"Indeed, you may not be his opponent in a heads-up match--" Snape agreed, "but don't forget there is me. Although I always drew with you before, I never tried my best."

"But when I was still in school at Hogwarts, I often saw you being bullied by Harry's father." Lockhart teased, "I thought to myself, that Slytherin elder brother is so weak. Chicken..."

"Hey—that stupid pig of Potter, he had a bunch of friends back then." Snape's lips twitched, and a disgusting expression appeared on his face. The disgust at his youthful rival has not diminished in the slightest over the years. "Have you seen him dare to deal with me when he is alone, every time he teases me, the loyal dog of the Black family must be there. Although Lupin and Peter are also his friends, the former is a good man and never attacks with spells casually. People, the latter don't have the guts."

"Sireth's strength is also good." Lockhart nodded, "But please don't use the adjective like a dog to describe him. You are now comrades in arms after all."

"Isn't his Animagus transformed into a dog," Snape said angrily, but was not ready to continue arguing about the subject. "Besides, you think I'm being bullied by Potter? Any boy, when he's young, can't stand this kind of insult. I was so impulsive that I wanted to kill him, and I even taught myself the death curse. But Murseber and Avery stopped me, they helped me lure Potter into a corner of campus and beat him up, you just didn't see it."

"Oh, yes." Lockhart was a little surprised, but nothing incomprehensible... It's a pity that although your revenge is back, you still lost Lily.

Snape apparently thought of this too, and fell silent for a while.

"Let's find a place to live tonight, and keep your spirits up," Lockhart said. "The Muggle house in front looks quite big, so let's live there."

"Okay." The two walked towards the house where the light was shining through the window. They met at the edge of the area where the Floo network was cut off. After walking for a while, they had entered the range where they could not Apparate. .

"We're dealing with the Dark Lord in an area where we can't Apparate. How do we run away in the end?" Snape recalled the most crucial question.

"I will try to force him to activate the Floo network, as long as I show enough strength to threaten him, plus your presence, he should not risk a person to deal with us. If not. We will fight and retreat, Back out of range."

Snape frowned and did not continue to ask. Although he wanted to live, he was not too afraid of death. He was worried that if something happened to Lockhart and himself, there wouldn't be enough wizards to keep Voldemort at bay for Scrimgeour and the others to retake the Ministry of Magic.

"Actually, what we have to worry about is not that the Floo network is cut off, but the Death Eaters who may come to help him," Lockhart said. "So we will meet him at the beach tomorrow, and if the Floo network is activated, we will go to the sea first. Go, the average Death Eater doesn't have the strength to fly without a broom—"

"The stronger Death Eaters are now outside Hogwarts Castle," Snape said. "The one who can help is the one who was looking for the savior near Wick. Maybe they will catch up. Go to Hogwarts."

"Well, the Floo network around Hogwarts has also been cut off. If You-Know-Who does come to Hogwarts, it can delay him for a few more minutes." Lockhart finally found a small good news. "You knock on the door and I knock on the door?"

"What's the difference, don't use Confusion Charms?" Snape gave him a contemptuous glance, and drew his wand from under his cloak.

"That's right." Lockhart also drew his wand and knocked on the door of the Muggle house.

——

May 1st, 6am.

This night, many people tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, some were excited, some were afraid, and some were worried about their loved ones. And there is a lot to think about...

But after casting powerful vigilance magic, Lockhart slept soundly. He has always been a heartless person, and he is not nervous about the upcoming battle, because he has prepared a backhand strong enough to make him escape. The only situation to worry about is. Not only couldn't defeat Voldemort, but also couldn't Apparate - Snape would have died in that case.

Leaving the room and walking downstairs, Lockhart found that a certain black robe lover was already sitting at the family's dining table and waiting.

"You actually woke up at six o'clock on time." Snape was a little dissatisfied, he had already woken up.

"I've always been a punctual guy," Lockhart said. "Whether it's promising a new book for a fan. Or dating a woman, going to war is no exception."

"Humph……"

"Oh—thank you," Lockhart thanked the Muggle hostess who had served him breakfast. "Severus, are you finished?"

"Finished."

"Okay, then sit there and digest." Lockhart said with a smile, "Don't stare at me, I won't be able to eat."

"..." Snape turned his head and looked at the bright eastern sky before the sun had risen.

The breakfast was quite rich, sausages, bacon, roasted tomatoes, soybeans, mushrooms, poached eggs, everything that one should have. After all, Lockhart and Snape were distinguished guests under the Confusion Curse. I have to say... it's better than Hermione's, and as a young wife who just got married and hasn't even graduated from school, she still has a lot to learn.

After chewing slowly and comfortably, Lockhart wiped his mouth and stood up. Before he got up to leave, he left two fifty-pound notes under the dinner plate, as he had done in the past, which made Snape's eyebrows twitch inadvertently.

——

"What a nice, thoughtful man, Gilderoy," said Snape. "No wonder girls like you so much."

"We're literate people anyway," Lockhart joked. "I'm afraid of trouble myself, and I don't like to cause trouble to others... let's go."

After the two left the house, they started to contact Hogwarts while walking to the beach, asking about the news over there. At about seven o'clock, they received bad news that Voldemort appeared outside Hogwarts, He also used telephony to command the people in the castle to surrender.

This caused a lot of nervousness among students and professors who were not staunch opponents, and the centaurs even made Hagrid ask Lockhart why Voldemort had not been lured away by him, but showed up at the school instead.

Lockhart assured them that Voldemort would leave before the attack at eight o'clock. In order to stabilize people's hearts, McGonagall had to make Harry appear in front of everyone in the castle lobby, calling on everyone to fight bravely.

——

At this moment, the above-ground part of the Ministry of Magic in London, the May Day holiday and the construction of the outer wall of the Westminster Theatre have resulted in few people nearby. Two groups of Aurors and MI5 agents and wizards armed to the teeth have been hiding in the storefront near the theater~lightnovelpub.net~ Everyone is wearing anti-death vests, which is of course not a panacea- - If you are hit by the death curse of a powerful wizard, it is nothing more than letting the small animals in the vest interlayer be buried for the user. But after all, not every enemy will be worthy of the adjective "powerful", and since its invention, the Anti-Death Curse Vest has saved the lives of hundreds of wizards from the curse of death in melee combat.

Wizards hold their wands, and Squibs, trained to deal with wizards, are armed.

Thirty meters deep underground, the third group of MI5 agents is nervously excavating in accordance with the Ministry of Magic's structural diagram. This project has quietly started a few days ago. For safety, they always maintain extreme With a slow advance speed, I don't dare to be too presumptuous at night. Although the progress is annoyingly slow, it is nearing its end, and it will only take about an hour to get through the tunnel to the basement level of the Ministry of Magic.

——

Time passed minute by minute, and finally, the watch showed 7:50, no longer! Lockhart and Snape have arrived at Castleton, east of Thurso. This small town is in the far northwest of the area where the Floo network centered on Wick is cut off. If Voldemort wants to Apparate to the nearest place, Fly over, then he can only Apparate near Thurso. Then Snape would fly south with Lockhart and try to keep Voldemort in pursuit for a while...

"Come on," Lockhart said to Snape, who had drank the Potion Potion and took on Harry's appearance, riding on his broom.

"Okay." Snape solemnly rolled up his left sleeve, revealing a hideous pattern under the sleeve of the wizard's robe - he pressed his right hand on it, used magic power to activate the Dark Mark, and began to communicate with Voldemort.

——

[There is still 1700 recommended tickets to add more]

——(To be continued.)

...