Just to reiterate, I really do think it’s Sirius! But, devil’s advocate.
Slughorn was on good terms with Lily. If he were researching the Deathly Hallows, he’d have an in.
Lockhart may have already been a celebrity. Maybe he wrote a book about going on a quest through darkest New Jersey for the Resurrection Stone, and James was foolish enough to send him the Cloak for analysis. Lockhart is trying to cozy up to Harry anonymously so that, should he end up stealing his identity, there won’t be a paper trail.
We don’t know what he’s like when he’s stalking his prey. The guy is basically a serial killer who targets powerful wizards—even with Memory Charms, you can’t pull that off without some level of restraint.
Just to reiterate, I really do think it’s Sirius! But, devil’s advocate.
Slughorn was on good terms with Lily. If he were researching the Deathly Hallows, he’d have an in.
Lockhart may have already been a celebrity. Maybe he wrote a book about going on a quest through darkest New Jersey for the Resurrection Stone, and James was foolish enough to send him the Cloak for analysis. Lockhart is trying to cozy up to Harry anonymously so that, should he end up stealing his identity, there won’t be a paper trail.
The last seems unlikely. Lockhart doesn’t do anonymous. And he doesn’t do restrained.
We don’t know what he’s like when he’s stalking his prey. The guy is basically a serial killer who targets powerful wizards—even with Memory Charms, you can’t pull that off without some level of restraint.
Now, I want MoR to do Lockhart! Let’s see how this guy really operates.