and stunned, no doubt because his girlfriend was just petrified. "Percy's in shock," George said quietly. "That Ravenclaw girl—Penelope Clearwater—she's a prefect. I don't think he thought the monster would dare attack a prefect." You are wrong, George; he is in shock because Penelope is his girlfriend, and I have been spending the most time with her lately. I feel bad, actually... No, that's not right; that would imply I regret what I did and feel bad about it, I don't. I feel bad for him. That's more accurate, I would still do what I did, no questions asked.

Everybody seems to be just fine, but that is when something out of my expectations happens. The door to the Great Hall is thrown open, and a man enters, another trailing behind him, and they both head straight through the hall and towards Dumbledore. The man had rumpled grey hair and an anxious expression and was wearing a strange mixture of clothes: a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, and pointed purple boots. Under his arm, he carried a lime green bowler.

"That's Dad's boss!" Ron shouted, informing everyone. "Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic!" Harry quickly elbowed Ron to make him shut up. Feeling some shaky movements beside me, I looked to my left to see Hagrid had gone pale and sweaty. He dropped into his chair and looked from Dumbledore to Cornelius Fudge. Mr Lucius Malfoy strode after the minster, swathed in a long black travelling cloak, smiling a cold and satisfied smile.

"Bad business, Professor Dumbledore," said Fudge in a rather clipped tone once he reached us. "Nasty business. Had to come. Four attacks on students. Things've gone far enough. Ministry's got to act." When Fudge says that, he looks meaningfully at Hagrid. "I never," said Hagrid, looking imploringly at Dumbledore. "You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir—"

"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence," said Dumbledore, frowning at Fudge. "Look, Albus," said Fudge, uncomfortably. "Hagrid's record's against him. Ministry's got to do something—the school governors have been in touch—"

"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes full of fire. "If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back and no more said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty—" said Fudge, fidgeting with his bowler. "Take me?" Hagrid, who was trembling, interrupts. "Take me where?"

No one says anything, the silence speaking for itself. "Not Azkaban?" croaked Hagrid. It was at this point that Lucius spoke up, making his presence known and smirking evilly at all of us. "Yes, Azkaban. Now go peacefully; I have something to discuss with DUmbeldore." Malfoy sneers at Hargid and then ignores him completely. "And what exactly did you want with me, Lucius?" said Dumbledore. He spoke politely, but the fire was still blazing in his blue eyes.

"Dreadful thing, Dumbledore," said Malfoy lazily, taking out a long roll of parchment, "but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension—you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school." He says, conveniently ignoring the fact that one student attacked was a pureblood.

"Oh, now, see here, Lucius," said Fudge, looking alarmed, "Dumbledore suspended—no, no—last thing we want just now…" Fudge tries to stop it, but Malfoy stops him. "I'm afraid staffing and suspension at Hogwarts are not things the ministry deals with. This is a school matter; therefore, Cornelius, it is something you cannot interfere with." Lucius finished smugly, and Dumbledore just stared back silently and then he turned to us. "Take the students back to their common rooms for the night. I have a few matters to deal with." And with that, Dumbledore waves Fudge, Malfoy and Hagrid towards the door.

They all set off, Lucius leading the way and Dumbledore moving afterwards, Fudge fiddling with his bowler, trailing behind, and Hagrid slowly trudging along afterwards. As Hagrid passed by Harry's spot on the Gryffindor table, he slowed even further down and spoke very loudly. "If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff with me not around, all they'd have ter do would be ter follow the spiders. The spiders will show I'm innocent. There's a big nest just behind my hut." He finishes, looking meaningfully at Harry, and then all four men leave the room.

Worried conversations about madmen and spiders fill the air as the teachers try to organise the students again. Meanwhile, I can't believe my plan just unravelled like that. I guess I will be hunting tonight after all.

Still, Hagrid and Dumbledore just got removed from school. Well, more Dumbledore than Hagrid. Who knows what will happen now.

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I am so ill. I had to look after my ill niece and nephew and ended up catching what they got, and now my head hurts, and I am producing gallons of goop. Anyway, I still managed to do this on time, so hurray. Need to check out Marvel Rivals, but I'm ill.

Upcoming Chapters:

Hero: Chapter 94- The Spiders, Harry! The Spiders!

Super: Chapter 96- Still the MC!

Legendary: Chapter 98- This Bitch!?

Galactic: Chapter 102- Aftermath.

Mythic: Chapter 103- Freedom At Last!

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