Chapter 269: Turn Them Over to Me
The conversation between Lockhart, Lupin, and Snape was far from pleasant. It was an interesting situation, as Lockhart seemed to have a magical ability to get two feuding people to work together, even if they were constantly bickering and taking shots at each other. Arguments often happened around him.
For example, Draco and Hermione, who were both helping Percy run the "Quidditch Dueling Club," often took jabs at each other. Not to mention, Percy wasn't exactly on the same page as either of them. Unlike the somewhat insecure and sensitive Ron, Percy came from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, with family members who were all outstanding and with top-tier talent himself.
Even with their father, Arthur, who may have seemed unremarkable, daring to punch the head of Lucius Malfoy and leading the Aurors to ransack the Malfoy family, forcing the proud Lucius to part with his treasures this background inevitably gave Percy a certain degree of "pride."
Not just Percy, even the more tolerant twin brothers, George and Fred, found the idea of having a house-elf servant something to envy. From their father Arthur's attitude, it was clear that he loved Muggle things, but he never truly understood them; he only loved the Muggle things he had imagined. He treated Muggle-born wizards, and even different individuals within his own family, slightly differently.
So, Percy, Draco, and Hermione's relationship was not exactly a harmonious one. The differences between people are extremely subtle and can't be defined by a single label.
Lupin had come to see Lockhart to discuss Lockhart's previous proposal of letting the werewolf community stay at the Puffskein Fish Farm. Before Lockhart could say anything, Snape sneered.
"You should go see Dumbledore about this. He is the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, is he not?" Snape's face was full of sarcasm.
Lupin was at a loss for words. How could he say that Dumbledore was, at his core, a bit of a "wizard supremacist" and someone who didn't truly see werewolves as equals? That would be too harsh a demand on Dumbledore. Lupin had never met a more accepting wizard than Dumbledore.
Yes, there was no one else. Dumbledore was the only one. Although Voldemort had made many promises, smart people could see that it was just manipulation. When werewolves lost their value, they would realize how laughable those promises were. Lupin believed that if he went to Dumbledore, he would definitely find a place for werewolves to live. Yes, a habitat.
Just like the centaur and mermaid tribes at Hogwarts, or even the giant tribe that the International Confederation of Wizards had helped set up to get away from Muggle society.
Lupin didn't want a habitat or a tribe. "Werewolf tribe" wasn't a good term. He wanted a werewolf community, a community just like a wizarding community! Lockhart could provide such a place for him.
The Puffskein Fish Farm could not only provide a safe place for werewolves to live but also give them work, allowing them to live with dignity. Lupin didn't want Lockhart to be at a disadvantage in this matter and had come to discuss giving Lockhart the majority of the fish farm's profits.
This wasn't a disadvantage. The werewolves knew what they wanted. It was very important to establish the difference between being an "employee" and a "house-elf." Werewolves were particularly sensitive about dignity because they truly had none in society.
"Instead of making sarcastic remarks, you should think about your own future," Lupin's wandering for more than a decade wasn't just because of his gentle and kind nature. In a decade of living on the streets, what kind of people hadn't he seen? What kind of things hadn't he encountered? What kind of terrible experiences hadn't he had?
His expression was sincere, so sincere that one could almost see a hint of pity in his eyes. A very sympathetic pity. He said, "Voldemort has been captured. Some people have completely lost their value. Maybe he should think about what value he has besides fighting Voldemort. Oh, his terrible performance as Head of Slytherin House and Potions Master for the past decade is clearly nothing to be proud of."
"You!" Snape was enraged. His anger flared, but he had nothing to say. Yes, Lupin was right. In the past decade of teaching, his heart hadn't been in it. He hadn't even been focused on Voldemort. He was just too immersed in Lily's death to break free. Loyalty to love was certainly not wrong. But Lupin looked down on it. He had experienced too many dark and terrifying things in his life. If he had been like Snape, he would have died from depression long ago. Lily was right; Snape was a truly foul "greasy git."
"Maybe you should learn the power of Gryffindor," Lupin continued to advise, pretending it was for his own good. "The power of courage is not just about charging at the enemy; it's also about facing life, facing it head-on, whether it's a good life or a bad one."
Lupin was like a mirror. A clear mirror that, with his noble quality of bravely facing all the hardships of life, reflected the cowardice of a miserable-looking Snape. Snape was utterly defeated. Then he turned to look at the smirking Lockhart, and his face became even fouler. He shoved a potion bottle into Lockhart's hand, turned, and walked away.
"Severus!" Lockhart looked at the bottle in confusion and quickly called out, "What is this?"
Snape stopped, his head held haughtily high. He let out a cold snort with his nose. "A Wolfsbane Interruption Potion, based on the Wolfsbane Potion. If it works as it should, it will cure the lycanthropy!"
"!!!"
Lockhart gasped, looking at the thing in disbelief. He then looked at Lupin, whose emotions were clearly stirred. Lupin's eyes were red. He opened his mouth to say something, but Snape interrupted him.
Snape looked at Lupin with a malicious look. "The idea for the research was inspired by the disease of the Longbottoms. So you can also think of this potion as a 'Cruciatus Bone Potion.' A werewolf who drinks it will endure the terrible torment of the Cruciatus Curse."
"If you can endure it, the infection is gone!"
"If you can't he he "
"By the way, it's not perfect. I can't guarantee that it will stop the inheritance in the next generation."
He sneered, shook his hair, which was no longer greasy, and strode away in his wizard's robe, his silhouette looking like a large bat.
"Severus!" This time, it was Lupin who called out to Snape. Old Snape didn't stop, but his movements visibly slowed down. Lockhart even noticed that his ears twitched. "Thank you!" Lupin's voice was hoarse with gratitude. "Thank you so much!"
The proud and tense posture that had been so confrontational was now bent. He knew that for what Snape had done, he deserved his respect and the gratitude of all werewolves.
Snape's mouth curved slightly. He snorted and walked away.
Lockhart looked at the potion in his hand with a strange expression. His knowledge of Potions was not low, but he had no way of judging a complex and high-level potion like this. Every field has its specialists, and he didn't know if this was good or bad.
"This..." He looked at Lupin. He knew what Lupin would say next.
"I will try it myself first!" Lupin carefully took the potion, clutching it tightly as if he had grasped the future.
I knew it. Lockhart sighed. "The Cruciatus Curse is one of the three Unforgivable Curses for a reason. It's not just about the harm it causes." In fact, there were many other popular curses that were more torturous than the Cruciatus Curse. Lockhart knew a terrifying number of them; he just didn't use them. For example, the Entrail-Expelling Curse, the Transfiguration Torture Curse, and the Skull-Inflating Curse.
Among them, the Skull-Inflating Curse, which was strictly a Dark Arts "hex," was one of the Transfiguration spells Lockhart was currently studying. It had a terrifying characteristic: the magical effect was very stable and extremely difficult to cure. If the treatment wasn't good, a person could be stuck with a head twice its normal size for the rest of their life, along with constant headaches. Yes, James Potter had used this Dark Arts spell on a classmate (not Snape). Lockhart was also studying this spell because its "constant" magical effect made it very valuable.
All of these spells were more terrifying than the Cruciatus Curse. But the Cruciatus Curse was still favored by Dark wizards as their go-to spell for torturing enemies. This was not just because it was an Unforgivable Curse. Look at the tragic fate of the Longbottoms; you'll understand why.
"You should know how terrible it is," Lockhart pleaded.
Lupin just smiled faintly, his face a jumble of weathered scars and wrinkles. There was an indescribable sense of freedom and disregard in his expression. "Trust me, I know the effects of the Cruciatus Curse very well."
Why did he know? Of course, because he had endured the spell's effects more than once. In times of war, during his years of wandering, there were so many hardships and torments waiting for him. Fate, at times, seemed to throw all the bad things in the world at him, watching with a wicked sense of amusement to see what kind of life force this miserable being would display.
"You need some helpers to watch over you during the experiment," Lockhart suggested. This was from his own experience. Even when he was confident in his magical experiments, he would find some backups to help him in case something went wrong. In the beginning, when he had no one, he would intentionally tell the students to come to his office in a few hours as a precaution.
Now, he had two great assistants: Madam Mary and Auror Tonks. Madam Mary was a sworn subordinate and a frequent option. She had the Yaxley family's magical bloodline ability for time travel, which was a perfect fit for his methods, and could take him into the river of time to find a solution in the most dangerous situations. Tonks, on the other hand, was initially an assignment from the Auror office but was later inspired by Grindelwald's ambition to pursue the magical path. She would come to assist Lockhart with his magical research when she had the chance.
"It's a good time to have Tonks come over in the name of a Ministry employee to see the werewolf community. I believe this will also be a great start for the werewolf community's new life," Lockhart mused.
Lupin was very resistant to the idea of Tonks getting involved. He didn't want to attract this young witch who was clearly fond of him. He was a man with no future and could not give one to anyone else. But when he heard Lockhart talk about the Ministry's influence, he fell silent. Just as Dumbledore had come to his house and taken him from the basement to Hogwarts, saving him, he also longed to save other werewolves. This was a legacy of kindness. He couldn't refuse this possibility.
"Thank you!" His gratitude was so sincere.
Lockhart smiled and patted his shoulder. "Severus's potion is one way. My spell research is also a way. I believe my research on the 'Wolf-tongue' magical bloodline is no less successful than Severus's research."
Lupin nodded, quietly saying, "I can already transform into a wolf on nights that aren't a full moon."
"Whoa~~"
Lockhart gasped, knowing full well how much effort Lupin had to put in for that. Of course, it was precisely this kind of Lupin who was always worthy of so many people wanting to help him.
Lockhart glanced at the students in the distance and said to Lupin in a low voice, "When the werewolf community is established at the Puffskein Fish Farm, let Lyall (Lupin's father) also come to the werewolf community to help. Don't let him hide in that slaughterhouse doing dangerous experiments anymore."
Lupin was moved. He also yearned for family, but just as he was about to speak, Lockhart spoke first. "If Lyall agrees, you should persuade your father to turn those werewolves over to me."
Lupin frowned, staring into Lockhart's eyes as if to confirm something. "What are you going to do with those werewolves?" He then softened, his voice pleading. "They can also live in the werewolf community..."
"No!" Lockhart's eyes narrowed. "As soon as their existence is exposed, Lyall will spend the rest of his life in Azkaban!" He had hidden werewolves who should have been sentenced, moved them to his own lab, and brought condemned prisoners from the Muggle world, allowing them to be bitten and infected by werewolves. He had then used these werewolves to perform one insane experiment after another.
Don't talk about extenuating circumstances or that they were going to be executed anyway. Using private punishment, conducting evil research, seriously violating the Statute of Secrecy, spreading lycanthropy there were too many crimes that the Ministry of Magic would not tolerate. If he was caught, Lyall's fate would be miserable.
Lockhart knew that Lyall, that old bookworm, couldn't do anything more malicious, and Lupin couldn't either. Since he was involved in these matters, he might as well take them on.
The "Vanish into Thin Air" spell was not just for the pathetic "plume of smoke" effect that Crabbe displayed.
"I need to do some magical experiments, and I need the cooperation of these werewolves," Lockhart gave Lupin a reason. "For all the other innocent and pitiful werewolves who want to live a good life!"
Lupin gave in. He looked at Lockhart with a complex expression, and finally nodded gratefully. The act of "not needing to say thanks for a great favor" wasn't a rule of ancient times, but a summary of human nature in a certain emotional state. Lupin was like this now. He was very grateful but didn't know how to express it. He knew he owed too much.
The problem was, he also knew he owed Dumbledore and his colleagues in the Order of the Phoenix just as much. He only hoped that Dumbledore and Lockhart would not become adversaries in the future. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't know what to do. Life had never stopped tormenting his heart.
Lockhart, however, smiled heartily and said with a hint of meaning, "Sometimes, when we follow our hearts and walk on our own unique fairy-tale adventures, we find that life becomes a journey of achievement, and all the complicated twists and turns before us turn into smooth roads." This was his experience.
Lupin left with his mind full of thoughts. As for Lockhart, he didn't dwell on these matters and excitedly joined the students in their creative spellcasting. This was the most interesting thing to him.