The Great Hall was dead silent as the older man marched up to the staff table, pulling his wand out of his sleeve as Lockhart stood up and looked around nervously.
"I do not know you sir, or what you are talking about. So please calm down and we will discuss this situation and see where the misunderstanding lies." The flamboyant, self-confident behavior of their Defense teacher vanished almost immediately as the old man stood before him, his wand pointed at his face. All the students could feel the tension and kept silent, curious what would happen. Dumbledore then stood up and talked with the old man, asking him also to calm down a bit and explain himself.
"My name is Arthur Lingley, an Armenian Warlock and I found out that this fraud took my story from the fight against the werewolf to save a village while posing as a journalist, then placed a memory charm so I would forget everything about it. He then wrote it down in one of his books and made it so as he did my deeds. This way, he made sure that I could not call him out on this blatant lie, but thankfully to Ms. Yennefer I was released from this spell, as she found out that I had one put on me and removed it. After this happened, I began to remember about Lockhart here and talking to him about how I defeated the werewolf. And after regaining my memory and reading his books, I saw that he had quoted me almost to the letter. So, I contacted the head of the DMLE and issued a legal proceeding with Madam Bones here and she investigated more similar cases like mine. It was then proven that Lockhart was always in another place while the things in his books happened. So now you see, Headmaster Dumbledore, this man is a fraud par excellence. But he played this part so convincingly that he even deceived himself. He really thinks the hype around him." At this sentence, Lockhart began to look angry and demanded an apology for this blatant lie. He fought all the fights he did write about, but now not even one person in this castle believed him. Seeing this, he then challenged Mr. Lingley to a wizard's duel to show them all that he was the better sorcerer. Much to his surprise, Mr. Lingley agreed and asked the students in the Great Hall to stand aside so the headmaster could make some space for the arena.
Lockhart was now becoming nervous, as he was used to the fact that his fame would have made his challenger back down from his skill, but this time it seemed that he really had to fight. When he saw that the arena was now summoned in the middle of the Great Hall, he prayed that he really was better than this old man. So, he would use this opportunity to teach the students some defensive spells instead of waiting for the dueling club later this year.
On the other side of the Great Hall, Mr. Lingley was discussing with Madam Bones about the situation, as she just had wanted to take Lockhart in for questioning and then bring him before the Wizengamot to throw him into a cell in the Ministry. But protocol dictated that when a duel for honor was issued she had to wait for it to have taken its course. The many times she had to let the criminal go afterwards she had lost count. And for this reason, she had put some of her men around the castle in case Lockhart would make a run for it.
Lockhart took his cape off so he could move more freely, as he explained to the students that were still listening. Harry meanwhile found himself by the wall of the Great Hall, while the two duelists were preparing themselves. He looked around while it was decided that Madam Bones would be the referee and noticed that Malfoy and his friends were missing from this event. He just shrugged when Ron asked him who he was looking for.
Amelia Bones was a woman who took her job as the head of the DMLE very seriously, so when she was asked to referee this impromptu duel she could observe if Lockhart was as good as his books described him. But before it would begin, she decided to look for her niece, Susan and ask her how she was. She had not to look for long, as her niece was walking to her with a smile on her lips. That made her happy, especially after the last letter from her where she described how well Neville and her friend Hannah were getting along, but it made her a bit lonely while those two were hanging out with each other. To her luck, they were always studying with others, so Amelia found out that Susan got closer to Harry Potter and his friends. Now, if Amelia could get to know the boy she could judge if he was trustworthy enough to be friends with her niece or if she had to intervene and talk with his guardians about raising a child. Yes, she was strict, but if the boy was even a bit like his father or his godfather, he would be a menace to deal with. Amelia mentally shook her head as she tried not to judge the boy to be like his father but she knew the Marauders while she attended Hogwarts and those two left quite an impression on her to this day.
"Hello Auntie. You surprised me when you came into the Great Hall like that. So, I take it that your suspicions turned out to be true? Did this woman over there help you find Mr. Lingley? Are there more like him?" Susan asked her aunt, proving that she was very observant and could guess the proper conclusions to anything that happens around her. That she was a Hufflepuff was not noticeable for anyone who did not know this detail.
"Hello Susan. Yes, Ms. Yennefer came with Mr. Lingley to the Ministry, and he almost demanded that we take legal action against Lockhart. He even submitted a memory for us to view how the fight against the werewolf really happened. After we made sure that this memory was not tempered with, I took some of my Aurors and came here with Mr. Lingley and Ms. Yennefer to apprehend Lockhart, but that it would result in a duel was unexpected. By the way, I thought that Harry Potter would be here? I wanted to talk with him for a bit, as according to your description he does know Chief Wulf, right? I want to see if I can get more information from him from another standpoint, as the new Aurors we get in the force only talk about how his training is much more demanding in comparison to ours." Amelia was now looking around once more, noticing Hagrid standing beside a man that was almost the same height as Hagrid was.
"Since when does Hogwarts have two so big men?" Amelia raised an eyebrow when Susan giggled, explaining to her aunt that this was Mr. Wulf, also called Chief Wulf. Amelia needed all her self-control to not show her surprise, as she had thought that this man had to look similar to Mad-Eye Moody because of how her recruits were talking about him. Now she knew by his stance that he demanded absolute respect and when he issued an order, it should be followed through. But at the same time, she could read enough that if you were his superior, he would give you the same respect and follow your orders. She would have to ask him if he wanted to join the Aurors later, but just as she wanted to walk over to him, Dumbledore came over to her and announced that the duelist came to an agreement. When he followed her view, he grinned and explained to her that Chief Wulf would stay here for a while longer, so she could get the idea out of her head.
"I still wonder how you are so good at reading people Dumbledore and not see how Lockhart has played you for a fool. But let's get that show on the road, the students still have some classes to attend today." Amelia looked at a nodding Dumbledore, but he was thinking of giving them the rest of the day free after the duel, as however it would end, the students would talk about this event and would not concentrate on their classes.
"And please Madam Bones, I did know that something was not adding up when Mr. Lockhart stood in front of the board of governors and declared him to be the best teacher they could find. But my pleas met deaf ears as the board decided that I had to hire him, even after I issued my concerns about his ability. I even brought evidence that one of his deeds in his books was done by a good friend of mine, but as she is now a permanent ward in St. Mungo's and unable to speak, this motion was dropped. But now, we will see if he really is such a good wizard as he claims to be." Dumbledore walked over to his colleagues while leaving Amelia behind with enough anger for these old fools to not listen to the headmaster. All of this could have been avoided after all.
Harry saw how Susan was pointing at him and John while talking with Madam Bones, to which he surmised was a relative to her as she initiated the conversation with the older woman. After they had finished their little talk right before Dumbledore talked with the older lady, Susan walked over to him with a small grin on her face. Harry then heard Hannah next to him and Neville calling out to her friend to come over to her. But to their surprise, Susan walked next to Harry and told him that her aunt wanted to talk with him later.
"I think she wants to ask you about the chief, as you are the closest she has to know him enough to give her the answers she is looking for." Susan explained to him, causing Harry to get the idea for what reason the head of the Department of Magical Law enforcement wanted to talk with him.
Amelia was now standing in the middle of the arena that Dumbledore had summoned and looked at the sides of the duelists. "Now, this is an official duel between Arthur Lingley and Gilderoy Lockhart. Both sides agreed to the rules, as there will be no lethal curses and as soon one party is unable to continue the duel, it will be called off and the last one standing will be the victor. Now to the prizes for both parties. If Mr. Lingley wins, Gilderoy Lockhart must tell the DMLE what stories he had stolen and help us to identify the real witches and wizards and restore their memories. If Mr. Lockhart wins, Arthur Lingley will apologize to Mr. Lockhart and will not tell anymore that he was a fraud. If both parties would now enter the arena and stand in their starting positions." Madam Bones was standing in the middle of the arena, ready to retreat far enough to not be in the line of fire from the wizards that would soon be dueling each other.
Lockhart stood in his position, but his wand was not raised to signal that he was ready. Instead, he turned and talked with the audience. "Pay close attention students, as this will be a show you won't forget so easily. That is, if you even see something in the time I need to dismantle this man."
His beaming smile was beginning to get on Amelia's nerves, but if what Mr. Lingley had told her was true, she would have to endure for only a short while longer. Soon, both duelists raised their wands after they had bowed to each other. When Amelia gave the signal to begin, she saw a weak hex fly towards Mr. Lingley, which he blocked and then turned to the students, keeping a shield charm up so no spells from Lockhart could hit him.
Mr. Lingley then addressed the students watching them, telling them everything he was doing. "Now you see, what I cast just now was the shield charm, Protego. This spell keeps you safe from anything weaker than itself, that means if you put more magic into this charm, it could block potentially anything. There are exceptions of course, but this will be a topic for another teacher to tell you. But as you see, no spell from Mr. Lockhart here is even strong enough to go past my shield. This is a good basis for defense, but the best one is to not be even where the spell is heading, as this spell could power you out. Now, for a good offensive spell I would recommend Stupefy, as this spell will make your target fall unconscious, if it hits. Another way to make your opponent unable to fight back is this spell, EXPELLIARMUS" Mr. Lingley pointed his want towards Lockhart and when the spell did hit him, his wand flew out of his hands while his owner flew back on his behind, while Mr. Lingley caught the wand out of the air as it flew towards him.
"And this ends this duel! Mr. Lockhart is unable to fight any longer." Harry heard Madam Bones calling this duel, he could see her happiness in her eyes as Gilderoy Lockhart was getting up from the ground. Lockhart was as pale as a white sheet while he watched all the onlookers watching him with disgust for his lies. Now it was obvious that all his stories were lies and not even one of his classes could have been taken for real. Amelia was now standing over him, having her cuffs out and placing them on his wrists to secure him.
While she did read him his rights, the rest of the Great Hall was applauding Mr. Lingley for his victory with him waving to the crowd. When Dumbledore approached him, they all got silent as this may have been an important talk, for their defense teacher just got arrested. "Mr. Lingley, please accept my apologies for not being more forceful with the board when it was about hiring a defense teacher. I had some reservations about Mr. Lockhart, but I was overruled as the only other candidate for this position was Ms. Merigold, which I could at least hire as an assistant for Mr. Lockhart to keep an eye on him. But as this is now handled by Madam Bones, I once again need another teacher for this class. Of course, I will ask Ms. Merigold if she would be up to take the step and teach the students for real now. But just in case the board wants to interfere again, I wanted to ask you if you would come here and take the position for the rest of this year or potentially for longer?" Dumbledore was watching the other man in front of him with great interest, looking for any kind of angry response to him. But he was glad that the body language of this warlock was relaxed and holstered his wand into his sleeve.
"I thank you for your offer, Headmaster. But I am retired and am getting used to tending my garden in peace. And I think Ms. Merigold will surely make the best out of the situation at hand. If she is even only half as good as Ms. Yennefer, from whom I know is her friend, your students will perform admirably in their exams by the end of the year. Now, please excuse me, Headmaster, but I still must give my testimony about this incident." Mr. Lingley shook hands with Dumbledore and left the Great Hall under thunderous applause behind Lockhart and the Aurors that escorted him out.
Madam Bones meanwhile had told the others in her company to go first, she still wanted to talk with the Chief about his training regime. But when she stood before him, she had lost her voice and looked at him with unmasked admiration. She could not deny that something was surrounding the man before her, something that told her that this man saw things that others could not even dream about to survive, but he stood his ground. Also, his stature told her that he really demanded discipline in everything he did, so this side of the story from her recruits was true. Now she could believe that every training exercise that he wanted the students to take, he could perform it himself flawlessly.
John looked down at the smaller woman and wondered what she wanted from him. While he waited for her to talk with him, Triss was walking over to the headmaster to talk about the future of her classes. She had already a schedule ready, something Dumbledore was glad for. He really just hoped that the board, especially Lucius Malfoy would not interfere anymore with how he led Hogwarts into a better future. "So, I take it that you have been preparing for something like this to happen, Ms. Merigold? Oh, please forgive me, I meant Professor Merigold." Dumbledore chuckled a bit with Triss about his mistake.
Amelia soon found her voice again when she heard the headmaster and the red-haired woman chuckle. She blushed a bit before she asked the man in front of her if he would be open for her to ask him some questions. John nodded but told her that he would tell her when he could not answer due to secrecy reasons. This caught her off guard a bit, as she did not know what he meant by that. "Well then Mr. Wulf, can you tell me who trained you and from which country you come from? I never heard of a family called Wulf before here in the UK."
John shook his head, telling her that he could not answer the first question. "But as from where I come from, I only can tell you that me and my friends lived close to the home of Geralt of Rivia. No, I am not a Witcher, if you would like this question next, as you see in my eyes that they still have the normal shape. I cannot tell you more though." John had discussed his background with the others in the UNSC and Dumbledore way beforehand, so that if Madam Bones would ask other people about him that the story would match up.
Amelia was still curious and wanted to know more, but she saw the sign that this would be all she could get for now. She would ask her niece for more information down the line. When she said her goodbye to John and looked around for her, she did find Susan standing by Harry talking to him. She would just send her owl tomorrow and decided to leave now while waving to her niece.
Up by the staff table, Dumbledore was now preparing his speech and told the students that the rest of the day would be free, as the teachers had to discuss how to handle this situation, but for the foreseeable future, Ms. Merigold would take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, which in turn caused the older male students to cheer the loudest. Dumbledore wondered how those would react when she told them that she was in a relationship with John if they would get to *handsy* with her. He had another chuckle as he imagined how she would call for her knight in *shining* green armor to save her, and how John would break the door to the classroom she would happen to teach. Not that this would ever happen, but it was funny nonetheless.
As they now had the afternoon for themselves, Harry walked up the stairs to the library while the other students were going outside to enjoy the nice weather. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he caught some snippets of his fellow students talking about this event that had just happened, and some even proclaimed that they had always known that Lockhart was a fraud. Ron was the loudest of this bunch, boasting that he had a suspicion when he read the first paragraph in one of his books. Harry sniggered while climbing the first flight of stairs, when he heard his name called. When he turned around, he saw that Hermione and Daphne both pointed out the entrance, asking him if he would accompany them. Behind them stood Fred and George, grinning from ear to ear. Harry was conflicted, he was sure he should learn more about the basilisk and try asking Ginny what she had done or if this book was to blame. But after a reassuring message from Callie that she got from Cortana he decided to be a child and enjoy the weather outside without any worries.
A/N: hello once again for another chapter. as of now, the second year will be different from Canon. Hope you still like it this way XD. Also once again thanks for HowInMadeHowie for betareading and editing this chapter