Dumbledore nodded dully. "The elves searched every little wizard's dormitory, but couldn't find the wordless book."

Harry was about to speak.

"Including yours, including Ginny's, and including those who left school." Dumbledore added immediately.

"What about the professors'?" Harry asked.

"Are you doubting Lockhart?" Dumbledore asked in surprise.

Harry nodded. "It can't just disappear out of thin air. Lying in the gutter doesn't seem like something Vol... doesn't seem like something Tom would choose."

"But they are professors." Dumbledore shook his head, still a little hesitant.

Harry glanced to the side and saw the empty seat: "You should be thankful that Professor Snape is not here."

"Severus is different." Dumbledore said meaningfully, "I have watched him grow up, from a little boy of eleven years old who just entered school to the size he is now."

"Then you should have watched Lockhart grow up." Harry said expressionlessly, "He is not much older than Professor Snape, at most twenty years older."

"Lockhart is four years younger than Snape," Dumbledore corrected.

"He looks a little old." Harry waved his hand. "Age doesn't matter."

Dumbledore sighed, "I'll have the elves keep an eye on him."

Harry shook his head vigorously in denial: "I hope you can take action. Elves are unreliable."

"I will protect the students..." Dumbledore said with a serious expression.

Harry interrupted him: "How is your status at Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore was stunned.

It makes no sense. Why do you suddenly ask such a question?

"If there was a chance, would anyone want to kick you out of Hogwarts?" Harry asked in a different way.

Dumbledore frowned.

"It seems so?" Harry thought for a moment. "Then you should think about how to protect yourself and how to stay in Hogwarts. Solve this matter."

Dumbledore said nothing, for he understood what Harry meant.

No matter what happens in the castle, he, as the headmaster, will bear the heaviest responsibility.

Three students have been attacked...

"Just check the professor's office. I think they will be happy to cooperate with you." Harry struck while the iron was hot.

Mag immediately stated: "For the safety of the students, I am willing to do so."

Dumbledore remained silent.

"Did the magic power of the two people who were attacked the first time also run out?" Seeing that he didn't say anything, Harry asked a new question.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, they are all - Tom is draining their magic?"

"Obviously." Harry shrugged and nodded slightly. "He is very weak now. I guess there is a high probability that he will not kill anyone recently, or even avoid killing anyone."

"He wants to accumulate strength."

Harry paused, took a heavy step, leaned forward slightly, and spoke like a sword, stabbing the old man's chest: "That's Tom, a man who is good at playing with fear. Think about the magic in his name."

"He will create more and more fear."

"Ordinary family, mixed-blood family, pure-blood family..."

"Wait until I have accumulated enough strength, then kill one more person!"

"Explode this fear."

"The people who hate you won't sit idly by."

Harry raised his hand and pointed at his own eyes, then turned it around and stabbed Dumbledore's eyes fiercely through the air. The cat's pupils were illuminated by the candlelight, and there was a chill in them. "Everything will be easier if I drive you out of the castle."

"What you want to protect..."

"You are right, Harry." Dumbledore exhaled, nodded heavily, and stood up. "I should do it myself."

"Minerva, shall we start with you?" He raised his head and looked at the serious lady standing next to the Weasleys.

Mag nodded: "Of course, I am willing to cooperate."

She was the last person to be suspected, but having decided to do so, Dumbledore checked very carefully. With a wave of his wand, everything in the office flew past his eyes, and he examined them one by one and put them back in their original places intact.

"It seems I can rest assured now." Professor McGonagall smiled knowingly.

"Minerva, take the Weasleys back to the common room. I'm afraid Harry will have to follow me for a while." Dumbledore nodded apologetically at her.

They then went to other people's offices.

Harry also met many professors he didn't know yet, such as Trelawney in Divination and Kettleburn in Care of Magical Creatures.

After checking all the offices upstairs one by one, it was finally Lockhart's turn on the second floor.

Dumbledore knocked on the door.

After a while, Lockhart came over and opened the door. He was wearing a gorgeous red robe, as if he had just gotten out of bed, and he was hastily buttoning his clothes. "Professor Dumbledore, why are you here?"

He tried to act surprised.

But there was no such emotion in his eyes. Instead, he looked beaming and high-spirited - even more cheerful than his usual demeanor.

"The item that opened the Chamber of Secrets was a dark magic item." Dumbledore explained simply, "But it disappeared from the hands of the little wizard. We checked the students and it was not in their hands, so I wondered if a professor picked it up."

"Really?" Lockhart coughed twice.

It took him a while to react: "Are you doubting me?"

"All the professors." Dumbledore smiled. "Minerva, Filius, I have checked their offices."

"After you, it's Severus. I won't leave out Filch and Rubeus behind."

Lockhart took a half step back and said in a long tone: "Well, Professor Dumbledore, please."

Harry narrowed his eyes at him.

Dumbledore waved his wand.

Still very careful, everything in the office flew past his eyes - a boastful biography, various pink-background letters, and even a lace bra.

All drawers open automatically.

Even Lockhart's clothes were lifted up.

Harry was stunned.

There is no book without words.

Dumbledore was also a little surprised. He waved his wand again, and every book, every notebook, and even every letter in the office stopped in front of him, allowing him to quickly flip through them page by page.

Biographies, novel manuscripts, and even a collection of love letters.

All sorts of weird things appeared, but there was no book that looked strange.

"How is it?" Lockhart couldn't help but ask with a little anxiety.

"Nothing unusual." Dumbledore shook his head and put everything back in place.

Lockhart breathed a sigh of relief and laughed dryly: "Professor Dumbledore, although I understand your feelings, I have to say that you suspect the wrong person!"

"I'm Lockhart, an honorary member of the Anti-Dark Arts League, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. If I had found any dark magic item, I would have handed it over to you long ago!"

Harry narrowed his eyes, and the expression in his pupils was extremely serious.

"Of course I believe you, Gilderoy." Dumbledore smiled, "There are still other professors' offices that have not been checked. I have to continue to be busy."

"Of course, please." Lockhart walked around them eagerly and opened the door enthusiastically.

Just walked out of the office.

The door slammed shut with a bang, and Harry could even hear the sound of a chair being dragged against the door.

"Harry, do you have any sense of it?" Dumbledore asked after they had walked away.

Harry shook his head and said hesitantly, "No, but there's something very wrong with Lockhart."

He hesitated for a moment: "He is that kind of person...very boastful."

“Remember the last few times?”

"Every time something happens, he can't wait to get involved, but not this time. He just wanted us to leave."

"Perhaps it is too late?" Dumbledore said softly, "At least I didn't find anything strange. I checked everything carefully."

"I have also used magic to test it, and it is nothing special."

"Voldemort at his peak might be able to deceive me, but he...he cannot deceive me in this state."

As he spoke, his tone became confused.

Like Harry, the person he was most suspicious of was the new Professor Lockhart, who was behaving increasingly unreliably.

But the result was unexpected.

"By the way, Professor, there is something very serious you haven't told him." Harry suddenly spoke as they approached the staircase.

Dumbledore was a little surprised. Did he miss something?

"Three!" Harry raised his finger. "I saw it in his notebook. He has had at least three relationships since coming to Hogwarts."