O que acontece com Gilderoy Lockhart?

A man was peering out at them all with his nose pressed against the glass. He had wavy blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a broad vacant smile that revealed dazzlingly white teeth.
“Blimey!” said Ron, also staring at the man.
“Oh my goodness,” said Hermione suddenly,sounding breathless.
“Professor Lockhart!” - Harry Potter & The Order of The Phoenix, Ch.23 - Christmas on the closed ward.

Segundo a enfermeira, ele estava melhorando lentamente, mas ainda não se lembra de nada. Ele instintivamente escreve autógrafos para todo mundo. O curador responsável também menciona que ninguém o visita, e fica feliz em ver que ele tem visitantes (Mistaking Harry, Ron & Hermione para as pessoas que o visitam).

A motherly looking Healer wearing a tinsel wreath in her hair came bustling up the corridor, smiling warmly at Harry and the others. “Oh Gilderoy, you’ve got visitors! How lovely,and on Christmas Day too! Do you know, he nevergets visitors, poor lamb, and I can’t think why, he’s such a sweetie, aren’t you?”

Em Ordem da Fênix , há uma visita ao Hospital St. Mungo, onde eles se encontram com Lockhart novamente. Ele ainda está se recuperando dos efeitos do feitiço da memória, mas são sinais de que sua fama e amor à fama estão se recuperando:

“I’m very well indeed, thank you!” said Lockhart exuberantly, pulling a rather battered peacockfeather quill from his pocket. “Now, how many autographs would you like? I can do joined-up writing now, you know!”

Mas isso é três anos após o incidente na Câmara Secreta, e de acordo com a enfermeira da ala, isso parece um desenvolvimento bastante recente:

“Listen to him,” said the Healer, taking Lockhart’s arm and beaming fondly at him as though he were a precocious two-year-old. “He was rather well known a few years ago; we very much hope that this liking for giving autographs is a sign that his memory might be starting to come back. Will you step this way? He’s in a closed ward, you know, he must have slipped out while I was bringing in the Christmas presents, the door’s usually kept locked… not that he’s dangerous! But,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “he’s a bit of a danger to himself, bless him… doesn’t know who he is, you see, wanders off and can’t remember how to get back… it is nice of you to have come to see him.”

De fato, sua enfermeira descreve sua condição como permanente:

“This is our long-term residents’ ward,” she informed Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in a low voice. “For permanent spell damage, you know.”

Ele ainda está recebendo e-mails de fãs, mas não sabe por quê. Ele continua a assinar e escrever para seus fãs, presumivelmente porque é algo que ele parece gostar. Memórias residuais, etc.

“I am not forgotten, you know, no, I still receive a very great deal of fan mail... Gladys Gudgeon writes weekly... I just wish I knew why.” He paused, looking faintly puzzled, then beamed again and returned to his signing with renewed vigour.

Embora nenhuma dessas pessoas se importe em visitar o homem pessoalmente. Segundo sua enfermeira:

“Oh, Gilderoy, you’ve got visitors! How lovely, and on Christmas Day, too! Do you know, he never gets visitors, poor lamb, and I can’t think why, he’s such a sweetie, aren’t you?”

Por fim, JK Rowling confirmou em um bate-papo da Bloomsbury na web 2007 que ele provavelmente ficou preso nessa ala por toda a vida, apesar de alguns sinais de recuperação menor:

Jessie: Will Lockhart ever recover?

J.K. Rowling: No. Nor would I want him to. He’s happy where he is, and I’m happier without him!

Finalmente, deve-se notar que isso é apenas o que acontece nos livros. Nos filmes, há uma cena curta de pós-créditos para Câmara Secreta que amplia a janela de Flourish e Blotts para mostrar Lockhart na capa de um livro Who Am I?

Alguém enviou esta cena para o YouTube: