Chapter 263: Professor, I Want to Improve
Lockhart felt terrible. Absolutely terrible.
He was in a daze, seeing the once-clear and bright river of time become a blur of overlapping and strangely twisted layers.
Were his eyes broken? Or was there a problem with his spiritual perception?
No! Neither.
Lockhart seemed to see the reality of this world. What he had once perceived as a peculiar "green pentagram" finally became three-dimensional as the layers pulled apart, and in front of his eyes, it turned into a "star fruit."
It was abstract and bizarre, filled with an aura of mystery and foreboding.
Calling it "layered" was a false description. The blurred edges between these intricate rivers of time, and the chaotic nature of some areas, were crammed into his brain in a way that was impossible for his rational mind to comprehend. It made him feel like his entire psyche was about to turn to stone from the sheer inability to grasp the abstraction.
Luckily, he had extensive experience dealing with the non-existent phenomena of Dark magical creatures. He instantly conjured his Patronus, a Pegasus, and his Boggart, the werewolf, to pull at his mind, preventing it from collapsing.
He vaguely felt the influence of the "Time Rollback" spell he had cast on Voldemort. It seemed that something from Voldemort had been transmitted to him through the complex "social connections" between them. Lockhart didn't know what it was. He absolutely refused to accept someone putting something into him, especially a force that was beyond his control, like memory.
What to do? His mind raced, and he quickly found a solution.
Something that came via a "social connection" could also be sent away via a "social connection."
"Catch it, Tom!"
An ancient, dilapidated pirate ghost ship sailing in the river of time appeared before him. Chains dangled, and an anchor attached to Tom's body, which was now being jolted as if by an electric current. Then, whatever it was that had been transmitted from Voldemort, after passing through Lockhart as an intermediary, all poured into Tom.
Buzzing...
Lockhart heard a strange sound from a soul, as if something was resonating, and it continued to spread and spread.
Blood and tears instantly streamed from Lockhart's eyes. In a flash, he saw Hogwarts, the entire castle complex giving off a unique aura. He was currently being protected by this aura.
Oh, this must be a curse Voldemort had placed on Hogwarts. It was a power of "love," a love that turned to hatred, so wonderfully strange. At least, that was the level of understanding Lockhart could make of the spell for now.
Then his vision changed. He saw one figure after another. These figures were layered in the river of time, intertwined and chaotic. It was Severus Snape, in his office, brewing a potion. It was Lucius Malfoy, secretly discussing something with some people. It was Bellatrix Lestrange, in a fairy-tale-like environment, living out one fake life after another to help Lockhart complete some experimental hypotheses.
It was Corban Yaxley, frantically fleeing the destroyed farm. After dedicating his family business to Voldemort, this guy had, as expected, secretly held a backup plan in the protective magic here. Seeing that the situation was bad, he had managed to slip away, and had even broken through the magical blockade that Grindelwald had cast.
Lockhart saw one Death Eater after another. Because of the Dark Mark on their arms, these people were connected to Voldemort in a "strong social network," forming a seamless web in the river of time.
Thump... thump...
The sound of his heart beating grew louder and louder. He began to feel the burden of the things he was prying into. It was finally surpassing his own capacity. After reaching a certain threshold, everything in his vision tore apart like glass. His sight, his perception, his genuine feeling for his physical body it all returned.
Phew…
He let out a long breath, his hands on his knees. He was covered in a cold sweat, as if he had accidentally touched something extremely terrifying and ominous. He felt goosebumps all over his arms.
"Young man, your abilities are beyond my imagination," Grindelwald sighed beside him. "Resurrection? That is a terrifying spell!"
Lockhart weakly raised a hand and shook it. "I'll never use it recklessly again."
He was extremely lucky to have a ghost ship, and extremely lucky that the ghost ship had some kind of strange connection to Tom, giving him the chance to transfer the influence brought by Voldemort onto Tom. If it had been anyone else, he would have had to endure it himself.
He didn't know if the wizarding world believed in "karma," but the terrifying magical power of "fate" truly existed here. Under the influence of fate, humans are powerless.
Just think about it. Voldemort was so brilliant, so powerful, and so influential, yet he was ultimately killed by an unsuspecting member of the Order of the Phoenix. This was as absurd as Dumbledore dying while in a one-on-one duel with Bellatrix. This was the horror of fate's power.
Magic brings wondrous abilities, but it also brings bizarre consequences. You must learn to be in awe of it. Lockhart had never felt so humbled.
After a long while, he finally recovered. He cast a spell to clean the bloody streaks from his face and looked around.
The first thing he saw was Voldemort, now wrapped in countless white silken threads like a cocoon, floating beside Dumbledore. The threads looked like they were being spun by countless silkworms, multiplying and spreading over Voldemort's head layer by layer. Dumbledore was not in the mood to listen to Voldemort talk, and didn't give the villain a chance to rant.
"I intend to lock him in Nurmengard until I find a way to kill him for good," Dumbledore said to the two of them.
Grindelwald shrugged. "I have no objections."
Lockhart naturally agreed. "Me neither."
Then they began to clean up the battlefield, though there wasn't much to clean up.
Cedric, Luna, and Crabbe had saved a large number of Dark wizards, all of whom were now crammed into Professor Lockhart's fairy tale book. As for the Muggles from the Scourers organization, they had all been executed by Grindelwald's subtle manipulations. He obviously had his own ideas, or else the three young wizards would not have failed to save a single Muggle despite risking themselves in such a terrifying war.
Grindelwald had his own little moves, and so did Lockhart. For example, many of the Basilisks that Voldemort had bred had, under Lockhart's influence, fled to a corner far away from the battlefield and burrowed underground, saving thirteen of them. Mass-breeding Basilisks was an extremely crazy thing to do. Thirteen Basilisks, in a situation where the top wizards were not involved, could be said to be a truly terrifying force. Lockhart even wondered if Voldemort had some way to make these Basilisks cooperate with the Death Eaters, perhaps through the Dark Mark. This was an unknown.
The only question was whether Dumbledore would be willing to let him keep these Basilisks. After all, Dumbledore had a perfect reason to eliminate these "demonic minions."
"Gellert and I will take Tom and leave. I'm leaving this place to you to handle," Dumbledore said, seemingly without being concerned about what Lockhart would do. "Get the children back to school as soon as possible. Tom being captured is by no means the end."
Lockhart nodded, understanding what Dumbledore was saying. It was difficult to predict whether the followers and forces who had once put their faith in Voldemort's "wizarding supremacy" and "pure-blood supremacy" would retaliate out of despair or do something irrational after Voldemort's total defeat. The only thing that was certain was that the entire wizarding world would be in chaos for a while, and it would even affect the Muggle world.
After Dumbledore and Grindelwald left with Voldemort, the three young wizards flew over to Lockhart on their broomsticks.
"Professor!" Cedric said, his expression serious, as he handed over the fairy tale book. "What should we do with these captured Dark wizards?"
Lockhart raised an eyebrow, took the book, and looked at him with a smile. "Why didn't you ask Professor Dumbledore?"
Cedric was silent for a moment before saying, "Percy is about to run the 'Quidditch Dueling Club,' George and Fred have set up a lab, and Ron is also looking for someone to collaborate with to research a language for magical animals that can live with Muggles. Professor, they are all members of the Weasley family, and they all have ties to the Order of the Phoenix."
Lockhart just nodded gently. "I believe in my students."
"Of course, I didn't mean that," Cedric said, looking at Lockhart sincerely. "Hufflepuff always has its own true colors. We are just, so we are Gryffindor's best friends. We are loyal, so we often earn the trust of Slytherins. We are not afraid of hardship, so compared to Gryffindor and Slytherin, we can be a Ravenclaw's most faithful partner."
"Professor, you always say that the times are quietly undergoing a drastic change. I also hope to find a place for myself."
This place wasn't one that came from Dumbledore, but from Lockhart. He had made his choice.
This choice might have been influenced by his family, since everyone was watching. Those loyal followers of Dumbledore hadn't gotten much special treatment, while people like Fudge or Snape had received generous rewards. This was also why many people were unwilling to stand clearly on Dumbledore's side.
But Lockhart was different. He was willing to give opportunities to those around him. He told them, "You are the protagonists of your own fairy tales," and "You must be loyal to your heart to get a response from the magic within you."
And so Cedric, loyal to his own heart, chose Professor Lockhart. He was righteous and kind, willing to spare the lives of the Dark wizards. He was loyal to his own heart and his choice, and so he bore the pressure and waited until Dumbledore left to come to Lockhart with his two dazed companions.
He had ambition, but not much. He just wanted to find a place for himself and longed for a good future, but he was not greedy.
Lockhart liked this honest and clever student. He smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Our Dueling Club's 'Dittany Pharmaceutical' project is about to launch. This is a 'full-supply-chain' operational model. We need to farm, we need to brew potions, and we also need to communicate with various wizarding organizations, and possibly even with Muggles..."
"It won't have the great authority that the 'Quidditch Dueling Club' has, nor will it have the vast financial resources that the 'House-Armour Lab' has, nor will it have the great reputation that 'Hagrid's Language Research' will have..."
"This project, 'Dittany Pharmaceutical,' is not meant to make money, nor is it meant to build a reputation or gain authority. It is destined to be a thankless job."
"It's also complex and will involve touching every corner of human life."
"Even so..."
Lockhart's expression was grave. "Cedric, are you willing to do it? Can you do it well?"
Cedric's eyes lit up. "Yes, Professor. I promise you!"
"No, I don't need a promise!" Lockhart gestured to the deeply plowed farm around them. "This will be the future cultivation and processing center for dittany. Cedric, I need you to prove to me that you have the ability to do all of this."
How? He gave him a direction.
"The only exit here is at that Muggle killer organization's base. I want you to find a way to control this entrance and exit and prove your ability to me!"
This was an extremely complex problem. If the young wizard in front of him wasn't Cedric but Draco, it would be simple. Draco would not hesitate to use the Imperius Curse, one of the three unforgivable curses, to control those Muggles he looked down on. Even if those people had some wizarding blood and abilities that normal Muggles didn't have. Arrogance isn't always a mistake, at least not on a magical level. Draco might hesitate to use an Unforgivable Curse on a wizard, but he wouldn't feel guilty about using one on a Muggle. It wouldn't even affect his own inner purity. Just like Ministry Aurors who casually use Memory Charms on Muggles, they act as if they are gods.
But from a non-magical perspective, this was not good. Lockhart could see Cedric's kind side and was looking forward to seeing what kind of choice he would make.
"I have to remind you, Dumbledore wants you to get back to school as soon as possible. You don't have much time!"
So... what would he do?
"Professor, I've thought about this!" Cedric was excited, and his voice was rushed as he explained his idea. "We don't have to deal with the Muggle killer organization outside, and we don't even need to make contact with them. I think it's best to keep them unaware of our existence."
"All we need to do is modify the fireplace in the textile mill's cold storage and make it a one-way passage only out, not in. We can just use it as a secret shipping port!"
"I think this is also the best disguise. It looks like our entrance and exit, but it's really just an exit."
Lockhart's expression shifted, and he asked, "How would you do that, specifically?"
This wasn't really a test. Lockhart genuinely didn't know how to make a fireplace one-way. This was beyond his scope of knowledge. He really didn't know.
But Cedric thought it was a test and said excitedly, "My family, the Diggory family, has a way to modify magical fireplaces. Very few people know this old craft."
Modify? Lockhart looked at Crabbe and Luna, but the two young wizards seemed confused. Luna obviously had no experience with this kind of magic, and the method their family used to modify magical fireplaces was to use their influence to get the Ministry of Magic to change the properties of a fireplace connected to the Floo Network. This kind of hands-on, technical approach was really quite rare.
Cedric hadn't finished yet. "Our real way in and out should be to strengthen the defensive magic here again and then use a Portkey that's permitted by this magic to travel. That way, we can go straight from Hogwarts to here."
"The only problem is..." he hesitated. "I don't have any idea about the Portkey technology. Maybe I can find something in the school library."
Lockhart nodded, but in his mind, he was thinking of a certain wizard he knew who also had knowledge of Portkeys, fireplaces, and castle defense magic: Corban Yaxley!
That guy was now on the run like a stray dog. If Dumbledore or the Order of the Phoenix caught him first, it would be difficult to extract any magical knowledge from his mind.
Lockhart had to act fast!