It Was Way Too Obvious This Was Going to Happen
"Professor?" Hermione asked as she stared at Lockhart while slowly reaching one hand toward her wand.
Ron was still on the floor a few meters behind her after taking the spell that had been aimed at Hermione, although at least she could hear him moving and groaning in pain.
That meant he was conscious... maybe. Well, at least alive, yes.
"What do you want with Harry and Percy?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Oh, that? It's nothing too bad. Just a little chat," Lockhart said, bringing back that perfect smile he'd shown so many times during his classes.
But Hermione could see now just how fake it was. If Harry and Percy were there, they would probably compare it to the False King Dorien's smile.
That only made Hermione feel even more suspicious of the professor who had just attacked them.
Lockhart, meanwhile, looked around as if searching for the boys, until his eyes settled on the hole in the wall and his expression changed instantly. But after staring for a moment at the dark tunnel inside the wall, Lockhart remained silent until he finally opened his mouth.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to wait for them to come back. After all, their friends are here, so you could do me the favor of raising your hands and dropping your wands. That way I can take you as hostages," he added as he focused his gaze on Hermione and Ron, who had gotten back to his feet while clutching his stomach where the spell had hit him.
"Cough, cough... Are you insane?" Ron spat out as he held his aching stomach.
"Mm. How about this then, Miss Granger? I know you're one of my fans. I received one of your Valentine's letters. I could give you the premium collection of my books, each one autographed, and once I have those boys, I'll let you go," Lockhart said arrogantly, as if he were doing Hermione a huge favor.
Hermione frowned immediately. In the past, she would have done anything to get her Masked Hero's autograph.
But now...
"I refuse," Hermione said as she raised her wand, ready to cast a spell.
Lockhart raised his wand.
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he said confidently.
"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted immediately.
The red flash shot toward Lockhart.
But the professor didn't lose his confidence for even a second and smoothly moved his wand to the side, striking the spell in midair as if it were nothing more than a fly and deflecting it into one of the walls.
Hermione's eyes widened slightly, but at the same time, she seemed to have expected something like that. After all, Lockhart hadn't managed to hold his own against Snape for several seconds during their duel at the Dueling Club for nothing.
After months of attending that man's classes, Hermione had eventually realized that Lockhart wasn't nearly as useless as Ron always claimed. Apparently, he really did have some skills. Too bad his classes were still nothing more than little plays about the supposed adventures from his books.
"Flipendo!"
Lockhart moved his wand again, easily deflecting the spell.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Once again, another spell ended up crashing into a wall.
Hermione frowned.
"Come on, come on, this is pointless. After all, they don't call me the Masked Hero for nothing. I've faced werewolves, banshees, and even Dementors. You should know that as one of my fans. You're just wasting your energy. All I have to do is deflect them, and that's it," Lockhart said as he calmly walked toward her.
Hermione stepped back.
But before Lockhart could get too close, Ron had gotten back up and was pointing his wand at him.
"Rictusempra!"
Lockhart flicked his wrist, and this time the spell was sent directly back at Ron, who fell to the floor and began laughing as he felt an intense tickling sensation all over his body.
"I can send spells back too. I became quite good at this kind of magic, because otherwise, I wouldn't have survived my adventures," he said calmly.
"Confringo!" Hermione shouted, taking advantage of Lockhart being closer.
But, obviously, Lockhart moved his wand with ease and deflected the explosive spell, causing it to crash into the wall and send small fragments of stone flying toward them.
Lockhart brushed the dust off his suit with one hand.
"I don't like hitting ladies, but..."
Lockhart was finally standing right in front of Hermione, his wand pointed at the young girl's face.
"Don't worry. You'll forget all about this," he said easily.
But Hermione made a move without giving up.
"Expelliarmus!"
A red flash shot directly toward him.
Lockhart smiled.
His wand moved to intercept it.
But when it touched the spell...
It went straight through.
Lockhart's smile disappeared for a fraction of a second.
"What...?"
BAM!
A rock appeared practically out of nowhere and struck him directly on the chin, making Lockhart stumble two steps backward.
Hermione slowly let out the breath she'd been holding as she looked at the tip of her wand, where she could still see a faint misty haze surrounding it.
"Who said I couldn't use the Mist? I practiced a lot during the holidays just to prove you wrong," Hermione said, remembering Harry's words.
Her competitive side simply hadn't allowed her to accept that Harry could use it while she couldn't.
Obviously, it was a rather crude way of using the Mist and she could barely create small illusions, but it had been enough.
Lockhart, who seemed to be in shock from the blow to his chin, was touching his face.
Something Hermione took advantage of to free Ron from the spell.
"Thanks. I thought I was going to die laughing," Ron let out, breathing heavily.
"We don't have time. Ron, remember how Harry and Percy fight? We need to do the same. We have to buy time until a professor comes," Hermione said seriously as she fixed her gaze on Lockhart, who had just snapped out of his shock.
His hand passed over the tiny streak of blood coming from his chin where the rock had struck him.
"My face..."
Hermione raised her wand again.
Lockhart looked up. His smile returned, but it seemed to twitch slightly, as if he were trying to maintain it at all costs and keep his face from twisting with rage.
"You just hit my face."
Ron frowned.
"It's just a little cut," he couldn't help saying, finding Lockhart's reaction to that tiny drop of blood coming from his chin completely exaggerated.
Lockhart turned his wand and pointed it at Ron without hesitation.
"RON!" Hermione shouted, trying to help him protect himself.
But the spell flew at high speed, slamming into Ron's chest as if he'd been hit by a truck. Ron had all the air knocked out of him and went flying, this time several meters, before crashing against the floor as a cracking sound was briefly heard.
Ron writhed in pain for several moments.
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!" was all he managed to yell as he twisted in pain.
Then he raised his wand and saw that it had snapped in half. Between the pain and seeing that, he looked like he might pass out at any moment.
"Just a little cut?" Lockhart let out, his face now truly showing his fury. "Just a little cut... Yes, perhaps I should show you why I have to wear this mask and keep the world from seeing my beauty," Lockhart said in a serious and, at the same time, dangerous tone as he raised one hand and brought it toward the mask on his face.
And slowly removed it.
His face, as expected, was truly handsome, with a charming air to it. Without the mask, his smile was much more noticeable, along with all those proud expressions of his.
"If I have to hide my face, it's because of this horrible scar. I'll never allow another one to mark my face," Lockhart said, his voice now completely serious and dangerous.
Hermione stared at the scar on Lockhart's face, just like Ron, who was painfully getting back up from the floor.
Both of them stared at it before looking at each other for a moment, then back at Lockhart and that horrible scar.
Or, well, what should have been there.
Because...
"What scar?" Ron and Hermione asked at the same time.
What they were seeing beneath Lockhart's left eye was a tiny tear-shaped scratch and nothing more.
"Are you making fun of me?! How could you not see it?! I'm a monster now!" Lockhart roared as he clutched his chest as if he were suffering because of his deformity.
Or at least what he believed was a deformity.
Because anyone else would have thought it was simply a blemish or maybe a mark from wearing the mask for too long.
Hermione opened her mouth to try to say something, but for once, nothing seemed to come to the Gryffindor know-it-all's mind.
Even Ron stared at his professor's deformity in disbelief, as if he thought Lockhart wasn't actually real and all of this was some kind of school-wide prank being played on them.
Lockhart, meanwhile, still furious, touched his chin again and a tiny drop of blood remained on one of his fingers.
"It seems I won't just have to use you as hostages. I'll have to make you pay for this too. If my face ends up even more disfigured because of you... you'll pay dearly," he said as he tightened his grip on his wand.