allendalepharm Chapter 219 Wizard and Cellphone
Chapter 219 Wizard and Cellphone
Chapter 219 Wizard and Cellphone
Lockhart ultimately failed to manage the breeding of the wolf cubs and the Madagascar cat. Hagrid explained all the key points very clearly, but no matter how you followed the instructions, even though it was theoretically sound, it still didn't work out in the end.
I don't have that ability.
He gave up.
Reluctantly, they ultimately decided to handle these Madago cats according to the method of "black magic creature breeding".
The Madagascar cat's characteristics are so peculiar; it is a powerful magical creature in the wizarding world, but an ordinary cat with no magic in the Muggle world. The mystery contained within this does indeed have a strange connection with the "Animagus".
Yes, it's even similar to werewolves in some ways.
This is Lockhart's forte—finding characteristics, exploring their mechanisms, sensing the changes in magical power, and finally creating a certain environment to unleash its inherent magic. He uses magic to erode and change the mind, then lets the mind, in turn, influence and change the physical body, ultimately driving a complete transformation.
See, the idea of breeding dark magic creatures is much simpler than the idea of breeding magical creatures!
So the young wizards at Hogwarts noticed that Professor Lockhart had been accompanied by a group of black cats that looked like leopards for a while.
He always managed to make these dangerous animals obedient, unlike the previous Professor Kettleburn, who would make a mess of everything by handling a few fire serpents.
The reasoning isn't actually that complicated.
All things have a spirit—they are all afraid of death.
Lockhart doesn't have the same love for small animals as Professor Kettleburn, Hagrid, Newt, and other magical creature conservationists; he's truly capable of killing.
Tom provided so much wisdom in this regard, teaching him how to take care of these creatures.
Lockhart is so evil!
Lupin, that indecisive guy, thought about it for over ten days before finally making a decision: he found Lockhart and hoped to take him to meet his parents.
Then came another three days of waiting, because we had to wait until the weekend.
During this period, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry tightened its martial law even further. In addition to the negative impact caused by people wandering around, which made Professor McGonagall lose her temper and curse, the Ministry of Magic even arranged for an Auror team to be stationed there.
This was intolerable, and Professor McGonagall showed no kindness whatsoever to these Aurors.
Even though almost all of these people were her former students.
The Auror Office Director, Scrimgeour, also arrived. Every day, he stood at the castle entrance with a sour face, accompanied by a group of lackeys, scrutinizing every student and professor. He was extremely repulsive—that's what the students all thought.
But none of them actually considered this question: without Dumbledore's approval, which Auror would dare to run wild at Hogwarts?
The more elaborate the martial law was, the less likely Sirius Black, the Azkaban escapee who was to be captured, and Peter Pettigrew, whom some people were secretly searching for, were to show up. This led many people to suspect that these two people were not even at Hogwarts.
On the weekend, Lockhart and Lupin, carrying a note from Professor McGonagall, headed towards the only entrance to the edge of the Black Lake, which was already firmly guarded by Aurors and a large number of Dementors.
"Are you going to send someone to follow him?" Lupin looked at the Aurors with great vigilance, not wanting his private affairs to be known by others. His werewolf identity was extremely sensitive, and he could easily cause trouble for Dumbledore.
Auror leader Scrimgeour's gaze swept between Lupin and Lockhart, finally settling on the note in his hand. His expression was serious. "I'm sorry, but these are the rules. Special cases have special regulations, and no one can disobey them!"
As he spoke, he looked at Mad-Eye Moody standing to the side.
He didn't actually want the retired Auror involved, but he had to use Moody. The Auror office's reputation had been getting worse lately, with the bizarre prison break almost destroying all the prestige and reputation he had built up during his tenure.
Mad-Eye Moody was indeed useful; his darting magical eye swept over Lockhart and Lupin, then he shook his head at them.
It was confirmed that no one had transformed into an object or animal and was taken away by the two people.
"Tonks!" Scrimgeour beckoned to the young Auror in the corner, instructing him, "You go with them!"
Lupin disagrees a million times over!
However, Lockhart quietly pulled him back, shook his head at him, and had to suppress his displeasure.
Werewolves are naturally afraid of Aurors, which is like the relationship between a mouse and a cat—they belong to opposing camps.
But what he didn't know was that Scrimgeour had been trying his best to overcome the obstacles posed by such strict rules. Tonks had been watching Lockhart for a while and didn't seem particularly opposed to it, so Tonks was specifically chosen this time.
I just hope that nothing unexpected will happen because of this.
After all, the Aurors might really be no match for Professor Lockhart, who has this strange smile on his face!
Indeed, he and all the other Aurors completely ignored the group of Madago cats that accompanied Professor Lockhart!
It's important to know that according to current Ministry of Magic regulations, and these regulations apply to all national Ministries of Magic, Madago cats are exclusively used for guarding official institutions, and private breeding is illegal!
So what can we do? We'll just have to turn a blind eye.
Even Mad-Eye Moody, with his strong principles, would not agree to attack Professor Lockhart because of a bunch of insignificant cats.
Aurors, it's so tough.
Tonks didn't find it difficult at all. He followed the two professors through the magically sealed entrance that Dumbledore had created for Hogwarts, which was guarded by Kingsley. After riding his flying broomstick, he whistled excitedly.
Her carefree demeanor even made Lu Ping, who was on edge, glance at her.
Then, Tonks, who was staring at him intently from head to toe, made him blush. A little embarrassed, he turned his head away. "Let's go." After Professor Lockhart had loaded all his cats onto the flying broom, Lupin quickly started the flying broom.
It flew in first.
"Hmm, Gilderoy." Tonks looked at Lupin's back with some curiosity. The glitter on his smoky makeup, which made him look like a panda, was sparkling. "Who is he?"
Lockhart chuckled. "Remus Lupin, from the Lupin family. His father was Lyle Lupin, an expert in the Beast Consultation Room of the Department of Magical Creatures Control."
Tonks raised an eyebrow. "Pureblood?"
Lockhart shook his head. "Like you, mixed race."
Tonks rolled her eyes and popped a piece of gum into her mouth. "You don't need to add the same as me."
She would rather be a Muggle wizard. Her mother suffered a lot because of her Black family background, which made her dislike pure-blood families.
As it turns out, identity is a universal issue. While purebloods and Muggles are locked in a life-or-death struggle, many people forget that mixed-race individuals also have their own unique needs.
"Is there anything I can do to help you with later?" Tonks had spent some time with Lockhart and knew that this powerful wizard was actually very gentle and easygoing. She herself was also straightforward and unconventional, so she naturally didn't want to beat around the bush and asked directly.
"I called a Muggle hotel and booked a private room so Lupin could meet his parents. They hadn't seen each other in a long time, and they must have a lot to talk about."
Lockhart explained, gesturing for Tonks to pick up speed so he could keep up with Lupin, "If you don't mind, we can have lunch in the lobby downstairs, giving them some personal space?"
Tonks shrugged indifferently, but seemed quite surprised by Lockhart's words. "Make a phone call? I haven't heard that word in ages."
Lockhart chuckled. "Actually, I think calling is more convenient than using an owl. In fact, I contacted Lyle Lupin by phone. It seems the Aurors at the Ministry of Magic have never considered paying attention to this channel of communication?"
Tonks curled his lip. "Yes, too arrogant. I mentioned it, but my master (Mad-Eye Moody) told me to shut up and not make things difficult for everyone."
In this era, wizards communicating with each other by telephone is a devastating advantage over other wizards. This method of information dissemination is incredibly fast, especially for cross-border communication.
In fact, Lockhart only got a cell phone after being reminded by Newt, an older senior, and it contained Newt's and his son's phone numbers. Later, he discovered that Lyle Lupin also had a cell phone.
Back in 1994 in Britain, it was only the beginning of widespread mobile phone adoption among Muggles. Can you imagine Lockhart's expression when he saw Lyle Lupin pull out the latest Ericsson GH337?
Although it may seem hard to understand, Lyle's Muggle wife actually needs to use a landline for her daily life and insurance-related work. When her husband disappears every day to conduct magical experiments, she naturally asks him to have a mobile phone so that she can contact him.
We can't just wait for a slow-moving owl to deliver the message, can we?
Asking if you're coming home for dinner might mean the owl has to wait until they've already finished eating before it can deliver the message.
Indeed, some changes have already quietly begun to appear in wizarding society.
Especially for wizards from mixed-race families and those from Muggle families, who have Muggle technology and culture in one hand and wizarding magic culture in the other, the difference between them and pure-blood wizarding families that still adhere to ancient traditions will become increasingly greater.
So, when Hermione leaves school for summer vacation, will she really give up browsing the internet because of her status as a wizard?
The three arrived in London quickly.
In fact, they did not need to use flying brooms the whole time. After arriving at the public fireplace set up by the Ministry of Magic and depositing their flying brooms, they went through the fireplace to reach the center of London.
After walking a few more steps, we arrived at the hotel Lockhart had booked.
After escorting Lupin to the private box, Lockhart left with Tonks, not bothering to witness the hardships Lupin's family endured. However, the faint sounds of weeping and Lupin's mournful cries emanating from the box were enough to make one sigh.
"Them—?" Tonks asked curiously.
Lockhart shook his head without answering, but simply invited her to a restaurant. "Everyone has a story, doesn't they? As friends, perhaps the best way to get along is to not know each other, to leave each other some private distance that won't make anyone feel awkward."
Tonks agreed, "Indeed, I don't want anyone to pry into my secrets."
Her attention was quickly diverted because Lockhart discovered that the Madago cats, upon arriving in the Muggle world, had become somewhat unruly, or rather, had lost some of their intelligence and were unable to understand his commands. He had to ask her to help him keep an eye on these silly cats.