Chapter 270: No One Knows the Patronus Charm Better Than I Do
For young wizards, building a house was a very interesting project. The biggest difference between building a house and playing with building blocks was that the house was actually meant for people to live in.
This wasn't just a matter of structural design; it was about the people involved in the activity truly thinking about what "shelter," one of the four basic necessities of life, should be like.
Every young wizard had a different answer. This was because their life circumstances, what they longed for, and all of their other differences allowed them to think about it as they entered the world of magic and wizarding life. It was a "wizarding life" experience, a different kind of "fairy tale" adventure. The young wizards had to think about what they could use from the magic they already knew, or what new magic they should learn to help with the project.
Lockhart was waiting for their unique magical talents to blossom.
Of course, this was an extracurricular activity. The young wizards had a lot of classes and homework to complete every day, and Lockhart had to teach them as well.
On this day, Lockhart returned to his most familiar Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Today was the day the Ministry of Magic was inspecting the werewolf community set up at the Puffskein Fish Farm. The Ministry was happy to see this change. The Werewolf Registry Office, which had previously had no registered werewolves, could now register a large number of them, making them easier to manage in the future.
Lupin was also happy to see this state of affairs. Although the werewolves couldn't register as normal wizards, at least they didn't have to hide in the dark, without any identity. With an identity, they could buy clothes and snacks in Diagon Alley and Gringotts, and they could save money and plan for the future.
This matter was expected to go smoothly because the Ministry's team was led by Undersecretary Umbridge, who was Lockhart's ally, and the most authoritative expert consultant on the team was Lyall, Lupin's father.
Lupin was not there, and according to Professor McGonagall's arrangement, Professor Snape should have been substituting. But Snape also happened to be busy today; he had taken Neville to see the Longbottoms to try a new healing method.
So, Lockhart naturally stepped in. He brought a Dark magical creature to class that had never been seen at Hogwarts before: a Dementor.
There were countless Dark magical creatures in the world, but if there was one that was the most "Dark Arts-like," it was undoubtedly the Dementor. Wherever it floated, the environment would become gloomy, and everyone who came near it would quickly lose all their happiness. Only a deep, bleak sense of helplessness would remain. It was so terrifying that even hatred would turn into a powerless pallor.
After getting Professor McGonagall's permission, Lockhart rescheduled classes and had all the students in a year group experience the Dementor's influence, while also strengthening their legal education. See? If you make a mistake and get caught, you'll have to endure this thing every day. Well, the key was getting caught. It was also a good opportunity to teach them the Patronus Charm.
This was a spell that not every wizard knew. Some young wizards were already starting to have trouble mastering the power of the Patronus Charm. The Dueling Club had two of them: Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley.
Draco, who desired powerful magic, chose the path of Dark Arts and gave up on this spell. But because he was protecting the little happiness he had left, he didn't run into any serious problems. He wanted the ability to protect his parents and family. Lockhart didn't stop him from making that choice, but he did make it a habit to check on his situation every once in a while.
Ron was too deeply hurt by Peter Pettigrew. The young wizards in the Dueling Club still wondered if Ron could even cast the terrible Cruciatus Curse. No one felt comfortable asking or talking about it. This was a person who, at the beginning of his second year, was already proficient in curses like the "Slug-Vomiting Charm."
So, besides Draco and Ron, the other Dueling Club members were assigned to guard the Dementor, preventing it from attacking anyone, and to teach everyone the Patronus Charm. This was a "newbie-and-vet" approach.
Professor McGonagall, worried about something going wrong, came to check and found Professor Lockhart sitting idly in a corner, happily eating ice cream. His relaxed, carefree demeanor made even the busiest professor at Hogwarts feel a little jealous.
"Professor Lockhart, do you think this is appropriate?" Professor McGonagall finally couldn't resist asking.
Lockhart was startled. He blinked, not understanding for a moment. He looked at Professor McGonagall's expression and the emotional aura she was giving off and finally understood what she was asking about.
"I have shared all my knowledge and understanding of the Patronus Charm with the children without reservation." He gestured with his spoon toward the Dementor in the distance. There, the Dementor tried to fly in a certain direction but was forced back by the power of Harry's Patronus Charm, causing the surrounding young wizards to shriek.
"Look, they can teach this spell for me."
"Even better, because they also have their own understanding. In this class, the young wizards will hear at least a dozen different interpretations of the Patronus Charm."
At least a dozen... Professor McGonagall knew the weight of Lockhart's words and the value of what he was doing. She couldn't help but perk up her ears, listening carefully to the Dueling Club's young wizards sharing their "secrets" about the spell with their classmates.
It was true! Everyone had their own understanding! She let out a silent sigh of wonder and couldn't help but look at Professor Lockhart, who was sitting there eating his ice cream. For some reason, Lockhart's exaggerated gestures and words came to mind—"No one understands the Patronus Charm better than I do!" "No one understands teaching better than I do!"
The class quickly moved into its second half. The Dueling Club members began to have their classmates try casting the Patronus Charm on the Dementor. They corrected their pronunciation, spell-casting gestures, and adjusted their state of mind, especially when facing the Dementor. In this matter, they were very consistent and showed the style of Professor Lockhart's student guidance.
This was a scene Professor McGonagall had never seen before. She had a strange feeling that Professor Lockhart had single-handedly trained a group of professors for a magical school. Yes, the young wizards were still very green. But when it came to the Patronus Charm, she wondered if she could have taught it any better herself.
Well, there was one more issue. The young wizards were more proficient in "Defense Against Dark Creatures" and "dueling magic." It wasn't enough to form a magical school. But... it was enough to form a "Quidditch Dueling" wizarding army training base. Yes, despite Professor Lockhart and Percy calling it a new type of competition, to a wizard like Professor McGonagall, who had lived through two long wars, this was clearly a training ground for a wizarding army.
"They can create an era." When Professor McGonagall worriedly asked Dumbledore, he gave her this evaluation. So, she would have to wait and see. Dumbledore was tolerant, and his tolerant nature would naturally rub off on the people around him. So the two professors stood by and watched.
As they watched, they began to chat. Lockhart asked Professor McGonagall for advice on Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was also a great master of Transfiguration with extremely high achievements. Compared to Dumbledore, her magical power might not be as absurdly high, but the fact that she was still writing articles for the professional magazine Transfiguration Today showed that she had not stopped climbing to the highest levels of magic.
When they talked about the secret Dumbledore had shared, Professor McGonagall clearly had a different point of view. "He cares more about the result, and I care about the process," Professor McGonagall said with a slight smile. "Just as you said, everyone's mind is different."
"The process..." Lockhart savored the word, and his eyes lit up. Clearly, Professor McGonagall's philosophy was a better fit for him.
"I believe the most important key to Transfiguration is expecting change while exercising restraint," Professor McGonagall generously shared her philosophy. "Generally, when we cast a Transfiguration spell, we have to have a very clear idea in our minds of what we want to transfigure. On that basis, when we begin to expect change, the Transfiguration will become flexible, not a rigid change, but a soulful one."
"From this perspective..."
"Dumbledore is better at Transfiguration, while I'm better at Conjugation."
Conjugation was one of the five major categories of Transfiguration, the one that dealt with transfiguring multiple objects.
"Especially Animation."
Animation was a subject with a very low floor and a very high ceiling. It could give human-like qualities to non-human things. This magic was common in wizarding life, from the basic animated brooms and scrubbing brushes to the moderately difficult wizard chess and chocolate frogs, to the advanced gargoyles and guardian beasts (like stone guardians and giant wizard chess). This kind of advanced Transfiguration had one characteristic: it could maintain the magical effect for a long time, even making it a constant magical effect!
Everyone had their own magical path that fit them, and this often showed in other areas as well. McGonagall's best Transfiguration spell, the Animagus, also happened to be a kind of constant magical effect.
"You need a strong sense of diffusion and a strong sense of self-control to make the Transfiguration stable in opposition..."
The philosophy of Transfiguration that Professor McGonagall was talking about reminded Lockhart of the pressure cooker he had seen in his previous life. It was boiling hot inside, but nothing was visible from the outside.
So, Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration was nimble and active, but also restrained and stable. Lockhart benefited a great deal from this. Transfiguration was a magic of change, but the most crucial point was to restrain that change. This was a concept he had never thought of before.
The students' class lasted for an entire day. The young wizards in the Dueling Club were pleasantly surprised to find that several of their classmates had successfully cast the Patronus Charm, releasing a silver-white light that successfully drove the Dementor away. This was a huge sense of accomplishment for them. It was only then that they understood the topic they had discussed in private: why Professor Lockhart, being so powerful, still came to teach at Hogwarts. Now they had the answer. It was because teaching felt incredibly rewarding.
The classmates were also excited. From the initial oppressive state caused by the Dementor's terrifying presence, they now had a mental strength to resist it, even if they couldn't successfully cast the spell.
Of course, magic was not an eternal ability. It changed with a person's inner state. Just as Draco and Ron could successfully cast the Patronus Charm before but couldn't now. These young wizards might be able to cast a more powerful Patronus with a physical form in the future, or they might completely lose the ability to cast this spell. Who knows?
In any case, seeing that a few had succeeded, the others began to feel anxious and also wanted this ability. And then... the Dementor couldn't take it anymore. Good heavens, the power of these Patronuses was like a bunch of needles poking it. Who could stand being poked and jabbed continuously for a whole day? It was about to break down.
"Huh?" Lockhart suddenly stood up, no longer looking lazy. His gaze was sharp as he stared at the Dementor surrounded by the students.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Professor Kettleburn, who had come over to join the fun and chat, instantly became nervous. He swiftly pulled out his wand, watching the situation with caution. Professor McGonagall was also tense.
"This Dementor is about to starve to death," Lockhart said with a strange expression.
"Starve to death?" Professor Kettleburn was confused.
"Dementors can starve to death," Professor McGonagall affirmed. This was a strange statement that went against common sense but made sense. It went against common sense because Dementors were Dark magical creatures that seemed to have a "biological nature"—they could starve to death. It made sense because almost every wizard who knew about Dementors was aware that their food was human emotions and souls. If they needed food, they could naturally starve to death.
And now, this Dementor was about to starve to death. A ball of black smoke rolled out of Lockhart's pocket and floated in mid-air, sensing something carefully. After a while, a skull vaguely appeared in the mist and said, "I can feel it. It's about to fall apart."
That wasn't the point! The point was... Lockhart sensed a magical bloodline in the Dementor! A magical bloodline that only wizards, humanoids, and magical beasts had! A magical bloodline he had never noticed before!
"This is just too interesting!"
Lockhart excitedly mumbled, walking quickly to stop the students from attacking the Dementor with their Patronuses. "Alright, that's it for today's class, children. Everyone, go get a piece of chocolate from Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy and get some rest."
Before this, Lockhart had specifically assigned Ron and Draco to this task, not letting them get too close to the Dementor.
With that, Lockhart quickly raised his hand. A giant silver hand appeared in mid-air and grabbed the floating Dementor like it was a small bird. He then stuffed it into the open suitcase on the ground. The surrounding young wizards all gasped. In fact, not only them, but even the powerful Professor McGonagall and Professor Kettleburn were stunned by the scene.
"That's..." Professor Kettleburn blinked, as if he doubted the answer he had in his mind.
"A Patronus!" Professor McGonagall nodded, still finding it incredible. Was that a Patronus? It should be, because it had the exact same magical state and power as a Patronus, but it wasn't a silver mist or a simulated animal.
How did Professor Lockhart do that?
She didn't know. Professor McGonagall's mind was once again filled with that sentence: "No one knows the Patronus Charm better than I do!"
"I always feel his progress, always! Every time!" Professor Kettleburn felt a little bit of self-doubt. He had students with incredible talent, like Tom Riddle, but he had truly never seen anything like this before.
Could it get any more outrageous?
..........
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