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A mass of creepers emerged from Alexandra's wand and forced without any gentleness the adult against the back of his chair. Efforts to grab the wand on the desk were futile, as the enchantment added more and more liana out of nowhere. To her right, Nigel's spell stuck the feet of the Professor to the purple carpet. The hands were unable to use any magical focus, given that they were tied behind the man's back. Soon nothing but the head was left uncovered by the magical bindings. Unless the wizard was able to do wandless magic, he was at their mercy.
"Good evening, Professor Lockhart," said cheerfully Alexandra entering in the office she had just slightly damaged. Well, perhaps more than slightly. The desk and the walls were going to need generous incantations of Mending Charms.
"Miss Potter." To his credit, Gilderoy Lockhart's voice was only trembling after Alexandra's rapid assault. "I wasn't expecting you this afternoon."
"It would have kind of defeated the purpose of a surprise visit, no?" asked rhetorically the black-haired witch. The blonde wizard answered by just a curt grunt. It wasn't like he could do anything else, the liana surrounding him were solidly ensuring a 'no escape' clause.
"I think it's time we talk."
Her tone had been cordial, but clearly Lockhart saw something in her eyes he didn't like, because his egoistical personality failed to resurface.
"You don't intend to give me the choice, do you?" sighed the famous author.
The young witch frowned. It was nice to see her suspicions confirmed, but honestly Alexandra had expected a long tirade of how Gilderoy Lockhart was a priceless gem of Magical Britain, to release him and everything would be forgotten. She had not expected such a...resigned tone.
"Of course I will give you a choice! We're in a democracy or so I heard." Alexandra could not help but snicker as Nigel burst in laughter behind Lockhart. "Who do you think I am?"
The Ravenclaw girl had posed this question with a sarcastic tone, but it did not stop Gilderoy Lockhart from answering.
"You are a young witch who has a huge magical potential and a severe mental problem."
Alexandra narrowed her eyes at the supposed 'fraud' in front of her. For a man renowned to have the intelligence of the average sheep, Gilderoy Lockhart's retort had been rather short...and disturbingly accurate.
Well I do still have nightmares of all the people I've seen die and the Summon pursuing me once per week. Does that mean I'm crazy?
"Possible." The Potter Heiress rolled her shoulders in feigned amusement. "But I would argue I'm still one of the sanest persons at Hogwarts."
Whoever Lockhart really was under his fake persona, the wizard didn't share this point of view.
"Miss Potter, when the asylum is run by the inmates, that isn't as much of a consolation as you think."
Inwardly, Alexandra winced. Describing Hogwarts as an asylum wasn't the description she would have chosen. Dictatorship and place of learning for pure-blood bigots was a far more disturbing assessment.
If everyone was crazy in the non-magical definition of the term, I think we would have far less problems...
"This is your opinion and you're entitled to it." The wand with the heartstring of hydra rolled without a conscious thought in her left hand. "Are you ready to answer my questions or should I call the DMLE?"
"Pose them, young Lady."
The reply was pronounced in a formal manner unlike what the green-eyed witch had heard before, and Alexandra filed it away in her mind. She would have to ask Morag for clarifications later when her friend was not petrified anymore.
"Who are you working for?"
The posture of the defeated Professor somewhat relaxed...relatively. A man as bound as he was on his chair was not allowed a lot of freedom to move.
"Confidential. If I told you, I would have to kill you afterwards."
This sentence was spoken in a half-dramatic tone, which would have been a bit more impressive if the DADA teacher was not looking like a big tuna caught in several fishermen's net. Nevertheless, the Ravenclaw girl and the Gryffindor boy each pointed their wands in direction of their teacher's heart.
"Very funny." Alexandra paused, before concentrating a bit and emitting livid blue sparks at the point of her wand. "Is it the ICW? The Death Eaters? A foreign government? The Exchequer?"
In the days after, Alexandra would kick herself to have added the last name to the list of his potential employers. The accent, the background, everything Lockhart had shown them of himself during this year was completely different from the unlamented Professor Devkins. There was no reason why the 'Wizarding hero Lockhart' would have even heard of a name which had no historical references. Their little group was only aware of it because they had stolen the Junior DADA teacher's files last year.
But as she saw the paling face of the bound wizard, the Potter Heiress knew the name meant something to him.
"How in the name of Merlin have you heard that name?"
A Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff perhaps would have told the truth. That said, if Ravenclaw House had told Alexandra something, it was that knowledge was important...and not to be distributed for free.
As a result, the curt answer was: "I have my sources."
"You have no idea the forces you're treading with, Miss Potter." The tone employed by Professor Lockhart was not fearful, but it appeared to be the next best thing to it.
"Would you consider then, helping me understand?"
The wand pointed right between the teacher's eyes made sure it was not a suggestion. Clearing his throat, the wizard who had pretended to be a buffoon for several months explained in a concise manner.
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