F&L: Chapter 55

Flourish and Blotts was packed with people, and not just the usual crowd of schoolkids looking to buy their Hogwarts Books, either. The banner out front proclaiming for all to see that Gilderoy Lockhart would be present to sign copies of his Autobiography today clearly showed the reason why. Of course, as I wasn't taking Defense with the rest of the School thanks to my Advanced Tutoring Sessions, I would fortunately not need to waste money on Lockhart's self-aggrandizing books.

True, Fortuna had claimed him to be actually formidable in this go-around of events, and I knew from my visions he was good enough with the Mind Arts to be able to effectively mind control people, but that seemed too specialized a grasp on the Mind Arts for the various Hunts and Duels his books claimed he had been in, especially without the Sight to bolster such things. Besides, the few visions I had of him generally had him acting either through mind-controlled proxies or otherwise indirectly. He wouldn't do that if he were a powerful Combat Mage like he'd claimed.

I was willing to bet that he was specialized in certain Mind Arts. Legilimency, Empathy, spells like Obliviate, Confundo, Imperio, and the like, and perhaps one or two of the rarer Mind Arts, like Oneiromancy or Mental Projection. Honestly, given how his list of stolen accomplishments had taken him to places as disparate as Egypt, Ireland, Tibet, Haiti, Chile, and Japan, practically required him to possess some facility with Xenoglossy, as I doubted he had learned Languages as varied as Irish, Arabic, Tibetan, French, and Mapuche. He might also have decent ability with Illusions and Glamours, though the Jury was still out on that. It fit the MO that I had been piecing together from various visions, though.

Regardless of my misgivings about Lockhart, however, Daphne and Tracey pulled me into Flourish and Blotts. After all, they still needed to get their schoolbooks, and we were supposed to meet up with Millie here. Millie, it turned out, was waiting inside for them, paging through a book in the corner, while the long line that snaked all the way back to the rear of the bookshop, to a table where the immaculately coiffed, forget-me-not blue-attired, grinning face of Gilderou Lockheart could be clearly seen signing copies of Magical Me for various, Star Struck, fans. Most of those fans were Young Witches of varying descriptions, and I noticed that Lockhart lingered on the autographs for the ones who were younger and more attractive. A frown crossed my face at that, but I was swiftly pulled into a conversation.

"Blaise? What do you think?" Questioned Millie.

"Sorry, I was distracted for a moment." I apologized.

"What, by Gilderoy Lockhart?" Queried Tracey.

"He's not exactly being subtle here." I shrugged.

"Do you think we might get to meet with him?" Asked Daphne.

It was then that I suddenly remembered the glance at Daphne's bookshelf that I'd gotten, with the first three volumes of Lockhart's stolen valor stories on them. Daphne was a Gilderoy Lockhart fan, I recalled suddenly. With Lockhart being an opponent this year, that could be a problem. Despite myself, I felt a sudden flash of anger and possessiveness brew up in the back of my mind, declaring Daphne MINE in all capital letters. Where the Hell had that come from, I wondered? There was no time to process that, however, as my friends were expecting a response.

"I don't know, Daphne. He seems pretty busy. Besides, have you seen the looks he's been giving some of the younger and more attractive witches in the line?" I questioned.

"I'm sure he's just playing to the crowd, Blaise." Opined Millie.

"Are you?" I queried.

"I think you're just being paranoid. It's sweet of you to worry about me, though." Refuted Daphne.

"Besides, look at the size of that line. I doubt we'll get anywhere close to him by the time he has to leave. Wizards like that are always busy, going from one appearance or appointment to the next." Remarked Tracey.

"So, Millie. What were you reading while you were waiting for us?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Oh. It's a book on the Mind Arts. Unlocking the Mental Mysteries by Maxwell Barnett. It has a number of standard instructions and exercises for Occlumency, Legilimency, and a few other Mind Arts, like Xenoglossy and Empathy." Informed Millie.

"Interesting. I haven't tried my hand at Xenoglossy yet. Might be an interesting study to see how my Family's Grimoire matches the standardized approach." I mused.

"That's just what you need, another thing to train." Scoffed Tracey.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned.

"It means you push yourself far too hard." Frowned Daphne.

"I take breaks." I defended.

"Do you, though?" Queried Millie.

"I do!" I protested.

"Says the Boy who spent at least part of the summer going into the Malltraeth Marsh for Gods know what reason." Retorted Daphne.

"That was important." I insisted.

"Was it, though?" Asked Tracey.

"Oh, come off it. So I like learning new things? Why is that a bad thing?" I questioned.

"It's not just learning new things, though, is it?" Queried Daphne.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, aside from your Summer Excursion into Malltraeth Marsh, you did head off to find Millie on Halloween when the School was overrun with Magical Creatures." Pointed out Tracey.

"Hey, I saved her life!" I maintained.

"And I'm thankful, but that wasn't exactly very Slytherin behavior." Pointed out Millie.

"It is if you're clever about it, which I was." I shrugged.

"Still. It's a pattern with you. We're worried, is all." Intoned Daphne.

"I'm fine. It's sweet of you to worry about me, though." I returned.

"Did you just use Daphne's earlier words against her?" Questioned Tracey.

"I did. What of it?" I queried with a grin.

"Do you really think that was a good idea?" Asked Millie.

Looking over at Daphne, I could just tell that she was plotting some sort of horrific vengeance for my having the Gall to do that right to her face. There was a certain look in her eyes that I'd come to associate with that, and she had it now. Fortunately, I was saved just in the nick of time by the arrival of Hermione, Harry, and Ron. The three of them had obviously bumped into each other outside and decided to shop together, though it was likely that Harry and Ron were already together to start with.

"Look, it's Hermione, Ron, and Harry!" I blurted, changing the subject.

As all three of the Girls looked over toward the entrance, I breathed an internal sigh of relief at a vengeance deferred, though probably not indefinitely. It was more than likely that I would be subjected to some form of prank as retaliation on the first night back at Hogwarts. That was fine by me, however. After all, that was a problem for Future Blaise. Present Blaise waved Harry, Ron, and Hermione over to join our growing clump of friends. As the three other friends of ours made their way over, I nodded once to myself before putting all thoughts of Daphne's vengeance out of my mind for now.

"Blaise, Daphne, Millie, Tracey." Greeted Harry.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione." I grinned back.

"Yes, yes. We all know each other, very droll." Remarked Daphne, testily.

"How have you been?" Questioned Millie.

"My Summer was fantastic! Mum booked us a trip to Turkey and I managed to tour the Cin Bölgesi of Istanbul! Do you know that there's a Hidden Magic School in the Catacombs under the Hagia Sofia that teaches how to Bind Djinn? Only the best of Magical Turkey's Witches and Wizards get to study there, but it's all so fascinating!" Beamed Hermione.

"Yes, Hermione. We're familiar. Most of us were born and raised in the Magical World, remember?" Queried Tracey.

"How was your Summer, Mate?" Asked Ron.

"Oh, nothing fancy. A bit of this, a bit of that. You know how it is." I shrugged.

"Nothing Fancy, he says. I suppose that's true if you don't count curing my Family's Blood Curse and going off into the Malltraeth Marsh on some adventure or other as nothing fancy." Scoffed Daphne.

"You did what?" Questioned Hermione.

"Cured the Greengrass Family Blood Affliction and went on an excursion into the Malltraeth Marsh." Millie reiterated, deadpan.

"How the Bloody Hell did you manage to cure a blood affliction? That's supposed to be pretty difficult, isn't it?" Queried Ron.

"How do you think?" I asked, giving Ron and Harry knowing looks.

"Oh. I guess that would do it." Nodded Harry.

"All right, now I feel as if I'm being left out of the loop on something." Opined Tracey.

"You're not the only one." Affirmed Hermione.

"It's not important how he did it, just that he did." Insisted Daphne.

"Still would be nice to know." Mused Millie.

"So what's this about Malltraeth Marsh? I heard that's a place you don't want to go. Trolls and Worse tend to hang about there. What were you doing there?" Questioned Ron.

"That's a long story. One that we don't really have time for. We're here for schoolbooks, right?" I queried.

"I still want to hear it." Insisted Harry.

"I think we all do." Mused Daphne.

"Especially if what Ron said about Trolls and Worse is true." Added Hermione.

"It is. Grandad told me it's one of the few places left in Britain where you can stumble into Faerie if you're not careful." Explained Millie.

"Well, now I want to know too." Huffed Tracey.

"Fine. I'll tell you all at Fortescue's when we're done shopping, deal?" I asked.

A round of nods came from everyone, and we all moved off to grab our various Schoolbooks. I just needed the Books for Year Two Transfiguration, Herbology, and Astronomy. This would be the Second Volume of the Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, the Encyclopedia of Toadstools by Mirabel Garlick, and the Alignment of the Seasons by M.P.N. Carnerius. With those in hand, I joined the rest of my group of friends for their shopping, and almost immediately regretted it. As we stepped up to the counter, I noticed a flash of forget-me-not blue out of the corner of my eye as the approaching form of Gilderoy Lockhart made his way over.

"It can't be! Harry Potter!" Exclaimed Lockhart.

Fortunately, I wouldn't have to witness much more of the awkward interaction between Lockhart and Harry. That would have made me cringe right out of my skin if I'd had to. Unfortunately, the reason why was no less dire.

As Lockhart brushed past me to get to Harry, my Sight activated, and I suddenly found myself pulled into a vision, courtesy of the Psychometric Contact. . .

XXXX

I watched from a disembodied position above the scene as Gilderoy Lockhart stalked about the Second Floor of Hogwarts. It was after curfew, and he had his wand out. One of the Prefects was with him, a Hufflepuff who was a Seventh-Year by the look of her, with mocha skin and long, straight, black hair. I didn't recognize her at all, but I got the sense from how she was moving that she was competent in Defense. At least she would be, but she seemed to be somewhat stilted in her movements. Between that and the glazed-over look in her eye and slight, ever-present grin, I could gather that this Prefect had been Imperioed. Recently, too, as repeated use of the Imperius Charm would have already worked out the stiltedness in her motions.

"Miss Hunt, are you certain you followed Miss Weasley this far the other evening? I have to say, I'm not seeing any hints that she has made her way out here from the empty corridor." Intoned Lockhart.

"Yes, Professor. I would never lie to you." Replied the Prefect, Miss Hunt, in a dazed tone.

"I see. Perhaps I can help you to jog your memory a little more? Would you like that?" Questioned Lockhart.

"Of course, Professor. Anything to help you in your important work, Professor." Nodded Miss Hunt.

"Now, hold still. We wouldn't want you to get dizzy and slip, now would we?" Queried Lockhart.

"No, Professor." Answered Miss Hunt.

"Now, look into my eyes, Miss Hunt." Instructed Lockhart.

Then I watched as Miss Hunt gazed into Lockhart's eyes as Lockhart did something with a combination of Legilimency, Mental Projection, and Empathy that was clearly an advanced technique. Not only was he projecting himself into her memories, but he was subtly tweaking her mind and her emotional state to help her mind better absorb the mental chains he had put on her with the Imperius Curse. It was both fascinating to watch and horrifying in its implications, and I had no doubt that if I later looked up what he'd just done in Zorian's Notes, that it would list the technique as very dark in nature. He was clearly practiced at doing it, though.

When he withdrew from her Mind, Miss Hunt had not only lost the dazed aspect of the Imperius but was firmly committed to helping Lockhart as if it had been her own idea. That was something it normally took multiple Imperius Curses over a period of months to achieve. Lockhart had effectively turned one of the Prefects into his own personal Soldier who would do anything to help his cause and wouldn't have any of the drawbacks of being Imperiused to mark her out as anything outside of the Norm, making her a perfect thrall. An involuntary shiver went through my astral body as I realized exactly just what he had done.

"I see. You lost sight of her in this corridor, it seems. A shame, but we have time to search for Miss Weasley, don't we, Miss Hunt?" Asked Lockhart.

"Of course, Professor. I can ask around during the day as well." Offered Miss Hunt.

"Excellent. For now, however, perhaps we should retire to my Office for the evening? I would like to debrief you. Thoroughly." Grinned Lockhart.

"Oh, yes, Professor." Grinned Miss Hunt.

That was disgusting. Not only had he turned the Hufflepuff Seventh-Year Girl's Prefect into a Mind Thrall, but Lockhart was going to take advantage of her in other ways, too? That was unconscionable! I would have to figure out when this was and make sure it didn't happen, just on principle, because that was skeezy as all Hell. However, just as Lockhart and Miss Hunt retreated from the Second Floor Corridor, there was a noise like running water or loud hissing. From down the corridor, I caught a flash of mottled scales, letting me know that this took place after the Basilisk had been released.

Lockhart said he was after Miss Weasley? Wait, did he somehow know about Ginny and the Diary? If so, was he after the Diary, or was he just after the Chamber of Secrets and tracking down any lead he could find? Either way, I knew that I would have to be on my toes. If Lockhart were allowed to just mind control people willy-nilly, then anyone could be compromised. Even my friends could be hidden opponents just waiting to be activated. Man, I had always hated going up against opponents like this, who could twist allies into enemies and went about things in a sideways fashion during various games and whatnot. It was essentially playing against Mono Blue in Magic: The Gathering, only this wasn't a game, it was real life!

I forced myself to calm down and tamp down on the paranoia a bit. I very much doubted he could act that blatantly too often right under Dumbledore's nose. Nor did I believe he'd be able to mind control any of the Staff without Dumbledore getting wise. If there was anyone in the School with a good enough grasp on the Mind Arts to counter whatever that was that Lockhart was doing, it would be Dumbledore. The Man was a Master of both Occlumency and Legilimency for a reason, after all. I would still have to be cautious, but not so cautious as to be suspicious of everyone. Not, at least, unless something seriously bad went down.

With that thought firmly planted in my mind, I was broken out of my Vision, coming back into my body with only a few moments having passed in real time. . .

XXXX

As I snapped back to reality, the flashes of various Wizarding Cameras went off as Harry and Lockhart were taking their forced photo op. I shook my head, both to clear it and to effect an air of casual exasperation at Lockhart's Antics as he began grandstanding about providing his autobiography to Harry free of charge and about his upcoming term as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. I ignored the pseudo-press release that was being given in favor of paying for my books.

As soon as I had, I turned to see Ginny Weasley enter Flourish and Blotts along with her parents and Percy. Ginny was a petite girl with long, fiery, red hair, pale skin with a dusting of freckles across her cheeks and nose, and bright brown eyes. She was wearing a green wool jumper and was gazing over at Harry with a look that could best be described as that of a lovesick puppy. I suddenly realized that Ginny had a Schoolgirl Crush on Harry, and that was definitely going to lead to trouble later on, as Ginny got a determined look on her face.

Of course, I knew, thanks to my metaknowledge, that Ginny was also going to be the main cause of a lot of the problems this year. In more ways than one, if the recent vision I'd just had was any indication. Idly, I wondered if it would be worth asking to see her bag to try and snag the Diary from her and nip this whole thing in the bud. Unfortunately, it seemed like that wouldn't be doable. Molly Weasley had the bag, and if there was one thing I wasn't confident in, it was trying to talk someone as stubborn as Molly Weasley around to helping me do something when my Meta-Lock Drawback meant I wasn't currently able to explain why.

Then, Draco Malfoy stepped forward to make a snide comment, and the moment had passed regardless. I watched on as Ginny and Draco got into an argument over Harry for a few moments while Lucius Malfoy made a snide comment about the size of the Weasley Family versus the size of their Vault. I couldn't do a damn thing about Lucius, but I could do something about Draco.

Stepping forward, I prepared to remind Draco that a Year and a Day hadn't quite passed yet and that Harry was still shielded under the terms of our wager. Unfortunately, before I could make it over there, Lucius turned to Draco with a smirk on his face.

"Come along, Draco. Best not to dawdle with the lesser classes." He sneered.

"Yes, Father." Smirked Draco.

Then the Malfoys left. I realized that while Harry was still shielded by our wager, Ginny wasn't, and that Draco had been arguing entirely with her as she leapt to Harry's defense. Lucius must have seen me approaching from the checkout counter and pre-emptively decided that Draco wouldn't be able to resist making a comment at my expense before the Ban imposed by our Wager ended. He'd called Draco back and had them leave in order to avoid losing face and to avoid Draco breaking the Ban and possibly losing his Magic. It seemed the Elder Malfoy was a lot more savvy than the Younger. He would have to be, though, given his history as Voldemort's Number Two.

"Harry? You all right there, Mate?" I questioned.

"Blaise?" Queried Harry.

"Yeah. Malfoy didn't shake you up or anything, did he?" I asked.

"No. Thanks to Ginny, here, we barely got into it." Refuted Harry.

Ginny blushed crimson at Harry's attention, face matching the color of her hair. Soon after, the others joined us and we headed out of Flourish and Blotts, making our way to Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. I had promised to tell them all about the Malltraeth Marsh, after all, and my friends were nothing if not a curious bunch. They would expect me to keep my promise on that front.

And I had no intentions of not doing so. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next part of the Diagon Alley Trip for Year Two. In it, not only does Blaise lay eyes on Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny Weasley, and Lucius Malfoy for the first time, but he also gets a vision of some of what Lockhart's nocturnal activities would be when the school year finally begins. He is very much opposed to what he saw there, and not just because Lockhart may be looking for either the Diary or the Chamber of Secrets, either. Turns out that when you can effectively mind control people at will, if you are the kind of person that Lockhart is, that tends to lead to some pretty sketchy stuff.

Also, no. I won't be getting graphic with any of that sort of stuff. That's not a thing that I tend to do in my fics, and I wouldn't be able to crosspost that sort of thing to Spacebattles once I release the chapter on there anyway. Besides, would you really want to see that? Lockhart basically is using a magic roofie, after all.

At any rate, the next chapter will be much more light-hearted and finish out the Second Year Diagon Alley Trip. Then we'll get a chapter on the Hogwarts Express for the official start of School for Second Year.

Stay tuned. . .