allendalepharm Chapter 161 He's not worthy?!
Chapter 161 He's not worthy?!
Chapter 161 He's not worthy?!
Lockhart came to the headmaster's office to show Dumbledore the completed manuscript, "Voldemort the Mysterious Man: A Pureblood Supremacist with a Muggle Father?"
After all, this touched upon Dumbledore and Grindelwald's magical philosophies, and out of respect, he ultimately decided to listen to their opinions.
"This is to form a control group, so that no one is misled by only seeing Voldemort's magical ideas. We all know that magic is not as simple as just chanting a spell."
Dumbledore flipped through the manuscript with a puzzled expression. He paused for a moment upon hearing this, as he keenly realized that this was the first time in months that Lockhart would directly mention Tom's name again.
He looked up at Lockhart and shook his head. "You're wrong. There are probably very few people in this world who can truly understand what's in here."
Ah this...
Lockhart was somewhat displeased. "I believe I've explained these complex concepts in the simplest terms possible. This is my consistent approach to popular science writing, and even Muggles can understand it!"
Dumbledore smiled slightly, pointed to the sky outside his office window, and said, "Go out now and gather all the students in the school. Teach them the weather charm you just cast, using the method you described. Let's see how many of them can learn it."
"..."
Lockhart was speechless.
He had truly devoted a lot of energy to the education of young wizards this school year, so he naturally knew how difficult it was to get young wizards to really learn this magic.
He had integrated the magical philosophies of Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Voldemort, the Forest Witch, and himself, and put them into practice so much that magic naturally blossomed in his hands.
The principle is actually very simple.
If you really understand it, explaining it clearly is just a matter of a few words.
But it's difficult to do.
Let alone the Weather Charm, some young wizards still can't master even the Levitation Charm.
The office fell silent again. Lockhart began to ponder whether there should be a more effective way to spread magical knowledge, while Dumbledore carefully read every word in the book.
He could feel that his, Gellert's, and Tom's souls were inside.
Yes, the soul!
He never imagined that Gilderoy Lockhart would grasp the wisdom in his and Gellert's notes on magic, "Manipulating Lightning," in such a short time, and he certainly never imagined that Gilderoy would understand Tom even better than he did.
"No one knows Voldemort better than me!" Lockhart actually said this, but it wasn't just empty talk; it was true?
You actually understand?
Dumbledore thought it was outrageous.
He silently flipped through the book, suddenly unsure whether Voldemort would be angry because Lockhart had published it.
because……
Perhaps no one in the world understands Voldemort better than Lockhart.
Magic masters are always lonely, whether they walk the righteous path or the evil path; they are all alone.
Magic is not simply chanting spells; it is integrated into life, intertwined with living, life philosophy, every step taken, every decision made, every experience, and every emotion generated.
The higher the path of magic one takes, the lonelier one becomes. Looking around, the once bustling road has unknowingly become silent, with only one person trekking forward.
No one can truly understand you.
Because magic is inherently a personal path, it cannot be replicated.
And now, such a remarkable writer has actually appeared.
Yes, Gilderoy Lockhart did indeed take some wrong paths in life, stealing the lives of so many people, but it seems that this also made him a very special wizard, who could more easily feel the lives of others.
This was undoubtedly magical, and it brought happiness to the magic masters.
Because this person might actually appear on the lonely path of magic, come to your side, greet you with a bright smile, and say, "Hi, friend."
That kind of warmth is something that most people cannot imagine or understand.
Old Deng even had an impulse to say to Lockhart, "Why don't you write a biography for me after I die? It doesn't have to be great, just something like Tom's!"
I'm jealous.
What right does a piece of trash like Tom have to have a biography that understands him so well?
He doesn't even deserve it!
Dumbledore turned the pages one by one, feeling as if he were entering Tom Riddle's heart, sensing the other's extremely powerful and terrifying desires and will, feeling the other's evil and cruelty, and the fragile soul beneath this desire, will, cruelty, and extremism.
This is a biography that Tom might only have this one rare opportunity to obtain.
This is also a user manual for dealing with Tom, laying bare Tom's outward magic and inner vulnerability to everyone, clearly and plainly showing everything.
"How is it?" Lockhart couldn't help but ask when he saw Dumbledore turn to the last page and fall into deep thought.
"Birita's writing is far superior." Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Her 'Armando Dippert: Master or Idiot?' is all superficial, full of her own interpretations and malicious speculations about those in power."
"But your book leans more towards the exploration of magic; it's not even limited to biographical subjects. It's a very valuable monograph on magic!"
They're both from Ravenclaw, both love writing, and both wrote biographies, so why are they so different?
Tsk~
This is actually due to the influence of cultural heritage received in a previous life.
Lockhart's past life was filled with stories of ancient tycoons who wrote biographies. They seemed to be writing about people, but they were actually writing about principles, principles of life cultivation, principles of governance, and all sorts of wisdom. Even the most unofficial histories were never satisfied with just recording interesting anecdotes and gossip—the kind of low-brow literature you find in books.
Even in the internet age, among netizens deeply influenced by culture, there are a lot of guys who like to record history or even gossip, and the historical records of people or events they compile always present a unique sense of fate.
"This contains a description of your and Mr. Grindelwald's magical philosophies..." Lockhart asked.
"Gellert will like it," Dumbledore replied with a smile.
Nice!
But...
That being said, the atmosphere of the conversation was quite harmonious, but when Lockhart wanted Dumbledore to fulfill his previous promise and write a recommendation for the book, he did not receive a reply.
Old Deng was unhappy.
He's already incredibly generous to accept the existence of this book; to ask him to write a recommendation? Heh, tui!
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
go away!
This isn't some gossip-filled article that can be used to purely attack Voldemort's bloodline justice. Why would it get his recommendation? This kind of magical treatise should be incomprehensible to anyone and then thrown into the darkest warehouse.
Lockhart had finally seen the stingy side of this little old man.
Fortunately, Lao Deng has a strong sense of morality and felt that he was somewhat guilty about doing so, so he offered to give some small compensation.
A valuable magical document.
I made a profit!
Lockhart immediately forgot all about the recommendation letter.
Dumbledore found the document in the darkest corner of the bookshelf in his office. It didn't look well protected; part of the binding was cracked, and it had a slight musty smell.
He used magic to remove the mold, making the documents clean again, and then tossed them onto the table.
This is a very thick piece, a full foot (30cm) thick, and as wide as an unfolded newspaper.
However, before Lockhart could even pick it up and look at it, another one was pulled out and thrown onto the table.
One serving, another, and yet another.
There were seven such documents, stacked up to be about the same height as Dumbledore.
Is this thing really reliable? Lockhart expressed his doubts.
With a strange expression, he picked up one of the books and opened the thick leather cover, discovering that it really was a newspaper inside.
This is a collection of copied pages from various newspapers, magazines, and even magic books, with a very diverse range of sources.
Lockhart flipped through the papers; some were from familiar newspapers and periodicals, while others were from sources he hadn't encountered before.
Metamorphosis Today, Spell Innovation, Practical Potions Master, Wizards in War, The New York Ghost Report...
These materials have only one thing in common—they are all journals that Albus Dumbledore submitted to.
It compiles all the information published by Dumbledore over the past seventy years, divided into ten-year periods.
"This was compiled by one of my fans."
"Actually, I have already published my magical ideas in various journals without reservation, but not many people have actually taken the time to organize and study them."
After Dumbledore pulled out these things, he clapped his hands, casually grabbed a pile of cockroaches from the plate and threw it into his mouth, looking at the huge pile of things with a somewhat complicated expression.
"Fans?" Lockhart's expression was somewhat strange.
Old Deng actually has such a fervent fanbase?
"Well..." Dumbledore sighed. "It was Tom who compiled it while he was in school. He gave it to me as a Christmas present when he was in seventh grade. He sent a lot of owls and wasn't at school himself, so he didn't give me a chance to refuse."
"I repeatedly refused his request to stay at the school."
"I sensed the malice in his heart, and the influence he wielded within the pureblood community and the 'Wolpurgis Knights' organization he founded (the precursor to the Death Eaters)."
Dumbledore looked up at Lockhart. "I don't just take anyone into this school. Even I myself refrain from spreading my political ideas to the students. If he were to become a professor, he would undoubtedly do just that."
"A person like that absolutely cannot stay at Hogwarts. I have never regretted this decision."
"At the time, I thought he was sending these things to me to persuade me to let him stay at the school, and I overlooked some of the underlying emotions, which is also where I failed."
Old Deng is capable of reflection, but he carries a heavy psychological burden.
Lockhart shrugged dismissively, flipping through the contents and finding much of it extremely fascinating. The later papers became increasingly profound, and following the timeline, one could almost glimpse the trajectory of Dumbledore's magical path.
"This is a very valuable document!" he exclaimed.
"Here you go." Dumbledore didn't look at the documents anymore, but instead turned his attention back to the other Horcrux of Voldemort that he had found during the full moon.
He didn't destroy it immediately. It wasn't difficult; he could easily burn it to ashes in an instant with some kind of Fiery Blaze magic.
Horcruxes were not particularly sturdy to him.
Lockhart brought him some new ideas, though. He thought that these Horcruxes might be used to deal with Tom in the future. Destroying one or destroying them all made no difference to him, and he was willing to try this approach.
Tom...
Regardless of whether he harbored any affection for him, regardless of his inner feelings, and regardless of whether he represented the heights a wizard could reach in a certain field, Dumbledore showed no mercy simply because of the terrible and vicious things the other party had done.
It would be better if such a person were dead.
A magic book is acceptable, but Tom cannot!
(End of this chapter)