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“Let me save you, fair maiden.”
Hermione stared at the man, her eyes wide in what her father hoped was utter horror.
“You are, after all, a princess so sweet and pure, banished to this dulldry life of passing yourself off as a Muggleborn.”
The man in front of them was definitely insane. In fact, he’d always thought Lockhart insane back when they attended school together with his flashing white smile and perpetual way of getting into one’s personal space, yet now—
Here the man was flirting with his young daughter, being completely inappropriate and acting as if he were an adventurer partaking in an epic adventure of non-existent proportions, muttering things about giants and trolls as well as rescuing the princess from her poorly fate.
Oh, there was also Lockhart’s misuse of words which sent both his and Hermione’s eye twitching.
The consolation was Lockhart hadn’t recognize him, which meant he could continue to go about his life as Dr. Granger as if the Wizarding World didn’t at all concern him outside of the fact he wanted to sock Lockhart good and hard for touching his daughter.
Because Lockhart was in fact touching Hermione, holding her hand and sending him into conniption fits that any good father would go into even if the man did indeed appear to be insane.
But then— “Let me take you away from this Dark Lord, princess.”
Hermione’s mouth started to form a circle, her confusion obviously growing while in turn her father made actual connections to what Lockhart was getting at.
“He’s an evil one, dear maiden, fair maiden.”
“My father?” Hermione asked, quite perplexed at Lockhart’s show, but everyone else was taken back by the armor.
“Death—“
Regulus decided enough was enough and pulled back his fist, not hesitating to hold back.