After a full night of inspection, every accessible corner of Hogwarts had been searched—including the dormitories of all four Houses—just in case any student's room happened to be connected to the Chamber of Secrets.
But as dawn broke, Regulus Black could see from the fatigue etched on Dumbledore's face that nothing had been found.
All students were finally permitted to return to their dormitories to wash up. Refreshed after a nap and clearly more energetic than the professors, the children rushed off in a crowd—after all, no one wanted to be seen in their half-asleep state.
"What's with these few students? Are they just oversleeping?"
Dumbledore glanced at the thirty or so students still lying on the ground, not yet awake—or rather, still unconscious.
"Oh! That's on me. Ennervate!"
With another sweep of his wand, Regulus Black cast a spell over the group. One by one, the thirty students stirred and woke up.
"Go back to your Houses and freshen up."
Snape's expression darkened when he spotted some Slytherin students among the group. While he wasn't sure why Regulus Black had cast spells on them, he trusted it wasn't done without reason and took it as a sign of fairness. Still, the fact that even Slytherins had been subjected to this was a bit of a blow to his pride.
None of the thirty students dared protest—they all slunk off back to their dormitories, shamefaced.
"What on earth did they do to warrant a Stupefy spell?"
If Snape felt humiliated that his students had been among those struck, then McGonagall—whose Gryffindor students made up more than half the group—was outright furious.
"Professor McGonagall, I had no intention of punishing any students. I only did it so they could get some proper rest."
Regulus Black had once been McGonagall's student and still held a great deal of respect for the Transfiguration professor.
"Then why use magic on them? As a teacher, that's quite inappropriate."
Regulus's tone made it clear that it wasn't meant as punishment. Still, McGonagall couldn't help but see the issue—it was akin to corporal punishment in the Muggle world. In a society that emphasized human rights, Muggle parents might very well lodge a complaint with the education department.
"This all started with Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Perhaps he should explain."
Regulus grabbed hold of the professor, who had been trying to sneak away, and dragged him forward, giving both his shoulders a heavy pat. Take responsibility for your actions, damn it.
Snape gave a knowing smirk. As expected, if that flamboyant blonde peacock hadn't stirred things up, his Slytherins likely wouldn't have gotten involved.
Even Professor McGonagall looked like she was waiting for Gilderoy Lockhart's explanation—after all, her House had the largest number of students implicated.
"Ahaha! Well, it's like this. I noticed no one could sleep, so I suggested we do something to pass the time. Before we even got to the specifics, Mr. Black had already gathered volunteers… and then he put them all to sleep."
Gilderoy Lockhart looked a little embarrassed as he spoke, but he wasn't lying—Regulus Black didn't refute any part of it, which meant that's how it had happened.
Snape let out a cold chuckle. Just as I thought. If that fool hadn't come up with a dumb idea, Regulus wouldn't have had to act so decisively. If just a few students got rowdy, how could the rest get any rest? Would others join in? And once things escalated, could the professors even control the situation?
Indeed, Regulus Black had made the right call: the only way to keep the peace was to nip the problem in the bud so that all students would obediently go to sleep.
Regulus gave Lockhart another firm pat on the shoulders. Well done. Keep it up, won't you?
Then, he left the hall with Snape, leaving Gilderoy Lockhart alone under Professor McGonagall's sharp gaze.
"Professor Gilderoy Lockhart! I understand your intentions may have been good, but your idea severely disrupted the students' rest. Today is not a holiday—they still have classes to attend."
The fact that McGonagall addressed him by his full title showed just how angry she truly was.
Standing beside her, Dumbledore quietly tried to soothe her. Even the old headmaster was beginning to feel that maybe—just maybe—the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position really did exist. Ever since Voldemort cursed it, no professor had lasted long in the role; all had to resign for one reason or another.
But in the end, it was just an extra, troublesome post. They could always hire someone new each year. Once Voldemort was truly gone, the curse would naturally be lifted.
However, even at a time when the Chamber of Secrets might have been opened and all students were gathered in the Great Hall, Gilderoy Lockhart still managed to stir up trouble...
Not even a sigh could fully express Dumbledore's feelings at that moment. As Headmaster, he also had to handle the aftermath—cleaning up all the sleeping bags and rearranging the tables and chairs. After freshening up, the students would soon be back for breakfast.
Following the events of that night, many students wrote home about Regulus Black's conduct. Naturally, some letters were filled with complaints, claiming the assistant professor's actions were a form of corporal punishment. But more families viewed the incident as an opportunity to understand who Regulus Black really was.
His way of handling things showed remarkable clarity of thought, decisiveness without hesitation, ruthlessness when necessary, and outstanding magical skill. The precision with which he stunned over thirty students without a single miss, and then lifted the spell with a single counter-curse seen by students returning from washing up, was proof of his experience and cold efficiency.
Yes, the overwhelming impression students had of Regulus Black was that he was very cold.
However, some clever students noticed that Regulus Black had only targeted the students who had initially caused a disturbance. The ones who whispered quietly afterward weren't reprimanded at all. He even arranged for the eight male and female prefects to take turns resting, while he himself patrolled the entire night without pause.
As for Gilderoy Lockhart—he dozed off multiple times, slept in poor form, and even muttered in his sleep about his many supposed adventures.
In truth, whether Regulus Black slept or not didn't matter. The price of returning to life as an "Undead" was exactly this… unlimited energy.
Returning to the Room of Requirement, Regulus Black also washed up, then appeared in the Great Hall looking refreshed and composed.
Many students who were already having breakfast greeted him warmly. Regulus Black merely gave a slight nod in return.
"Don't you all think Assistant Professor Black is really cool?"
A girl exclaimed, immediately receiving enthusiastic agreement from both boys and girls.
"I wish I could learn to have that kind of presence. He's just so stylish."
One boy expressed his hope—only to be shot down immediately.
"You'd better forget it! You don't have the looks for it. If you tried to act cold, people would like you even less."
That comment earned unanimous agreement from the others, both boys and girls.
Suddenly, the blond-haired boy Colin burst in from the side and started snapping pictures with a flurry of camera flashes—at least ten, judging by the sounds Regulus Black heard.
"Regulus! You're really popular today!"
Professor Flitwick appeared extremely pleased. Always cheerful, he seemed genuinely happy to see the students so fond of Regulus Black. After all, anyone well-liked by students was a good teacher in his eyes.
"Thank you. I just hope it's not a reverse reaction born out of fear."
Regulus Black took his seat. Several professors were absent that morning—understandably, since not everyone could stay up all night searching the castle and still be fine the next day. However, that group clearly didn't include Professor Flitwick, nor Snape or Madam Pomfrey from the hospital wing. After all, those with access to potions or time-turners certainly had their advantages.
"How did last night's search go?"
As soon as he sat down, Regulus Black turned to Snape and asked—checking in was necessary.
"It was the most foolish yet unavoidable thing we've done. And the worst part? We found nothing."
Snape growled as he viciously sliced his steak, as if it were the very monster hiding in the Chamber.
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