allendalepharm Chapter 183 Navigating Between Bella and Tom
Chapter 183 Navigating Between Bella and Tom
Chapter 183 Navigating Between Bella and Tom
Tonks is a very interesting witch.
She appears rebellious and indifferent to her surroundings, but when you talk to her, you'll find that she always tends to explore the essence of the world and the nature of reason, and yearns to seek the true face of the world.
This is the complete opposite of Lockhart.
Lockhart appears gentle and is always concerned with magic and everything in life, but he doesn't really care much about the essence of the world.
There is no right or wrong, no hierarchy, the world always has countless facets, and everyone observes it from their own perspective.
Lockhart always explores phenomena.
This may be related to his initial "magical enlightenment" from the forest witch, and also to his path of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
He explores all the phenomena that occur during the spread of magic, and the subtle relationships between all the factors involved in the blossoming of magic.
He would then observe the witch Tonks's condition with great interest, comparing the effects of Azkaban prison on her with the effects on himself.
He keenly sensed the difference.
When you consider the effects on prisoners in the surrounding jails and the occasional Dementors passing by from afar, the subtle differences become even more pronounced.
Then he saw someone who caught his eye—Bella.
Bellatrix Lestrange, born into the Black family, is Sirius Black's cousin and Draco Malfoy and Nymphadora Tonks' aunt.
When Tonks took Lockhart to the prison where Death Eaters were being held, Lockhart clearly felt that Bella was the one most affected by Azkaban.
because-·
She was actually actively accepting the influence of Azkaban and the Dementors on her.
This is a terrifying discovery.
Everyone in this prison is deeply resisting it, trying to resist the terrible influence that will drive them mad. It's an instinct, a mental defense mechanism.
Only Bella willingly lowered her guard, allowing her soul to be eroded by all the terrible things here.
Therefore, she appears to be the craziest of all the Death Eaters.
She was so insane that she looked extremely distorted, and when Lockhart and Tonks looked at her, she just kept laughing maniacally.
"My mother said that witches from the Black family all have a unique elegance in their bones." Tonks looked Bella curiously at her. "She said Bella was the one most like someone from an ancient pure-blood family, and now it seems..."
She sighed, "Azkaban is truly terrifying."
Lockhart asked thoughtfully, "How strong is she?"
"Very powerful. Not every follower of Mystic is a Death Eater. Every Death Eater possesses formidable strength." Tonks began meticulously checking the condition of each Death Eater to ensure that Azkaban's methods of restricting and imprisoning these prisoners were still effective.
"Indeed." Lohat nodded. Old Voldemort was a very picky person. If Bella's strength was not at a certain level, no matter how loyal she was, Old Voldemort would never have taken a liking to this woman and even had a child with her.
None of the loyal witches who served the three generations of demon kings were simple.
Professor McGonagall, Vinda Rozier, and Bella are all among the top wizards in the world. "All done. Looks like they'll all stay here." Tonks turned around and stylishly slipped his wand into his trench coat pocket.
"Is that so?" Lockhart chuckled, glancing warily at Sirius in the corner cell before turning his gaze back to Bella. "She's trying to escape."
Donxton immediately became alert. "This is impossible. No one can escape Azkaban. Too many powerful wizards have been imprisoned here, without exception!"
Despite saying that, she still drew her wand again and used some magic to examine it carefully.
"Apparition." Lockhart stood in front of the cell, staring intently at Bella, marveling, "This is the first time I've realized that the magical distortion of Apparition is so similar to the Obscurus's state of excessive darkness and repression, and that some people actually twist their hearts to approach this state."
"Apparition?" Donxton breathed a sigh of relief and secretly rolled his eyes. "There's no way to apparition here."
"Let's just say that."
Lockhart didn't bother arguing. He glanced at the people around him and finally settled on Bella. "She'll do."
Taking Bella away is extremely dangerous, as it would undoubtedly make Voldemort target him again.
But Bella's unique state is so interesting. Her twisted mind and wide-open defenses make her extremely susceptible to the influence of dark magic creatures, making it the easiest place to try some kind of experiment on her.
"Are you sure?" Tonks frowned deeply.
Lockhart turned to look at her, scrutinizing her defiant expression, and finally simply said softly, "Yes."
R
The prisoner transfer process in Azkaban was extremely complicated. It was three days later before Bella was sent to the Bloodline Hall of the Department of Mysteries. Furthermore, every time Lockhart had contact with Bella, personnel from the Auror Office had to be present to ensure that no incidents would occur that were beyond the Ministry of Magic's control.
Of course, as Scrimgeour said, the Auror office was short-staffed, and the only person they could send to get involved in this matter was Tonks.
During this time, Lockhart approached Mary again. After he released her, the witch did not return to the Haitian wizarding community, but lived alone in a corner of London, leading a very uneventful life.
She seemed content with this mundane life, yet she was also subtly restless. When Lockhart approached her, she readily agreed to continue working for him.
Fortunately, Mary's assistant status had not been cancelled by the Ministry of Magic, so she was able to return to the Bloodline Hall without any problems.
Of course, neither Tonks nor Ms. Mary realized that they had actually entered a fairy tale book that was quietly hidden in the thick fog.
Tom is also in the fairy tale, but in a different Hogwarts setting, separated from Bella by a wall.
His research on his future work, "The Unquenchable Flame of Life," is not progressing very quickly.
He had missed out on too many experiences and reflections in his life, and some things could not be made up for by talent alone, so he had to seek help from Professor Lockhart.
He proposed a view that contradicts Lockhart's current understanding: the mind is not the essence of a person, but only one component, and the body and the mind of the body are equally indispensable.
The basis for this judgment is that the ghosts that wizards become after death do not allow their minds to guide their behavior, but continue the thoughts carried by their bodies, behaving exactly the same as before they died.
Moreover, the same applies to magical paintings, which are common among wizards.
"Our real bodies, which exist in this world, and everything in our minds that is limited by what our bodies can think, are our true selves," Tom stated this judgment very seriously. "The mind and soul may be a false proposition, or rather, it is just a concept."
"So I think—"
He stroked the magic notebook in his hand, "The so-called flame of life is actually in the body, not the soul."
This is a question of where the magic points.
If the target of the spell is wrong, it will undoubtedly bring terrible disaster.
Lockhart simply smiled at him, offering no comment, and asked gently, "How do you think you should prove it?"
"Memory!" Tom tapped his temple with his wand. "Extracting a memory doesn't actually make a person forget it completely. It's already imprinted in their soul. It's just that our bodies can't perceive or access this part of the memory, but it's always there, and it still affects our behavior and emotions."
"But if the soul is truly just a concept, or a collection of concepts, then perhaps it can be considered that the concept of memory within the soul is actually the 'past.'"
Lockhart wasn't annoyed by the rejection of his theory. After thinking about it carefully for a while, he accepted the possibility of this conjecture. "Yes, when memories are placed in the Pensieve, we can see other scenes within the time frame of the memory. Although sometimes they are missing, it does exhibit a very clear characteristic of 'time.'"
Upon receiving the professor's affirmation, Tom became excited and continued to explain his ideas.
"Yes, that's the nature of time! In this way, our past doesn't actually belong solely to us. As you said, it includes everything outside of ourselves—society, nature, the world, and so on! The past exists in the memories of everyone involved in this part of our memories."
"So we can go back in time, make someone forget some information that only she knows, and then go back to the real world to observe that person and see if she has really forgotten it completely."
"Professor, what do you think?"
That's a really interesting idea.
Lockhart knew that Voldemort's exploration of memories was actually very profound. The memories of his uncle and a rich woman's house-elf, which he had altered in his life experiences, did not slip up under the scrutiny of so many top wizards in the Wizengamot Inquisition. Even Dumbledore was unable to find any flaws, which showed how powerful he was.
"I will help you find the answer," he said, indicating his willingness to help the student.
So.
Bella, get to work!
Lockhart wasn't particularly skilled in the magic of time, but fortunately, Lady Mary possessed sufficient bloodline talent in this area.
And so, for the next period of time, Lockhart almost constantly moved between Bella and Tom.
Proposing hypotheses, verifying them through experiments, discussing them, and proposing new hypotheses—every day was fulfilling.
Gradually, Lockhart also began to learn more about Bella's past.
Or rather, to learn more about the secrets of the Black family, one of the twenty-eight sacred pure-blood families, known for its noblest bloodline.
The magical bloodline ability of the Black family is actually an extremely strange and ominous one.
This is a completely new version of magical bloodline for Lockhart, a concept entirely different from "Phoenix Affinity," "Snake Affinity," "Combat Talent," and "Flame Affinity."
"Mary, get ready."
Lockhart waved his wand, manipulating Bella to float in mid-air, gazing intently. "I think I've discovered something incredible!"
Yes, he had a strange feeling, as if he was getting closer to some interesting answer.