allendalepharm Chapter 269 Hand them over to me
Chapter 269 Hand them over to me
Chapter 269 Hand them over to me
At this moment, the conversation between Lockhart, Lupin, and Snape was far from pleasant. This was quite an interesting situation. Lockhart seemed to have a kind of magic that could make two people who didn't get along sit down and work together, even if the two sides would argue or even be at odds with each other.
As a result, arguments often occurred around him.
For example, Draco and Hermione both work under Percy, helping to run the Quidditch Duel Club. They often clash with each other.
Not to mention, Percy wasn't really on the same side as either of them.
Unlike Ron, who was somewhat insecure and sensitive, Percy came from one of the twenty-eight holy pure-blood families, where everyone was outstanding, and his own talent was top-notch.
No matter how undignified their father looked, he would dare to rush up and punch Lucius in the head, a man whom no one else dared to mess with. He even led the Aurors to turn the Malfoy family upside down, forcing the proud Lucius to sell off the family's treasures. Such a background must have brought him a certain degree of 'pride'.
Needless to say, even the more tolerant twin brothers, George and Fred, thought it was something to envy for a wizard to have house-elves as servants.
Their father Arthur's attitude reveals that he likes Muggle things, but has never truly understood them, only liking the Muggle things he imagines. They treat Muggle wizards, even different individuals within the family, with slight differences.
Therefore, the relationship between Percy, Draco, and Hermione is not so harmonious.
The differences between people are extremely subtle and difficult to define directly with a certain label.
Lupin came to Lockhart at this time to discuss Lockhart's earlier suggestion that the werewolf community could stay at the Rainbow Fish Farm.
Before Lockhart could say anything, Snape sneered.
"You should go to Dumbledore about this. He's the chief wizard of the International Wizarding Federation, isn't he?" Old S said with a mocking expression.
Lupin was somewhat speechless, wondering how Dumbledore could be considered to have a "wizard supremacy" mentality and not truly see werewolves as one of his own.
That would be asking too much of Dumbledore; Lupin never encountered a wizarding figure more accepting of werewolves than Dumbledore.
Yes, no, Dumbledore is the only one.
Although Voldemort made many promises, intelligent people could see that it was all just manipulation. When the tool lost its value, the werewolves would realize how ridiculous those promises were.
Lupin believed that if he approached Dumbledore, he could definitely find a habitat for the werewolves.
Yes, habitat.
It's similar to the centaur tribe and fish-man tribe at Hogwarts, or even the giant tribe that the International Wizarding Association set up to help giants escape the view of Muggle society.
Lupin didn't want a habitat or a tribe.
Werewolf tribe is not a good term.
What he wants is a werewolf community, a community like a wizard community!
Lockhart could provide him with such a place.
The rainbow fish farm not only provides werewolves with a safe and secure place to live, but also offers them jobs.
This allows them to support themselves with dignity.
Lupin didn't want Lockhart to suffer losses in this matter, so he came over to discuss the fact that Lockhart would receive the majority of the profits from the rainbow bream farming.
This is not a loss.
Werewolves know what they want.
It is important to distinguish between the identities of "laborers" and "house-elves".
Werewolves are particularly sensitive about matters of dignity because they truly lack it in society.
"Instead of mocking me, you should think about your own future." Lupin's more than ten years of wandering were not something he could have survived by being gentle and kind.
In his more than ten years of wandering life, what kind of people hadn't he seen, what kind of things hadn't he encountered, and what kind of terrible experiences hadn't he gone through?
His expression was sincere, so sincere that one could always see a trace of pity in his eyes.
With a tone of sympathetic pity, he said, "Voldemort has been captured, and some people have completely lost their value. Perhaps he should think carefully about whether he has any value other than dealing with Voldemort. Oh, his poor performance as Head of Slytherin House and Professor of Potions for the past ten years or so is clearly nothing to be proud of."
"You!" Snape roared.
He was furious, but couldn't utter a word.
Yes, Lupin is right. In his more than ten years of teaching, he has not focused on teaching, nor even on Voldemort. He has been too preoccupied with Lily's death and unable to break free.
It is certainly right to be faithful in love.
But Lupin looked down on him. He had experienced too many dark and terrible things in his life. If he had a personality like Snape, he would have died of depression long ago.
Lily was right, Snape really was a stinking slug.
"Perhaps you should learn from the strength of Gryffindor," Lupin advised, still with an air of concern for your own good. "The strength of courage is not just about charging into battle against enemies, but also about facing life head-on, whether it's a good life or a bad one."
Lupin is like a mirror.
A clear mirror, reflecting his noble quality of bravely facing all of life's hardships, made the cowardly Snape appear ugly and pathetic.
Snape was utterly defeated.
Then he turned to look at the grinning Lockhart, his expression immediately turning even uglier. He shoved the potion bottle into Lockhart's hand.
He turned and left.
"Severus!" Lockhart looked at the medicine bottle with some confusion and quickly called out to him, "What's this?"
Snape stopped, tilting his head back with a stubborn snort, and said with a cold snort, "The Wolfsbane Intercepting Decoction, developed based on the Wolfsbane medicine, should be able to treat the problem of Wolfsbane infection, if there are no problems!"
"!!!"
Lockhart gasped, staring at the thing in disbelief, then looked at Lupin, whose emotions were clearly rising.
Lupin's eyes turned red.
He opened his mouth, about to say something, but Snape interrupted him.
Old S glared at Lupin with malice. "The research was inspired by the illness of the Longbottoms, so you can also think of this potion as the 'Crunchbone Broth.' Werewolves who drink it will suffer the terrible Cruciatus Curse."
"We've held on; the infectivity has disappeared!"
"Can't hold on any longer—heh—"
"By the way, it's not perfect yet, and I can't guarantee it will be able to prevent future generations from inheriting the virus."
He sneered, tossed his hair—which had somehow stopped being greasy—and swung his wizard robes as he walked away, his silhouette resembling a large bat.
"Severus!"
This time, Lupin called out to Snape.
Old S didn't stop, but his movements visibly slowed down, and Lockhart even noticed that Old S's ears twitched.
"Thank you!" Lupin said gratefully, his voice hoarse. "Thank you so much!"
His once proud and defiant back bent. He knew that Snape, who had done this, deserved his respect and the werewolves' gratitude.
Old Si's lips curled slightly, he snorted, and walked straight away into the distance.
Lockhart looked at the potion in his hand with a strange expression. Although his knowledge of potions was not low, he had no ability to judge such a high-end and complex potion.
Everyone has their own area of expertise, and he didn't know whether this was a good or bad thing.
"This," he looked at Lupin, knowing that Lupin would definitely say next—
"I'll try it myself first!" Lupin carefully took the potion from his hand, hugging it tightly as if he had grasped the future.
Just know.
Lockhart sighed. "The Cruciatus Curse is known as one of the three unforgivable curses, not just because it causes harm."
In fact, in the realm of popular attack spells today, there are many spells that are even more torturous than the Cruciatus Curse.
Lockhart knows far more than he does; he just hasn't put it to use.
For example, the incantation to disembowel the intestines, the incantation to transform and torture the body, the incantation to inflate the skull, and so on.
Among them, the Skull Expansion Curse, which is strictly speaking a "poisonous curse" of black magic, is one of the transfiguration spells that Lockhart has been studying recently.
It has a terrifying characteristic: its magical effects are very stable, making it extremely difficult to cure. If the treatment is not done properly, it can even cause a person to live with a head that is twice the size for the rest of their life, accompanied by chronic headaches.
Yes, James Potter used this dark magic on his classmate (not Snape).
Lockhart also studied this magic because it was particularly valuable because it possessed a certain degree of "constant" magical effect.
Each of these spells is more terrifying than the Crucifixion.
However, the Cruciatus Curse is still favored by dark wizards as their preferred spell for torturing enemies, and this is not simply because it is an unforgivable curse.
Just look at the tragic end of the Longbottoms to know.
"You should know how terrible it is," Lockhart advised.
Lupin just smiled wryly, his face covered with weathered scars and wrinkles, yet he exuded an inexplicable nonchalance and indifference. "Believe me, I know very well the effects of the Crucifixion."
Why is it clear?
Of course, it's because I've suffered damage from this magic more than once.
During the war and the period of wandering, life was filled with too much suffering and torment.
Fate is sometimes like that, as if it wants to throw all the bad things in the world onto him, watching with a wicked sense of amusement what kind of life force this miserable creature will unleash.
"You'll need some lab help to keep an eye on things," Lockhart suggested.
This is based on his experience. Even when he is very confident in his magical experiments, he will try to find backup options that can help him if something goes wrong.
In the beginning, when conditions were most difficult, he would deliberately have the students come to his office a few hours later, as a precaution.
To this day, he already has two very good experimental assistants.
Lady Mary and Auror Tonks.
Lady Mary, a subordinate who swore allegiance to him, was a frequent choice. She possessed the time-travel ability of the Axley family's magical bloodline, perfectly suited to his style, and could take him into the river of time to find opportunities to solve problems in the most dangerous situations.
Tonks was initially assigned to the Auror office, but Grindelwald sparked his ambition to pursue a magical path, and he would come to assist Lockhart in his magical research whenever he had the chance.
"It would be perfect to have Tonks come and see the werewolf community as a Ministry of Magic employee. I believe it will be a great start for their new life there," Lockhart thought to himself.
Lupin strongly opposed Tonks' involvement in this matter; he didn't want to provoke this young witch who was clearly somewhat enthusiastic towards him. He was a man without a future, incapable of offering a future to others.
But upon hearing Lockhart recount the impact on the Ministry of Magic, he ultimately fell silent.
Just as Dumbledore came to his house and brought him from the basement to Hogwarts to educate and redeem him, he also longed to redeem other werewolves. This is a kind of inheritance of kindness.
He couldn't refuse such a possibility.
"Thanks!"
His gratitude was so sincere.
Lockhart chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "Severus's potions are one way, and my research into spells is another. I believe my research into the 'Wolf's Voice' magical bloodline is just as successful as Severus's."
Lupin nodded and said softly, "I can now transform into a giant wolf on nights other than a full moon."
Wow!
Lockhart exclaimed in amazement, knowing full well how much effort Lupin had put in behind the scenes.
Of course, it is precisely because of this that Lupin always deserves so many people's willingness to help him.
Officer Lockhart glanced at the students in the distance and whispered to Lupin, "Once the werewolf community is established at the Rainbow Fish Farm, let Lyle (Lupin's father) come and help the werewolf community. Stop hiding in that slaughterhouse and conducting dangerous experiments by yourself."
Lupin was tempted; he too longed for family. But just as he was about to speak, Lockhart spoke first, "If Lyle agrees, you should persuade your father to hand over his werewolves to me."
Lupin frowned, staring intently into Lockhart's eyes as if trying to ascertain something. "What are you planning to do with those werewolves?"
As he spoke, his voice softened, a hint of pleading in it, "They can live in the werewolf community too." "No!" Lockhart's eyes narrowed. "If their existence is exposed, Lyle can expect to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban!"
He concealed the werewolf criminal who should have been punished and transferred him to his own laboratory.
They went to the Muggle world without permission and brought back a death row inmate, who was then bitten by a werewolf and infected, turning him into a werewolf.
Then they used these werewolves to conduct one crazy experiment after another.
Don't give me any excuses like "there were extenuating circumstances" or "he was supposed to be executed anyway."
Using vigilante justice, conducting nefarious research, seriously violating the Secrets Act, spreading wolfsbane—there are far too many crimes that the Ministry of Magic would not tolerate.
If they catch him, Lyle's fate will be absolutely tragic.
Lockhart knew that Lyle, that old nerd, couldn't do anything more wicked, and neither could Lupin, so since he was involved, let him do it.
The spell "Disappearing into the sky" is not like Crabbe's spell, which only produces a "pillar of smoke" around his feet.
"I need 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 long to live a good life!"
Lupin compromised.
He looked at Lockhart with a complicated expression, and finally nodded gratefully.
The practice of not expressing gratitude for great kindness is not a set of rules for speech and behavior summarized from ancient times, but rather a summary of people's instincts under certain emotional states.
Lupin was like that; he was very grateful, but for a moment he didn't know how to express it.
He knew he owed far too much.
The problem is, he also knows that he owes Dumbledore and his colleagues in the Order of the Phoenix far too much.
He only hoped that Dumbledore and Lockhart wouldn't become adversaries in the future; otherwise, he really didn't know how to handle himself.
Life never stopped tormenting his heart.
Lockhart laughed heartily and said meaningfully, "Sometimes when we follow our own heart and walk in our own fairytale adventure, we will find that life can be accomplished and all the complexities and twists and turns in front of us will turn into smooth roads."
This is based on his experience.
Lupin left thoughtfully, his mind preoccupied.
Lockhart, on the other hand, didn't take these things to heart. He was excitedly participating in the students' creative spellcasting, which was the most interesting thing!