Chapter 226: The Sad Elevator
The young wizards like Harry Potter were obviously unaware of the turbulent undercurrents outside the school.
A part of the Muggle community was also targeting wizards, treating the witch hunts as a few lines of boring records in a dry magical history book.
They didn't even know that Voldemort had once hidden in Hogwarts, had been encountered twice by Professor Lockhart, and that danger was sometimes so close to them. They were all well-protected.
And they were focused on improving.
Lockhart, Grindelwald, Professor Kettleburn, Snape, and Lupin took turns guiding the young wizards in the Dueling Club, advising them on how to win the flying combat competition planned by Percy.
As the matches progressed, the young wizards' venue had been changed from the Quidditch pitch to the Forbidden Forest, and the spells allowed in battle had also changed from marking spells to some practical ones.
Some of the students in the school were also allowed to participate in this interesting competition. Among them, the children from the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families were the most enthusiastic, perhaps with some support from their parents behind the scenes: Hannah Abbott, Millicent Bulstrode, Marcus Flint, Daphne Greengrass and Astoria Greengrass, Ernie Macmillan, Theodore Nott... This sport was becoming a new trend, and its influence was constantly expanding.
Interestingly, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were quickly becoming Percy's right-hand people. Harry, meanwhile, was leading Ron and Neville to explore more tactics, and the Weasley twins were beginning to consider the possibility of using their joke products in the competition... There was no right or wrong; everyone was starting to walk their own magical path.
It was a year of harvest.
This was true for Lockhart. He had brought change to too many people, for better or worse, and these changes were beginning to bear their own fruits. And he himself, after the preliminary establishment of his theory, began to explore the possibility of its application—the breeding of Dark Creatures.
Time passed day by day.
Sirius and Wormtail were simply too patient. Lockhart had to call back his little friends. Compared to catching the latter, he cared more about his friends' happiness. Guarding the Forbidden Forest every day wasn't a fun thing to do. Life seemed to be calm.
Just when Lockhart thought this school year would pass so smoothly, a phoenix delivered a letter from Dumbledore. Old Dumbledore had encountered a problem in the field of Dark Creatures and needed his help. A very strange problem with Dark Creatures.
Lockhart didn't leave immediately; he instead asked a few of his mates if they had any answers.
"An elevator?" Lupin took the letter from Dumbledore, frowned in thought for a moment, and shook his head. "I don't recall any cases of Dark Creatures breeding in a place like an elevator."
Snape, on the other hand, had a thought. "Could this be the kind of Dark Creature you and I discussed before, one born in the new era?"
His words caught everyone's attention. Seeing that Lockhart was just deep in thought, Snape explained, "When a certain scene widely generates negative emotions such as fear and anger in the minds of individuals, a Dark Creature may be born."
"This theory is a reversal of the situation where 'castle-based Dark Creatures are gradually dying out.' As more and more Muggle-born wizards appear, magic will emerge in Muggle society, giving birth to Dark Creatures with characteristics based on Muggle society."
Grindelwald squinted, contemplating this interesting idea. He clicked his tongue and muttered with an unreadable expression, "A new era!"
Professor Kettleburn frowned. "I've always found this phenomenon, similar to a living being but in a 'non-existent' state, to be extremely terrifying. Most wizards would have a very hard time dealing with it effectively."
Lockhart nodded, taking the letter from Lupin's hand. "From the perspective of Dark Creature breeding, if 'non-existence' becomes widespread, the best way to handle it is to integrate it into daily life. They will eventually evolve into magical creatures, a byproduct of magical life."
He spoke in a complex way, and Professor Kettleburn didn't quite understand.
"House-elves, born from lazy wizarding families, who provide services to wizards and then resolutely leave after being paid. Now, they have completely evolved into a part of wizarding life, with a biological state that allows their species to continue."
Since he arrived, Lockhart had dealt with several Dark Creature disasters, but this time, he was facing something he had no idea what it was. He had no idea how to handle it.
But no matter what, Old Dumbledore had asked for his help, so he was off. Lockhart habitually took his apprentices, Crabbe, and Percy Weasley.
Percy had always been a little bothered that he hadn't been with Lockhart during the previous holiday to help. This time, seeing Professor Lockhart come to find Crabbe, he immediately volunteered to go along, leaving the competition matters to Draco and Hermione. He really wanted to improve, the young man.
Lockhart smiled and didn't refuse, gesturing for them to head towards Dumbledore's location.
Paris, France. A place that was almost incinerated by one of Grindelwald's spells. A certain building in the La Défense central business district.
Arriving at the bottom of the building, in a spot where no one was paying attention, the three of them came out from under a Disillusionment Charm. Percy and Crabbe, dressed in Muggle clothes, followed Lockhart into the building.
A Swooping Evil flew above them, continuously releasing an invisible mist that affected memory and cognition, allowing the three to reach the elevator undisturbed.
When they reached the elevator, Percy nimbly stepped forward, pressed the button before Crabbe, and returned to Professor Lockhart's side. He was very proud and raised an eyebrow at Crabbe.
It must be said that these two young wizards had become quite familiar with Muggle society after following Lockhart there time and time again. Percy even knew all the brands and performance data of various Muggle cars. Of course, he had no interest in these cars himself; he only knew about them because his father liked them. He was that kind of person, always living in the desires of others.
Soon, they arrived at the 27th floor. When the elevator door opened, they saw a group of people dressed in Muggle police uniforms shouting at them, "This area is not open, please leave immediately." They were telling them not to leave the elevator.
"Simon, they're wizards!" one person shouted. The 'Muggle police' immediately became alert and pulled out their wands.
"Let them through, they must be the experts Dumbledore called!" someone else shouted from a distance.
After some negotiation, Lockhart found out that these people disguised as police were actually Aurors from the French Ministry of Magic.
When Lockhart saw Dumbledore again, the old man was in a deep part of the hallway in front of another elevator with a 'maintenance' sign, discussing something with a group of people. After they exchanged greetings, the Dark Arts expert from the French Ministry of Magic began to explain the problem happening there to Lockhart.
"This floor originally housed a company funded by the Julian Abbey..."
The person paused, looked up at Dumbledore and another rather dignified-looking middle-aged wizard. After confirming he could continue, he said, "We only found out during this investigation that all the employees of this company were family members and relatives of Muggle-born wizards. This company was paying to support these people."
"They even covered all the expenses of the young wizards from childhood, and they had a great deal of influence over many wizards."
"After we shut down this company, we found that their elevator had a problem. Everyone who entered it would feel a great sense of sadness..."
As Lockhart listened to his account, he opened the elevator door. He reached in and felt around for a bit, confirming that he didn't feel any sadness. He then looked at the expert. "You only feel the sadness after you get in and the door closes, right?"
The expert nodded. "Yes, it's not a magical effect that radiates gradually, but a situational one. That's why we concluded that it's a Dark Creature at work."
"For now, it's just a small problem; it only makes people feel sad. But we don't know when it might suddenly have other effects."
"This is a building where a lot of Muggles gather every day. If something were to happen, it would be terrible."
"..."
Lockhart waited for him to finish before taking out his wand and looking at Dumbledore and the person who was likely the French Minister of Magic. "I need to go in and feel it."
Dumbledore nodded, gesturing for a house-elf behind him to follow. It was none other than Momododo, whom he had met at Nurmengard Castle before. "If necessary, it will get you out quickly."
Lockhart didn't refuse.
When the group entered the elevator and the door closed, everyone keenly noticed that the elevator's lights flickered, and the cold air from the built-in air conditioner became a little eerie.
"Do you feel it?"
Lockhart smiled at his two apprentices. "In the field of Dark Creatures, if you encounter the flickering of lights from candles, electric lights, or torches without them going out completely, you can consider a spirit-based Dark Creature, such as elves, ghosts, or evil spirits."
"With the added eeriness, you can narrow down the scope again and eliminate the elf option."
He motioned for Momododo, who was disguised as a small boy wearing a hat, to press the button. He then told his two apprentices to turn their wands into a horn shape and press them against the elevator to listen for any possible sounds. This was a spell Lockhart had once taught Harry Potter individually, called the 'Eavesdropping Charm.' (Chapter 130) It had later started to spread among the students as well.
After a moment, Lockhart's eyebrow twitched. He withdrew his wand and pointed at his two apprentices. "Can you hear a very strange scratching sound? Although mechanical operation inevitably produces scratching sounds, the sound you are hearing right now has a feeling of echoing uncomfortably in your heart..."
"I hear it!" Percy exclaimed excitedly.
Crabbe didn't say anything. He just listened intently, and a difficult-to-suppress sadness gradually appeared on his face as tears welled up in his eyes.
Just then, Lockhart suddenly grabbed Crabbe's shoulder and pulled him away from the connection with the elevator.
Ding~
The elevator opened, and a group of people walked in. After they got to the ground floor, Lockhart and his group took the elevator back up to the 27th floor.
"Preliminary diagnosis: It's probably an entity from the Evil God side, an emotion-guiding type..." Lockhart rattled off a bunch of academic terms, but seeing that the wizards around him didn't seem to understand, he gave them the direct answer. "I need to know if this company has ever held an Evil God sacrifice."
The French Minister of Magic exclaimed in shock, "An Evil God sacrifice?!?"
Lockhart nodded. "I hope so. That's the least dangerous possibility. If it's not an Evil God sacrifice, then things are really bad."
"!!!"
...........
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