allendalepharm Chapter 272 Snake! Snake! Snake!
Chapter 272 Snake! Snake! Snake!
Chapter 272 Snake! Snake! Snake!
Lockhart never believed he could solve all the world's problems on his own; he needed to find help.
The first person he approached was Professor Kettleburn.
This old professor was such an adventurer; hearing about something so interesting, how could he possibly sit still? He joined Lockhart on another adventure.
Unfortunately, it still failed.
"It's the power of the elves!" Professor Kettleburn made this conjecture very clearly when he discussed and summarized with Lockhart and Ms. Mary. As an academic giant known as "Kettleburn the Encyclopedia", he had an extremely clear cognitive ability based on systematic analysis of all things in nature.
"Turning humans into natural animals is simple; I can do that kind of shapeshifting myself—"
The old professor stroked his beard with his prosthetic hand, frowning in deep thought. "But turning a person into a natural spirit, that's too strange."
Lockhart asked, "What's the difference between the two?"
The old professor clearly had his own understanding of Transfiguration. "Many people call 'turning someone else into an animal' a 'curse in Transfiguration,' and 'turning oneself into an animal' an 'Animagus,' but in my opinion, they all fall under the category of Transfiguration Charms."
He gestured to the name, "Transformation, a transformation of the position of living beings in nature, from humans to animals, or even objects."
"So you'll find that no matter how you change it, the things or creatures you create can't possess magical power."
"Because magical items and magical creatures are supernatural."
"This is a limitation of transfiguration itself, as written in Gamp's basic transfiguration laws."
When this was mentioned, and the state of those elves endlessly replicating themselves, he had a clear answer: "Transfiguration cannot conjure food out of thin air, but it can increase the amount of food, turning a single grain of flour into a cartload of flour."
"In other words, during the '0-1' stage, other magic should be at work, and then the Polymorph spell takes effect in the subsequent '1-infinity' stage."
This means that it's a two-stage magic effect.
Once you have a clear idea, things become simple.
Lockhart and his two companions adjusted their mindset and attempted their third adventure the following day.
And then it failed again.
Because whether it's the first stage or the second stage, the restoration technique has no effect on those "little people".
Two days passed, and Lupin returned to school, where his main job was still teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.
The affairs of the werewolf community were temporarily handed over to his father, Lyle.
It is worth mentioning that, thanks to the efforts of Umbridge, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, Lyle has now been promoted to Director of the Werewolf Registry, responsible for werewolf matters within the jurisdiction of the British Ministry of Magic.
The fact that Ministry of Magic bureaucrats are the actual controllers, though it may sound inappropriate, is actually the norm in the wizarding world, as exemplified by Arthur Weasley.
This is because the total number of wizards is actually not that large, and there are only a few wizards who are truly suited to a particular field. With his father's help, Lupin was finally able to temporarily escape from this matter and return to school.
Then he joined Lockhart and his companions' adventure party.
Lupin also had his own understanding of Transfiguration.
Because he was the exception Professor Kettleburn spoke of—a wizard becoming a werewolf, which was precisely the process of a magical creature becoming a magical creature.
Unlike Lockhart and Professor Kettleburn, Lupin could not articulate rigorous theoretical frameworks, but he possessed an extremely rich experience and understanding of Transfiguration.
He analyzed it from the perspective of spiritual perception, believing it should be three stages, but not in a sequential order.
"Life cannot be cloned, otherwise there would have been armies of hundreds or thousands of wizards long ago. In particular, magic masters could clone themselves at will, and one person would be enough to rule the world."
"I feel that the Muggle was in the state of 'object' at some stage, and then the object was copied in large quantities. The copies were then transformed into living magical beings through polymorph, which is what you all think of as elves."
This explanation gained initial acceptance, but at this stage, it still didn't solve the problem.
Lockhart and his companions attempted several more adventures before finally deciding to involve the junior wizards from the Duel Club, as they were certain that the adventure, at least for the time being, would not pose any danger.
Don't underestimate these young wizards just because they aren't as strong as the older ones. They each have their own perspectives on the matter, and maybe they'll come up with the answer.
Sure enough, the analysis following the adventure brought up some different ideas.
"Magical creatures can certainly be replicated! Life can be replicated too!" Ron Weasley said with a strange expression, then picked up Hakimi the cat and placed it on the table, rubbing his hands together.
"That wall!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, raising her hand. Seeing Ron speak directly, she quickly answered, "It's the wall where the Muggle sailor was divided into several pieces and painted over. It must have been involved in magic too!"
The self-replication of the Madago cat.
That wall was also part of the magic.
Lockhart's eyes lit up, and he exchanged glances with Professor Kettleburn and Lupin, clearly recognizing the usefulness of the two speculations.
"Great, is there anything else?" he asked.
Harry raised his hand. "Professor, when we were fighting those organ monsters just now, I noticed that they didn't cooperate with each other. No matter how many times Madagascar and Hakimi split up, their fighting was actually coordinated, more like the left and right hands working together."
"They fight their own battles, seemingly commanded by different minds, and these organ monsters all have very simple minds."
This is another new perspective, from a combat standpoint, and this is where Harry's focus lies.
"Very good," Lohatt praised, then asked the others, "Any other observations?"
Draco, standing to the side, seemed somewhat hesitant. He watched Harry being praised by the professor and exaggerated by everyone, and he seemed a little resentful, but he also seemed conflicted about whether to voice the answer he had in mind.
But he finally spoke up, because Harry gave him a smug look, as if to say—Draco, you're such a loser.
This is intolerable!
He also raised his hand.
"Professor, actually..."
He hesitated for a moment, but still forced himself to say, "I roughly know what that magic that turns people into parts is."
Lockhart raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
"The Split Curse, also known as the Cutting Curse, is a form of dark magic; it—"
Before Draco could finish speaking, Hermione sneered, stood up, and looked at him proudly. "I think Malfoy hasn't been studying properly at all. This is from the textbook! The Cutting Charm isn't dark magic; it's normal magic used for cutting."
Hermione spoke very quickly, "Although it can be used to cut human bodies, the cut-off parts don't have their own thoughts! Only after a counter-curse is cast will their thoughts take over again."
"Furthermore! The book *Potionology and Demonic Sin* mentions that medieval wizards attempted to dissect human bodies and parts of various magical creatures in an attempt to directly access so-called 'muscle memory,' but all attempts failed. It turns out that muscles, without a connection to thought, cannot store memories!"
Um·-.-·
Lockhart himself had a different idea about this. Muscle memory is stored in muscle memory; when he transmigrated,
It imitates the original's handwriting by relying on muscle memory; it does not require the original's thinking ability.
Draco merely scoffed at Hermione's statement.
He looked at the other person with a defiant and arrogant expression, and smiled, "Because you can only read books compiled from modern magic, while I can read books on ancient witchcraft."
Hermione paused for a moment, then pursed her lips and remained silent.
"The Severing Spell, which can tear things apart, is actually a form of dark magic. It's a common spell that witches use to dismember magical ingredients to brew large pots of broth."
"In ancient times, even babies were considered magical materials, and potion-making has a concept called 'original' potion-making processing."
"They believe that potion ingredients should not only retain the blood inside, but even commonly used accessories and clothing, because this can preserve its spiritual essence."
"The magic of tearing things apart is that it can preserve the original state of materials to the greatest extent possible."
"The modern magic cutting spell is an improvement; besides changing the original ancient Egyptian spell to its current form, it also changed the casting gestures."
That's why it doesn't seem so evil.
Draco looked around at his classmates, especially those who also came from ancient wizarding families. "You've all probably heard the bedtime story, 'The Witch Who Knocks at Midnight,' right? In the story, an evil witch takes the heart out of a Muggle's body, and then the Muggle, having lost his heart, tries to find it back. That magic that preserves the heart's spirit—the 'original,' the 'living thing' spell—is the Cutting Charm."
"Damn it!"
Professor Kettleburn exclaimed, "I should have thought of that! I'm getting old, I completely forgot about it!"
Lockhart looked at him. "You knew about it too?"
Professor Kettleburn nodded. "Hogwarts used to teach this spell decades ago, but then a terrible crime involving this spell against Muggles occurred in Italy. The International Wizarding Federation's Education Management Organization demanded that the magic ministries of all countries ban the spread of this spell and stop teaching it in all magic schools."
As he spoke, he lowered his voice mysteriously, "Actually, this magic is still being used in many wizarding hospitals, but they use it to save people, and everyone chooses to support it."
In other words, Professor Kettleburn also understands this.
Lockhart decided to ask him to teach him after the discussion, to see exactly how this magic worked.
"So—"
He gestured for Hermione and Draco to sit down, then looked at the others. "Anything else?"
Of course there are.
Everyone has their own ideas.
As it turns out, each of these young wizards was exceptional, especially after Professor Lockhart developed their potential based on their individual characteristics, and they gradually began to embark on their own magical paths.
George's Fred Luna —..—
Percy.
Cedric—
There are too many; everyone is one.
Even the simple-minded Crabbe raised his hand.
This was quite unusual. Lockhart, though he wouldn't discriminate against his first apprentice, knew that thinking was no easy task for Crabbe.
He was quite looking forward to seeing what answers Crabbe, who always just repeated what others or books had written, would give.
"George and Fred just said that the Animation Charm can't give living beings magic, so they can't cast spells, but that's not actually the case."
Seeing everyone staring at him, he shrank back, his voice growing increasingly insecure, "I—when I was practicing Soul Fire, I discovered that magic doesn't necessarily require a soul or emotions—it can come from someone else—"
"!!!"
This answer truly surprised Lockhart.
He pondered the sentence thoughtfully, his brain quickly recalling memories to confirm the point.
"The emergence of magic does not necessarily originate from one's own soul, magical bloodline, memories, emotions, feelings, or will—"
"Could it come from someone else?"
wow~
Lockhart suddenly had a refreshing feeling about magic.
This discovery, combined with his research on memories, time and magical bloodlines, could even lead to a very unique conjecture: that the magical bloodline in that Muggle was actually that of the dark wizard who tormented him.
Emotional resonance?
A resonance of memories?
Spiritual resonance?
A resonance of souls?
Lockhart knew all too well that one very, very clear case proved it all—himself!
He digested memories, absorbed other people's fairytale adventures, and then transformed from a Muggle into a wizard!
He knew very well that it wasn't just a simple matter of resonance.
The most crucial step was that Severus helped him concoct the potion "Mischievous Brain Fluid"!
So, what was the main point Severus was making at that time? (Chapter 67)
He said that magic is the expression of one's own will; if you lose yourself, you will also lose your magic!
From this perspective, the Muggle had his magical bloodline copied by the dark wizard, and then lost his soul and self because he was cut off, turning into a strange-looking organ monster with no magical abilities but magical properties?
Is that right?
Lockhart gently stroked his wand, lost in thought.
As he pondered, he suddenly had an inspiration. He flicked his wand and walked out of the stone house, arriving at a large tree.
I stood there motionless for a long time.
Lupin, Professor Kettleburn, and all the young wizards followed him out, looking at Professor Lockhart with curiosity, wondering what he was going to do.
Only Crabbe, as was his habit, drew his wand and stood guard behind Lockhart, two-colored flames flickering beneath his feet as he warily surveyed his surroundings, guarding against anything that might disturb the professor.
In a corner of the crowd, Professor Kettleburn watched the scene with emotion and whispered to Lupin, "Crabbe isn't particularly smart or outstanding, but I always feel that Gilderoy's teaching wasn't in vain, given that he has such a loyal student who stands by him."
He should have such feelings. He has taught all his life and is now nearly a hundred years old. How many students like Crabbe can treat him with the same respect?
Okay, not a single one.
At most, it's just a network of connections based on shared interests.
These people will admire you, help you, and support you, but they won't fight for you.
Crabbe Meeting.
Professor Kettleburn was incredibly envious.
Lupin smiled and said, "That's Gilderoy's personal charm."
The charismatic Gilderoy finally moved, earnestly assuming a basic spellcasting stance and gently waving his wand.
It made a hissing sound.
Parseltongue!
The members of the Duel Club all know Parseltongue, although some of them don't have a very good grasp of it. But even Goyle can understand what the professor is saying right now.
It's very simple—"Snake!—Snake!—Snake!—"
With a sudden flick of the wand, whoosh, the tree began to shake and sway.
It seemed as if it had been subjected to terrible black magic, its surface beginning to dry and crack as if a hundred years had passed.
The leaves on the branches dried up and fell, turning into a rain of leaves.
Not only the leaves, but also the branches began to dry up and fall, one after another crashing down from the sky with a series of muffled thuds, startling the young wizards into retreating.
Finally, the trunk of the tree, which was about the thickness of an adult's embrace, was completely stripped of its branches and leaves, leaving only a crooked main trunk.
It looks like it's about to wither.
Yet it looks so vibrant, and as it sways and shakes, it appears even more full of life.
Snapped!
The tree swayed more and more, until finally it slammed heavily to the ground like a whip, the huge roar causing everyone to gasp in surprise.
It quickly started swinging again, twisting and swaying towards the sky.
It gradually transformed into a large snake.
"snake!"
The young wizards exclaimed in surprise.
The scene before my eyes was even a little terrifying, because the giant snake was only half of a tree trunk, as if it had been grafted onto the tree trunk. From the ground to two meters up, it was still a tree trunk that looked like wood, and then it gradually changed upwards until a giant snake of the same thickness grew out of it.
The giant snake twisted its body, its enormous head looking down at the young wizards, flicking its tongue and hissing.
Hiss hiss hiss~ (Hello, little wizards!)
"!!!" Everyone around was stunned.
In the distance, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, who had been drawn by the commotion, were equally astonished by what they saw.
"What is this, a new Whomping Willow?" Professor McGonagall was starting to worry about how to keep the young wizards from messing with this, or rather, this terrifying thing.
"Everyone has their own Transfiguration ability, doesn't they?" Dumbledore watched this scene with a smile, feeling quite pleased.