Over the following period, Adrian continued studying that ancient soul-tracking magic.
However, this ancient magic had harsh requirements—so harsh that Adrian didn't know where to begin.
Just finding "a wizard with ancient magic talent" stumped him.
Ancient magic was an extremely rare talent, virtually extinct in the modern era. At least in Adrian's memory, he had never encountered a wizard with ancient magic talent.
Ultimately, Adrian could only temporarily shelve this plan.
Two weeks quickly passed.
Adrian's life at Hogwarts gradually fell into routine.
However, one person's Hogwarts life wasn't going as planned.
Since Lockhart lost face in his first class, his subsequent lessons became reading his own adventure stories aloud in the classroom while having students act out the roles.
This caused his popularity among students to plummet rapidly.
One afternoon.
The fourth-year Care of Magical Creatures class would begin in half an hour.
Adrian was preparing for the fourth-year Care of Magical Creatures class in an open area near the Black Lake.
This was a practical lesson. Adrian had prepared a group of Nifflers and hidden several Galleons and Sickles around this area.
Nifflers loved these shiny little trinkets, and Adrian planned to have his students use the Nifflers to find the coins hidden everywhere.
Although the Nifflers were quite docile and obedient to Adrian's commands, they became restless whenever treasure was involved.
Adrian had to temporarily lock them in cages.
Additionally, Adrian called Ray to help.
Thunderbirds had excellent vision—if any Nifflers escaped during class, Ray would immediately notice.
After preparing all this, Adrian sat by the Black Lake, leaning against Ray's warm body and resting with his eyes closed.
Ray had grown considerably recently, nearly matching Adrian's size, making him an excellent backrest.
Suddenly, Ray let out a low cry and nudged Adrian's shoulder with his sharp beak.
Adrian opened his eyes and looked in Ray's direction, seeing Gilderoy Lockhart approaching.
He wore dazzling purple robes, his golden hair gleaming in the sunlight.
"Ah, Professor Westeros!" Lockhart waved at Adrian as if they were old friends who hadn't met in ages.
"Good afternoon."
Adrian stood up, brushing grass from his robes, somewhat surprised. "Professor Lockhart?"
"Don't be nervous, Professor Westeros," Lockhart flashed a brilliant smile. "Though I'm a celebrity, everyone who knows me knows I'm always approachable."
He stepped closer, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward Ray, a hint of barely perceptible tension in his eyes.
He couldn't ignore such a large bird lying on the ground.
Ray tilted his head slightly, wings partially spread, watching this uninvited guest with sharp eyes.
"This is..." Lockhart asked Adrian.
"As you can see," Adrian nodded slightly, gently stroking Ray's wing edge, "this is a Thunderbird."
Ray squinted and called out twice gently.
Seeing this...
"Of course, I know Thunderbirds!" Lockhart straightened his back, his trademark confident smile returning to his face. "You know, when I traveled to the other side of the world, I encountered a whole flock of Thunderbirds—I easily gained their trust..."
He reached out with feigned composure, trying to touch Ray's feathers.
Just as Lockhart's fingers were about to touch Ray's feathers, the clear sky suddenly darkened for an instant. A bolt of lightning struck down, landing precisely less than an inch from Lockhart's feet. The grass there turned charred black, emitting wisps of white smoke.
Lockhart jumped up like lightning, stumbled backward several steps, and fell to the ground, his face pale as death.
"Don't worry, Professor Lockhart. Ray just doesn't like strangers approaching suddenly."
Adrian sighed helplessly. What kind of person would recklessly approach a Thunderbird without knowing its temperament?
He quickly walked to Lockhart's side and reluctantly extended a hand to help him up.
Lockhart scrambled up from the ground, his smile still present but his trembling lips betrayed his shock.
"Ha... ha-ha, what a lively little fellow." He laughed dryly, unconsciously moving away from Ray, fearing another lightning bolt might come from the sky.
"So," Adrian calmed Ray before asking Lockhart directly, "Is there something you need, Professor Lockhart?"
"I just came to see, to help those who need help..."
Lockhart composed himself and said to Adrian, "Are you still using my shampoo?"
Adrian nodded.
Getting Adrian's agreeing response, Lockhart suddenly perked up. "Ah, Gilderoy Lockhart's exclusive shampoo—making your hair shine like mine. I wanted to ask, as a loyal fan of my shampoo, what are your thoughts?"
"Uh..." Adrian thought carefully, then looked at Lockhart. "Maybe... too expensive?"
Lockhart laughed and stepped forward to pat Adrian's shoulder. "That's a necessary investment! Honestly, to promote my products worldwide, I haven't made a single Galleon profit on those products!"
Hearing this, Adrian suddenly felt that what Lockhart wrote in his book—that his secret ambition was to rid the world of evil and promote his complete line of hair care products—was serious.
Then Lockhart changed the subject, his eyes showing curiosity. "By the way, Professor Westeros, I heard from Professor Flitwick that you traveled for six whole years? Is this true?"
Adrian was slightly stunned, then nodded. "Indeed."
"Six years! A whole six years!" Lockhart dramatically spread his arms. "I'm sure you must have wonderful adventure stories—just like me. Of course, my adventures are incomparable, but you needn't feel inferior. I heard you published an excellent paper shortly after graduation."
Watching the excited Lockhart, Adrian stepped back slightly.
"That was long ago," he said. "Nothing remarkable."
He didn't know what purpose Lockhart had in discussing these matters with him.
'Maybe... he just wanted to boast about himself?'
However, Lockhart's next words surprised Adrian.
"Professor Flitwick speaks very highly of you," Lockhart lowered his voice, smiling. "Have you ever considered writing your adventures into a book? Just like me."
"Write a book?" Adrian was slightly stunned.
"Yes," Lockhart patted his chest. "Of course, I would provide some guidance—I'm professional in this area."
"I'm not interested." Adrian shook his head.
"Oh, don't refuse so quickly!" Lockhart eagerly rubbed his hands. "Let's think of an attractive title... I could be your editor. With my experience..."
"No need." Adrian interrupted him, his voice colder than usual.
Though Lockhart hid it well, Adrian had already seen the undisguised, pure greed lurking in his eyes.
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